Jocelyn pulled her car up into the garage, her mind still on her exchange with the First Lady of the United States.  It was almost sureal, she was thinking as she got out of her car. What kind of insecurities that woman must have to think that every woman who came into close contact with her husband felt the need to drop panties on him.

She, at least, was a very happily married woman - thank you very much. 

Jocelyn walked into the foyer of her Georgetown townhouse, just in time to meet her happily married husband. She smiled ruefully at him. “Work?”

“Work.” But that didn’t mean he didn’t have time for a kiss from his wife. Time for several of them, in fact. 

Michael Martin was a power broker in Washington. He was a lobbyist for several business-based concerns in the D.C. Power structure. There were times that Jocelyn didn’t know how she felt about lobbyists in politics, but they were a fact. She and her husband had come to an understand at the very beginning comcerning the work that they did. There was a Chinese wall outside of their home, so it was rare that they discussed work within it. And, thanks to her prodding, at least he did represent some pro-bono councils that were more involved in grassroot, apolitical and community than the care and feeding of big business profits.

Michael was a former football phenomonen, but very few had recognized the fact tha he had also studied political science while playing college ball. He’d had a plan for when his playing days were done; in fact, they’d met when he’d was already established in D.C.  

She’d been a little leery of him, especially once she’d learned that he was a few years younger - four to be exact - than herself. But he hadn’t cared; he’d pursued her for almost two years until she’d actually fallen in love with the outspoken man who could not only represent his clients but showed a compassion and concern for those who could not afford his time and influence. 

Not for the first time, she wished that he would think about running for public office - he was a political party’s poster boy, with good looks overlaid with a smooth nut-brown complexion, with a well-groomed goatee that gave him just enough of a bad-boy wickedness to make female constituents dream and male ones feel a camaraderie. And he had a generous smile that he was shining in her direction even as he sat his briefcase down and took her into his arms.  

“I wish duty didn’t call.” He said as he leaned down to brush his lips against hers.

“I was saying the same thing a few hours ago.” she said as she kissed him thouroughly.

“If only I knew how long I would be, I would tell you to hold that thought, woman mine.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold it anyway.” Jocelyn murmured beneath his lips. “You’ve got to come home sometime.”

“But I’ve got to go now.” Michael said. Reluctantly he loosened his hold on her. ‘But, when I get home, I promise to make it up to you.”

Jocelyn laughed against his kisses. “Oh, I know you will.”

He let her go, but only because he had to. “Why don’t you call up your daughter, have lunch and enjoy youself.” he said after one final kiss. 

“That is not that bad of an idea.” Jocelyn said. “I knew there was a reason I kept you around after all this time. You have the best ideas...”

“I’ll remind you of some of them when I get back.”

Jocelyn hugged him again. As the door closed behind him, she walked into the her office. After she secured her briefcase in a floor safe beneath her desk, Jocelyn sat back in her chair and called her daughter. It rang several times, and Jocelyn frowned a little in disappointment. There were days her daughter worked crazy hours and maybe this was one of them. She was mentally composing a message for Shireen’s voicemail when her daughter picked up.

“Hi momma,” Shireen answered the phone, sounding a little out of breath.

“Chere, are you okay?” Jocelyn asked.

“I’m fine - you know me - I was in one room and my phone was in another. Unlike you, I don’t live with it fastened permanently to my ear.”

It was an long-running joke between them. 

“It for work.”

“Yes, momma.”

“Considering what you do, you should understand.” Jocelyn tried for a scolding tone, which they both knew was fake.

“Yes, momma.” Shireen told her in a sing-song voice. “But you didn’t call me just to remind me of one of your very bad habits.”

“No, I didn’t.” Jocelyn smiled into the phone. “I was thinking about a late brunch and if you’d like to meet me. How about some shrimp and grits?”

“At your favorite restaurant?”

“You know it.”

“Great, I’ll meet you at Eatonville in about an hour - how does that sound?”

“It works; it’ll give me time to change and I’ll see you then.”

Shireen ended the call and put the phone back on its charger on her nightstand. She smiled softly as the man behind her leaned over and a pair of lips trailed a path from her shoulder to her back of her neck.

