Joan Ascends

Epilogue - Ten Years Later

Harriet

The thing no one tells you about the first day of Congress and the swearing in of all the newly elected senators is that it's unspeakably boring. One by one, we all must dutifully recite the oath of office, which is filled with prose so dated that it's almost like speaking another language.

Everyone sits up a little straighter when it's my turn, and I keep my face expressionless, something I've mastered over the years. As the first Throwback governor, and now the first Throwback senator to sit in the United States Congress, I'm used to the staring and the rude, repetitive questions about how I feel making history.

The vice president meets my gaze directly when she finishes swearing me in, and her open expression reminds me of Washington's former governor, E, who mentored me in my early political career. Maybe I'll find allies in this den of vipers after all.

Next to me, Mason's expression is so full of wonder that it makes me grin in spite of myself. After the vice president shakes my husband's hand, he looks down at his hand in awe, like he's touched something holy.

"She wipes her ass with that hand, just like everyone else," I whisper as we head back to our seats.

"Doesn't this amaze you at least a little?"

I make a noise in my throat that's neither agreement nor disagreement. The truth is that I'm doing this job because I'm the right person for the role, not because I love politics. But I don't say any of that to Mason and ruin his fun.

"I'm just thankful you've been with me through it all."

"Nowhere else I'd ever want to be," he replies, squeezing my hand.

Mason glances up at the balcony, which is packed with onlookers who for some mysterious reason want to be present for this excruciating ceremony. My eyes sweep over the crowd, but I don't see any faces I recognize. Somewhere, Sun, Mav, Marie and her now wife Lozen are watching, probably sitting in the back. We'll celebrate for real later at a party that Alison and Tupac are throwing for me.

I keep my posture perfect and my expression alert through the rest of the ceremony, and dutifully shake hands afterward with my new colleagues. Some are curious, some even friendly, but more than a few are openly hostile. That's fine, though. I'll relish taking them down.

Mason and our security guards finally come to my rescue and whisk me to the car waiting to take us to the real party.

I duck inside and take a seat next to Mason. I barely stifle a gasp of surprise when I see who's sitting across from us.

"You didn't think I'd miss this, did you?" Joan asks, her smile a little wider than I remember it.

"Damn it, Joan! It's too dangerous for you to be here."

My best friend rolls her eyes. "I took precautions."

"Covering your scar with makeup is not 'precautions'. Did Justus really approve of this plan?"

Joan tilts her head and gives me a look. I sigh, knowing when Joan makes up her mind to do something, there's no changing it."

"Justus gets to come celebrate with you in person at your party. That's not in the cards for me, I get it, but I wanted to see you. I miss you."

My concern melts into something warmer, and I reach over to squeeze Joan's hand. "I missed you, too. It should have been you getting sworn in today."

Joan shakes her head. "I'm better off where I am. You were destined for this. I'm sure I would have made more enemies than allies if I were in your place."

For the past three years Joan and Justus have been working for Doctors Without Borders, most recently serving the victims of the earthquake that hit Tokyo pretty hard. I know from our regular calls that she finds meaning in her work, and she's not wrong that she would have probably turned Congress upside down if she were in my shoes. Though that's exactly what Congress needs, in my opinion.

"Any sage advice for me as I embark on tearing down the old laws and replacing them with better ones?"

Joan shakes her head. "You and Mason have been building rules for a fair society ever since you took over the Lab as kids. You don't need advice from me."

"I still wish you could be beside me for this," I admit.

It's not that I've been fighting on my own in the years since Joan's been gone. My friends and the team we've built and organized has been more successful than we ever imagined. But having Joan next to me reminds me what it's like to have your other half with you. Like a missing piece of my soul is back in place.

"Not a week goes by that I don't think about what you'd say in certain situations," Joan says. "Some days I think about what it would be like if we both left our work behind and started over together somewhere. You'd bring Mason, I'd bring Justus, and we'd all spend our days working on our tans and reading trashy novels."

"Like you'd be able to sit around doing nothing," I tease.

"Me? What about you? I'd give you one week before you take up a cause, maybe advocating for sea turtles or protecting the rainforest."

"Wait, are we on a beach or in a rainforest in this scenario?"

Mason chuckles beside me. "Neither of you would last a day, never mind a week."

"That's because you're not made for a life of vacations and entertainment," Joan says, reaching over and squeezing my hand. "You're destined to live a life of meaning, making the world better every day."

I fight back the tears that want to fill my eyes. "You'd know a thing or two about that."

"You're meant for great things, Harriet. Sometimes that will be a burden, but I hope most of the time it brings you joy. The world doesn't deserve you, but, luckily for the world, they get to have the best of you. So go remake it the way it should be."

"I'll certainly try."

THE END