Free Cobalt by Shelley Grace Page A

she had settled into sleep, thinking of how cruel children could be. Suzy was Senator Bowen's daughter. He was from the other party. She was twelve, and always picking on Rianna. She had probably told Rianna this to scare her. Gillian kissed her sleeping daughter and went back to her bedroom.
     
    When she got there she discovered the music was no longer playing, and William was in bed, apparently asleep. She closed the doors behind her, crossed the room, taking off her satin robe as she did so, and got in beside her husband. After a minute, she rolled over and looked at his face. He was only just managing to keep his eyes closed. She blew across his cheek. William covered his face with the sheet, the movement of the fabric giving Gillian a brief glimpse of his bare shoulder and chest underneath.
     
         ‘Stop it Gillian, I'm not in the mood.’
     
         ‘Liar!’
     
         ‘Who are you calling a liar?’ William grabbed her wrists, twisted her onto her back, and began to tickle her. As she moved to escape his grip, she felt something hard under the centre of her back, at the same moment, the music once again filled the room. Gillian laughed as she pulled the remote from under her, and turned it off. William kissed her slightly above the navel.
     
         ‘I thought you said you weren't in the mood,’ she teased. William then made his way up her body, sliding the top of her lavender satin pyjamas, as he slid his hands along her sides. He kissed her between the breasts.
     
    ‘I lied...’ Then at the base of her neck.  ‘Just don't....’ On her lips. ‘Tell my wife!’ He muttered the last of his statement as he kissed her lips, more passionately.
     
    Gillian shoved him away from her, anger suddenly taking the place of the passion she had been feeling.
     
       ‘That’s not very funny, William.’ She said, straightening her pyjama top. ‘You know how I feel about that. I trust you, but I’ve been given so many reasons not to. And then you go and say something like that.’
     
         ‘Honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just trying to make a joke about the accusations.’ William began to reassure her with gentle caresses.
     
         ‘Well, it wasn’t very funny.’ Gillian said as seriously as she could.
     
         ‘I love you. And there’s no-one else I want in this entire world…’
     
    Gillian cut him off. ‘Look at this. I was sent this in the mail.’ Gillian opened the top draw of her bed-side table and removed a photograph. The picture was of William and a blonde woman strolling casually, arm in arm, down a city street. On the back read ‘Thanks for the wonderful evening. Love Angela.’  William studied the photo, and began to laugh.
     
         ‘I don’t see anything funny about that.’ Gillian remarked, taking the photo from her husband.
     
         ‘It’s a hoax honey. Of that you can be assured. Someone has used a photo editing program to doctor that image.’ William countered.
     
         ‘Hoax? But who would do such a cruel thing?’ Gillian asked, still not totally convinced, ‘Seriously, who would go to the trouble.’
     
         ‘For someone proficient with a computer, and the thousands of photo editing programs available honey, it’d be no trouble at all. A quick cut and paste.’ William stated. ‘Any kid with internet access can download the new and improved ‘Photoshop’ or ‘Image-editor. And anyone who wants to cause problems, or and unthinking hack with a little time to kill could doctor the image and post it to you. I’m surprised your security team didn’t screen the incoming mail, stop this from getting to you’ William frowned. 
     
        ‘If it is a hoax, why should you care if I see it or not?’ Gillian knew she sounded ridiculous, she knew that William was only trying to stop her suffering un-necessary angst such as this. She knew all mail entering the White House was screened