It's been almost a year since Joseph's last visit. It's understandable- of course. He's busy helping form what is still a very new democracy, at only seven years old. They only finished building their capital building last month, and parliament finalized their constitution a year ago- so it's safe to say a full transfer of governmental power from the crown to the capital building isn't a process that can be compressed into just a year like Joseph has originally planned.
His heart was in the right place though- and still is. During the time that he had full power, homosexuality was legalized and he completely got rid of all of his fathers sexist policies. The most memorable event these past few years involving him- one that just about the entire world had their tv's on to watch- was when he ordered that a prison his father built( a.k.a it was just a giant torture chamber) be demolished. Almost half of the country was there that day, cheering as the symbol of tyranny fell. Joseph and members of parliament stood off to the side- letting the people have their moment, but afterwards- he shook hands with the prime minister and each member of parliament to congratulate them on their elections.
He opened up trade- which his father had almost completely closed. The first trucks that came in contained massive amounts of books- all of the books that his father would've rolled over in his grave at.
Parliament is set to vote on legalizing gay marriage in just four weeks. It's expected to pass in a landslide- but we're still crossing our fingers. As much as we want to have faith in them, these are people who were raised- most of them for thirty years or more- to believe that gay people should be stoned.
I think finding out their king was gay changed a lot of minds quickly, though- since they'd also been conditioned to believe that the crowned prince or king should be worshipped like a god. Joseph didn't want that, of course. He instantly rolled back any laws requiring citizens to speak only kindly of the royal family, and opened the castle for anybody to tour.
There's even talk about them joining the United Nations, but if they do- that's at least ten more years into the future.
Yesterday, Kyle managed to calm Mina down long enough to tell her her brother was visiting. She's still reasonably upset with us, but at least shes not yelling at me now. I Stand in front of the mirror, contemplating my decision. Did I make a huge mistake?
Well- either way, it's done now. I can't just go back and say "lol jk". I'm in it until we win or lose.
I tap on Marisol's name for what's probably the tenth time in the past twenty four hours. It rings for about thirty seconds before going to voicemail, so I try again- my heart beating fast. No answer.
I give up and click on Joe's name instead. He- at least, picks up. "Why hello friend." He says."Trying to get to my wife through me?"
"Something like that-" I admit. "Is she home?"
"She doesn't want to talk to you. I've tried to tell her it has nothing to do with her but she's still pissed." He replies.
"Joe- please." I hear him sigh on the other end and call her into the room.
"Honey- the campaign manager wants to talk to you about something." He lies.
There's silence on the other end while the phone's being transferred from his hand to hers, but when she picks up- I'm reminded of how much I miss calling her my friend.
"What is it, Kayla?" She answers.
"It's me- please don't hang up."
Silence.
"Marisol?"
"I have nothing to say to you." She replies.
"Fine- the just.. listen. You saw that David's other picks for Vice President were men, I just wanted to make this a historic election and... if he and I do win, help fix the problems this world still has. That's it. Me running has nothing to do with you." I continue.
"Christ Lauren- whether you realize it or not, it does. I mean- a former First Lady running on the opposing ticket from the fucking Vice President under her spouses administration? That's some bullshit and you know it. It's the only reason you called me in the first place, right?"
"Marisol-"
"And while we're at it, every fucking election doesn't have to be historic!"
"An election pool like this might've never came again!" I yell. "Shit- a former Vice President/ President and the last remaining blood descendant of Abraham Lincoln on the same ticket? A former senate majority leader and First Lady on the other? In case you haven't realized, that's a big fucking deal!"
"No shit- but if you hadn't decided to run my win would've been almost guaranteed! There could have been an elected female president in 2032 and that's historic enough! Did you think about that?"
"Marisol-" she hangs up on me.
She's right and wrong at the same time. Welp- there goes that friendship. Oops. We're supposed to meet Joseph at the airport in an hour, so I give up on trying to stay friends with my political opponent- at least for now.
I slip the same flats on I've worn almost every day for a year and go downstairs to Kyle and Mina. We wait on the motorcade to be prepared for a few minutes before we're allowed to get in- and on the way there, Mina can't stay still. She's like this when she's excited, nervous, or both.
He might as well be her only living blood relative, after all. Her fathers execution date is set for later this year- thought right now, it's looking like it's going to be delayed for another year while his lawyer tries to argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional. Spoiler alert- it's not, but the courts still have to entertain his arguments.
