I was slightly fearful when I was ushered into the presence of the President. All the Secret Service and White House Officials were very standoffish or downright rude towards me from the moment I’d arrived at Camp David. Despite the summons coming from the man himself, they treated me with an attitude that was in my opinion insulting. They made it clear that I was not very welcome. I guessed that with the pending inauguration they had their hands full.

“Please come on in and take a seat,” he replied in his distinctive New England accent.

I moved forward into the room. A huge log fire with real logs was burning away in a huge hearth. I heard the door close behind me with a bit of a slam. My presence was clearly not in the grand plan.

I approached the President and unsure what to do next, I sat down on a chair about 15ft from him.

He smiled at me and stood up. I wondered what I’d done wrong. I felt like I was a sixth grader back at school.

I need not have worried because he came and sat beside me.

“I am very pleased to meet you Opal. You have made quite an impression on my son.”

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t want to cause you or your family any trouble. I know that I should not have gate-crashed the Ball let alone dance with your son. I got carried away with my 'Cinderella' moment.”

“Nonsense. You have not been any trouble to me.”

“But… all the Secret Service people who went out searching for me.”

“That is their job. You were and to some extents still are, an unknown quantity and they don’t like that. They work on certainties. It is a strength and also a failing but don’t tell them I said that.”

“Mr President, why am I here? Really here?”

He smiled back at me.

“As I said, you made an impression on my son. A big impression. The meeting that the two of you had yesterday left him with a problem. We discussed things last night and that is why you are here tonight.”

“I still don’t understand. I’m just an uneducated person and… well undeserving of even being here.”

“Nonsense. In the minute or so that you have been here, I now know what my son was talking about.”

He smiled again.

“Let me get him and my wife to join us and then we can talk as adults. We all have some decisions to make tonight.”

“Mr President, I’m sorry, I don’t even begin to understand what is going on here.”

“I am sure that things will become a lot clearer very soon.”

He stood up and went to his desk where he must have pressed a button or something because a few seconds later another door opened and in walked the ‘First Lady’ and the President’s son James.

“Let us all sit down and we can talk.”

I sat down on a sofa. James sat next to me. The president and his wife sat opposite us.

“As I said, Opal, you made a big impression on my son. This presents us all with a problem.”

“Mr President, please let me go and I’ll disappear from your lives for good. I did not want to cause any trouble. That was never my intention,” I said almost pleading with him.

I started to stand up but James caught my hand with his and gently made it clear that I should go nowhere.

The President continued.

“In some respects, Opal, your appearance on the scene has actually made a decision that I am unexpectedly faced with all the easier to make.”

“John, shut the hell up. You can speak to the nation and the world but you are useless at the little things,” said his wife.

“Look my dear, it is public knowledge, that seven years ago I was diagnosed with Cancer. With the help of my family and the doctors, I pulled through and have been in remission ever since.”

She looked at the floor before continuing.

“Last week, I had my semi-annual check-up and the results came through late yesterday. It was bad news and the cancer has returned. What is worse is that it has spread and I am unlikely to survive the various treatments should I elect to have them.”

Those words sent a shiver running down my spine. It was all so sad and familiar.

The President then said,
“I was undecided about resigning or carrying on with the Presidency for my second term. Then James came to me and told me about you and now that I have met you, I can see that he is right. We live in a bubble here in DC. The President’s bubble is even smaller. I only get to really talk to the same people day in, day out. James told me about how frank you were with him. I can see what he was talking about. You my dear have made the decision I have to make so very much easier.”

I looked at the three people totally confused about what was going on.

“Tomorrow evening, I will address the nation and resign from the Presidency. I will not be going through with the Inauguration. I will cite the illness of my wife as the reason for my resignation. Then we will move back to Maine and generally drop out of public view.”

“Mr President, I still don’t know where I fit into all this?”

It was James who spoke next.

“Opal, the instant I met you, I knew that you were different from any other woman I have ever met. After the second dance, I knew that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life. Then when we found that you were not on the guest list, I felt as if someone had punched me hard in the stomach. I never believed in love at first sight but seeing you at the ball made me revise that opinion. Opal, I fell in love with you that night and nothing since has made me even think about changing my mind.”

My stomach was full of butterflies. Then I came back to reality.

“But… I’m not really a woman,” I blurted out without really thinking.

