16.
“MATTHEW OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR!” I pound fiercely on my best friend’s
door. The man I’ve known since I was seven years old. I was the first person he
came out to. He was the one to convince me to go to Harvard. I was the one who
convinced him to get back on his fucking bike when he road it into a tree. He was
the one who told me to get my shit together when Leo actually DID make me
Deputy and I was freaking out that I couldn’t do the job.
And the man I just left a house full of people to come over here and fucking
pummel over setting all this up in the first place. I never would have met Donna if
it wasn’t for this man.
The door opens and Matt’s in a t-shirt and flannel pants rubbing his eyes.
“What the hell?” he demands.
“That’s what I’d like YOU to explain.” I snap pushing past him.
“I thought you were having people over tonight?” He asks.
“I’ve got a house full of people!” I shout. “People who were a bit confused over
my slamming out of the house, after Donna did, by the way, and leaving them
there.”
“Josh, calm down and tell me what’s going on.”
“I’M NOT GOING TO FUCKING CALM DOWN!” I shout. His eyes widen. “I found
Donna’s polling data.”
He arches an eyebrow at me. “That’s the RNC’s polling data.”
“What the hell is Donna doing with it?” I demand.
“Her job.”
“And what exactly IS her job now, Matt! What have you two been keeping from
me?”
“Matt?” Comes a third voice. My eyes widen and I’m speechless as a totally
unfamiliar guy wanders out of Matt’s bedroom similarly dressed.
“Uh…sorry, Scott.” Matt says waving a hand back and forth between me and
him. “I have a bit of a situation here.”
“It looks like it.” This guy Scott says.
“You’re DATING?” I finally squeak to Matt.
Scott’s eyes widen and he looks over at Matt. “Um…I didn’t really realize that you
still had someone… this is really awkward.”
“NO!” Matt says quickly jumping up. “Scott, this is Josh.”
“Oh!” Scott looks very relieved. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Matt’s told me a lot
about you.”
“Scott, could you give us a few minutes?” Matt asks and Scott smiles and
disappears, then Matt pushes me into the kitchen.
“What the hell!?” I demand. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing anyone. I didn’t
know you were thinking about dating again. I thought you were going, like,
celibate after Jason.” I’m peeking around the kitchen to see if I can get a glimpse
of this guy again, but Matt yanks me back.
Matt’s eyes widen a bit in surprise and now I feel really bad for bringing Jason
up. Jason was a guy Matt dated for a while; not like years, but about six or seven
months. Matt really liked him, but Jason got killed in a car accident. This was a
couple of years ago and Matt was pretty devastated and hadn’t dated since.
“Josh, this is a part of my life that you’ve always just accepted but were always a
little freaked out about.” Matt begins. “You’ve been going through a lot of shit…”
“Oh, come on!”
“You’ve been going through a lot of shit…” he says again. “And you get freaked
when you’re on your game. I didn’t want to, you know, send you around the
bend.”
“What’s he do?”
“Can we get back to the other thing first?” he retorts. “You have a house full of
people.”
Oh yeah. I’m royally pissed at this guy. “What the hell are you and Donna doing
polling me?”
“The RNC routinely polls you all.”
“Why do YOU have it?”
“They want me to step up.” Matt says.
“What?”
“They’re going to put me out front on a lot more stuff.”
“It’s a ploy.” I say immediately.
“Yes, I know.” He smirks.
“They want to throw the White House off its game by hitting us with my best
friend.”
“I’m aware of that.” he says. “They obviously don’t understand how you and I
work.”
“*I* don’t understand how you and I work right now, Matt!” I shout.
“Are you SURE everything’s okay out here?” Scott says appearing in the kitchen
and looking quite concerned.
“Yes.” Matt immediately says.
“What do you do for a living?” I jump on my opportunity.
“Josh!” Matt immediately scolds me. “Scott, I just need a few more minutes.”
Scott turns around and leaves the kitchen and Matt glares at me. What? Matt’s
like my brother. I’m not going to let him date just anybody.
“Why is it such a secret?” I ask.
“Scott or the polling data?”
“Both.”
“It’s not. Scott’s an accountant; I asked for the polling data because I’m putting
together an exploratory committee.”
For the third time tonight, I am completely speechless. I’m so shocked, I sit down.
“For what?” I ask quietly. And he looks at me until I get what I already knew when
I asked the question.
“You want to challenge President Bartlet in two years?”
“No!” he says. “In six years, I’m considering challenging the democratic nominee.”
“That’s…” I need a coherent thought here. “…the Speaker hates you.”
“I know.” Matt laughs. He looks a little relieved. I start to think of Matt as a
Presidential candidate. “You’re going to run as a Republican?”
“Independent.”
And the hits just keep on coming.
“Why six years? Why not two?”
“The guy I need to run my campaign and do this with me isn’t available in two
years.”
“Who?”
“YOU! You idiot! I’d never ask you to run against Bartlet and I need that time
anyway.”
