Chapter 13: Election Day
They try to enjoy "normal moments" as much as possible as they both know that if Julia is elected, "normality" will not be possible anymore.
On Saturday 19th January, they have a romantic evening together: they go to a nice small Indian Restaurant which was privatized for 2h for them to give them space and intimacy and they attend the last representation of "Romeo and Juliet" by the Royal Shakespeare Company, at the Barbican Theatre.
They both preferred the version with Richard Madden & Lily James, in 2016.
The last week of the campaign passes as a blur as they are both very busy: David is doing an internship at SO15 for 3 months and Julia to continue to convince people to vote for her and also meeting several potential candidates for her potential future government.
It's finally Friday 25th January - election day- and Julia wakes up very early. She is a nervous wreck.
"Love, come back to bed"
"I have to wake-up, get ready and go to my campaign HQ"
"Julia, it is 5 a.m. You don't have to be at your HQ before 9 a.m. Come back to bed"
"I can't David, I can't sleep. I am too nervous, excited & stressed"
"Did I say I wanted you to come back to sleep?" says David grinning mischievously.
Julia laughs & David pulls her on top of him on the bed and he attacks her mouth greedily. She melts onto him instantaneously and she kisses him back passionately. After several minutes of their lip lock and their tongue exploring each other mouths, without warning, David removes her silk night dress in one swift move, positions her on the bed on her back, gets down and starts lapping her sex practically dripping by now. It doesn't take long for her to explode all over him but he doesn't stop. He massages her breast and let his tongue exploring her folds and tracing a path from her clit to her anus. A second orgasm hits her quickly and she screams and screams, following the rhythm of the waves of pleasure taking over all her senses. At this point, she probably doesn't even remember her own name. Then David hugs her tightly in his arms and starts to pepper kisses all over her body, whilst she is slowly getting down from her high.
She finally opens her eyes again and she smiles at him.
"Thank you David. Your turn now, let's take care of the obvious bulge your boxer shorts do a very bad job at hiding" and within a second, she flips him on his back and straddles him. She removes his boxer short whilst David removes his T-Shirt. She sinks onto his sex and starts to rock around him slowly, then she speeds up and moves up & down in a rapidly frenetic rhythm. It's David's turn to lose his mind and as a third mind blowing orgasm hits her, David follows her as the feeling of her sex tightening around his cock brought him over the edge.
After 3 orgasms in a row, Julia feels much more relax and even manages to get an extra half-hour of sleep, curled up in David's arms.
She is getting ready and she is wearing her night blue "lucky pantsuit", the blue silk blouse with a bow at the front that David likes so much. She is wearing the thin necklace with the heart at the center David gave her at Christmas, the earrings she received from her beloved dad for her 20 years birthday and the shoes her mum gave her for her last birthday.
Whilst she was in the shower, David prepared her a full English breakfast as he knows she might not be able to eat anything today, with all the meetings she is facing and her nerves on top.
She thanks him warmly and they have their breakfast in silence, David knowing that her nerves are back on and that she is also trying to concentrate.
"Thank you for this delicious breakfast Darling. You are a star. Whatever happens tonight, I am a very lucky woman"
"And I am a very lucky man"
After one last kiss, Julia is out of the flat, ready to face whatever destiny throws at her, knowing that David, her rock, will be supporting her, no matter what.
After what feels like a Groundhog day and Julia biting the nose of several of her aides, Frances & David manage to reach her HQ and they are all waiting for the final results to be announced, even if all the poll results are heading in one direction: a massive victory for Julia. But Julia knows from experience that the poll are not always correct, so it doesn't help her to feel confident.
It's finally 18h and the results are announced.
The party spokesman speaks: "Ladies & Gentlemen. Here are the results of the Conservative party leadership election, following the rushed departure of John Vosler: Julia Montague gets 70% of the vote and Harry Kirk gets 30%. I am very pleased to announce we have the new Prime Minister within these premises!"
Julia is overwhelmed and is struggling to hide her true feelings and keep her politician mask on. She smiles broadly at David & her mum before being pushed on stage by her partisans. She reaches the conference desk and she lowers her arms to ask for silence and starts her thank you speech.