“We know,” said the President’s Wife.

“You don’t know diddly squat,” I replied slightly angrily.

“We know that you were born with as the doctor said, ‘both bits of tackle.’”

“Yes, but until a week ago, I was living as a boy… Well, at the moment, I still am.”

No one said anything so I carried on.

“So, thank you Mr President but I must decline to get involved with anything. I need time to be myself. I’ve really just been freed from six years of virtual slavery in the service of my frankly despicable if not downright evil sisters. I am going to get myself sorted out medically and discover what it means to be a young woman in this day and age. I will also try to get some education as I’ve not had any formal teaching since sixth grade.”

Then I addressed the First Lady.

“I am so sad to hear that your cancer has returned. I wish you well whatever the outcome is.”

Then I turned to James.

“I’m sorry James. I hope you understand what I have to do for me and just me?”

He nodded his head in agreement.

Then I turned back to the President,
“Mr President, I thank you for your candour on this matter. Please go back and consider what is best for you, your family and possibly more importantly, the country as if I did not come to the ball and have never been here tonight. I am… I am pleased to have met you and can only wish that it was under more pleasant circumstances.”

I took a deep breath before saying,
“Now Mr President, I’d like to go home.”

“Young lady, it will be my pleasure to walk you out to your transport. I fully understand your point of view and I apologise for trying to railroad you like that. I guess being President and almost always getting your own way has affected me in ways that I didn’t realise so thank you for being straight with us. It is so refreshing when someone says what they believe and not what they think I need to hear. I owe you, my family owes you and indeed this fine nation owes you a debt of gratitude. You put things into perspective in a way that I’ve didn’t know I’d missed. The last time I can recall having that sort of perspective was when I stood for City Council more years ago than I want to remember.”

He stood up and took my arm. Then he led me out of the sitting room and delivered me to the Secret Service so that I could be taken home.

Then he whispered to me,
“You danced divinely. I would like to mark your card for the future if that is not too presumptuous?”

Before I could say anything, a car drew up and I was ushered into it. Then we were gone. I’d not properly said goodnight to the President.

The Secret Service delivered me home a little later and it felt good to be there but I would have liked some company but for the time being, it was just me.

I was tidying up the following morning when I heard a car come up the drive. I peered out of the window just in time to see James get out of the driver’s seat. I dithered for about two seconds and then let him in.

“I wasn’t expecting you today. I would have thought that you might be helping your father with his resignation speech?”

“No. There are people on the staff who do that sort of thing for the President. Then it has to go before the legal people so I got out while I could. If anyone ever hears me agree to go into Politics, they have my permission to shoot me,” he said with a smile on his face.

“I was just doing some tidying up but I have a pot of Coffee ready to go if you are interested?”

James shook his head,
“I can’t stay long. I need to be there for the announcement. Dad wants me to be at his side. Mom is not feeling very well so may not be there.”

“Anyway, I came to say thank you for rescuing me last night. Dad is always trying to steamroller people into doing what he wants. That comes with his job I suppose but you stopped him right before he proposed to you on my behalf.”

I let myself smile a bit.

“Did they understand my reasons for backing out?”

“Yes, I do and my Mother gave him a few choice words as well after you had gone.”

“So why are you here?”

“I want to make a deal with you. How about we agree to meet somewhere in the future. If one does not turn up then that’s it. One or both of us may have found someone else. If not and if we are both agreeable, I’d like to try to give us a try. What do you think?”

“How much in the future?”

“Five years?”

I smiled. I’d be just turned twenty-three. James would be twenty-seven.

“That sounds good. Where do you suggest?”

“How about the Washington monument on the day of the State of the Union speech?”

I shook my head.

“Nowhere near DC and besides, there would be a lot of people there who will recognise you. Thirty seconds later, our meeting would be all over the media.”

I thought for a second before saying,
“I was watching a Documentary last week about the first settlers and it mentioned Cape Henry Lighthouse. It is well away from the DC bubble that your father described so well last night.”

“Where on earth is that?”

“A bit to the east of Norfolk, Virginia. Next to the sea. It is a lighthouse after all.

James smiled.

“You are a smart cookie all right. That sounds good. Midday, five years from today and the last one there buys Lunch?”

“Sounds like a deal,” I replied. Then I just acted without thought.

I leaned forward and kissed him.

