by Bauer, Tal
Huh. Jack slipped open the envelope. A folded piece of paper lay inside, along with a single rose petal.
Today is the day
The day for men (and women!) like you
A day to honor those mighty, mighty few
(As you so often remind us all)
Who have served in the nation’s highest seat
And are members of a select and special club.
What better way to celebrate today
Than to celebrate you
And all my love for the
Best President and the
Love of my life
Jack’s jaw dropped. He read the note again, and again, laughing at Ethan’s corniness, at the implied dig at Jack. He dug his phone out of his pocket and checked the date. He didn’t think there was anything special today, and Valentine’s Day had passed—
Oh.
His face flushed, and suddenly, Ethan’s joke became crystal-clear. As you so often remind us all.
Today was President’s Day.
He swore he didn’t say it as often as Ethan claimed. Or his parents claimed. He didn’t. Right?
“I mean, I was the president,” Jack mumbled. “It really is a small number of us who can say that.” He laughed again, under his breath, and headed for the kitchen.
Another envelope lay on the counter, this one with his name and the number 1 written on it. There was also a mimosa, freshly poured, beside the envelope. Ethan was here, somewhere. Being sneaky.
Jack sipped his mimosa and opened the envelope. A photo fell out, Jack and Ethan shaking hands for the very first time, meeting on the campaign trail at Jack’s campaign headquarters. Jack had his politician’s smile on and his damn yellow tie. Ethan looked stern and commanding, the big bad Secret Service agent come to town, shaking Jack’s hand with the hint of his tiny smile stretching his cheeks.
The start of the road
And the start of us.
I didn’t know how much my life would change
With one simple handshake.
But I wouldn’t change it for the world, Mr. President
And I know the world is better for having you, too.
You were tested right away
With a foe who wanted to play
And turned into a friend at the end.
But you navigated the day with grace and courage
And even managed to navigate us.
It was you who made us happen
Because of that day
And your courage
You and me became we.
Under Ethan’s stumbling poem was Can you find your next letter?
A treasure hunt? Jack smiled. He reread the poem, the lines about being tested early on by a foe who turned into a friend. And where they began. Became we.
Prague. Sergey. The foe turned friend.
The flight home and their heart to heart.
He headed for their dining room where they’d hung framed photos of Jack’s time as president. His inauguration. Him seated in the Oval Office. His first State of the Union. Other photos, too, of him and Ethan together. Candid shots of them in the White House.
And, on one wall, him in Prague meeting Sergey for the first time, shaking his hand. Sergey was beaming, looking like a cat who’d gotten the canary, and Jack looked stern. Solid. It was an apt prediction of their friendship with his boisterous fellow leader.
Tucked into the frame was another envelope, this one marked 2.
Inside was another rose petal and a picture of Jack at the White House press podium, his head bowed, lips pressed tight.
His heart seized. That was the day he’d come out about him and Ethan. The clamor in the media had risen to near fever pitch. Congress was rumbling, talking about investigations and inquiries. He’d wanted to get ahead of everything. He’d wanted to honor Ethan’s memory.
The bravery you showed
The strength you had
The courage to speak the truth.
From a world away, I wanted to leap through the TV
Fight every single person in my path
Get back to your side that very moment and kiss you
I didn’t know it at the time
But looking back
It was when you did this
When you acknowledged who we were
That we meant something to you
That we meant everything to you.
That was when I knew for certain
That you were the One.
Where did we go next?
Jack beamed. Ethan’s poetry was awful, downright terrible. Jack’s would be no better though. He tapped the letter against his lips, thinking. They went many places after his announcement. Ethan to Iowa, and then to DC and into the White House.
And then to exile and Russia and the Arctic.
But which of those places would follow from Ethan realizing Jack was The One?
He headed for the living room.
