by King, Imani
“Funny,” I said. “Someone told me that you were going to do that.”
“Oh yeah? Who was that?” He looked over at me, his blue eyes on mine, making sweet heat pour through my body.
“No one you know, honey.” I brought my hand to my belly, thinking of the girl with the golden curls and what she might say about all of this.
Silly Mama. Silly Daddy. You were winning this all along.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
November 2, 2016
Six Days until Election Day
“They’re ready for you, Mr. Reynolds—and Mrs. Reynolds.
“It’s Mills still. But I’ll accept it, Kell,” I said. We stood in the empty cavern of John’s office. It was no longer filled with the feeling of hope and opportunity. The air seemed heavier, more pressing. I took his hand. As long as we had each other, this press conference would be okay.
“Hopefully it will be Mr. Senator and Mrs. Senator soon, am I right?” Kelly winked at us.
“We’re still not so sure about that,” I said. “But whatever the case, we’ll be together.” I squeezed his hand, and he took a deep breath.
“Okay,” he said. He looked to me. “We’ve got this, baby.”
“Wait one second.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, taking in his comforting scent. I brought my hands to his blue and red tie and straightened it. The tie brought out the blue of his eyes, and the red—well it was nearly presidential. “Okay, I think we’re ready now.” Hand in hand, we walked out of John’s office and down the hallway. Outside, there were perhaps two-dozen reporters—but inside, Janice sat in one of the plastic chairs we kept for visitors.
“Janice.” John nodded toward his ex-wife. Whenever I’d seen her before, even in her public appearances, she has looked angry. Now, she just looked tired, like a woman on the brink of defeat.
“John,” she said, looking up at him and then glancing to my growing belly. “Congratulations, to the both of you,” she said flatly. “It certainly looks like you’ve won.”
“If that’s the case, then you’ve made your own bed, Janice. That’s all I can say,” Kelly said. She crossed her arms and turned away from Janice. John put his hand up.
“I take it you just issued your formal apology?” John asked.
“I have,” she said. “And damn you, John. If you’d just stayed silent, if you hadn’t run… I never would have had to stoop to this.”
“You didn’t need to stoop to it, no matter what, Janice. You’re better than this, and I hope you find that out.” She shook her head.
“That stupid kid you sent to my campaign was easily bribed. And so was that idiot woman, Sabrina. She actually thought she might marry the handsome Senator from Virginia.” Janice rolled her eyes and hunched into herself.
“And it was just as easy to get them to hand us all the proof we needed to get you for good. Apparently they value their reputations in politics more than they valued their loyalty to you,” said John. I squeezed his hand. Janice looked up at us, a woman sad and defeated.
“Can I exit from the back door? Would that be too much to ask?”
“You go right on,” John said. Janice walked down the hall and out of the back door, her heels clicking on the hardwood. Hand in hand, John and I walked out to the audience before us. We were still under examination, the subject of horrible gossip. But united, we stood before the American people. John raised my hand and his above our heads, lights flashing to take our picture. I stood next to him, smiling, a ring with three diamonds on my finger, and my other hand resting on my belly. After a flurry of bright flashes, the reporters silenced and looked to us with curious eyes. John cleared his throat and began.
“You may be wondering what all the fuss is about. This beautiful woman—my wife—has been the subject of vicious scrutiny. She has been brilliant, unwavering in her support… and she’s utterly irreplaceable. Both to me, and to my campaign. There are too few honest people in politics, but she is one of them. And she’s made me a better man.
“As for the rumors, as for the horrible things people have said, none of these things are true. Ours is a marriage based on love. Yes, we married as a protection measure for the campaign. But I was a fool that day I asked her to marry me—I didn’t tell her the most important thing of all. I didn’t tell her that I loved her and that I couldn’t imagine my life without her.” John paused for a moment and looked to me. Beads of tears formed in my eyes. I wiped them away and stepped forward, adrenaline flooding my body.
“A few of you have seen the video I posted—” There was laughter from the reporters. I knew that every one of them had seen it. It was posted all over the internet and had been shared thousands upon thousands of times on social media. And I couldn’t turn on CNN for fear of seeing my own face. “And I meant every word. Like many couples, we flirted with disaster. We went to an edge where we didn’t know if we’d stay together. But it’s clear to me now that John and I are a team, that we were searching for each other all along. And for what it’s worth, I know that John is the smartest, most hardworking politician in America. You’ll be seeing me by his side when he wins this election. It’s time for a third party to take hold in this country, and I hope that John and his fellow Independent candidates across the nation will help that party thrive.” I stood up on my toes and kissed his cheek again. John took me into his arms and kissed me on the lips, nearly making me fall down the beautiful steps of the old Alexandria home. The reporters went wild, the flashes so bright that we had to close our eyes.