When we’d done, James said,

“I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither was I. It just sort, of happened. I wanted to see what it was like to kiss someone else. Why don’t we call it sealing the deal?”

Then we kissed again for a bit longer before he got back in his car and left.

Later that afternoon, I received a call from my Lawyer. He was reporting that my sisters had been ‘served’ with eviction notices.

They had reacted within the hour but in a way that no one could have anticipated. They called the police and told them that I had stolen items worth more than $100,000 from the house before leaving.

The Building was owned by me but the contents were theirs. It seemed that as soon as one problem was out of the way, another three came to light.

The one bright thing to come out of the day was that with the resignation of the President, the search for the ‘possible terrorist’ was pushed out of the news. A few days later, a short press release from the Secret Service would announce that they were calling off the search and that the woman was not a threat to the State now that there was a new President about to be installed into the White House.

That bit of good news was countered by an arrest warrant being issued for my old self. I could have remained hidden but as I pointed out to my Lawyer, they would have my fingerprints and DNA so I had to surrender in as quiet way as possible. My evil sisters obviously had a lot of contacts in the Police Department.

Mr Travers, agreed with me, that things had turned a bit sour. He arranged for a car to pick me up and take me to the Police HQ. He would be waiting there for me armed with a whole list of questions plus all the evidence of my mistreatment by my sisters.

Somewhat reluctantly, I dressed as Trevor once again and waited for a car to pick me up.

I arrived at the station and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my lawyer waiting for me.
He escorted me into the station where four detectives were waiting for me.

My lawyer got in the first blow.
“My client is here voluntarily and will answer your questions. If you move to charge my client without proper investigation the size of the lawsuit that will hit the police department tomorrow will exceed the gross domestic product of half of the world’s nations. Do I make myself clear?”

This stance seemed to take them by surprise. I wondered if they were expecting this to be resolved by me confessing without being interviewed.

When we were in the interview room, Mr Travers laid out his case. This totally wrong footed the detectives.

“My client has been systematically abused over the years by his sisters. Now that he has reached eighteen years of age, the terms of his mother’s will have come into effect. This allows me to represent him with my costs coming from the estate that his mother left my client. Before you ask, this estate is worth more than twenty million dollars. He also owns the property where this alleged theft took place. Yesterday, I served his sisters with eviction notices. This so-called theft is their retaliation to that action.”

Then he carried on.
“I take it that you have a list of the items taken and from where in the home, they were removed and when this all took place?”

The detectives were totally wrong-footed. After some discussion, they presented a list of the items that were supposedly taken.

“We found these items at a pawn shop in Baltimore following an anonymous tip off.”
The detective presented a list of items and their photographs.

“Your fingerprints were on them. That leads me to think that you stole them.”

I looked at Mr Travers.

“My client’s fingerprints will be on just about every item in the house. He has been responsible for cleaning the house since he was twelve years old.”

The he asked,
“When was this theft supposed to have taken place?”

The lead detective looked at his files.

“Between the hours of two and four in the afternoon two days ago,” came the reply.

This was the day I’d escaped their clutches.
Mr Travers smiled.

“May I humbly suggest that you make a call to Judge Hargreaves. My Client and I were in his chambers between three and three-thirty on the day in question. Before that, my client was in my offices. He used my transit card to travel from his home to my office. I will gladly let you see my records and the CCTV of him arriving at my office. As my client used the bus to get from his former home to my office, he could have hardly taken these items with him, now could he?”

There was a stony silence in the room.

Then Mr Travers added,
“I take it that you have CCTV of my client selling these items in Baltimore?”

The Detective looked lost for words.
“We don’t but the manager described your client perfectly.”

“Then how can he be in two places at once?”

Again, there was a silence in the room.

Once again, my lawyer took the initiative.

“My client has suffered for years at the hands of his sisters. They beat him regularly if he made the smallest mistake. The last beating took place four days ago because he broke a crystal vase. This vase is one of the items listed as missing from the home.”

Then I intervened.

“If you look in the trash can at the house, you should find the remains of the vase. I put it there after they beat me for breaking it. The trash isn’t collected until tomorrow morning if they can be bothered to put the bags out. They always left it to me to do that.”

Then Mr Travers said,
“Unless you are going to charge my client then we are done here.”

He stood up and pulled me up with him.

None of the detectives said anything so we left the room.