Over the fireplace, he and Ethan had framed an enlarged print of their wedding on the USS Honolulu. Him and Ethan gazing into each other’s eyes, Captain Anderson pronouncing them married. Sergey, Sasha, and Scott in the background, each stunned and surprised and happy in their own ways. Their wedding, as unorthodox as it had been, was perfect. No tuxedos and dancing for them. No, for them, it was always going to be a nuclear submarine on the way to saving the world.
Tucked into the frame was another envelope, labeled 3.
What I love most about you
Over everything else
Over your brain and your wit
Your jokes and your kindness
All the perfectly imperfect ways you are you
Is your honor. Your morality.
You have always done what’s right
Always put the world
And everyone else first
Even to the detriment of yourself.
You gave up your presidency to save the world
And, Mr. President,
The world has never seen a more selfless presidential act than that.
History will remember the great ones:
Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt
And Spiers.
He couldn’t read anymore, not through the tears that suddenly blurred his vision, or the tremble in his hands. He choked back a gasp.
Gentle hands wrapped around his waist. A warm face pressed into his neck. Ethan’s hand covered his own as he held the letter. His voice took over, reading, “And so, Mr. President, you will always be my president. The president of my heart and soul. The president of my life. The man I love every minute of every hour of every day for the rest of my life.” He pressed his cheek to Jack’s. “I love you,” he breathed. “Happy President’s Day, Mr. President.”
Jack turned in Ethan’s hold. He cupped Ethan’s face “Ethan.”
“You were the president,” Ethan gently teased. He kissed Jack’s nose. “It’s only right we celebrate that. And you.”
There was still so much about his presidency he hadn’t dealt with yet. Sometimes, darkness hit him hard, and he’d sit and stare at nothing for hours, turning over and over the decisions he’d made, the choices, the paths he’d taken. Had he done enough? Had he done the right things, made the right calls? Had he been a good president?
So many lives were lost under his administration. He still saw their faces at night and when he blinked, in the darkness behind his eyes. He still ached, wanting to turn back time, wanting to go back and change things, make everything work out somehow. Shame raked over his bones when he couldn’t sleep, when his thoughts turned on himself.
Had he been a good man? Had he made a difference, a positive difference, in the world?
“Thank you,” he whispered. He kissed Ethan, leaning into him. He needed Ethan’s conviction some days. “Thank you.”
Ethan brought up a single rose, the stem cut short and hidden in his hand. “I thought this could be our Valentine’s Day. It seems more appropriate for us.”
&nbs
p; “But I didn’t get you anything.”
“All I ever want is you. Every day, just you.” Ethan kissed him again. He shifted his hold, his arms encircling Jack’s waist, and he started to sway, a gentle dance. He hummed the opening beats to “Hail to the Chief” as they swayed, pressing his forehead against Jack’s.
Jack laughed. His hands drifted down, squeezing Ethan’s ass. “You know, I remember being very, very naughty as the president. I remember having a scandalous affair with a dashing, handsome, young Secret Service agent.”
“Young?” Ethan’s eyebrows arched as he grinned.
“Mmm, young and virile. Very studly. If it’s President’s Day, don’t you think we need to celebrate everything?”
“I’m pretty sure I could be seduced into something.”
“Agent Reichenbach, your president needs you in the bedroom. Immediately.”
“Mr. President. I’m with you all the way.”
* * *
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Nichole, Justene, Trisha, and Charlotte for your assistance with Interlude: Cavatina. As always, you make me better. Thank you.
About the Author
Tal Bauer is an award-winning and best-selling author of gay romantic thrillers, bringing together a career in law enforcement and international humanitarian aid to create dynamic characters, intriguing plots, and exotic locations. He is happily married and lives with his husband in Texas. Tal is a member of the Romance Writers of America.
Drop Tal a line at [email protected]. He can’t respond to every email, but he does read every single one.
Check out Tal’s website: www.talbauerwrites.com or follow Tal on social media.
Also by Tal Bauer
The Executive Office Series
Enemies of the State
Interlude
Enemy of My Enemy
Enemy Within
The Executive Power Series
Ascendent
Stand Alone Novels
Hush
Whisper
A Time to Rise