Allies: Home Front

Chapter 11

"Thank you," P said groggily as Mr. George took Ben into his arms.

The First Lady had hardly gotten any sleep on the presidential plane that had jetted her, the three children, their detail of agents, and Liza with her staff of secretaries, to London. It had taken all of her energy to avoid Bobby's insistent calls as they traveled to the airport, the children all a bit confused as to why they had been awaken. P comforted them, and managed to arrive in London that afternoon without speaking to Bobby once.

Liza had put all of her effort into keeping the early and chaotic trip a secret. She didn't want the press thinking something was off with the couple, and had done a good job keeping the trip out of the headlines. However, P's humiliation was far from a secret. All of the guests at the party had seen Noel Nichols at the White House after her sultry performance at Bobby's birthday party. P looked like a weak, docile wife who let her husband walk all over her, and she wouldn't have it.

"P!" a familiar voice called.

P smiled at her friend, the Queen of England. "Poppy," she sighed as the two leaders embraced.

"What happened?" Poppy asked quickly, taking P's purse from her hand and leading her through the beautifully decorated halls of Buckingham Palace.

"Well-"

"Oh, you must be exhausted!" Poppy said, lightly slapping herself on the forehead. "Please, don't let me keep you up. Take a nap, I'll help get the children settled in. Your sister in law Jan will be arriving soon, and then we can all have the chance to talk."

P smiled graciously and kissed the Queen on her pale cheek. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"That's what best friends are for."

---

P awoke in the massive bed in her suite later that evening and changed from her now wrinkled skirt and blouse into a black slip dress.

The dim lighting filtering in through the windows told her it was about 6 pm, so she made her way to the Queen's apartment, per the direction of some royal assistants.

P knocked before swinging open the heavy wooden door. Gathered around a large sitting area was Poppy, Jan, and a mass of children. All of Jan's eight, P's three, and Poppy's two, were being fussed over by their nannies while the mothers talked.

"P!" Jan breathed, jumping from her seat and running to hug the First Lady.

P hugged Jan tightly, relieved to have her closest confidant with her.

"Come sit down, we have some dinner," Poppy called in her proper British accent.

P joined the party, serving herself a variety of sandwich halves and fruit on her plate.

"I would have ordered us something better, but it was easier with the children," Poppy explained.

"No- it's perfect."

The adults didn't speak as the children took over the conversation. Mannon and Ben immediately flocked to P, their hands on her legs as they asked where their father was. P explained that he would be arriving in about a week for Patrick's baptism, and that they could talk to him on the phone anytime they wanted. Ben proceeded to ask for a bite of P's sandwich, before trotting off to play with his cousins.

Mannon, however, with her extremely wise mind, looked at P closely. "Are you mad at Daddy?"

"No, I just wanted to see the Queen. Aren't you having fun here?" P asked, brushing Mannon's hair behind her ear.

"Yes! How come we left so late?" Mannon questioned.

"We left so late because I just decided I wanted to go, Nannie. Its very convenient being married to the president, because I can call a plane in just a few minutes."