We’d almost made it outside the building when they arrived. By they, I mean my sisters. The three of them arrived and saw me. That was a trigger for them to go berserk and attack me. There was a lot of swearing and threats to kill me before six police officers dragged them off me and Mr Travers.

In the melee, they’d hit a few officers. That was enough to get them arrested. When things had calmed down, we were allowed to leave.

Once outside, I pulled Mr Travers to one side. That incident had triggered something in me.

“I want the locks on my house changed tonight. Then send in a team of removers to take everything from the house and put it into storage. I want them gone before they get out of jail. Give them the details of where the items are in store and the keys. They can pick up the bill for the storage by the way.”

He looked at me and smiled.

“For someone who has not had any education for years, you are a real smart cookie.”

I smiled.
“Can it be done?”

“Is the Pope a Catholic?”

An hour and a half an hour later, we were watching a locksmith change all the locks on the house. A team of removers was waiting to do their thing.

As the removers cleared each room, I inspected it. With each room being cleared, the smile on my face got bigger and bigger.

When I inspected Ruby’s bedroom, I noticed a loose panel in the wall. Out of curiosity I investigated. Behind the panel which had been obscured by a floor length mirror was a door. I opened the door and was astounded by what was inside.

The place was wall to wall DVD’s. Each one was labelled with a date and time. There were several DVD recorders and a player.
I selected one DVD and put it in the player. I fast forwarded it to the time when Emerald beat me for messing up their breakfast.

A tear came into my eye as I saw it all happen again right before my eyes. When it was over, I returned the DVD to the shelf and was about to call Mr Travers when I stopped myself.

I realised that this was their backup CCTV system. I knew about the other one but this was news to me. Their level of hatred for me was far higher than I’d ever dreamed it could be. I quickly searched for the DVD of the night of the Ball.

Five minutes later I saw myself in all my finery leaving for the ball. I breathed a sigh of relief. None of them could have reviewed the footage recorded by this system otherwise I’d probably be dead by now. The footage clearly identified me as that ‘blonde strumpet’.

I extracted the DVD from the player and put it in my coat pocket. There was no way that they or their shyster lawyers were going to get their hands on this particular DVD.

I went and spoke to my Lawyer. He followed me upstairs and into the ‘treasure cave’ where I showed him one of the DVD’s.

“Are they all like this?”

“Most are probably pretty ordinary and downright boring but it seems that every beating that I have received in the past five years will be here, all recorded for their enjoyment no doubt.”

Mr Travers made a phone call. A little later, two detectives arrived and were shown a recording of one of the many and regular beatings that I’d received. The detectives were shocked.

One of them asked,
“How many events like this are here?”

“At least two hundred. Hardly a week would pass without me getting one. Sometimes, it was for no reason at all but I think that they got a lot enjoyment out of it.”

“We will have to take these down to HQ,” said the other.

“Not yet you won’t officer’s. Not until I have had them duplicated. These will be vital evidence in the civil suit that my client will be filing against his sisters. The duplication will also serve to stop them inadvertently going missing from the Evidence Store. It is not that I don’t trust the P.D. but my Clients Sisters are known to have friends in the Police Department. You are more than welcome to have one of your forensics team witness the duplication operation.”

The two officers had no choice but to agree especially as Mr Travers let then take the DVD that they had seen away with them.

“That should be enough evidence to charge them with child endangerment and assault. I will make a call to the D.A. and recommend that bail is opposed.”

As he handed over the DVD, he added,
“If nothing happens another one of these will be posted on the internet along with the question asking why the P.D. has done nothing about this. One will also go to the D.A. and the press. Do I make myself clear?”

There was no argument from the officers who grabbed the DVD and disappeared into the night.

It was the early hours of the morning before I returned to my home north of the City. The day had been eventful and one that I didn’t want to repeat.

I received a phone call the following afternoon informing me that my Sisters had been charged with child endangerment and that more charges would be forthcoming.

Apparently, their arraignment was a bit of a farce. They all called the DVD fakes and that I’d created them myself and that it was me who should have been charged for robbery. They made all sorts of threats about getting even with me and everyone involved in the case. I did not realise the significance of that until years later.

Their trial was interesting and quite harrowing at the same time. Things came to a head when I gave evidence against them. They continually interrupted everything I said. The judge eventually lost patience with them and ordered them to be removed from the court while I gave evidence.

