LADY / SWEET

“My love, when you put it that way, it sounds as though our son is some sort of caged animal,” he responded with a sly smile. “I should very much hope that is not the case, though knowing his father…” He pondered the thought of sending Johnny to Philadelphia for longer than he needed to. His gut told him it was a good idea. “I’ll write to a couple of my contacts in Philadelphia to see if they’d like, or rather, if they’re willing to show him around.” 

Where in the world had he been to not notice that? “Oh? Please grab me the next time you find them in each other’s company so that I may, um, observe…” 

          ALLOWING  HIM  TO  MUSE,  DOROTHY  caught  her  lip  between  her  teeth,  staring  at  the  words  before  her  though  all  of  her  focus  was  on  John.     His  musings  entertained  her,  especially  as  he  took  her  idea  into  consideration.          “  And  then,  he  won’t  become  a  young  lion  in  a  cage.  “          So  the  teasing  would  continue,  accompanied  by  sparkling  eyes.     

“I wouldn’t say I’m forgoing my daily cannoli consumption,” he responded, a hint of a devious smile playing at his lips. “As I said, cannoli is easily obtainable in Boston and I haven’t quite decided what I want for dinner tonight.” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers, almost visibly proud at his wit. Despite his jokes, part of him did think cannoli and a bottle of wine sounded absolutely divine. 

John did a double-take when she mentioned their last encounter. Had he truly thought she’d forgotten about how oddly he’d acted? He’d practically turned tail and ran away from here! “Can’t it be a little bit of both?” he asked, his smile a little too sheepish than he would have liked. “I am a gentleman, you know. I’d rather not have to force you to spend time in my company and make you pay for your meal, too.” Was she blushing? Oh, he hoped that was a good sign. 

          WAS  HE  ACTUALLY  that  obsessed  with  cannoli  or  was  it  only  a  joke  intended  to  make  her  laugh?    She  couldn’t  say,  and  did  it  really  matter?    Wouldn’t  critiquing  his  eating  habits  be  a  bit  too...  ahead  of  herself?    After  all,  the  idea  that  anyone  could  be  as  good  health  as  he  seemed  to  be  and  yet  eating  a  meal  of  cannoli  that  often  was  a  bit  absurd.     And  since  when  did  she  deeply  consider  a  practical  stranger’s  eating  habits?

He did his best to smile pleasantly as she agreed to grab dinner with him. There was a coffee bar just outside of the exhibit that held the portraits in question. If he was lucky enough, he could hang out there while Dolly went through the exhibit. Or he could head into the room immediately to the right of Revere’s portrait and pretend to be enjoying some of Copley’s monstrosities other paintings while she studied his portrait. “Make it, you know, more like a date?” he offered, shrugging slightly. “How about the 465? I’ve heard good things and it’s inside of the museum. Might be fun to check out.” 

“Don’t want what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Wait until she discovered he had a membership and was about to get them in for free. Wait until they greeted him as a ‘friend’ of the museum. Wait until they thanked him for his generous donations and told him how they’d been able to conserve some of the Copley paintings, including one of Dorothy Quincy Hancock… He knew, deep down, that none of that would happen, but he worried. “Nothing’s wrong, Dolly. I’m not bribing you with dinner. I particularly like having dinner with you and know we should probably eat while we’re out, so…” 

[ text: Dolly ] Yes, a plane. A private one. I have access to those now.  [ text: Dolly ] Just not Air Force One, unless I go pick you up. 

Now he was just bragging and he knew it. He heaved a sigh and turned onto his side, as his arms were getting sore from holding his phone above his head. Maybe he did need to work out more. Hell… 

[ text: Dolly ] Oh, he was? Yeah, that works too. Excellent. 

Hmm, he would have preferred she take the plane, but he wasn’t about to make a big fuss about it. He had much bigger issues to worry about, after all. The country, for one… Not his fully-capable former-wife lookalike that he maybe had feelings for. No worries about her at all… 

[ text: Dolly ] Of course. I completely understand. 

All he needed was to wake up to another headline that started with ‘Today, the Illegitimate President…’ 

            A  SOFT  HUFF  OF  A  laugh  barely  sounded  in  her  tiny  office,  a  wry  twist  of  lips  accompanying  a  shaking  head.     His  bragging  always  amused  her,  knowing  he  wasn’t  trying  to  point  out  anything,  just  being  honest  or  excited  or  helpful   ( attempting it at least ) .    ...It’s  almost  endearing  at  times,  and  this  was  certainly  one. 

