After the longest time, Catherine finally found happiness. Chris had a big part in this as he patiently waited for her. It was not a perfect relationship. She was realistic enough to understand that. She knew that he can be an asshole too. But he was the one who showed her that it was okay to trust people - to trust men.

He did not force the issue of children as he knew how traumatized Catherine was with the conception of her first child. He witnessed how she struggled to go on with her life after the incident - how she had to pick up the pieces to start a new leaf. But with great patience, he proved to her that he can be a loving dad to her son. With that, she finally agreed to have one with him.

This was how their trip to Israel started. The couple planned to go to the sacred land to discover its historical wonder. The anticipation awakened their childhood dream of becoming an archaeologist. Yes, they both have the same wish. They basically had the same taste. Although they were raised in different households that were several miles away from each other, they had similar belief system. As Catherine pondered upon this, she realized that she wanted to have a child with Chris. She wanted to raise his seed.

They were now on their way to the holy land. As Chris drove to his mother-in-law's house to drop their son, he gave the child gentle reminders. Listening to his litany made Catherine smile because she felt certain that Chris' love for Jason was real. It was not just for show. It became even more evident when they got married and Chris moved in with them because he was far more patient than she ever was.

"Hijo," Chris said as he made a turn, "please help your abuela with the chores, ok?"

"Yes, papa."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Well, we are here," Chris announced as the familiar sight of Catherine's old home was in front of them. Then he added, "you can now go down while I park the car."

With that, both Catherine and Jason stepped out of the car. The child stepped on the sidewalk as his mother waited for the baggage compartment to open. When it did, she unloaded the trolley with images of Thomas the Tank Engine.

Her son immediately pried the bag from her. Then he added, "I can do it, mama."

"Of course, you can."

Jason ran inside his grandmother's house while Catherine waited for Chris. He had parked the car in the parking lot opposite her mom's home. When he stepped out of their car, he smiled at her, and with big steps, crossed the street. He reached for her hand. Then together, they went inside.

Even before opening the door, they can already hear the joyous interaction between the elderly and the child. They exchanged a quick smile before stepping inside.

"Mama," Catherine called out to her own mother. She approached the matron and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then she stepped back and allowed Chris to greet her mother.

"Go now," her mother told them enthusiastically. Then she turned her back at them and said, "Jason and I have plans."

With that, Chris took her hand and led her out of the house. He took his phone and started tinkering for an Uber ride. As he did this, Catherine said, "you do know that you can let go of my hand."

The couple laughed.

"I wonder if Jason finds us nauseating."

"He is still too innocent for that."

"He will soon have a crush," Chris reminded her.

"He will remain my baby even if he already has a wife."

"I'm sure that when he comes of age, he will find this sickening," Chris said as he hugged his wife tightly.

"We would also find this revolting if we were watching another couple do it."

A grey Nissan almera stopped in front of them. Its driver rolled the window down and asked, "Uber?"

Chris nodded his head and said, "we have luggage."

They heard the clinking of metal. She watched Chris load some of their bags inside the baggage compartment. She took the smaller bags and stuffed them inside the front seat. She opened the door of the back seat and went in.

Chris followed soon.

Catherine immediately placed her head on his shoulders.

"I think we will have an Israeli baby," Chris teased. He reached for her hand and kissed it. They remained silent - contented with just the opportunity to be with each other.

*****

Kyle Thompson was in his library when his son came to talk to him. He heard the young man say, "dad, do you have time?"

"Sure, son. Come in."

He could see that his son seemed afraid. But the young man appeared to be determined. Then he settled on the chair opposite Kyle.

"Dad, I know that you have been grieving for mom's death. But you need to get a life."

He was about to ask his son in indignation what he meant. But he realized that he did not have the time to argue with his son. Harry was the only breathing memory that was left to him. Every moment should not be spent in petty arguments. As hard as it was, he tried to listen to his teenage son.

It has been tested over and over, especially since they were pushed toward public glare upon winning a Senate seat. Each step that they took was scrutinized. But it was manageable with his wife around as she knew how to deal with their children. With her, they were able to reflect a happy united front. It was genuine.

The magnifying glass that they were put under became even larger after his wife's death. Although it has been three years since the love of his life died trying to save their children, time did not make it easy for him and for Henry. His wife and three of his children died instantly as the mad man drove the military tank right through hordes of civilians. The lunatic even got the sadistic pleasure of going over children.

"Am I suffocating you, son?"

Kyle can see Harry squirm in the awkwardness of the situation. After some time, the kid finally answered, "somewhat…. Granny even agreed to my assessment."

Upon hearing this, Kyle raised his eyebrows.