We're at the airport in ten minutes- way too early, so I decide to- despite the secret service's protests, walk to the public terminals and talk to people while Kyle and Mina wait in the VIP lounge. It was built after Williams's administration, and is only open to former presidents and their families, retired high ranking government officials, and current government officials from other countries. Every now and then, senators and representatives are given the clearance to be in there- currently though, the only one whose high profile enough is Ally. Sometimes I swear she's on drugs, because she's always happy, and her skin is always perfect- even after the house has pulled all nighters.
Today though- it'll just be us in there, with the exception of secret service and airport security. I don't know what I was expecting when I walked out into the general area of the airport, but everybody stops to look at me and some whisper to those with headphones in to look up.
"Lauren Wells?" One says. "What are you doing out here?"
I smile. "Well I had a little bit of free time- figured I'd use it to talk to voters. Tell me- who do you plan on voting for?"
"I like... all four of you." The woman replies. "And it's early so... I'm undecided." A few seem to nod their heads in agreement.
"So what... particular issues do you agree and not agree with the two parties on?" I ask.
"The green party's whole 'save the planet' thing is great and all, but the ones child policy'll never work." Another says. "As much as I agree with you on the homelessness problem... you've admitted you don't have a solid financial plan yet and- both you and David have said you're working on it- but that doesn't tell us anything."
"You're right." I agree with him- to his surprise. "But I can promise you that a financial plan will be unveiled way before Election Day- it's just that.. really solidifying the plans'll take time. This campaign'll keep all of it's promises. Yes?" I ask a guy sitting a few feet away. He looks like he has something to say.
"Regardless of how long ago it happened.... how are you... tolerating being around the man that fucked your husband?"
"Well I think I've answered that question many, many times already-" I stand up a bit straighter. "But to answer it again- my initial reaction to seeing that video, like all of you- was anger. When I realized how old it was, and that it came from a time period where we were... broken up, I couldn't being myself to be angry any longer. Our relationship is not perfect but we've been together for thirty years and he is my soulmate. As for David- we're not really even friends, but we respect each other's work and that's why he chose me."
"You don't think it's a subconscious admission that he still feels guilty?" The guy raises an eyebrow.
"No, I don't -" I start dating before my phone rings. "Excuse me."
I press my finger to the chip reader on the main VIP lounge's entrance, and look at the caller ID. "Lolita? What's up?"
"The polls. Look at the polls." She hangs up without another explanation. She sounds half worried- Half relieved at the same time. I hesitantly open the news app on my phone, and sure enough- five minutes ago- the first election polls were posted by express daily. I put my hand on the screen, not looking at the graphics before I click on the article.
Slowly- I move my hand away, and my eyes widen. Shit. We're ahead- but not by nearly as much as we want to be. I look again, refreshing the page over and over again- expecting it to be different for some reason.
Nope. We're still polling at fifty four percent.
—one year ago—
"Jay!" Mina excitedly says as she hugs her brother for the first time in years. They have numerous nicknames for each other- to the point where even I get confused sometimes. He tightly hugs her back. To him, this trip is a welcome distraction from the stress of being the youngest king in history. As of now, Ordaia still considers both him and the prime minister to be world leaders, since they're in the transition period now. It's taken much longer that he'd hoped to fully transfer power- though what's been considered as the transition period should be over soon.
I smile at the sight of the two. They FaceTime almost daily, but not for very long. He almost always gets pulled away for some reason. When he lets her go, his eyes turn to me. I motion for her to give us a minute and she nods, going into the other room.
"How's she doing?" He asks.
"She's... great. Mostly A's, she's been volunteering at the animal shelter."
"Of course she is-" he laughs. "But .. I mean- what does she do for fun? She never wants to talk about herself."
"She writes papers on why the United States government still sucks. She...volunteers... for fun. Let's just say- if there's a heaven, that kid's going to it." I reply.
"Yeah that... sounds like her." He nods.
He looks like he hasn't slept in years- but now that I'm examining his face more closely, he almost looks guilty. I can't help but feel a motherly instinct towards him- even though he looks a lot like his father and is a grown ass adult. As Mina's brother, he feels like a sort of... half child?
He may look like his dad, but they're nothing alike. "Jay- what's the matter?" I ask, and he almost breaks down.
"There was a palace servant when I was a child that.. was pretty much my mother before my father had her killed because she forgot his laundry one time. Lauren... you look exactly like her." He says.
"Well..." I reply, sitting down. "I may not be your biological mother... but I can promise that I'll always be there for... both of you."