“Donna knows you’re running in six years?”
“No. Donna knows that the RNC wants me to be the face of like half the agenda.
I didn’t want to put her in that kind of a position.” He says and I run a hand down
my face. I feel like such an idiot. “Josh, this all just happened and it happened
fast and I wanted to make sure you were back on track before I told you. It was
never my intention to keep any of it from you. But your wellbeing has been my
priority since August. She doesn’t know the big picture. She was just pulling out
the information I was asking her to.”
“Okay.” I say standing up. “I need to digest this. And I have to find Donna and
beg for eternal forgiveness…again…and you have your boy toy in there...”
“Knock it off.”
“Seriously, man. How long have you been seeing him?”
“A couple of weeks.”
“Am I going to actually be able to meet him?”
“Yes.”
“I have to find Donna.” I say walking to his door.
“What about your house full of people?”
I turn to him with my hand on the doorknob. “I have to find Donna.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Okay. Josh has called me about three times and now, he’s rambling into the
machine about coming over and pounding on the door until I allow him to
adequately beg for my forgiveness.
“I’m sorry, Donna. I talked to Matt and I’m so sorry. I’m repentant! I want to grovel
adequately where you can make me do things and manipulate me until your
heart’s content! Please, please pick up! I know you’re there. Donna, I’m just… I’
m sorry… I was…”
I can’t take it any more. I snatch the phone up. “An asshole, Josh! You were an
asshole.”
“You’re so beautiful.” He says in reply.
“You are not at the sucking up part!” I reply. “How could you automatically
assume that I, of all people, and Matt of even more people, are out to screw
you?”
“I’m not a nice person, Donna! I have no idea what you see in me.”
“At the moment, neither do I!”
“I just thank God every day for you. Every time I take a breath in, I thank God
that you’re in my life.”
“Stop.” I order as my eyes fill with tears.
“You’re just so amazing, Donna.” He continues softly. My tears are flowing freely.
If you could hear how soft and tender his voice was, you’d know it’s pretty hard
not to forgive this man when he apologizes. “I was already upset because I had
plans for us tonight, but I can’t say no to you, and I really wanted this night to go
so incredibly different.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to tell you over the phone, baby. Please let me come there and I’ll
grovel and tell you all about it and I’ll show you how sorry I am with the best make
up sex you’ve ever had in your life.”
“I don’t know, Joshua. You were a pretty big asshole and your offenses this time
were many.” I’m unconvincing though, as I really have moved past the forgiving
and allowed him to move to the sucking up phase.
“I love you?”
“I love you, too, Joshua. But as I said, there were many offenses.”
“What if I told you jewelry was involved?”
“Jewelry, really?” I think I’d be interested to see the kind of jewelry Josh gives a
girl.
“Uh-huh.”
I pause…for effect really. “You are permitted to come grovel in person.”
“Good because I’m almost there.” He says.
“I knew it.” I sigh.
“I was shamelessly planning on your devotion to me there.”
“That’s not earning you points. Hurry up.” I hang the phone up and smile a bit.
I’m not as pissed as I was, but he’ll still have his work cut out for him when he
gets here. I’m not going to give in early, unless he busts this mysterious jewelry
out early on. Then I might have to cave. Josh has got a lot of money. It’s sure to
be pretty, so we might have to skip the groveling and go to the make up sex at
that point.
The doorbell rings and I move to let him in, not taking the time to wonder why he
isn’t using his key.
I open the door with an enormous smile on my face.
It falls quickly.
“Dan!”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
17.
I don’t care what the salespeople tell you, there haven’t been a pair of skis
invented that are ‘easy to transport’. Yes, I got her skis, and since I was a
tremendous ass earlier, I figured I better cough them up now if I have a hope in
hell of convincing her to give me another chance. Yes, I have the jewelry in my
pocket too, but I decided I’m not using that as bargaining chip. That’s a separate
item that has many strings attached.
My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, and I’d normally ignore it, but the people
in my life get very nervous when I don’t answer the phone these days.
“Josh Lyman.”
“Why aren’t you at your apartment with your guests?”
“Mom?”
“You tell me Donna wants to spend Christmas in D.C. and you tell me you can’t
come for New Year’s because you’re having everyone over at your place. Now I
call to wish my son Happy New Year’s and Sam tells me you had to step out for a
bit?”
“Mom --” I stop in the hallway of Ainsley’s building and lean the skis against the
wall. This is going to be a long conversation and I’m not going to be holding the
skis the whole time.
“So then I ask to talk to that sweet girl you’ve tricked into seeing you and Sam
says she had to step out too.” Mom pauses for a breath. “What the hell is going
on over there Joshua?”
“We…did have to step out for a bit. But we’ll be back there shortly.”
“What did you do?” Mom asks.
“I- Look, it was a misunderstanding and I’m fixing it.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“I can fix things. I’m very good at fixing things.” I protest.