The jury found them guilty after less than thirty minutes of deliberation. They were sentenced to eleven years in Prison which pleased me no end. Once they’d been led away to start their sentence, I left Washington vowing never to return.

---

[five years later]

The day of my meeting with James at the Cape Henry Lighthouse was a typical cold and blustery day. There were only a few people around but… well, I was hopeful that he would turn up.

In the intervening years, I had become the person of my dreams. Well, the dreams since I’d found out about my real self. I’d sold everything in Washington and even the house that wasn’t far from Camp David. I wanted a complete break with the past. Washington was the past as far as I was concerned.

I’d had the surgery to remove my puny male organ and took hormones to promote the growth of my breasts. This was all done under the supervision of a great doctor in San Francisco. I’d also bought a house on the coast near Bodega Bay and began to be myself for once in my life.

I never forgot the last kiss I’d had with James. In fact, it was not only the only person I’d kissed but the only one so I was eagerly waiting for him at the Lighthouse on the agreed day.

I kept telling myself that he would probably be married with children and would not come but we had an agreement and I would not be one to renege on it.

Noon came and went and there was no sign of him.

At twenty past twelve, I finally accepted that he wasn’t coming and I returned to my rental car. A tear formed in my eye.

I started up the car and began to drive away from the Lighthouse and back to the Airport and hopefully a flight back to the west coast when a State Police Trooper flagged me down.

I didn’t think I’d been speeding so I sat tight with my hands in plain view after winding down the window.

The police officer got out of his car and came towards me.

“Are you Opal De Vries?”

“Yes. Yes I am. Why do you need to know this?”

“My orders were to give you this and to escort you to Norfolk Airport,” he said handing me an envelope. The envelope had the seal of President Mason on the front.

As nonchalantly as possible, I opened it and read the letter.

Maine

Dear Opal,
Please forgive my idiot son for not meeting you today. The silly boy broke his leg at the weekend skiing. He is unable to travel at the moment so I have arranged for you to come to him if you are willing that is.
If you don’t want to come then just tell the officer otherwise, a warm welcome is waiting for you in Maine.

John Mason
Sometime President of this fine country {and still hoping that one day, I can dance with you}

I sat still with the letter in my hand. It was the Officer who broke my stupor.

“Is everything ok Miss?”

“Eh? Oh? Sorry Officer. Just some unexpected news.”

“From the former President?”

“Yes. Apparently, you are to escort me to the airport?”

“Yes. That is what I was told.”

“What then?”

“I don’t understand Miss.”

“What happens when we get to the airport?”

“Oh, there will be an aircraft waiting for you. I guess you have been summoned by the President?”

“Sort of but yes it appears that I have as you put it, been summoned.”

Then I added,
“Shall we go? I’ll need to return this car to the rental company first.”

“Fair enough. If you will follow me Miss. One of my colleagues will follow you.”

We took off and a few miles later another car joined us. That was the signal for the lead car to start showing his lights and the sound of his siren made sure that all the traffic got out of the way.

I had a bit of a struggle keeping up with him but it didn’t take us long to reach the airport. I returned the car and the Officer took me to the Private Aviation area. After going through a very cursory security check, he drove me out onto the tarmac and pulled up alongside a small jet.

“Here you are miss. Good luck wherever you are going.”

“Thank you, Officer.”

Then I was ushered on board and the doors closed behind me. I was the only passenger.

“Miss, would you please take a seat and buckle up,” said one of the two crew.
“We only have a short time before we are due to take off.”

I stowed my handbag and sat down. After a huge sigh, I buckled up and gave the crew the thumbs up.

Less than five minutes later, we were airborne. I peered out of the window and saw the sea off to the right. I guessed that we were heading north.

Not long after we’d reached cruising altitude, one of the two crew members came aft.

“Miss, we have a couple of hours before we get to our destination. There is a fully stocked galley at the rear. Please help yourself.”

“Thanks. Where exactly are we going?”

“Oh! I thought you knew?”

I shook my head.

“No one has thought to tell me.”

He smiled.
“We are landing at Knox County Airport in Maine. This is near Rockland. I say landing, there is fog in the area so we may have to divert to Bangor but we will let you know in good time.”

Now that I had time to think, I could not help thinking the worst.
‘What if he did not like me now?’

