Chapter Sixty Seven - Quoting Saints
6 weeks later
'Good Morning Madam Secretary' Nadine smiled as Elizabeth entered the meeting room, shortly followed by Blake holding her coffee and bag.
'Morning Ma'am' all the staff echoed as she slipped her coat off and scanned the room, turning to Blake to retrieve her coffee before sitting between Matt and Na- dine.
'Morning Everyone, Sorry I'm late, catch me up' she smiled, reaching out and grab- bing the files in front of her, familiarizing herself with the topics of today's agenda.
'We we're just discussing your conference on Women in education with Noura Al- Kitabi next week' Nadine explained
'What about it?' Elizabeth furrowed her brow, instantly getting a sense that what was to follow was not going to be good news.
'Nothing has happened or officially been said yet but, We've got wind that Saudi Arabia are not happy with you being at the conference, our hunch is that you might be asked to re-arrange the conference, especially since the white house are trying to screech an arms deal' Nadine answered cautiously and Elizabeth shook her head in annoyance
'No, we cannot rearrange this conference again. It was supposed to happen two months ago, then this weekend, it's already next weekend we cannot keep stalling over something this important. It happens next week' Her tone firm as she lays the ground before her staff.
'My guess is that Russell Jackson will have something to say about it Ma'am' Jay replied softly
'Leave Russell and Saudi Arabia for me. The conference stays' She confirmed shut- ting the topic at hand down instantly.
'Anything else?'
We have news that two men in a truck just outside of Tiraspol, Moldova were stopped and attacked early hours this morning. We have reason to believe that the truck was full of Uranium' Jay confirmed
'Does this feel as unsettling to everyone else as it does to me?' Elizabeth asked, glancing around the table and watching all her staff nod slowly, fear lingering in the air.
'Ok, I'll speak with POTUS, I'll try and bring in the States International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau on the job, see what they can find' She swallowed, her stomach twisting in knots as she let the information sink into her.
'Ma'am if you're ok with it, I was going to meet with Walter Nowack later, get him in on this uranium heist' Jay sought permission
'Good idea, do it. I'll catch you up when I'm back from the white house' she smiled gently 'Any other business?'' She scanned the table, 'Daisy?' She questioned. Eliz- abeth had come to know her staff well over the last few years, Daisy being one of the easiest to read.
'Yes Ma'am, I wanted to discuss Dr McCord's Live Interview today, I was just unsure if you wanted to discuss it here, or in private' she bit her lip nervously. Despite the passing weeks, the sheer mention of Henry's name often sent Elizabeth over the edge, something all of them had observed.
'What about the interview?' She asked
'Nothing in particular, I just wanted your permission to watch it. I am aware it's the first time either of you would be speaking in public since the' Daisy paused, stum- bling upon her words
'Since our divorce was finalised six weeks ago' Elizabeth replied flatly, filling in the blanks for her.
'Since your divorce, whilst I don't anticipate Dr McCord is going to slate you on live TV, I would like to keep an eye on what is being said, incase the interviewer tries to slip him up in some way. That way I can be prepared for the gaggle because so far, we haven't officially confirmed the finalisation. I'd want to get ahead of a potential leak' she explained.
'Yeah ok, that sounds fine' Elizabeth sighed heavily. She paused for a moment, her eyes softly falling to daisy as she reflected on their many moments of conflict, es- pecially since the divorce was announced. 'Thank you for asking, I respect the fact you did that' Elizabeth acknowledged.
'Madam Secretary, would you mind if I joined Daisy in watching it? For no reason other than I think the work Dr McCord does is simply great, and I would like to see what his new book is about' Matt asked sheepishly, Elizabeth chuckled slightly at his innocence.
'Of course' she looked around the room and sighed inwardly 'I don't want any of you to feel like you can't mention Henry or his work, I still happen to think he is one of the greatest men there is, and his work speaks for itself. I'll always admire his work. In fact, what time is the interview?' She asked
'Midday'
'Perfect, set it up in my office, we can all have lunch and watch it' She smiled 'Madam Secretary, are you sure?' Jay asked kindly
'Thank you, all of you for looking out for me over the last few months, the divorce is done and I'm doing ok. I'm sure Jay' she grinned. She rose from her seat and glanced at her watch. 'I'm heading to the white house, Jay I'll see you when I get back, hopefully with an update' she nodded firmly, silently dismissing herself from the meeting.