[ text: John ]     If you even THINK of picking me up in THAT, I’ll materialize somehow there and shake some sense into you. [ text: John ]      I can see it now... And it would consist of explaining how I know the President of the United Fucking States to my boss which is not how I want to spend Monday morning. Which might be how I spend that morning regardless, which is fine, but NO.

            Hopefully,  he  would  take  some  amusement  from  the  texts.     It  wasn’t  her  intention  to  insult  the  idea...  Just  protect  him.    Why  even  did  she  want  to  protect  him  now,  when  he  had  a  myriad  of  Secret  Service  and  fixers  and  who  knows  who  else  at  his  disposal?     ( because you've got that warm and fuzzy feeling )     Her  mind  mocked  her  yet  again,  but  then  again,  she  hadn’t  yet  seen  anything  from  him  other  that  the  varying  levels  of  flirting  they  engaged  in.

[ text: John ]     Then it’s a plan.

            And  as  much  as  she  wanted  to  know  for  certain  if  he  felt  the  same,  now  she  wasn’t  so  certain  she  wanted  to  be  rejected  by  the  President,  let  alone  potentially  ruin  the  friendship  John  and  her  have.     She’d  rather  pine.     Perhaps  it  wouldn’t  feel  so  ridiculous  once  she  saw  him  again,  but  for  now,  no,  not  a  risk  she  wished  to  take.     Perhaps  one  she’s  right  to  worry  over,  she  thought  as  she  read  his  curt  little  text.

John couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the notion of their son being drawn into a mob-ruled revolution. Like father, like son… He heaved a sigh and folded the newspaper, placing it atop the side table. “Agreed. We should not send Johnny somewhere so unstable.” His mind wandered to his own time in London. It had certainly been an education in both business and… other things. “On second thought, what if we kept Johnny here?” And kept a very close eye on him.  

“She does?” Now, that was news to him. “Anyone I would know?” 

           A  SOFT  HUFF  OF  A  laugh  blew  past  her  lips  at  his  decision,  gently  shaking  her  head  at  her  husband.     Only  John  Hancock  would  swing  between  sending  their  son  into  a  practical  warzone  and  keeping  him  near  in  little  more  than  a  breath.     Pretending  to  pay  some  attention  to  her  text,  she  shot  John  a  wry  smile.          “  You  will  have  to  release  him  into  the  world  at  some  point...  perhaps  send  him  on  a  business  trip  to  Philadelphia?  “

“As of this morning when I last checked the mirror, I didn’t have any wrinkles - apart from some lines - and I wouldn’t call myself old…” John’s eyes grew wide and he made the sound of an offended gasp. “Dolly, are you calling me old and un-handsome?” Un-handsome? Was that even a word? “I’ve never been more offended in my entire life!” 

“A kiss for Christmas?” Okay, now she was sounding absurd. “Just one kiss? Um, yeah I’m definitely giving you something else, that’s for sure…And any pointers you may have would be greatly appreciated.” He leaned across the table to press a kiss to her cheek, careful not to get sticky coffee spillage on himself from whatever incompetent coffee drinker had sat there last. “Or else I’ll have to wander into some random jewelry shop and pick out whatever catches my eye first.” 

           DUCKING  HER  GAZE,  SHE  STIFLED  a  laugh  by  bitting  into  her  donut  again.      Oh,  no,  she  loved  this  man...     She  was  fully  lost  and  his  humor  only  made  the  feeling  all  the  more  obvious.          “  That’s  obviously  what  I  was  insinuating,  John  dear.  “            A  soft  roll  of  her  eyes  followed.      He  wasn’t  even  close  to  offended...

           Her  blush  deepened,  for  different  reasons,  at  his  insistence  and  kiss,  eyes  dropping  to  the  table  as  she  attempted  to  brush  off  the  feelings  that  arose  with  a  shrug.          “  If  you  must...  I’m  sure  I’ll  like  it.  “           He  didn’t  get  what  she  was  trying  to  express,  but  she  shouldn’t  allow  it  to  bother  her.     It  wasn’t  as  if  she  was  being  obvious,  was  she?           “  I  just...  I  don’t  need  things  right  now,  John.     I’ve  got  everything  practically  I  need...  finally.  “