In the end, I sat back and relaxed thinking ‘what will be, will be’.

We landed as promised at Knox County Airport and taxied to a private part of the Airfield. Two Black SUV’s appeared from out of nowhere and drew up alongside the plane.

I guessed that this was my ride to wherever it was that I was being taken.

“Miss Opal?” asked an obviously armed secret service agent.

“That’s me.”

“Good. I’m Henry MacLeod. I’ve been assigned to be your personal security operative while you are with us.”

I did a double take.

“Eh? I don’t understand?”

“While you are a guest of the President, you will need someone like me with you at all times when you are out and about. This is just how we do things around here. Don’t worry, I’ll try to blend in with the furniture.”

“Ok, I think I understand,” I replied when I clearly didn’t have a clue as to what was going on.

He smiled.

When he did that, I went weak at the knees.

“If you will get inside the lead car, I’ll make sure that your luggage is safely stowed in the other one. Then we can be off.”

“Henry, how far will we be going? I need to make a stop at a drugstore.”

“What do you need? I’m sure we have most things at the Residency?”

I smiled.
“Does that Include Sanitary Towels?”

Henry went a little red in the face but he smiled back at me.

“I’ll find us somewhere to stop along the way,” he replied with a small smile on his face.

I got that feeling again. It unnerved me quite a bit.

Henry did as he promised, stop our small convoy at a drug store so that I could do a bit of shopping. I wasn’t long bet he was pacing up and down outside and constantly looking at his watch.

When I left the store, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Henry,” I said.
“If there is somewhere we really, really have to be, why don’t you tell me. To hell with all this need to know crap. If it involves me, then I need to know and right at the start. If as it seems that we are stuck with each other for the duration then for Christs sake, let me know what, when and why. Understood?”

Henry looked nonplussed for a second or so then he laughed.

My stomach went topsy-turvy.

“I can see why you made an impression with the President. I think I might enjoy working with you while you are with us.”

“Well then Henry, where are we going and how far away is it?”

“Miss Opal, we are going to the President’s home on Clark Island. It is about ten minutes away.”

“Good. And are we supposed to be there at a specific time?”

“No… Well, not really but the head of security will have been told that your plane has landed and if we are much later, all hell might break loose if you get my meaning.”

I smiled back at him.

“Good. Doesn’t it feel better now that I know? I don’t want to cause trouble before I’m even there so we had better get going, then hadn’t we?”

He didn’t answer but our little convoy headed off into the gathering gloom of the January Afternoon.

Fifteen minutes later, I was ushered into the more private part of the house.

“Ah Opal, it is nice to see you again,” said the former President.

“It is nice to see you again Mr President.”

“Enough with the President thing. In this part of the house, we are on first name terms. Please call me John.”

“I understand… John.”

“Great. Shall we go and see my idiot son?”

I laughed.

“Why is he an idiot? Surely anyone can break a bone or two while skiing?”

John smiled.

“James is an idiot because he slipped coming out of the shower. Yes, he was away skiing but it wasn’t a skiing accident.”

I smiled. He was an idiot.

John took me into a side room. I saw James lying on his bed with his plaster encased leg raised up. I guessed that this was to help keep the swelling down.

James smiled from ear to ear when I walked in. I heard a click as the door was closed behind me. We were alone.

“Well, look who we have here?” I said trying to milk the situation a bit.

“Ok, ok, I slipped coming out of the shower. I am a total doofus or words to that effect.”

I grinned as I sat down next to him.

“There is an upside to this you know.”

“Yeah, I can’t see one from here.”

“At least with you like this and … well there is…”

I paused for a second. I was trying to find the right words. Then they came to me.

“This is a great ice breaker. We may have met at the agreed place and time and had nothing to say to each other. At least with this, we do.”

James relaxed back into the bed.
“And you get to gloat over my stupidity?”

“James… I am not like that.”

He gave me a look that said ‘Really?’

I decided to change the subject.

“I am sorry about your Mother. I would have liked to have come but I was out of the country at the time and my face was not a pretty sight I can tell you,” I said changing the subject.

“Mom was a fighter but those last months were tough on all of us.”

“How’s your Dad holding up?”