—
I know I shouldn't be this worried, with us just announcing the ticket, but I can't help myself. Kyle's elections were- for the most part, clear wins from the beginning. Here David and I are- only six points ahead- meaning that with the undecided voters- if the election were today, it could go either way.
Our first campaign stop is in two weeks and six days- so I tell myself I should save my energy for then. We have more time to prepare our speeches for that than we did for the announcement, so it should be even better.
I sigh, rejoining Kyle and Mina on one of the larger couches in the VIP room. An attendee who was pre-approved by secret service offers snacks, which Mina gladly takes. I stare out of the large glass wall facing the private jets runway, and slowly sip on a glass of rosé. His jet arrives a few minutes later than expected.
It's relatively small- but I've been inside of it before. The saying " beautiful on the inside, ugly on the outside" definitely applies to that jet. Like always, he smiles and shakes the hands of reporters, stopping to answer their questions. That's the thing that really, really sets him apart from his father. Treating people with respect- even those who don't deserve it.
When he's finally able to get away from them, his security escorts him in. Mina stands up, counting the seconds between him getting into the elevator and it opening up with him standing inside. Immediately- she throws her arms around him. "Mina-" he happily says. "I heard that you cussed your principal out again."
"Absolutely." She replies.
"Did he deserve it?"
"Oh, one hundred percent."
"High five." He holds his hand up, and she slaps it. "Is there a restaurant around here I haven't tried yet?"
"There's a diner a few miles away run by this really sweet old couple." She replies.
He smiles again. "Well then, let's go."
——-
We sit in a booth now, other customers sneaking glances at us constantly. Two secret service have let themselves into the kitchen to make sure they don't poison us- another standard safety protocol. I get that they can't take any chances, but fuck. The cook is another older lady who looks like she wouldn't hurt a fly.
Mina and I have been here a few times- all when I was just the FBI director, so then- we could just order and the food would be out in a normal amount of time. Now, with the agents standing in the tiny kitchen with her- watching her every move, it takes ten minutes longer. Not her fault, of course- it's just the way it is now.
The way it's going to be for at least ten more years if the campaign is as successful as we hope it'll be. "...going to parliaments final hearing for the legalization?" I hear Kyle say, and tune myself in to the conversation.
"Maybe-" Joseph shrugs. "But if I do it'll just be to observe. I'm not going to try and.. influence elected officials."
"That's stupid." Mina responds. "You're literally an engaged gay king- and one of a country that hasn't been the most accepting in the past. So yeah, I'd pressure the shit out of them if I were you."
"Mina-"I give her the look.
"It's fine-" He says. "It's just... I don't want to use my influence to force fifty years of progress into just ten years."
"I would." She mouths a thank you to the waitress as she sets our drinks down.
The waitress hesitates for a second, intimidated by secret service's presence. "What's your name?" I ask.
"It's Uhm.. Nessa." She nervously replies.
"Nessa-" I notice a campaign staff Rodriguez- Lincoln 2032 pin barely peeking out of her jacket. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
She nods, and I slide out of the booth. We step into a back room- away from people, Ella following us. I close the door. "Why is it that you're voting for who you're voting for?"
She smiles. "Marisol's my cousin."
"But do you agree with her policies?"
"She's family." Ness says.
I shoot a look at Ella that says "Turn around and plug your ears so you can pass a polygraph test", and she listens.
"How close would you say you two are?" I ask.
"She's like a best friend.. most of the time."
"Most of the time?"
"She can be...bitchy." Ness replies. I look back at Ella to make sure she's still looking at the wall, and pull my checkbook out of my pocket.
"You're what- twenty five? Working two minimum wage jobs in the most expensive city in the world- one of which is only guaranteed for the next two years?" I say.
".....What do you want?" She sighs.
"I was thinking that- maybe, in exchange for any juicy information you might have on her- we could have a bit of a.. financial arrangement." I reply.
This feels so wrong. I can feel myself slowly turning into a politician- but oh well. There's no point in sitting around contemplating the shitty things you've done- since nobody's perfect anyways. My criminal immunity'll expire in six months- so I might as well take advantage of it as much as possible. Nessa looks at me like she's not sure she heard me right.
I raise an eyebrow, waiting on her answer.
"How much money are we talking about here?" She asks.
"A hundred thousand now. Ten thousand for any valuable bit of information the campaign can use against her." I reply as I'm writing the check. I hand it to her, turning back around as I walk out the room. "See if you can get anything out of her this week. Our tv ads air next month."
