Page 39 of The Politician

Sarah smiled at her and wiped the tear from her cheek. “How did you know?”

Kendra took a drink. “I didn’t. I thought it was about us and you wanting to break up, but then Mark insisted you’d like the company. The only thing other than work that’s staring you in the face right now is your kids fast becoming adults.”

Sarah ran her hand along Kendra’s thigh. “Mark asked you to come up and see me?”

“I was just about to leave.”

Sarah smiled. “He knows about us,” she said.

Kendra froze. What did that really mean? She released a trembling breath and swallowed hard as the news settled with a mix of excitement and trepidation. There was more of a conversation to be had, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions or make future plans.

“I talked to him earlier. Well, we talked about happiness actually.”

Kendra thumbed another tear from Sarah’s face. “What went wrong?” she asked and grinned.

Sarah chuckled. “See? You’re just the tonic I need.”

Kendra stroked her cheek. “You’re so beautiful, even when you look like you’ve just gone a round in the ring with a heavyweight boxer. If you want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”

“It’s hard to let them go.” Sarah took a sip of her wine. “And yet, letting them go releases me too.”

“Sadness on one hand and joy on the other.”

“And I’m tired.”

“You’re on the back of the virus, remember.”

Sarah sniggered. “I’m a Thompson, and Thompsons don’t let anything bring them down. It’s in our blood.”

“Yeah, so was the virus a few weeks ago. That’s got robust ideas too.” She took Sarah’s hand and pressed her thumb into her palm. “No one wants a PM who’s invincible, Sarah. They want someone relatable. What you’re going through with the kids and everything, I’m guessing most mums experience that. And you’ve got the expectations of a nation on your shoulders as well.”

Sarah looked down at their joined hands. “I’ve never needed anyone before.”

“A wake-up call on the health front does that. When Dad had a heart attack a few years back, his attitude changed completely. He’s much happier now than ever he was when I was a kid.”

“This isn’t about my health, Kenny. It’s about you.”

It took Kendra a beat to process what Sarah was saying. Her pulse raced and her mouth went dry. “I...”

Sarah sighed. “I keep trying to deny what I feel because its bloody inconvenient.” She laughed. “But hearts don’t apparently understand what convenient means. My heart skips a beat when I see you and when I don’t, it aches. I think about you all the time. I dream about having sex with you.”

Kendra let go of her hand and pressed her thumb into her own clammy palm. “What do you want to do about it?”

Sarah shook her head. “I don’t know. I know how much I want you.” She picked at her finger. “I’ve spent my life working to this point. The pinnacle in my career, a shot at PM, and that still excites me. I could help this country become great again, to be inclusive and environmentally conscious. There’s so much that’s broken, and I could help to mend it. It’s such a powerful position to be in, a responsibility, and I can’t dismiss that lightly.”

“No one’s asking you to quit, are they? I would never ask you to give up on your ambition.”

Sarah leaned towards Kendra and kissed her tenderly. Kendra’s lips tingled, and tiny electric pulses shot down her neck and spine. For now, she was okay with being Sarah’s secret lover. It helped that Mark knew and was supportive of Sarah, but it didn’t solve the problem of how the rest of the country would take any announcement about Sarah’s sexuality when it eventually came out. Voters could turn against her on that basis alone. Kendra wouldn’t want to be the person those people pointed the finger at, because they couldn’t own their own bias. “Don’t let the bastards grind you down, Sarah.”

“I’m so lucky to have found you,” Sarah said.

“Come to my flat on Saturday. Stay over. I want to spoil you, away from all these people and this shit.”

Sarah nodded. “I’d like that.”

Kendra was already making meal plans in her head. She’d get some nice bath salts in, and they could drink the bottle of champagne Sarah had brought over. It would be nice to chill and maybe watch a movie. “Political talk will be banned though, right?” she said.

Sarah smiled. “Sounds perfect.”

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