"Remember that she is mom's mom. We are all worried about you. At any rate, I don't need to stay at her place during the course of your trip to Israel."

"Ah," Kyle hid a wry smile as he heard his son's statement, "I see."

"All I'm saying dad is for you to enjoy your trip. It might be a work related trip. But it does not mean that you will not go out and have fun."

His son became quiet as if trying to gage his reaction. Then continued, "You don't have to check on me every night. Just in case you've forgotten, dad, I'm already 15 years old."

"Come here you silly little monkey," Kyle said as he patted his lap.

"Ahmmm," Henry said in reply, "Remember, I'm 15?"

"Do please forgive your old man for treating you as if you are still a toddler."

Henry merely smiled and said, "It has been three years dad. We need to move on with our lives."

His son patted him on the shoulder and left him.

Kyle went to the window and looked outside. If Anna was still alive, she would have been gardening at this hour.

During spring and summer, their garden would have been peppered with the colors of red, pink, and white as the sleeping plants would wake up, and bring so much life. But now, the sunny disposition of their garden could not change his mood. He still missed Anna badly.

It must have been her Latin blood that brought so much energy in their marriage. She was his strength. How can he live without her?

As he brooded with these questions, he came face to face with a more pressing concern. How can Henry not see that he was just carrying out his responsibility as a parent? He wanted to take his son to Israel. On the other hand, doing this is also perilous so why not just leave him with his grandmother.

With this in mind, he immediately reached for his phone and texted his mother-in-law. He had to ensure that Henry is safe.

*****

Catherine can't believe her luck. She was not only traveling with the love of her life in one of the most magical places in the world. Sure, the peace here is very volatile. But seeing the limestone monuments just made history feel alive.

She took a peek outside, and was just excited to see and feel Jerusalem itself. Even before their scheduled trip for the day, she hurriedly left her hotel room and went to the lobby. She wanted to get some leaflets to know some more fact tidbits about the Holy Land.

As she took long strides toward the concierge, she noticed the US Senator, Kyle Thompson. She had the biggest crush on him. Her strides became more purposeful because she wanted to tell Chris about seeing Mr Thompson in the lobby. Of course, her husband didn't find the US statesman physically attractive. But both of them were rooting for his ascension to his current post even while he was still part of the opposition.

She hurriedly reached for her backpocket to get her phone. But her being a fangirl kicked in when she noticed that he smiled at her, she was not able to get her phone for the selfie. Thankfully, she still had enough presence of mind to smile back. Instead of going to the concierge, she backtracked her steps and went back to her room.

Catherine scrambled to open the door of her room. When she finally did, she rushed to her husband's side, jumped on their bed and said, "Wake up! Wake up!"

"What?" Chris asked groggily as he turned his back on her.

"Kyle Thompson is in the same hotel as we are."

She didn't hear any response from him. But she saw that he had pulled his blanket over his head. She teased him by pulling the blanket before saying, "of course, nothing can compare to you."

Chris rolled again in a way that his face was now on his pillow. This made Catherine smile and lay beside him. She snuggled closer to her husband.

*****

On his way back from the Knesset building, Kyle was smiling. The lady in the hotel lobby was incredibly pretty. It has been quite some time since he noticed a beautiful woman.

As he stepped out of the limousine, he was sorely tempted to ask his security detail to search for the woman. But he was sure that doing such a thing would only earn her contempt. So before stepping inside the hotel, he said a silent prayer that he would see her again.

Much to his delight, she was indeed there - taking purposeful strides from the concierge to the elevator. Although he was greatly tempted to race to the elevator, he restrained himself. He did not want to look too eager. So he went to the concierge and asked for the table that he had reserved for himself that night.

"Good evening," he greeted the front desk staff. As he did this, he noticed that there was a woman's name scrawled on a piece of paper. It said, "Catherine Castillo Room 302."

"Good evening, Sir," came the reply as the woman quickly took the piece of paper with the name. It was followed by, "how can I help you, Minister?"

"I have made a reservation for tonight. Would you be kind enough to show me to my table?"

"Of course, Sir," the woman replied. She led him to the restaurant.

Kyle gave himself a mental pat on his shoulder as he followed the concierge - hoping that the name on the paper belonged to the Latina beauty. When a head waiter pulled the chair for him, he gave the concierge a curt bow and said thank you. He also smiled at the man serving him and asked, "What is the chef's specialty?"

The man enumerated several dishes. But Kyle was not listening as he saw the Latina beauty. He gave the head waiter the signal to stop. He stood and approached her. He was so taken by her beauty that all he could say was, "you are so beautiful."