In the following days, the picture of our kiss would show up all over The Washington Post, and our speech would be repeated and replayed until we grew sick of our own words.
But it was no matter. We had already won. From the moment we met, we’d found exactly what our lives had been missing. It just took us a while to realize that we were stronger together—we made each other better, allowed each other to grow and thrive.
We spent that next week together, making plans for our future and moving into the old mansion in Alexandria. After all, it wouldn’t be a campaign office much longer—and my studio apartment wasn’t an ideal place for a growing family.
The evening of the election, I held John’s hand tight as we sat in front of the TV in John’s office, watching votes pour in from all over the state. All around us, our supporters walked about, sipping champagne and talking about the future of the country. Just like always with John, the world faded out around us, and it seems like it was only him, sitting in the room next to me.
“We’ll turn into a boring old married couple if I don’t win this thing.”
“I doubt that. I have plenty of plans,” I said. “I’m interested in lobbying for the addition of Congressmen and women in the District.”
“Oh God help us. You’d probably do it. Change two hundred years of taxation without representation?”
“Exactly. I might get to work on it while you’re in office.”
“While I’m in office? Pshaw, woman. The votes aren’t in yet.” I looked to the TV and grabbed John’s arm. “They’re going to call! John! They’re going to call it for Virginia!” The room hushed, responding to my enthusiasm.
“And it looks like, ladies and gentlemen, the state of Virginia has its newest Senator—John Gregory Reynolds.” The newscaster prattled on about the race, and I heard the word “scandal” mentioned more than a few times. But I was up and dancing around, pulling John into my arms and spinning him around. Cheers rose up from our fans, and we stayed up late into the night, falling later into our own bed in our own house, so very far away from the scandal that had made us a family.
EPILOGUE
Inauguration Day, 2024
I stepped up to the mic. John put his arm around me, and Jessamyn ran to my side, her arms thrown around my waist. Kelly had finally gotten me into a full Carolina Herrara dress for the occasion, and for once, I couldn’t deny her girly touch.
I put my fingers in the golden brown silk of Jessamyn’s curly hai
r, a quick vision of her from seven years ago coming back to my mind. I never much believed in visions, but on that night, Jessamyn was as real as any person I’d ever seen. She’d been brave for both of us all these years, coming into the world in a rush of fury and beauty. When I first held her in my arms, I saw that gold in her hair. And I knew. She was the girl Daddy called his little Jessie, and she’d been the miracle that brought us together.
I looked at John, my heart still racing. It had been quite a year on the road, and I still didn’t love making public appearances, even as the presidential campaign manager. He winked at me, mouthing silently, “You got this.” I cleared my throat.
“Today, ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you as your newest First Lady, and the second woman of color to ever stand in this place. I don’t know if it will be as exciting as having former President Bill Clinton as the First Gentleman, but I can promise that we’ll be having him for dinner from time to time.” The audience laughed, and I glanced at John again. Jessamyn held me tight, and from her I drew the power to acknowledge the path that lead us here. “A lot of you followed the gloriously exciting scandal that lead us all to this place. Honestly, if I knew who John was, I never would have gone up to speak to him when we first met. But fate has a way of leading you exactly where you’re meant to be, and I’m grateful that I married a man who is dedicated to changing this country for the better, a man who invested in love for his wife, for his unborn child, and for the great country that he will lead with grace and rigor.”
“I’m proud of the woman that I am. I know there are many who scorn me, many who see my relationship with John as a threat to their way of life. But look at us. We are the face of the American family, the face of the American future. I’m a strong, proud black woman who worked hard to get her man into office. Don’t worry — I won’t be behind closed doors in the White House. You’ll see my face wherever there are people to be helped, good politicians to be supported, and voices longing to be heard. ‘First Lady’ isn’t seen as a career, but I’m proud to say that I will make it mine. And alongside John Gregory Reynolds, I will lead this country into a new era… one with fair wages, solid education for our boys and girls, programs that support veterans as they return home, and the support that our urban communities so desperately need. John doesn’t waver in the face of adversity, and neither do I. For each difficult decision he has to make, I’ll be at his side, reminding him of the man that he is.” Palms sweating and pulse pounding, I stepped back from the microphone. I looked to John again, and saw tears in his eyes. I reached out and held his hand, raising our joined hands high for the country to see. There was a pause, followed by the flashes of a thousand cameras, capturing this moment for the pages of history.
