On her return later than evening, Jill searched the residence but couldn't seem to find her husband anywhere. Meeting an usher in the corridor she asked if he knew where the president was.
'In the kitchen ma'am, he's chatting with Chef', came the reply. She smiled, of course he is, she thought as she set off to find him.
'Joe?' she called softly into the large space, stainless steel and industrial size fridges blocking her view. Joe approached quickly, eyes bright, face beaming. 'Hey babe, you're back to me', he said, striding towards her with arms wide open.
She stepped closer and he enveloped her in a huge hug. Immediately she felt safe, secure in his arms. As she stood there the conversation with Louis came back to her, swirling around in her head. Thoughts of intrigue and the assault, of shadows lurking in the background, the painting, and the war and events in Italy all seemed to wash across her in a wave and she held on for a moment longer, her fingers gripping his shirt. She felt him pause, allowing her to set the pace. 'All ok?' he asked quietly. She nodded, her cheek brushing against the soft cotton of his shirt. He gently kissed her forehead. 'Love you babe', he whispered, continuing to hold her as the chef discreetly left. 'Take as long as you need, my love', he said gently rubbing his hand along her back, 'it's just you and me'. And she did.
'How was your afternoon?' she asked when she finally let him go. Standing back and feeling her steadiness return, and her appetite with it too it seemed.
'Good, fine', he replied. 'Chef says dinner is ready, you can fill me in on everything then. Are you ok to eat now?' Joe asked.
She nodded, 'that sounds lovely', she replied as she slipped her hand into his.
Over dinner she recounted her conversation with Louis. She gave him her impression of what was going on in the background too, not just what Louis communicated with words alone.
'So what happened then?' Joe asked, having listened carefully to her whole story.
'We ate dessert and we chatted. For hours. Honestly it was a lovely afternoon', she said. 'Once all of the intrigue was out in the open Louis just seemed to relax. He's so engaging, so knowledgeable and he has a wicked sense of humor. It was good to just chat with him, get to know him a little better. And, oh my gosh, I felt so guilty. Joe, we never canceled that dinner properly when, well, everything else happened', she said. 'And I had promised to bring him to some galleries in DC after the State visit. I only remembered that on my way home', she recalled. 'We really owe Glen for stepping up, for thinking to apologize on our behalf.'
Joe reached across and held her hand. 'I'm sure Louis understood, under the circumstances', Joe tried to assure her.
'I know, he was very gracious, but he must have wondered if we had just forgotten all about him. Or perhaps that we didn't want anything to do with the French delegation, that we tarred them all with the same brush', she said.
'Oh, I doubt that babe', Joe replied, 'but I take your point nonetheless. Louis helped us out, big time and it looked like we couldn't care less', he said slowly, beginning to see the story from Jill's point of view.
He raised his eyes to meet hers. 'We have been poor friends', he acknowledged with a frown.
She grimaced. 'I know and I've been trying to think of a way to make it up to him. But Joe. I asked Sam to put some security on him while he's in DC. Is that ok? I mean, I hope I haven't overstepped anything. I know I don't have any authority to do such a thing', she said in a tumble of words. 'I told Sam I'd talk to you so that he wouldn't get in trouble. Joe, it was my idea. I asked Sam ...' She stopped as he smiled in her direction.
