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When you're members of the first family, you can't simply walk out into a crowd of people without telling anybody! That's exactly what Michelle and Malia Obama did, however, on one very important night in American history. In her new memoir Becoming, the former first lady tells the story of how she bonded with her daughter by flouting the rules and sneaking out of the White House for an evening.
The escape took place on June 26, 2015, as the first lady was returning from a funeral service for the Charleston Church shooting victims. She was walking through the White House when she noticed a purple glow coming in through one of the windows. It turns out this happened to be the same day a landmark Supreme Court decision had effectively legalized gay marriage throughout the nation!
Outside, hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate in front of the White House, which had been illuminated in the colors of the rainbow. Michelle knew exactly where she wanted to be: celebrating with the crowds.
"I stuck my head into the Treaty Room. 'You want to go out and look at the lights?' I asked Barack. '
There are tons of people out there.' He laughed. 'You know I can't do tons of people.'
Sasha was in her room, engrossed in her iPad. 'You want to go see the rainbow lights with me?' I asked.
'Nope.'"
But then she found her partner in crime:
"This left Malia, who surprised me a little by immediately signing on. I'd found my wing-woman."
Normally, members of the first family are supposed to check in with the Secret Service anytime they leave the residence, but not this time:
"Malia and I just busted past the agents on duty, neither one of us making eye contact...Malia gave me a devilish smirk. She wasn't used to flouting the rules."
Downstairs, a night usher asked if she could help them, but the Obamas continued on:
"Oh we're just going outside, to see the lights."
The pair encountered a locked door and thought for a moment they might be out of luck, but then the usher gave them a conspiratorial tip: go out the loading door—not only was it unlocked, but no cameras would see them exit.
Before long, they found themselves exactly where they needed to be:
We made our way down a marble staircase and over red carpets, around the busts of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin and past the kitchen until suddenly we were outdoors. The humid summer air hit our faces. I could see fireflies blinking on the lawn.
And there it was, the hum of the public, people whooping and celebrating outside the iron gates. It had taken us 10 minutes to get out of our own home, but we'd done it. We were outside, standing on a patch of lawn off to one side, out of sight of the public but with a beautiful, close-up view of the White House, lit up in pride.
On that night, there's no place they would have rather been:
Malia and I leaned into each other, happy to have found our way there.
H/T - Business Insider, AOL