Twenty-six: When Bitches Love (is just love)
"Madam Secretary, Mr. President has instructed me to drive you back", the driver smiles at her with a wistful expression. "Clark… I'm just Elaine now! No more Madam Secretary! Is that okay?", jokes the woman, who has long since given in to asking him to remove her official titles. "As you wish, Mrs. Barrish?", he replies in a playful tone, bursting into laughter as he sees her roll her eyes. "Not even for our last race will you give me that pleasure, I get it!", she retorts, looking at him fondly.
"I'd like you to take me to the zoo, please", she says, as soon as they get on the traffic route. "Certainly... Elaine!", the man replies in a jovial tone, wringing a surprised smile from her. "You see? You won in the end!", he affirms in a relaxed mood, smiling contentedly. "It's been a beautiful experience, these three years of work for you, Madam. Thank you for your kindness and your trust", he says, taking his eyes off the street for a moment. The former Secretary of State curls the corners of her mouth upwards, holding back a slight emotion, "Thanks to you, Clark, I couldn't have found anyone better than you. Please stop by for coffee sometime, will you?", she urges him, "I'd love to, Elaine", the boy replies, watching her launch a call on her phone.
"Hey... Will you join me at the zoo?" Elaine asks in a sweet voice. Clark smiles happily, "Our elephants", she hears her answer after a short while in an even more tender tone. For the rest of the drive, the two remain silent.
When the diplomatic car finally pulls into the inner lane closest to the pachyderm paddock, Barrish lingers for a moment before getting out, looking at the man with a grateful and wistful look, "Thank you for everything, Clark", "It's been a pleasure and an honor, Elaine", he replies. "I'll wait in the car until Miss Berg comes", he informs her in a confident tone, noticing the woman raise an eyebrow in surprise, her expression widening an open smile for his benefit.
"There's only one life, Elaine, I wish you the best and I'm happy for you... for you two", he says while maintaining eye contact, "I would love for you to say hello for me", he adds. The woman nods with slight embarrassment, but pleasantly impressed by his honest courtesy and steps away from the government vehicle one last time.
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"Have you been waiting long?", Susan asks sitting so close that one side of her body adheres completely to her own side. She looks around, perceiving something out of tune and after a few moments of indecision she realizes what is not quite right, "Where are all the others?", she asks, referring to the security guards that usually remain at a distance, but are always discreetly present.
Elaine smiles as she observes the imposing animals, "There is only Clark, he was kind enough to wait for you to arrive. That guy's a smart one", she replies without giving too much away, the young woman looks over her shoulder and finally spots the dark car, the young man inside raises a hand and smiles in her direction, she returns the greeting, slightly perplexed, watching in disbelief as the driver starts the engine and slowly drives away. She looks back at Elaine, noticing her unusual smile, and finally the right question rises to her vocal cords, "What's going on, Elaine?", she snorts a thoughtful smile and gently takes her hand, intertwining her fingers with hers.
"Do you remember the first time we met here?", she asks looking at her serenely. "Of course I remember", the reporter replies softly as she tightens her grip. "We always had meaningful conversations, in front of them", Susan jokes pointing to the animals, "Yeah... they're good witnesses, they have long memories too", the woman confirms in a playful tone, snatching a laugh from her.
"This peculiar way you have of laughing, Sue...", Barrish points out to her, "God...", she continues shaking her head in disbelief, "Here is where I first heard it...", she tells her lost in memories, "And I loved it right away...", she confesses in a soft tone. Seized with tenderness, the young woman lifted their joined hands to her lips and gently placed a kiss on the back of Elaine's.
Then she brings them back to her lap, joining her other hand as well. Now she knows why there is no one there with them, "You quit, didn't you?", she asks cautiously. "Yes, honey", the former politician replies after a sigh of relief. "It's time for me to think a while about myself, what I want for me, what makes me happy, I want to be free... I want to live... and I want to be with you", she explains serenely. Berg doesn't reply, she takes to caressing the skin of her hand with her thumb. Her heart pounding in her hears.
Part of her dares to feel responsible for that decision, not sure how that thought makes her feel. After a few minutes of silence enjoying the intimate outpouring, looking at each other intently without any embarrassment, a gasp from the baby of the pack wakes them up, bringing them back to the real world, both of them turning to observe the tender scene of two adult specimens playing with the pup.
"Good thing it' a girl!", Susan chuckles, making Elaine laugh out loud. The youngster watches her suddenly become serious again, she has a different light in her eyes as she sees her gaze linger on her lips. "Let's go home, Sue… now"