“He has his good days and his not so good ones. I expect that seeing you will cheer him up. We are a bit isolated up here. It was great when Mom was ill but now… He needs someone in his life. Mom made him promise to do that…. But…”

“It is next to impossible for a former President to do anything with anyone or go anywhere without the secret service approving it and the media knowing about it,” I said completing his words for him.

“You are still a smart cookie. You haven’t changed on bit.”

“Oh, I have James. So, have you.”

“Have I?”

“Yes. You were very much the playboy son of the President before we met. I didn’t know it at the time but you were regarded as just about the most eligible bachelor in the country. It was only later that I understood why the press went crazy about finding out who I was after the Ball. Now, you are totally off the radar. Even Google does not have much data on what you have been doing for the last few years.”

James smiled.

“Yeah, those dances did put them into a bit of a frenzy, didn’t it?”

“But you survived, didn’t you?” he added.
“Those Sisters of yours were nasty pieces of work. I followed their trial on Court TV. They really lost it when you were giving testimony.”

“The sad thing is that they are probably getting out on Parole in a few months,” I said sadly.

“Will they come after you?”

“Me? As I am now?”

“Yes.”

“I honestly don’t know. Perhaps they will but… I’ve pretty much kept off the radar these past few years. They might not even know how I look now.”

James looked at me strangely.

“They know,” he said simply.

I was startled by this news.

He reached over and took my hand.

“They still have a few friends on the outside. Rich friends. They have been keeping track of you.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Someone who they think of as a friend is also a friend of the President. A sort of double agent.”

James could see the concern on my face.

“You are safe here you know.”

I nodded.

“But I can’t stay here all the time.”

“Why not?”

“You could marry me you know?”

I was totally startled by this.

“Now you are joking. We don’t know each other very well now do we?”

James put his free hand under a blanked that was on the bed and pulled out a ring.

“Opal, I fell in love with you the moment we started to dance. Will you marry me?”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Well?” he asked softly.

“I’m scared.”

“Me too,” he said smiling.

“But… you are the President’s Son. The press will go berserk when they find out. I don’t think that I could handle that. I prefer to be in the background.”

“The same here. That’s why since Mom died, I’ve been very much out of the limelight.”

I could not take my eyes off the ring. It wasn’t blingy or OTT. It was just subtle… and so nice.

James saw my hesitation and took his chance. He slid the ring onto my finger. I didn’t stop him.

Then he leaned over and kissed me softly. I closed my eyes and felt as if I was on top of the world. I responded to his kissing and our breathing got a bit heavy.

We were both grinning madly when we separated.

“Does that mean Yes?”

“I sort of think so,” I replied with a tremor in my voice.

We hugged for a long, long time.

Dinner that evening was a joyous event. John got out a bottle of Champagne and he toasted us. I had to put a dampener on things.

“John, I need to get used to this and… the idea of being with someone again. I’ve got used to being on my own and there is the little problem of my Sisters.”

“Don’t worry my dear,” said the former President.
“If I were you, I’d brief your lawyer to make representations to the Parole Board. He can make it a condition of their release that they don’t leave the DC region.”

I shook my head.

“I’m sorry Mr President. You don’t know my sisters. They hold grudges until they get the upper hand. I saw it many times when I was growing up. The took down several perfectly respectable Realtors just to increase the size of their business. I really doubt that five years behind bars has made them repent their sins. If anything, they will be more determined. However, if they can prove to me that they have changed then I’ll withdraw my objection to the granting of parole.”

John realised that I was concerned.

“Why not live here? This place is pretty secure.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t want to live in a bubble. I think we spoke about ‘bubbles’ once before? Besides, once the press get wind of us being a couple they will be camped outside from then on. Just look at the level of press intrusion that Prince William and Prince Harry have to deal with on a daily basis. That isn’t for me. I just want to live as normal a life as possible.”

John smiled back at me.
“You are giving me a problem but one I can understand. One of the downsides about being a former President is that there are a lot of people out there who would like to kill me in a flash. I have to live with all this for the rest of my life. It goes with the territory. I can see that you two want to have your own life.”

That night, I began to have some serious reservations about… well, just about everything. I was comfortable with both John and James but John’s position would make for a lot of very difficult press once my past came to light. I feared that my sisters would make sure that it did.

All the time I was having these thoughts, I was fiddling with the ring on my finger. I was caught between two worlds.

When I finally fell asleep I was no closer to a decision.