“Political things, sure. You have incredible political skills. But this…”
“I’m fixing it and then we’ll be back at the party in no time.” I assure her. Then
because I know I’ve worried her a ton these last few months, I decide to throw
her a bone. “Besides, this works out well because I wanted a little privacy for
this.”
“You can’t leave your guests to have sex with Donna, Josh.”
“Mother!”
“It’s very rude. Why can’t men have any patience about these things?” Mom
continues.
“It’s NOT about sex, Jeez!” I huff, but because she mentioned sex with Donna I
get distracted for a few seconds. “I need privacy to ask her something;
something important, something that involves a ring.” Take that, Mom.
“A…a ring?” I hear mom gasp. “You had better not be teasing me about this
Joshua Lyman, or so help me --”
“I’m not.” I tell her and I can hear her sniff. “I thought you’d be happy about this.”
“I am! I truly am happy, it’s just that I haven’t even met her yet.” Mom complains.
“I know…that’s my fault.” I admit. “But you’re really going to love her.”
“I’ve enjoyed talking to her over the phone and she takes very good care of you,
so I already do.”
“I was…going to ask her to go away for a skiing weekend. No reason we couldn’t
do that in Connecticut.” I offer.
“This weekend?” I hear the hope in my mother’s voice. I owe her big.
“Yes, this weekend.” I promise.
“Well, don’t just stand there talking to an old woman. Go fix things with Donna so
I can see you both this weekend.” Mom unceremoniously hangs up on me. I roll
my eyes out of habit and pick up my heavy burden again. Why the hell does
Ainsley have to live on the fifth floor?
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Dan, what are you doing here?” Why the hell didn’t I check the peep hole
before I opened the damn door? Because I was SO sure it was Josh and I was
very anxious to see him. Dan’s eyes look a little glassy. Is he drunk? Shit.
“I came for you, Donnatella.” He slurs it and even when he’s sober it doesn’t
sound as wonderful rolling off his tongue as it does rolling off Josh’s. Josh will be
here any minute…any second. I don’t close the door all the way, not that Doctor
Dan notices in his state.
“We were done a long time ago, Dan. Why would you come all the way to D.C.,
on New Year’s Eve, for God’s sake?!”
“I screwed up.”
“No shit.”
“I made a mistake, Donna. Nothing’s been the same since you left.”
“It must have been a huge change of pace for you not having me to pay all your
bills and take all your shit.” I reply emboldened by his groveling. It may turn out
that I get two men groveling for my forgiveness. This could be fun.
“It’s been awful. I can’t do this without you, Donna. I need you.”
“And I needed you to be faithful.” No mercy, Daniel.
“I’ve learned from my mistake.”
“Mistakes. Plural. And so have I.” I remind him.
“I’m begging you for another chance here, Donnatella. Why won’t you forgive
me?”
I have to stop and give that serious thought. My conversation now isn’t all that
different from my conversation with Josh earlier. Why am I so willing to forgive
Josh but not Dan? For one thing, Dan’s betrayal was repeated, personal, and
sexual. Josh’s sin, if we’re calling it that, is lashing out at me and given what he’s
dealing with, I’m not certain that his behavior has been within his control. Sam
told me about how Josh lost it in the Oval office with the President. There is
nobody, besides Leo maybe, that Josh reveres more than the President. If he
couldn’t control his emotions in the Oval, with the President, it’s unreasonable to
think he can hold it together for the rest of us 24/7.
I thought I loved Dan. I trusted him with my body, my heart and my bank account
and he betrayed all three. When you love someone and they- that’s the other
thing. Once I fell in love with Josh it made what I felt for Dan pale in comparison. I
felt ridiculous for ever having confused what I felt for Dan with love. This
revelation fills me with a great sense of peace. Now I really want Josh to come
through that door so I can tell him about my light bulb moment. I glance over at
the door in anticipation, but Dan seems to have misread my gesture.
“Is your cousin coming home soon? We can go somewhere private. I’ve got a
room in town. We can talk and…patch things up…start over…” Dan trails his
finger up my arm. It sends shivers down my spine, but not the good kind. Again,
in his inebriated state, he misunderstands my reaction.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Dan leans down and whispers in my ear. Ewwww.
“Dan, no.” I push him away. “I’m not interested in patching things up.”
“Donna…come back home with me. You don’t belong in D.C., you’re not like
your cousin.” Dan tells me and that gets my attention.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re not a power hungry, intellectual, political type.” Dan shrugs and tugs on
my hand with his other hand. “Your mind doesn’t work like that. You belong back
in Wisconsin.”
“I belong here.” I tell him steadfastly.
“Right.” Dan scoffs. “Look, if you really want to be a secretary or something, we’
ve got offices back home. Hell, once I’m done with med school, you can work in
my office.” He smiles at the generosity of his offer and leans down to kiss my
neck.
