46 tests positive

Together Again

Jill opened the door before Joe even had a chance to step out of the car.

She shifted impatiently from foot to foot as the agents eased open the heavy bulletproof door and staff fussed around him, obscuring him from her view. Fifteen long days and even longer nights had passed since she had seen him with her own eyes. In person. Had actually seen him. Not via an iPhone screen, or a computer screen or a television screen. Fifteen days since she had touched him.

Her husband.

Her partner.

Her best friend.

Her mind was spinning. A wave of memories flooded her brain. Thoughts flashed across her mind. Highlights of  their relationship. What he meant to her. Special moments. Their three children. The whole family in Nantucket. Nights at home when he rubbed her neck, sore and tired from long days teaching, nights studying. She saw his joy, their delight as he handed her her Doctorate; her proudest achievement, made possible by his insistence, his never ending support, his constant belief in her. She remembered him whispering to her; 'that's my girl' as he leaned down to kiss her when she came off stage still buzzing, unable to believe she had addressed hundreds of people at the convention. She remembered him holding her in the depths of her despair, and in the dizzy heights of glory. She saw his hand on the Bible, three, four, five, six times. The last time two January's ago when the country was crying out for leadership. When Joe stepped up. When they both came face to face with their destiny.

Her man.

Her lover.

Her Joe.

She swallowed, feeling like she had a golf ball lodged in her throat. She shook her head, trying to focus, to concentrate, pressed her shaking hands to her lips. She thought about shouting for them all to move out of her way dammit; but resisted, for now. She saw through the tangle of legs standing between her and the car, caught sight of his leg emerging, stretching down to set foot on the ground. She caught a flash of the early morning sun reflecting off the frames of his sunglasses. She caught a glimpse of his hand leaving the doorframe of the car. She thought the agents would never move. The moments were interminable.

She had dug deep over the past couple of weeks, some days really struggling to deal with the situation. With their separation. The fear, the worry, the loneliness, the doubts, the longing. The ache to hold him, to see him with her own eyes, to be sure that he was ok. She had hung on by her fingertips some days. Others were more bearable, only because ultimately they led towards this moment.

These men and women were there to protect him, were prepared to give their lives for him, for her, for her family but, she swore to herself, if they didn't move out of her way in the next five seconds ...

And then it happened.

The agents standing in front of him parted. It was as if they created a passageway, a true line of sight, leading directly from her to him. Her eyes were drawn down the line in an instant to where he stood. Tall and elegant, and healthy. Her vision swept over him from head to foot. She was giddy as she sought to focus on him.

In that glorious moment it happened.

The longest separation they had endured since they met almost half a century ago, five decades, was finally at an end. She heard his name slip past her lips and float towards him, taking her breath with it.

He reached his hands up to his face and slipped his aviators off. His huge gorgeous smile split his face, he held his arms out, open, calling her to him. She ran, paying no heed to the fact that she was barefoot. Within four paces he had his arms around her, was lifting her, she felt her feet leave the ground and her knees grip his hips, he spun her around, her blond hair hiding their faces behind a golden veil.