---

The cold light of a January morning brought me a lot closer to my decision. By the time I arrived for breakfast, I was sure about what I was going to do.

“Good morning John,” I said as I walked into the breakfast room.

“Hello Opal. Did you sleep well?”

I paused before saying,
“Eventually.”

“Having second thoughts?”

I nodded as I poured some Coffee.

“Don’t worry. I spent three months dithering about standing for President. One day I it was yes, the next it was no, then yes.”

“What persuaded you?”

“In the end, it was my opponent. He was proposing to enact laws that would have set this country back decades especially on Taxes. I could not let that happen so I stood for election and… won.”

I didn’t say anything.

“You are still concerned about your Sister’s, aren’t you?”

“I am. They will want to make my life hell in any way they can. They have filed at least a dozen suits against me alleging theft of their inheritance. With each one, the tone of the wording gets worse. They were all dismissed by the way but they keep on coming.”

John smiled.

“And being with my son would make it worse?”

I nodded.
“Everything was so clear to me but to find out that they know about me as I am now and… probably where I live… Well, it has made me think again.”

“I’ll leave you alone to tell him but just know one thing Opal and that is that you are welcome here at any time even if it is just as a friend. If I were not a former President and twenty-five years younger I’d be wanting to date you.”

I was stunned by that remark. I think I went a bit red in the face.

“Thanks for the compliment John. It is much appreciated. It has lifted my self-esteem no end.”

He came around to my side of the table and gave me a hug.

“If you are going to leave, don’t be a stranger ok?”

“I will be back,” I said almost tearful.

John left me alone to wait for James.

James was just as forgiving as his father. We had a long discussion and we parted with a long kiss. I handed him his ring and almost fled to my bedroom where I burst into tears.

When I had recovered, I packed my things and headed downstairs. I was looking around for someone who could call me a Taxi when Henry appeared from the direction of John’s study.

“I hear that you are leaving us?” he said smiling.

“I am doing just that. Can you run me to somewhere where I can get a train for a flight out of here?”

He grinned.

“The boss has detailed me to stay with you until there is no threat from your sisters. He has also put his jet at your disposal for the next week. Where do you want to go?”

To say that I was stunned by this offer would be very much a mistake.

My reaction was to head towards John’s study. Henry laughed. I looked at him slightly angry.

“The boss said that you would react like that. He’s waiting for you. While you are arguing the toss with him, I’ll load your bags into the car.”

I walked over to the study but before I went in, I stopped and gave myself a bit of a mental kicking. If Henry was going to be with me 24/7 then I could not afford to have feelings towards him.

I took a step closer to the door and stopped dead again. I remembered a comment about me that I’d accidentally overheard about a year before. Two men were discussing the women who were in the bar where I was having a drink. When one mentioned me, the other said, ‘forget about her, she’s the ice queen. Frigid as they come.’ I didn’t want to appear to be like that bit OTOH, I could not get involved with anyone for the time being. With that clear in my mind, I went into the study.

John saw me and the anger in my face.

“Calm down Opal. We dragged you here so the least I could do is get you out of here. As for Henry being with you, I received a report on your Sisters from the FBI yesterday. Sapphire is looking into having you killed once she gets parole.”

John handed me a file.

John’s words stunned me.

“What about Ruby and Emerald?”

John smiled.
“Apparently, they seem to have found a different path for their life.”

“Eh?”

“It is all there in the report. Why not read it on your flight to the West Coast? That is where you are going isn’t it?”

Then I stopped dead. Why was I trying to argue with someone who was once the most powerful man in the world?

“John, I’m so sorry.”

He smiled.

“Opal, there is nothing to be sorry about. The first time we met I saw a fiercely independent streak in you that reminded me of my wife. She saw it as well. You are your own woman who is relishing her independence and I would not like to be the one that tries to stop you.”

I was lost for words.

“Why don’t you go home? I must say, that you chose a very lovely part of our fine country to put down roots. Please take your time and read the report and then decide if you want to attend the parole hearings for your sisters. Henry will be with you until there is no longer a threat on your life.”

I was still struggling to say something.

“Please Opal, do it for me?”

How could I refuse an offer like that?

“Thank you, John. I now know why you became President. You have a way of making things sound so simple.”

He smiled back at me.

“Now get going, you are wasting daylight.”

[to be continued in Part 3]