Barbara’s expression turned serious. “When news of my husband’s affair broke, I was on my first campaign stop of the week. It caught me by surprise, and I had to scramble to do damage control.”

“I remember reading about it in the Times.”

“It wasn’t until the tabloids ran the photos did it get really ugly,” Barbara’s frustrated sigh was the first sign of a crack on her tough exterior.

Bette rubbed the woman’s shoulder in sympathy. She stayed silent, waiting for Barbara to continue with her story.

“We did the best we could, but it was a black mark on my campaign. My female, married voters just about deserted me. They felt if I couldn’t keep my husband happy, then I wouldn’t be able to do my job,” Barbara carried on, not bothering to hide the pain in her voice.

She moved her hand to Barbara’s back, offering additional support. “Majority of the people are caught up with optical illusions. They have no desire to explore further, even though the opportunities are available to them.”

“It was a close race, but my heart told me it was time,” Barbara leaned on Bette, resting her head on her shoulder. “I’ve had a great political career, and I’ve made so much progress while I was there. I have no regrets.”

“Yet, you can’t help but feel as though you still could do more,” Bette remarked.

The words hit close to home for Barbara, eliciting an understanding nod from her. “After the hoopla was over, John and I took care of the divorce.”

“Why did you divorce? I thought you two had an arrangement?” Bette asked, slightly puzzled by the turn of events.

“Our marriage began like every couple. But when I started running for office, it changed. I was spending so much time tending to my political career and he started staying at the office later and later,” Barbara took a deep breath. “On the day before I was to be elected to the House, I came home to find a drunken husband and a teary confession.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“We were naïve to think our marriage was strong enough to overcome that. We tried so hard to make it work, but in the end, power came between us,” Barbara sighed. “Instead of a divorce, we came to an agreement. I live my life on the Hill while he has his own.”