""I am so proud to be standing here in front of you today – as the new Prime Minister of a majority Conservative government. To the people in this room, I want to say thank you. You are the greatest team I could ever dream of. You are an amazing team and you have run the most professional campaign ever"
Applause & Cheers
"I thank all the people who voted for me today and I am undaunted in my determination to show you that you have made the right decision"
"I thank my mum & my beloved dad for always believing in me, supporting me and pushing me to fulfill my dreams and I thank my partner, David, for his endless support & for making me a better person every day.
Frances & David are beaming at her, all smiles.
"The real reason to be proud tonight, the real reason to be excited is that we will get the opportunity to serve the people of our great country and bring them real hope"
Applause & Cheers
"To the people across our wonderful country, I'm telling you now: we will not let you down.
"Thank you again for all of you who made this victory possible and now we have to deliver"
Applause & Cheers
"Now, if you excuse me, I have to leave you continue the celebrations without me, as Her Majesty the Queen is expecting me in 30 minutes. Thank you again, to all of you. We did it!"
Applause & Cheers
Julia leaves the room slowly as everybody wants to hug her, shake her hand or give her a friendly pat on the back.
Julia finally makes her way to David and kisses him deeply on the mouth regardless of the world around them. He reciprocates the kiss immediately and everybody is cheering them.
"Congratulations Julia, I am very proud of you. You did it! You reached the top position of the country. You are the most powerful woman of the United Kingdom"
Julia is then hugging Frances strongly. Frances smiles at her broadly.
"Congratulations my stronghead, brave & so intelligent daughter. Your father would be so proud of you. I am so proud of you. I love you"
"I love you too mum"
Julia is in the car on her way to Buckingham Palace and she has never felt so proud in her life. But at the same time, she also knows that there is much more in her life now: her Flying Scotsman, Ella, Charlie, her mum of course and David's family as well. She feels complete and fulfilled for the first time in her life.
She smiles at herself and she takes her notepad with the draft agenda she prepared, in case of.
The trickiest point, funnily enough, being "David", as he is not divorced yet and they are, de facto, unmarried. She knows that the Queen is more open on the divorce topic since Charles, Andrew and Anne divorced, but still, there is a protocol to respect. Even more strongly since she is now the Prime Minister. But even if Julia wants, of course, to respect protocols, she loves David and wants him by her side.
She talked about that with David the night before, she asked him bluntly: "David, what is your current position towards remarriage? As if I am elected tomorrow, it would be much easier from a protocol perspective if we are married". David looks at her lovingly and replied: "marrying you is not a matter of if, but only a matter of when, love. Of course, I would like to marry you, but please, that's all you need to know for now, don't spoil the surprise". And with that, Julia knew all she needed to know.
The car stops in front of Buckingham Palace and Julia is getting out the car to meet greetings from partisans gathered outside the Palace and lots of photographs. She waves at them and walks inside.
She enters in an Audience room in the Queen's apartments.
"Miss Montague, congratulations for your election as the new United Kingdom's Prime Minister"
"Thank you Ma'am, it's a pleasure and an honor to meet you tonight" says Julia whilst performing a curtsey and shake hands, as she greets the Queen (she has met her several times before, when she was Home Secretary, so she doesn't have to call her "Your Majesty" and she is allowed to shake hands with her).
"Let's take a seat". Julia waits the Queen is sitting in one of the sofa before sitting in the opposite sofa the Queen is pointing at her"
"I am going to have some tea, would you like some as well?"
"I would love to Ma'am, thank you"
The tea is being served quickly.
"So Miss Montague, I would like to ask you formally, after your election today, if you accept to be the United Kingdom Prime Minister and to form a government"
"Yes, I do, Ma'am"
"Great, I am very happy this wonderful country will be led by a powerful & strong woman for the second time under my reign and I am very happy you stand here today, after surviving the 2 attempts of your life"
"Thank you Ma'am"
"Do you have already chosen some members of your Government?
"I do indeed. I would like to appoint:
-George Osborne as First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Exchequer & Second Lord of the Treasury.