“Having observed how closely you like to work with your STAFF, I’m sure you
think that’s a compliment, but that’s not what I had in mind.” I push him away.
“Donna…we were made for each other. We’re perfect together. We always have
been.” He’s now following me around the living room while I try to retreat. He’s
not scaring me or anything. I could be up the stairs and behind a locked door
before his drunken ass got halfway there. He’s just annoying me now.
“No, we haven’t been perfect together; I was a perfect patsy for you. There’s a
difference.” I explain, but he’s not having any of it.
“It’ll be different this time.” He promises and I laugh. If I had a dollar for every
time he told me THAT line. Somewhere in his drunken haze he registers my
laugh. “I mean it. We’ll start over. It’ll be great!”
“It would not be great; it would be terrible. I’m happy here.” I assure him.
“In D.C.? As a secretary to some Congressman? Please. That’s not the life for
you.” He tries to cajole. “What does D.C. have that Wisconsin doesn’t have?” He
asks.
“Me for one.” Josh’s voice registers from behind me and my head whips around
to meet his eyes. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Josh!” The relief in my voice probably sounds greater than it needs to, but I am
SO happy to see him.
“Jeez, Donna, it’s a little skanky to invite two men over on New Year’s Eve. I think
you’re going to have to pick one of us and send the other on his way.”
“Who the hell are you?” Dan gets in his face. Dan gets…belligerent when he
gets drunk.
“Josh Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. Who
the hell are you?” Josh returns fire…and I get a little heated. Damn, he is hot
when he’s like this.
“Josh, this is Dan...from back home?”
“Freeride?” Josh asks and then turns to me for confirmation when Dan doesn’t
know how to respond to that. I nod grudgingly.
“Oh, this is too good to be true.” Josh literally rubs his hands together after he
drops a pair of skis on the floor. Wait a second! Skis? “I’ve been praying for this
opportunity but I never thought you’d deliver yourself right here to me. Santa just
came a little late this year.”
“Fuck off, man. This is between Donna and me.”
“No, see anything that has to do with Donna concerns me too.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Because I’m going to marry her, you asshole.” Josh replies and I feel my mouth
drop open. “So let’s just get a couple of things straight. You don’t visit her, you
don’t talk to her, and you certainly don’t THINK about her. You keep these rules
straight and you won’t have to answer any questions from the F.B.I.”
“The F.B.I? What the hell?” Dan’s confusion is showing. I’m pretty sure Josh
means Mike, but we can keep that our little secret.
“You’d do best to get the hell out of Dodge and slink back into whatever
cheesehead hole you slunk out of.” Josh threatens.
“Who’s going to make me, you?” Dan sneers. Oh, God. This can’t end well.
“Hell, yes.” Josh gets in his face and I have to cover my eyes with my hands. Dan
is strong; really strong. He’ll turn Josh into road kill. The only advantage Josh
has right now is that he is sober and Dan is drunk. That’s not enough of an
advantage.
Dan winds up, and the swing is good! It connects with the side of Josh’s face.
Josh staggers but stays upright. “Josh!” I cry out, but he holds up a hand to
keep me away from him.
“Daniel, you stop this, this instant!” I demand.
Dan turns to me to respond and Josh picks up the lamp on the end table and
uses it to whack Dan across the back of the head. Dan goes down for the count.
I look up at Josh in amazement.
“You…you just knocked him out cold with the lamp!” I report.
“I had to. He would have beaten the shit out of me.” Josh protests, thinking I’m
angry with him. Instead I propel myself into his arms being cautious of his face.
That face is going to bruise.
“Are you okay? You were so brave, trying to protect me.” I kiss him soundly.
“Trying to? I think I succeeded there, Donnatella.” He smirks and then winces
from the pain the smirk causes.
“I’d say you did.” I kiss him again and pull him into a tight hug. “Thanks for
coming to my rescue.”
“You’ve come to my rescue several times already. It only seems fair that I return
the favor.” Josh murmurs into my hair. “I’m sorry about before.”
“I know. I know you are.” I assure him. Then it hits me. “Josh….are those skis on
the floor?”
I can feel him chuckle. “Yeah, there was a pair on sale, so I thought I’d get them
for anybody who might be looking for some skis.”
“I’m looking for some skis.” I remind him.
“Oh, yeah, I vaguely remember something about that. Well then, I suppose I
could sell them to you…for the right price.” He offers.
“What’s the right price?” I ask and he pulls me far enough from him enough that
he can look into my eyes.
“Marry me.” He says point blank.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
God, I can’t believe I just blurted it out that way. I practiced this mushy proposal
all the way over here. What? I said I wouldn’t use the ring as a bargaining chip. I
didn’t say a word about using the skis that way. Look, I know she REALLY wants
the skis…me, maybe not so much after the way I treated her. I’ve got to use the
tools at my disposal.
She looks down at her former…whatever. I’m not adding any adjectives to that
man or it will make me sick. Then she looks back at me with her eyebrows raised.
