Page 119 of The Pacifist
Mila gave me the sweetest smile. “Yes, you have that effect on people. Me included.”
CHAPTER 26
The Final Vote
Mila
On Wednesday morning, I went back with Jonah to the Motherlands. He offered to go by himself, but I sensed that he was nervous and I wanted to support my man.
The Council had closed the meeting to the public due to the tension after the last meeting. The News would be given the final vote after the meeting, but that was all.
I sat quietly in the corner of Jonah’s sofa and watched him arrange the mood reader and put on his device.
For the longest time, he said nothing and I couldn’t hear the other Council members speak. All I could do was watch his body language as the meeting went on.
I knew the moment the vote began. Jonah stopped breathing and folded his hands into fists. I held my own breath, reading his stiff stoic pose and preparing myself to see his head fall forward in defeat.
“Please, please,” I muttered low.
And then his body eased up. There was no smile on his face and no sunken shoulders either. The suspense was killing me as I couldn’t figure out if he was in or out.
Without having said a single word the entire time, Jonah finally took off the device and blinked his eyes.
“What happened?” I breathed.
“There was a difference of five votes… in my favor.”
I screamed. “Does that mean you’re staying on the Council?”
“Yes.”
Raising my hands above my head, I jumped up to hug him. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
“I’m shocked. I was convinced they would throw me out.” A sudden burst of laughter erupted from Jonah. “Wow, I feel happier than when I was first elected to the Council. What a relief.”
“How could you think they wouldn’t want you? The whole country has been showing them how loved you are.”
Jonah squeezed me in a tight hug. “And the best part is that they know about my feelings for you. We never have to hide our love.”
“We should celebrate.” I ran to the fridge to find a pair of sweet drinks but before I’d made it back, Jonah was being bombarded with calls from colleagues on the Council wanting to congratulate him.
I let him soak up all the attention, while I took the opportunity to call my parents and tell them before they heard it on the News.
After that came the requests for interviews from the press. Jonah had stayed away from all the drama of the press since the last Council meeting, but now he accepted an interview without hesitation.
“Come on, Milove, I agreed to meet them at the old archive.”
Jonah had a happy bounce in his steps as we walked, hand in hand, the ten-minute walk to the old archive Because it was raining heavily, we hid under an umbrella and weren’t stopped by passersby, but once we got there, people were flocking to him like he was some kind of rock star.
I tried to pull away to give him space to do his interviews, but Jonah only tightened his grip on my hand. “Please stay with me.”
The deep eye contact between us made me melt a little. Jonah wasn’t like the big macho men of the North. He had no shame in admitting that he needed me as much as I needed him. Without a word, I moved closer to him and smiled when he placed his arm around my waist.
“Jonah, tonight you secured your seat on the Council. How do you feel?”
“Touched, and grateful to everyone who supported me.”
“At Friday’s Council meeting, you declared that you were going to fight for Mila. As you may have seen in the News, many have been worried about you and speculated whether you meant metaphorically or literally. There were theories that your absence in the media was due to injuries sustained while fighting.”
