Mimosa Harrington
Hogwarts Head Girl
Posts : 1552
Birthday : 2013-08-13
Join date : 2017-07-22
 | | Subject: If only I, could make a deal with God Sat Oct 08, 2022 4:20 pm | |
|  Jackson Blake
"Hi everyone, My name is... Blake."
A mixture of attentive and disinterred voices greeted him back. He was farther away from home this time, all the way in Chicago, at a neighborhood that wouldn't have known him from any other white senator from a stock photo. It was just as he wanted. Confessing in front of strangers had become a habit by now - one Jackson had come to rely on.
"So she's pregnant," he began without preamble. This made more heads raise from whatever their attached humans were doing. Jackson noted three old ladies at the back noticeably halt their whispered conversations.
"And how do you feel about that, Sir?" The facilitate looked too young to be in charge, yet his voice carried a heftiness Jackson found trustworthy.
"I'm... over the moon, really," The wizard responded, a small smile decorating his features and leaving no doubt as to his true feelings on the matter. "For the longest time, we didn't think we could. But then... She made everything perfect. She always fixes everything, my princess."
A small round of applause broke out, Jackson heard more than a few "Praise the Lord for He is good" from the farther rows.
"Yeah, we're both overjoyed. You guys should see her, she was meant to be a mom. And now she will be. I don't know what I did to deserve it but I'm... Well, I'm not sure what I did to deserve it." Another chorus of support for the only white person in the room. Jackson had never been to a support group so segregated and apparently encouragements, applause and prayer were encouraged when someone was talking at the front of the room.
"Why do you think you don't deserve it?" The young man posed once the chatter had died down.
"Because... I'm not the best person. I have done bad things in the past, along with some good ones. I have helped where I can but definitely not as much as I could and should have.... I seem wholly unworthy of something like this." The man paused, he had never been this honest before but now that he had said it out loud, it made sense. "I feel like... In order to deserve such happiness, i aught to have done more."
Now, he had almost everyone's attention. Even the teenager in the front row (made to probably sit there by her mother who maintained a hawkish eye on the girl) had looked up from her phone.
"Well son, are you done?" This time, the question wasn't from the facilitate but an elderly gentleman in the third row. His voice was kind but it carried.
"Excuse me?"
"Are you done doing whatever it is you do?"
Jackson thought about it for a moment. He was coming off the heels of a lost election he didn't grudge one bit, he was engaged tot eh love of his life and they had a baby on the way, he had family and friends and really anything he could ask for except a professional directive.
But was he done?
"No sir," the Senator replied.
"And why not?"
"Because she deserves better than a quitter."
"Seems to me like you have plenty of chances ahead to make yourself worthy, son," The man concluded. more polite applause broke out at his statement.
Jackson spoke a little more before conceding his spot to the next person who came up to speak. He tried to pay attention which wasn't easy with people passing him hushed congratulations and giving his advice about parenthood. It really was a support group unlike any other the wizard had ever attended. After two hours, they adjourned for coffee and pie, Jackson gratefully accepting the first in a to go cup and politely refusing the second despite jokes of how one slice wouldn't soften his hard abs. Dressed in a casual T shirt and jeans, the senator had no idea his physique was on such blatant display.
It was as he was walking towards his car with a half drunk cup of coffee in one hand that he saw her.
"Hello Senator."
"Evening," the man greeted her, his pure southern upbringing forcing him to slow down his steps. "Can I help you?"
"Could I trouble you for a lift? Just to the next train stations."
Knowing that the longer he stayed here, the likelihood of his cover being blown would grow, the politician nodded. Reaching for the passenger door of his SUV, he held it open for the young woman who seem to follow him across the country to different meetings. Whether it be AA or one for survivors, her blonde head usually made an appearance. "I didn't see you in there," he commented as she climbed into the car. It was an all black neighborhood and an all black meeting save for himself.
"I was in there," the young lady reassured him with a smile. "I just don't like to stand out as much as you."
Jackson got behind the wheel, not verbalizing a response. He steered the vehicle out of the parking lot, trying to remember where the nearest station was.
"I hear congratulations are in order."
"Thank you."
"But I haven't congratulated you yet, Senator." She looked at him curiously before turning her eyes to the windshield once more. "Quite a miracle no?"
"My princess often performs miracles," Jackson nodded absently, turning into the steadily growing flow of traffic.
"She couldn't make you win against Judith Jameson."
"I don't see how that's any of your business really."
The blonde paused, her slender fingers knotting together in her folded hands. She was tall, not as tall as him but certainly tall enough to not have to look up when speaking to him. Her legs folded in the seat were also long, and swathed in a skirt that rested well above her knees.
"Sorry," she apologized, a little insincerely in his opinion. "Would you believe I only have your best interests at heart."
"Given that I don't know you, that would be a little hard to believe."
"You know me, Senator," she replied, a hint of amusement in her voice now. "I'm the Polysci student who follows you all over the country. Would I do that if you weren't special?"
Jackson didn't reply, once again choosing to focus on the road.
"Don't you think it a little bit odd... She gets pregnant out of the blue when you know you can't do the honors?"
The politician's grip on his steering wheel tightened. "No."
"Is that why you go around telling strangers you can't believe your luck? Because somewhere deep down... you can't believe your luck?"
Jackson took a sharp turn, cutting across several lanes and initiating a cacophony of horns and swear words. "I think you can walk to the station from here," he suggested, opening her door with the press of a button. His passenger didn't seem offended. On the contrary, she looked like she had proven a point.
"It's okay you know," she murmured as she climbed out of the car. "To be broken somehow... Its why I follow you... I'm broken too." Pressing down her skirt over her long legs once she was on the pavement, the blonde gently shut the door. Leaning in towards the window, she mouthed words that were clear to see.
"Until next time, Senator."
Jackson drove away, pretending not to have understood her warning. ________________________________________________ | |
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The Administrator
Posts : 1364
Join date : 2015-12-20
| | Subject: Re: If only I, could make a deal with God Sat Mar 09, 2024 1:33 pm | |
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