'Ready?' Joe asked.
'Ready', Jill replied.
Slipping her hand into the crook of his arm she pulled him closer. This morning, after all of the work and preparation the moment was almost here. Since they woke up she'd felt a curious sense of disconnect. They were in a hiatus, that unknown time between planning and hosting. There really was nothing much to do until they arrived.
At breakfast Joe had insisted she sit down and take some extra time. He'd been so solicitous towards her, listening to her talk yet again about the details of the State dinner, the sleeping arrangements in Blair house, the meals and trips and exhibitions arranged for the Macrons and the members of the delegation.
Now, waiting for the car to turn into the White House property she was ready to share this amazing moment with her husband. It was them against the rest of the world and she wanted to feel the proximity of his body, the scent of his cologne, wanted to be as close to him as possible, physically and emotionally. He looked down at her and they smiled broadly at one another.
The morning was cold, bright, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. In a moment the first State visit of their presidency would be underway. The space around them seemed to fizz with excitement, nerves, trepidation. Everyone had put so much work into this and now the moment was almost here.
Joe cast a last glance around at senior staff, household staff, office staff. Felt it was the moment to step up, say a few words.
Holding Jill's hand in his he turned to face the assembled team. 'We're all as prepared as we possibly can be. Thank you all for what you've done, what you're gonna do and please, enjoy this as best you can' he said. He received mumbled replies, shuffles, grins. The whole gambit of nervous ticks and habits. He smiled at them all. 'I mean it guy's, take a breath. You all know what you're doin'.
'And as for you', he said quietly rubbing his nose against his wife's with such tenderness she couldn't help but sigh in happiness. 'You have been absolutely amazing and you're gonna be a tremendous hostess. This is all gonna go so smoothly because you've put so much work into it for so many weeks. I'm so proud of you babe. So proud to walk out there with you beside me. You make me complete in every way and I love you so much', he said gently rubbing his hand down her face with such tenderness she felt her knees wobble.
'Mr. President, Madam First Lady, the car will be here in three minutes' the usher told them.
Joe quickly kissed his wife, straightened his back, jutted his chin out, ran his hand down the lapel of his suit coat, slipped his thumb in at the joining above the button and pulled down, feeling the material pull across his shoulders and chest. Discreetly, out of habit on these big occasions he looped his thumb inside his belt, checking the button on his pants was tied, let his fingers run down the zip. The cameras would catch everything, the last thing he needed was an open zip and the white of his shirt peeping through, or worse.
Beside him Jill let him run through his routine then looked up at him. So handsome, so presidential.
As the announcer called them and the band struck up Hail to the Chief they walked, hand in hand into the glorious day.
Joe reached across and poured the tea. He handed the saucer and filled cup to Brigitte, then another to Jill, then Emmanuel before he fixed his own. The usher hovered nearby. Desperately wanting to carry out the task himself, knowing that he couldn't possibly interrupt the president as he did so. Joe replaced the silver pot on its stand and sat back in his chair, wishing that he and Jill could share the sofa and not have the four of them sitting individually in these high backed armchairs, knowing that etiquette dictated such matters.
They chatted formally at first, then more informally as staff left them and they began to reminisce about previous times together, incidents in other world capitals.