“So much for that late lunch we were talking about.”

“We were talking?”

“Well, earlier we were - before we were - distracted. But that was my momma, and she wants to have brunch. Our hours are usually so crazy, so when one of us calls with some free time, the other comes running.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to intefere with a mother-daughter bonding ritual, so I guess it’s time to make myself scarce.” he paused. “You were planning to take a shower, weren’t you?”

Shireen laughed, knowing where his thoughts were headed. He was right, though- they might as well conserve water and make that a shower for two.

//**//

Shireen was standing outside of Eatonville, waiing for her mother to join her. She finally spotted her car pulling in across the street into a parking space and as usual, when she emerged, Jocelyn was holding her cell phone to her ear. Did that woman never stop working?

She laughed to herself - no more than she did herself. Shireen was grateful to have inherited her mother’s strength of will. It had served her well over the years. And if she aged as well as her mother had - she’d be blessed if she looked that good in twenty years.

Jocelyn was looking around as she gathered herself together, juggling her oversized purse - her battle bag Shireen had deemed it - phone and keys. 

Shireen raised her hand and waved it until she caught her mother’s attention. Jocelyn waved back and moved to the crosswalk, preparing to cross. She stepped one foot into the crosswalk and then there was a blaring of horns and tires screeching as a car zoomed directly in front of her. 

Shireen’s heart leapt into her throat. It had all happened so fast that it was too late for her to react until it was all done and the car was already turning off onto a side street and out of site.

Her body was shaking as she waited until her mother reached her. Her mother held up one hand - incredibly - she hadn’t even dropped her phone. 

Shireen glared at her until she’d hung up. “Momma!”

Jocelyn did have the grace to look a little guilty. But only a little. 

“It was no fault of mine - the light was yellow and the fool was impatient.”

“And if he had hit you, would that have made a difference?” Shireen tried not to shout - she and her mother rarely had loud words with one another. “How many times have I told you about you and that phone?”

“A million times,” Jocelyn said apolgetically. She took her daughter’s arm and began to lead her inside the restaurant. “Forgive me, and let us sit down and have a meal together.”

Shireen raised her eyes to the ceiling. What else could she do?

They soon found themselves seated at their table. Jocelyn was known here, a simple order and they soon found themselves served a most excellent brunch of shrimp and grits with fresh biscuits and honey on the side. Shireen let the car incident go for the most part, at least until they had finished the better part of their meal. 

“I have told you a thousand times to at least get an earpiece.” she began.

“You have told me a thousand times about a million other things as well.” Jocelyn reminded her. “I have tried them and they do not work for me.”

She reached out and patted her daughter’s hand. “I am sorry for frightening you.” Jocelyn smiled. “And I know how I can make it up to you - you are forever also needling at me to allow you to check my computer security feeds. They are government defined of course-” 

Shireen  gave her mother the eye. “What’s going on, mommy?”

“Nothing - in fact - if you’re free, you can come by tonight- before something comes up and changes our plans. Michael is out to work, and if he’s home at an decent hour, the three of us can have dinner - and if he isn’t - then the two of us can have a lovely evening. How does that sound?”

“Remember...” 

Shireen knew what was coming and she said the words along with her mother; after all, she’d been hearing them all of her life.

“Somebody didn’t wake up this morning, so let’s live today like there’s no tomorrow.”

And then that was exactly what they did.

For the others who had shared the day, it ended differently.

For Cyrus, the day ended with him in his home office, staring at his phone and wondering if he should make the call that he thought he should, thinking of the brewing storms to come.

For Olivia the day ended with the memory of Fitz's lips upon her own, staring at a phone that lay silent throughout the night. She spent the better part of it standing at her bedroom window, looking for answers in the night that she could not find to questions she dared not ask.

For Fitz, the night was another one spent in the Oval Office, the moon his only companion. It was empty of everything except light and shadows, holding no answers and offering no truths.

Except one. There was only one truth in his heart, however much it pained him to admit it. He still was hopelessly and forever in love with Olivia Carolyn Pope. Could he find it in him to let that love overcome his pain? And even if he could, would it be too late?

Rightfully, she wanted no part of him.

Would she ever let him back into her heart?

Could he ever let her back into his?