“You’re proposing…now?”
“Yeah.”
She purses her lips and narrows her eyes. “Seriously?”
“Okay, the situation may lack….”
“Privacy, romance, a sense of occasion?” She prods me.
“What are you talking about? I just rescued you from this asshole; who was
never nearly good enough to deserve you by the way-“
“How do you know? You barely met him.” She points out.
“Please. I’m a professional political operative. I can sense these things.”
“Really. And what did you sense from him in the 2 minutes you interacted with
him?”
“That he’s a drunk, disrespects women, and hasn’t paid his taxes on his offshore
holdings.” I spout off to prove her wrong…which is about the time I realize I blew
it.
“You had Mike investigate him?!” Donna accuses. Well…shit. In for a penny, in
for a pound.
“Of COURSE I had Mike investigate him. I didn’t want this guy anywhere near
you! He broke your heart and made you cry. He made you doubt yourself and
your abilities. He ought to rot in hell, but at the very least I wanted to make sure
he stayed the hell away from you. And if he was stupid enough to come near
you…” I kick Freeride’s leg to emphasize my point. “I’d have ammunition to make
him disappear before he could talk you into going back to him.” I look down,
ready for her to take my head off for interfering in her personal life. When no
such attack materializes, I look up cautiously and see her eyes swimming with
tears.
“That is the SWEETEST thing ANYBODY has ever done for me.”
“You’re not…mad?” I ask warily. She seems sincere, but it could be a trap. She
studied drama…for awhile.
She shakes her head ‘no’ and takes me into her arms again.
“And you’ll marry me?” I confirm. Might as well strike while the iron is hot.
“Yes, even though you don’t even have a ring for me, you dolt.”
“Oh, wait! I do! Remember? I told you jewelry was involved.” I pat my pockets
until I find the ring box and open it for her inspection.
“Josh…it’s beautiful…I don’t know what to say.” Donna is, almost, speechless.
That’s pretty impressive.
“Say…’yes’.” I suggest and she immediately complies. I slip the ring on her finger
and kiss her once, twice…okay, three times, to seal the deal, but we just got
engaged. Give me a break!
“I get the ring and the skis?” She smirks at me. I taught her that.
“Yes, but the skis have a little, tiny, itty, bitty, string attached to them.” I confess.
“And what is that?”
“I’ll tell you about it later. Go back to our place now, while I get rid of this guy.” I
tell her.
“YOU’RE going to get rid of him?”
“Okay, Mike and I will get rid of him.” I admit. “Just go back home now, okay?”
She nods and smiles. “Happy New Year, Joshua.” She kisses me once more
before she grabs her purse and coat. She sends one more smoldering look my
way before she leaves. Yeah, I’ll be following up on that look very, very soon.
I snap open my cell. “Mike? It’s me…yeah, everything’s cool. She’s on her way
back there…I’ll be along in a bit. I need to get rid of some garbage. Could you
come over to Ainsley’s and help me with it for a minute?...I don’t care if Sherry is
pretty drunk right now. If she’s that inebriated, she won’t be sobered up before
you get back, now come on…Thanks. I’ll be waiting for you, the door is open.” I
end the call and sit down to wait for Mike. When I see Freeride move a bit, I grab
the lamp again. A guy should always be prepared.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
18.
“Oh shit.” Mike announces his arrival. “I just KNEW one day I was going to have
to help you dump a body.”
“He’s not dead, just unconscious.” I scoff.
“You hit him in the head with that lamp?” He gestures to my weapon of choice in
my hands and I nod. “Are you SURE he’s not dead? That’s blunt force trauma to
the head.”
“I’m sure. He’s stirred a few times.”
“What the hell are we going to do with him?” Mike asks.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “He can’t stay here. I don’t know if he’s got a hotel room
or a car outside. And I don’t want Donna and Ainsley to get in trouble if someone
finds him dumped by the dumpster, which he deserves.”
“We could drop him off at the police station.” Mike suggests.
“Well, there is that tax issue.” I agree.
“I could fuck with him for a few hours. That could be fun.” Mike says hopefully.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to piss off Donna. She was really understanding about
the whole clubbing the shit out of him with the lamp thing.”
“Yeah. I guess you guys are okay then?”
“Oh, we’re better than okay. We’re engaged.”
“You’re getting married!?”
“It appears that way.”
“Only you go from possibly broken up to engaged.” He shakes his head in
wonder at me. “I guess congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you.”
“She really is awesome.”
“This I know.”
“And hot as all hell.”
“We didn’t need to go there.”
“Right.”
“Back to the body.”
“I know! If he has his wallet on him, let’s check him into the most expensive hotel
in town.”
“The Presidential Suite at the Hay Adams.” I nod.
“They’ve got to have a minimum stay policy.” Mike smiles.
“It’ll be a fortune.” I grin back.
“We’ll order him a bunch of room service and pour out the minibar.” Mike
continues.