—
By the time I've returned to the table our food's arrived. Kyle glances at me, saying "what took so long?" With his eyes.
"I'll tell you later." I mouth. For the rest of the meal- it's mostly Mina and her brother taking- understandably. She told me how close they used to be when she was younger- and how now- they're still close, but since they don't see each other in person very often it's faded.
"You know, the palace renovations are almost done and so is the capital building, so if you wanted to come visit Ordaia for a day or two sometime in the next month would be a great time to do it." Joseph says.
I look up from my food. She hasn't been there since she left. "Is it...safe?" Kyle asks.
"She's a former royal with United States secret service protection. She'll be as safe as it gets." He promises. "We've built additional- updated guest rooms if you two want to come too. They'll be ready by the first."
Mina glances at me. "Can I?" Her eyes ask. Kyle and I glance at each other, a thousand word conversation occurring in just a few seconds.
"Sure- l'll have to look at my campaign schedule but I'm sure I can get it cleared for a few days either way." I reply. She knows just as well as I do that Kyle's retired and only leaves the house when he has to, so they don't both asking if he has the time. Him needing a long break was a long time coming- but that month really cemented it. I took almost two years off of working before the official vetting process started for my position as FBI director- and their was one thing those psychiatrists agreed on: I was the type of person who just didn't stop.
I've always been like that too. During the first year, when Kyle was sleeping in and doing just a few public appearances a year for various charities- I was still supposed to be in "mental recovery", according to my doctors. Strange thing is- mentally, I felt fine. I used that time to start my part of the book- and Kyle soon picked up on his. For most of his life, Kyle'd force himself to just not stop. That month was his breaking point - what made him realize he would've been much more suited just being an activist and. A Senator. Not that he wasn't an amazing president, he was just so tired all the time because he didn't know when to tell people he was done for the day.
It's undeniable that we're both slightly mentally ill- but the good kind. We both have traumatic events that happened to us very young- so scientifically, there's no doubt it's affected both of our personalities in a way that's made us want to help people so they never have to feel that sort of pain. If I could rid the entire world of suffering by absorbing it into myself- I would.
So when we're finally home and alone- Joseph in the guest house and Mina asleep in her room on the other end of the house, I tell him every word of the conversation I had with Nessa. For a split second, he actually looks disappointed.
"You.. got a campaign mole..." his voice trails off.
"Yep." I say from the bathroom as I slip out of the clothes I've been wearing for almost fourteen hours. I grab my robe off of a chair's back and quickly tie it in the front. I leave my bedside light on as I lay beside him, turning on my side. Our eyes are now less than an inch away- just the way I like it.
Every time I look into those eyes- I'm reminded of the person I met thirty years ago. He's changed with age just like every other human on the planet- but his goal has always been the same: help people. It didn't matter if it was through volunteer work- being the tiebreaker in a school board vote that would provide free lunches to all New York City students, donating blood as the Governor and president- which encouraged almost a hundred thousand more donations, keeping America out of wars by refusing to bomb innocent civilians, creating a sense of unity among senators, traveling to advocate for human rights around the world, beating the biggest threat to human rights in his presidential election, or eliminating most adoption fees- because, in his words- "Nobody should have to buy a child like they're property".
I haven't done too bad with public speaking myself. I've tried to donate blood a couple of times and succeeded- except for that one time I fainted because my dumbass decided to look at it while the needle was going in. In the past fifteen or so years, nineteen of my speeches have gone viral. Some were considered more controversial than others in certain countries that still fall behind, but it was all things that needed to be said- things that I have never and will never apologize for. World leaders don't usually take too kindly to being called out on their shit- though some have learned to accept when they've fucked up these past few years.
All of my nicknames- most being positive, come from me having no filter. There's one video clip of me calling the French president an Islamaphobic piece of shit at a charity event against discrimination while he was sitting directly in my line of sight. Another one of me telling a homophobic British parliament members off to his face.
Kyle sighs. "Welp... I had one of our ambassadors assassinated to use as a distraction."
We both stars up at the ceiling, hands intertwined. For almost the minutes, we don't say anything- but he's the one that end up breaking the silence.
"We're not good people, are we?"
I breathe out deeply. I guess it really depends on who you ask. The homeless man we helped build a house for would probably give you a different answer than the ambassador's children- just as a little girl somewhere that I've inspired would give you a different one that the family of the drug lord I put in jail a few years ago- him being the only provider for a family of seven. In the end though- if you put the lists of fucked up things next to wholesome things, the latter would be longer. I shake my head.
"I'd like to think we are."