And then there was applause. Uproarious, wild, whooping and hollering. Even on this cold, misty day, our country had come out in the hundreds of thousands to greet us on John’s first day in office. I lifted Jessamyn to my hip, and she threw her arms around me as John stepped back up to the microphone.
“They like you, Mama. Did you feel me being brave for you?”
“Yes, sweetheart, I did,” I whispered back, burying my face in those golden curls and planting a kiss on the perfect apple of her cheek. “And it doesn’t matter if they like me, baby. What matters is that you and me and Daddy are here to make the world a better place.”
“But still, they like you. I can tell.” Her green eyes locked on mine, and I saw the truth deep in her words. I heard John clear his throat again. Damn that man. He’d gotten us into this crazy life, and I’d be the one making him hot tea to sooth his throat tonight. But still, he looked mighty handsome in his presidential get up. The red and blue tie suited him, even if it wasn’t half undone and carelessly sexy as all hell. He was a different kind of sexy now… the kind that comes when you’ve found your truest path, when you’ve found your family and made it yours. There was more salt than pepper in his hair now, and I expected to see it gray at the end of eight years, or even four. But it was worth it to stand by his side and recognize the role I’d played for this day. Without us, John never would have become this man. And without him, I never would have become the woman, the mother, the masterful and confident campaign planner that I was meant to be, either.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my wife. I’m sure you’ll be delighted that you’ll see plenty of her in the years to come. Without her, I wouldn’t be here today. And without the scandal that led us together, well, we wouldn’t be half as interesting.” More laughter from the audience. I smiled and threw my head back laughing. No one could keep us down. I was damn proud to be standing next to a man who acknowledged his past and made room for the future. The audience went wild, and John and I walked hand in hand off the stage. I would have to change into my next Carolina Herrara get up for the first inaugural ball, but before then, maybe we could sit together for a spell and look out across the mall. Jessamyn was perfect in her black and gold dress that I’d had specially designed. I pulled John into a hallway backstage and sank down on a bench before we could get cornered again. There were a lot more speeches to be made, and for now I just needed quiet. Jessamyn bounded into my lap and pulled all three of us into a hug.
“I’m so proud of you Daddy! You did great today.”
“Your mom did too, didn’t she? I think they like her style.”
“Well, they like Aunt Kelly’s style. Isn’t this her dress?” John and I both laughed.
“Well said. I think Aunt Kelly will probably have a lot more to say about what I need to be wearing in the next few years. And maybe I’ll listen… sometimes. But I think a lot of people will be looking at you, Jessamyn.”
“Our little Jessie. The prettiest girl in the whole world. Did I ever tell you about the night I met your mama? Well, until you came along, I thought your mama was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life.”
“Yes,” Jessamyn sighed. “You’ve both told me over and over about the night you met. Except you said there were parts you had to leave out since I’m too little.”
“Well, let me tell you again, Jessie,” said John. “Your mama walked into that place, and I was sad and feeling lonely. I didn’t know if I’d made the right choice to try for Senator, but once I saw her, none of that mattered. It was like all the unhappiness in the world was left to the side, and all that was left was your mother. I was a goner when I saw her. A goner.” I punched John lightly on the arm.
“And he told me his name was John. Oh my god, I was so angry when I found out I’d be working for him the next day.”
“You told me your name was Desiree,” John said, nearly choking on his laugh. Jessamyn rolled her eyes.
“I’ve heard it all like a thousand times. Now can we please get to the one ball I can go to before my bed time? I don’t understand why I can’t go to them all! It’s just one night!”
“Oh Jessie, it’s important for you to get your rest,” said John. “And Mama and I do need a date night.” I looked into those midnight blue eyes, and that same shock ran through me, the shock of when we first met. That beautiful feeling that all was right in the world, and every need of mine would be truly fulfilled.
“Well, okay then, let’s get going,” said Jessamyn, getting up and trying to pull me by the hand.
“First, Mama and Daddy just need a moment, sweetheart,” I said, brushing her gorgeous hair with my fingers. Jessamyn smiled and started twirling, running up and down the hall in delight, flashes of gold following her.
“You know, that day you left…” said John.
“Yeah I know that day.”
“I know. But there’s something I never told you,” John continued. “It sounds crazy, but I had a dream, just like it was real. It was Jessie in her gold dress, and she told me that you were her mama, and we were a family.”
“That sounds plenty crazy,” I said, watching Jessamyn twirl. Her bright green eyes looked in our direction, checking to see if we were still watching her. “But somehow, I do believe you
. That kid is magic. Look at where she got us.” A secret service agent peeked around the wall, his face blank. He lowered his sunglasses.
“Mr. President, they’re ready for you now. If you and the First Family will come with me, we can escort you to the transport to the first inaugural ball.”