“This is going to fun!” I agree.
Mike leans down and grabs Freeride by the wrist to turn him around. In the
process, Freeride’s head smacks against Ainsley’s entertainment center. “Well
gee, that was unfortunate.” Mike quips. “I certainly hope THAT doesn’t happen
again.”
I roll my eyes, but then I remember what this guy did to Donna. “Let’s tie him up
and put a dress on him.”
“I have my camera in the car.” Mike supplies.
“Outstanding.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Are you okay? What the hell happened? Mike left too.” Ainsley pounces on me
as soon as I get back through the door.
“Yes. Dan showed up and Josh hit him in the head with a lamp and then I got
engaged.” I say. Everyone’s jaw drops.
“You’re ENGAGED!?” Ainsley shrieks.
“Josh hit someone in the head with a lamp?” CJ asks concerned.
“I’m still on the Josh got in a fight thing.” Chris pipes in.
“Okay, real quick.” I say. “Josh and I got in a fight. He came over to apologize,
but my ex-boyfriend showed up and was giving me a hard time. He punched
Josh, then Josh hit him with a lamp and then gave me skis and proposed.”
“He didn’t give you a ring?” CJ asks.
“Oh yeah, he did! Look at the size of it.” I stick my hand out, but Ainsley grabs it
and whistles.
“Damn.” CJ says obviously impressed.
“That’s wonderful, Donna.” Chris smiles and hugs me. “Seriously, I’m really
happy for you guys. You’re everything he needs.”
“Congratulations.” Sam smiles and hugs me next.
“You don’t think this is moving a bit fast?” Ainsley asks me skeptically. “Your
parents are going to freak out. They haven’t even met him and you’ve only been
together barely two months.”
“I’m not talking about getting married next week. I’ve got to plan it and stuff.” I
reply. “Besides, sometimes it’s just right, Ains. Sometimes you just know.”
She still looks a little skeptical, but smiles and hugs me anyway. “Well, if you’re
happy, that’s all that really matters.”
“I am, Ains. I’m really happy.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I don’t believe it. There’s more pounding on my door. I’ve barely started opening
it when Mike and Josh push past me.
“You’re DATING!?” Mike sounds like he’s accusing me of some kind of betrayal.
“Scott get out here!” Josh calls back to the bedroom.
“There’s no way this is happening twice in one night.” I groan rubbing my eyes.
“You didn’t know?” Josh asks Mike.
“No, he didn’t tell me.” Mike says.
“This might be why!” I say gesturing to them.
“What’s going on?” Scott looks a little freaked out when he sees my friends.
“Scott Mike, Mike Scott; you remember Josh.” I quickly introduce.
Mike shakes Scott’s hand, but eyes him up and down critically. This is insane.
“So, I’m engaged.” Josh says proudly.
“What the hell are you doing HERE then?” I demand. I am, of course, happy for
him…or I will be when he isn’t busting in on me with an overnight guest…
“Come back with us.” He invites.
“Josh, I kinda…you know…” I lower my voice and gesture to Scott.
“No, bring him.” He says. “Come on, let us get to know him. He should meet
Donna, who, did you not hear, is my fiancé.”
“I got that. Congratulations.” I smile. “But this is a little different.”
“How?” Mike asks, then turns to Scott. “Scott, you want to go to a New Year’s
party? Josh got engaged and people are getting very drunk.”
“That sounds fun.” Scott looks over at me cautiously.
“You can meet most of Matt’s friends…the important ones anyway.” Mike says
extending the carrot.
“Well, it might be good to get to know Josh a little better than I know him so far.
He’s made a bit of a bizarre first impression.”
“See!” Josh jumps in. “You have to let me redeem myself here.”
“You’ve GOT to hear about what we did to Freeride.” Mike chuckles as I rise
resignedly and move to the bedroom to get changed. Scott arches a brow at me
and follows my lead.
“Sorry.” I say softly to Scott while Mike goes on about lamps and dresses and
mini bars.
“I had to meet them sooner or later; they’re all you ever talk about.” He smiles.
“Thanks for understanding.”
“MATT!?” Josh bellows. “Did you not hear that?” I sigh and return fully dressed
to the living room. “I clubbed the guy with a fucking lamp!”
“Why?” I asked.
“Look at my face!” he yelps.
“Oh, I thought you were born with that.” I quip and Josh doesn’t look amused.
“Are you SURE you’re spending time with this guy of your own free will?” Josh
asks Scott hooking a thumb over at me.
“I’m sure.” Scott smiles.
“All right.” Josh sighs dramatically. “But don’t say we didn’t warn you.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Donna rolls on top of me delightfully naked and squirms around a bit. I bring my
hands up to her face and kiss her. This was the most bizarre night for sure.
“Feeling better?” she whispers, lightly kissing the lovely bruise on my face.
“Yeah.” I nod. “It doesn’t really hurt anymore.”
“I mean in general.” She replies.