-Mike Travis as the Home Secretary
-Philip Hammond for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- Michael Gove as Secretary of State for Justice & Lord Chancellor
- Michael Fallon as Secretary of State for Defense
I am still discussing with some people for the other roles, I should have all the ministers for our weekly audience on Wednesday"
"These people sound all a good choice"
"I am glad"
"However, I must say I am surprised to see Mike Travis in the list, as if I remember well, he was involved in the tentative to destabilize you during your speech at St Matthews"
"He was indeed, I had an open-heart discussion with him on the topic and I want to give him a second chance, as Mike is a dedicated public servant and he did a very good job as my Home Secretary Deputy"
"I see. I am proud that you are able to show compassion and forgiveness. This is difficult for most people, but for me, this is a sign of maturity and wisdom"
"Thank you Ma'am, I must say that my partner, David Budd, has had a positive impact on me on that regard. Forgiveness in particular was not my strong suit"
The Queen laughs.
"Talking about your partner. This is not my business, and without crossing the line, I would be keen to know what your overall plans are"
"David is not divorced yet, even if he has been separated from his wife for more than 2 years when we met. They were granted a quick divorce. I know that the fact we are not married, is going to add some difficulties regarding protocol but I can assure you that we plan to get married, after his divorce will be official, early March and after respecting the delay of at least six weeks and one day from the date the Decree Nisi will be granted"
"Great, I am glad to hear that and I am very happy for you. As you know, 3 of my children divorced and 2 of them happily remarried. I wish you and David a happy remarriage"
"Thank you Ma'am"
"What do you plan to do when you move to 10 Downing Street?"
"I will deliver my acceptance speech tomorrow afternoon in front of 10 Downing Street, and David will stand with my mum and my staff members on the side. He will not be right beside me during my speech and we will not walk hand in hand towards the door of No 10 and pose for the photographs after my speech".
"This is your decision & your choice, but honestly, I wouldn't mind (and I think most of the UK people will agree with me) if he joins you after your speech and that you walk hand in hand and pose together in front of the door. You plan to marry as soon as the law allows it, this is a serious relationship and you are actually moving in together, so I don't see why it should be an issue"
Julia is very happy about that and she is beaming.
"Thank you Ma'am. I will discuss this with David tonight as he needs to be ready for another crazy level of exposure, if we do that"
The Queen laughs again
"Indeed"
"Well, thank you very much Julia, do you mind if I call you Julia, after all, we have met several times already and we are going to see each other at least on a weekly basis"
"It would be an honor, Ma'am"
"Great, well unless you wanted to talk about something else, I will let you go home and celebrate your victory"
"Thank you Ma'am. Have a good evening"
"Have a good evening Julia, and I will be delighted to meet your partner soon"
"Thank you Ma'am"
Julia is leaving Buckingham Palace feeling very happy. She is heading back to Overstrand Mansions to celebrate privately with David, Ella, Charlie and her mum. They had decorated the main room with "Congratulations" balloons and Ella & Charlie have prepared some "Congratulations" cards. David had bought a bottle of champagne and Frances had cooked her favorite dessert: île flottante, an island of meringue floating in vanilla sauce.
When they all left, Julia talks with David about her discussion with the Queen and about her proposition to handle her speech and the pictures in front of 10 Downing Street.
"OK"
"OK?"
"Yes, this sounds like a nice compromise and an honest statement as we are together, we will indeed get married when the law allows it and we will be moving in together. There is not point hiding it. People will see it on Monday anyway. And remember. Our. Choice. Right beside you"
"I love you"
"I love you too"
They kiss very lovingly.
Then Julia goes back to her office to work on her speech and that's where David found her at 2 o'clock in the morning.
"Julia, it's 2 a.m. you need to come to bed"
"David, this is the speech of my life. I can't disappoint the people and I want to make sure people believe they have made the right choice by choosing me to lead the country. This is not a 5 minutes job"
"I understand love, but you also need to sleep enough to be in good form & have enough energy to deliver your speech. And also you don't want bags under your eyes on all the pictures"
"But.."
David interrupts her: "Bed woman!" to quote Denis Thatcher. It's part of my role to make sure you have enough sleep & enough sex as well by the way"
They both laugh.
"Now, we are talking Sergeant Budd. Let's celebrate properly in our bed"
And so they do.