#Chapter 65: A Thinly Veiled Threat

He'd left early, kissing the top of my head and inhaling deeply before he went out the door of my apartment to his waiting car. He told me not to worry, that he'd been to plenty of these government meetings before and had friends there he was happy to see. He would be back that night. "We have a party to go to tomorrow morning, right?" he'd said, giving my hand a final squeeze. I nodded, trying to smile and be brave. I knew it was unlikely anything would happen to him there, but I was still nervous at the way he'd been summoned. I didn't like it. It was Saturday, but the protests were even larger as people who weren't able to leave their jobs during the week were able to show up. I watched live streaming coverage, having agreed to stay home while Charles was gone, both because I knew he had enough to worry about and because Sally had called insisting I take it easy for at least the weekend. I watched, texting Cathy and Sheila about what was happening and got photos of cr