“Oh.” I pause. “Yeah, I feel fine.”
“Good.” She smiles.
“I’m really sorry --”
She presses a finger to my lips and cuts me off. “You’ve already apologized; I’ve
already accepted.”
I roll her back over and she shimmies underneath me. I love rolling around with
her naked in bed.
“Maybe we should have warning words.” I suggest.
“Maybe you should just count to 20 before you react.” She counters.
“Don’t people usually just count to ten?”
“I think you could use the extra time.” She says wryly and I smile.
“Oh, about the strings attached to the skis…”
“Why am I dreading this?”
“How would you like to go away next weekend to learn to ski…in Connecticut?” I
hedge.
“To meet your mom?” she smiles.
“Uh-huh.”
“And see where you grew up?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’d love to.” She smiles and kisses me again. “I’m really sorry about Dan.”
“I thought we just covered the apologizing more than once thing.”
“Yeah, but he actually punched you.”
“S’okay. I got punched for a worthy cause.”
“What do you think of Matt’s boyfriend?” she changes the subject and I roll off
her and pull her close.
“He seemed okay, I guess.” I shrug. “It’s hard to think of guys in that context
when you…well… don’t think of them in that context.”
“He seemed happy.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re okay with him being gay, aren’t you?”
“I’m more okay with him being gay than I am with him being a Republican.”
“Josh!”
“I don’t really think about it.” I confess. “It’s just who he is.” And it’s true. The only
time I actually think about it is when he dates. I’ve gotten pretty good at removing
the guy part and looking at his boyfriend or whatever as his partner. That took a
while, but I’ve finally learned to be just as critical about the people he dates as I
would be for Mike or Chris, if they’re actually serious about someone, which is,
you know, hardly ever.
“Well, I like Scott.” She announces. “And I’m definitely bringing him my taxes this
year.”
“Of course.” I chuckle.
“I do. He’s very nice, and he was very nervous about meeting you.”
“Me? Why?”
“Well, it’s always more nerve wracking meeting the best friend. I’ll meet parents
any day over the best friend. They’re who’s approval you really need.”
“I’m not that high maintenance.”
“All evidence tonight to the contrary.” She mutters.
I ignore her and continue. “If Matt likes him, it’s good enough for me.”
“He does.” She says, pressing herself against me. “And I like you.”
“I love you, Donna.” I say quietly. “I about imploded tonight when I thought I might
have lost you. I hate when I say something hurtful.”
“I know you do.”
“I feel no better than Freeride, and you deserve so much better.”
“I’m getting so much better.” She says. “You’re miles better than he is. First of
all, you respect me, and that’s leaps and bounds better.”
“I do know what I got.” I nod. And I do. I have the most amazing woman on the
planet. Not only does she handle me like a seasoned pro, but she loves me. This
is probably why it’s so hard when we fight. She actually cares about me. That
wasn’t the case with Mandy. She liked me and all, but I don’t think she cared all
that much.
Freeride is an idiot, and I’ll be damned if I ever let her get away.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Chapter 19
“I have to take this, I’ll be right back.” My son tells his fiancé before leaving us
with his cell phone firmly attached to his ear, but not before he plants a kiss on
her mouth. Donna blushes prettily. I was prepared to love whomever my son
chose to spend his life with, but I’m delighted to discover that I like Donna Moss
very much.
“Here it is.” I pull the photo album I’d been searching for from the box we’ve been
digging through and hand it to Donna.
“Oh, how cute.” She laughs at a picture of Josh and Joanie hamming it up at the
beach.
“That was at our summer place.” I tell her. “We don’t have that anymore.”
Donna’s eyes widen. I think the…atmosphere of Westport has bowled her over a
bit. It must seem more than a little snobby to someone who, by her own account,
grew up modestly in the Midwest.
Donna points to another picture. “Was this your winter place?” she teases. I told
you I like this woman.
“No, that was our first home. It was destroyed in the fire.” Her face falls
immediately.
“Oh, God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“ She attempts to shut the album.
“It’s okay, Donna. I love looking at these pictures. It brings back wonderful
memories for me and Josh won’t often indulge me in perusing them.”
“He feels guilty that he survived and Joanie didn’t, I think.” She offers quietly.
She’s very perceptive. “But he keeps a picture of the two of them front and
center on his shelf at his apartment where he can see it every day.”
“I know. He adored his sister.” I add. “And Joanie adored him too.” This is getting
too maudlin for this happy occasion. “She would have loved you.”
“Thank you, Sarah.” She has tears in her eyes and tries to cover her tender
heart by turning the page of the photo album. “What is this?”
“Oh, that…at one time, your fiancé had aspirations to be a dancer.” I explain and
chuckle myself.
“You’re kidding me.” Donna is now belly laughing.
“I am not. He loved saying ballerina.” I recall which precedes another round of
laughing.
“If I promise to take very good care of it, do you think I could take this with me to
make a copy?” She asks, her eyes full of mischief.
