Diplomacy

people in the ward so relatives could come and pay their last respects. He shook his head. No. That couldn’t be.
    “Lucas?”
    He turned around and saw Maria standing near the entrance of the waiting room. She was wearing trousers and a sweater and her hair was untied. Her face looked worried and there were dark circles under her eyes.
    “Maria… how is…”
    “He’s fine. A bit banged up, but nothing that won’t heal,” she answered quickly. Lucas could tell she was trying hard to sound unemotional and she wasn’t looking at him.
    “Can I see him?” Lucas tried, his voice soft.
    “No,” she stated firmly, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Lucas.
    It’s enough that you know he’s all right.” She started to turn around, so Lucas took a few steps towards her and grabbed her arm.
    She pulled away and gave him a hostile look. “You have no claim on him.”
    Lucas tried to keep his emotions in check. “Don’t you think that’s for him to decide?”

    D i p l o m a c y | 149

    “He has decided,” Maria snapped. She then clearly regained her composure and narrowed her eyes. “Do you know what happens to discredited U.S. diplomats, Lucas?”
    “Jack didn’t do anything wrong, Maria. He fell in love, that’s all.” Lucas was trying to keep his breathing calm, but not succeeding very well.
    “In this administration, that’s plenty, young man,” she continued, her tone condescending. “They won’t fire him, you know. He knows too much about the inner workings of U.S. diplomacy. They will bury him under a mountain of paperwork in Washington, make him write reports on proposed foreign policy, make him use his extensive foreign experience in some dead end office job where they can keep an eye on him. That will be his future. And why? Because of an indiscretion with a junior British diplomat. He will hate you for it, because you will have ruined everything he ever wanted for a career. Everything he’s ever wanted will be out of his reach. You only get one chance at this, Lucas. I’d like to see how far that
    ‘love’ will carry you then.” Her eyes were wide and dark and staring intently at Lucas. Then she seemed to calm down again. “He knows that now.”
    Lucas’s chest tightened. She was right. The American President and his party were trying to get a ban on same sex marriages written into the constitution. They would never let a gay man keep such a publicly visible position. An Ambassador was a country’s calling card and had to display everything that was good about a nation. Maria was right. Lucas’s love was going to cost Jack everything he’d ever worked for.
    “At least let me say goodbye to him,” Lucas asked, fighting his tears.
    Maria looked straight at him and inhaled deeply. “Fine. Follow me.”
    Lucas was amazed that she was going to let him in to see his lover and he steadied himself as he followed her down the corridor. He had to be strong for Jack.
    She nodded towards the door and let Lucas enter by himself.
    Jack was on the bed in a white hospital gown with the hospital’s logo on it. He smiled at Lucas when he saw him enter. “Hey there. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

    150 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    Lucas felt the tears well up again, but took a deep breath. The last thing he wanted to do was cry like a girl. “Hey.” He took Jack’s out-stretched hand and squeezed it.
    “You okay?” Jack asked softly.
    Lucas felt a single tear roll down his cheek and wiped it away.
    “What are you asking me for? You’re the one in the hospital bed.” Jack tried to chuckle, but this clearly hurt too much. “Just a bit banged up, that’s all.”
    “Yeah, Maria told me,” Lucas answered.
    “You saw Maria?”
    Lucas nodded. “So how badly banged up are you?” Jack smiled. “Two cracked ribs, a few bruised ones, a broken collarbone and a bruised jaw. Oh yeah, and a concussion from when they knocked me down. The drugs they gave me take the edge off. Mark’s worse, though. He took a bullet for me. They tell me he’s alive, but they’re still working on him.”
    Lucas sat down next to the bed and raised Jack’s hand to his lips to kiss it. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He inhaled a few times trying to keep himself from becoming too emotional.
    Jack shushed him. “It’s okay, Luke. Everything will work out.” He opened his hand to touch Lucas’s cheek and they sat there for a while enjoying their hands entwined until Lucas noticed Jack had fallen