Time had evaded her, before she knew it Midday had arrived, all her staff were sit- ting in her office having lunch with her watching Henry's live interview, a moment she wanted desperately to avoid, but one she had made herself the center of through her own stubbornness of not being able to admit her continued heartache to those close by.
She twisted her fork around her pasta, slowly rotating it within her fingers as she tried to filter out the sound of her ex-husband's voice in the room. The sheer fact he was back in the same city as her sent chills down her spine, this was the closest geographically they had been in months, in fact, if she was honest with herself since the finalization of the divorce came though she had hardly returned any of his calls, texts or emails. Sheer avoidance was her recovery tactic, now if only she could re- cover.
'So Dr McCord, I have to ask, you have delivered many speeches recently, some at the War Museum on its grand opening, and just recently you gave two special lec- tures in the war collage. Do we see snippets of these within your new book? Given it's based around War and Ethics?' The interviewer asked
Elizabeth let out a slow silent breath, a moment of relief washing over her with every question asked. Every fiber of her being thanking the lord it was not about them, or what once was them.
'Can I also just take a moment here, as you just mentioned about traveling down to do these lectures, we're so thankful you agreed to come down to DC to do this in- terview with us, we understand that you live in Virginia now is that right?' The inter- viewer asked and Henry nodded
'Yeah that's right, but I honestly don't mind. I was due to be in DC this weekend anyway for a conference that my kids were attending, so it really was not a problem' Henry replied politely.
'What conference is that?' He asked genuinely
'The Women in Education one, it's been rearranged for next week now' Henry con- firmed.
Elizabeth continued to twist the fork between her singers, the same pasta pieces going untouched and they rotated around the plate. Her eyes walked across her desk and towards the TV. A soft smile fell on her lips as she caught a glimpse of him.
'Is that the one Secretary McCord is hosting?'
'Yes, our children always support our work so they're planning to attend' He explained, doing his best to keep the situation neutral
'Speaking of Secretary McCord-' the interviewers question was drown out by the sound of Daisy in the office
'Oh no, here we go. Why do these interviewers push like this' she huffed
'I am not here to discuss Secretary McCord' Henry rejected the question, his re- sponse stealing a smile from Elizabeth. Her eyes fixed on him as she felt her insides warm at the sight of him.
'I'm just saying, Is it difficult now to get behind and support her ideas as our secre- tary of state given your on-going divorce and differences? That must be difficult with your own personal values and ethics?' He pushed and Henry shook his head in dis- appointment at the questions
'No it's not. I am still very much a champion of Madam Secretary's work. Her work in politics has nothing to do with what was our personal relationship' He confirmed
'What was? Are you and Secretary McCord officially divorced now?' He pushed fur- ther again and Henry groaned inwardly, cruising himself for his slip of the tongue.
'Yes, we have been for a few weeks now' He confirmed, he flicked his gaze directly to the camera.
Elizabeth could have sworn in that instance he was looking directly at her, his eyes offering her an apology for his mistake live on TV. She closed her eyes and dropped her smile, she ached for him to look at her directly in the eyes like that.
'I am going to go and prepare a speech, I'll bring it back for you to check before I take it to the press conference. Ma'am' Daisy sighed and watched as Elizabeth silently nodded, unable to remove her attention from Henry.
'Well I am sure your new girlfriend Charlotte is pleased about that' He joked and Henry sighed.
'I am not in any relationship. Let me just set that record straight whilst I can. That ended recently, but ended amicably before any rumors started,' Henry warned. 'This interview has gone off topic, can we get back to discussing ethics and war? It's a much simpler topic' Henry joked and the interview nodded with a chuckle, allowing the interview to continue.
Elizabeth sat staring at him, infatuated by him, something she hadn't been for the longest time, a realization that the love she felt for him was very much still alive, that man on the screen was her Henry, the old one she fell in love with, the one she wanted. She slowly lowered her fork to her plate and leant back in her chair, smiling at the screen as he spoke passionately about ethics.
She took her right hand and placed it over her left, her fingers searching for her ring finger to play with her wedding band, searching for their old comfort blanket, the piece of Henry that lay upon her hands for more than twenty years, but there was nothing. Her reality seeping in as her mind reminded her that he was not the man he once was, how could he be after everything they'd both endured? She certainly was not the same Elizabeth. Or was he?
Could he still be the same ridiculously handsome Marine fighter pilot who could quote saints that she was smart enough to fall in love with? Or was she just lonely?