The truth is, Henry and I have been together since the beginning of this year. The truth is, as many of you have read, we have both struggled every day with what this means for our families, our countries, and our futures. The truth is, we have both had to make compromises that cost us sleep at night in order to afford us enough time to share our relationship with the world on our own terms.
We were not afforded that liberty.
But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable.
“Oh my God, Z, what is that? Did you get engaged?”
Zahra looks down at the ring and shrugs. “I had the weekend off.”
“As your mother, I can appreciate that maybe this isn’t your fault, but as the president, all I want is to have the CIA fake your death and ride the dead-kid sympathy into a second term.”
“You,” she says, “are going to make nice with Henry. You’re leaving Saturday and spending Sunday in England.”
Alex blinks. “Is it too late to take the faking-my-death option?”
I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and I had better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire.
“So,” she says. “Do you feel forever about him?”
And there’s no room left to agonize over it, nothing left to do but say the thing he’s known all along.
“Yeah,” he says, “I do.”
“Sometimes you just jump and hope it’s not a cliff.”
Henry melts at the touch, wraps his arms around Alex’s waist and holds him there. Alex isn’t going anywhere.