“I think that would be fine. In fact, we could stop at the photo place on our way to
the airport to pick up your parents tomorrow.” I agree.
“Perfect.” She grins. “It was very generous of you to invite them to stay here with
us.”
“Nonsense. I spend entirely too much time here alone as it is. And soon, we’ll all
be family anyway. I’m delighted they said yes.”
“Just keep in mind that they rarely travel outside of Wisconsin. I mean, they’ve
been to North Carolina to visit my cousin’s family there, but other than that…”
“Well, we’ll have to show them the sights here then won’t we? I thought we could
all go see a play over the weekend.” I suggest.
“They’d love that, and so would I.” Donna looks back down at the photos. “Josh
seems to take after your husband a great deal.”
“He does; both in looks and in temperament, God help you.” I chuckle. “I’m sure
you’ll be receiving your share of marital advice in the coming months, but given
that it’s my son you’re marrying, I feel I have a unique perspective on what your
life will be like. So I do have one piece of advice I’d like to impart.”
“What is that?”
“Contrary to what his verbal SAT scores might indicate, Joshua doesn’t always
know the words to use when he’s dealing with a personal situation.” I let out a
breath. That may be a bit of an understatement. “My advice, therefore, is to
ignore everything he says and only pay attention to what he does.” I can see her
chewing that over when the man in question returns.
“…yes, sir. I’ll mention that to her….I don’t know, sir, I haven’t met them yet, but I’
ll ask…I’ll take care of it, Mr. President….your welcome, sir, goodnight.” Josh
hangs up the phone. “The President wants to know if your parents are
Democrats or Republicans.”
Donna blinks. “Why?”
“Because he wants us to consider having the wedding at the Bartlet farm but he
thought if they were Republicans they might not like that idea much.” Josh plops
down on the couch next to Donna.
“At the Bartlet farm?” Donna repeats. This poor girl is only now starting to
understand the world she’s marrying into. “Well, my dad isn’t a big fan of the
President, but-“
“He’s not?” Josh looks at her like he’s sure there must be some mistake. How
could any reasonable human not be a fan of the President?
“It’s just that…”
“He’s not one of those people.” Josh insists. Like his statement can change
Donna’s father’s party affiliation.
“Well you didn’t think Ainsley was the ONLY Republican in the family, did you?”
Donna retorts.
“How could you not tell me that? God, no wonder you’re so comfortable in Matt’s
office.”
“Joshua.” I admonish him. He gets so carried away sometimes. He lets out a long
suffering sigh.
“I’ll be nice.” He promises. “Your mom is normal though, right?”
“If by normal, you mean Democrat, then yes. But she hasn’t been politically
active at all.” Donna admits.
“Does ‘not active’ mean she doesn’t campaign for candidates or-“ Josh begins.
“I think the last time she voted was when she took me to vote for the first time.”
Donna explains and Josh rolls his eyes again.
“This is really too much. You didn’t even warn me about this.” Josh complains as
he gets up and walks into the kitchen; keeping up his tirade the entire time.
“Ainsley’s okay, but it took time to get used to her and she’s a rare type of
Republican; reasonable. Your dad is already going to hate my guts for taking his
baby away from him and you pick now, less than 24 hours until they arrive, to
drop this bombshell on me?” He returns with a fresh ice pack and places it
tenderly on Donna’s ankle; a little souvenir of their skiing excursion.
Donna turns a look on me. “None of what he says, and only what he does, right?”
“Right.” I concur. This woman is perfect for my son.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Mrs. Moss, Mr. Moss, it’s so nice to meet you both. How was your flight?” I ask. I’
ve met Kings and Heads of State from around the world. Why is meeting my
future in-laws causing my palms to sweat?
“It was just fine. It was very generous of you to send us the tickets.” Lorraine
Moss replies. She has Donna’s smile…or rather Donna has Lorraine’s smile.
Anyway, the smile calms my nerves.
“I was just happy you both could come on such short notice.” I continue.
“It wouldn’t have been an issue if you’ve brought Donna home over the
Holidays.” Thomas Moss notes.
“That was entirely my fault, sir.” Yeah, this guy hates my guts. “I had some
complications from…my injury last summer. Your daughter selflessly stayed in D.
C. to help me through it. You’ve raised a wonderful woman, sir.” I can kiss up
with the best of them; I’m a politician.
“She’s had a few bumps in the road lately.” Mr. Moss points out.
“Not that I can see, sir. Congressman Skinner tells me he wouldn’t know what to
do without her and the President told me just the other day that I was very lucky
to have found such a bright, articulate, beautiful woman who’d put up with me.”
“The President said that?” Lorraine Moss repeats. “He really knows our Donna?”
“Mom, I TOLD you I knew the President.” Donna objects.
“Yes, I know, I just thought you meant you’d been introduced, I didn’t imagine
that you’ve had real conversations with the man. Can you believe that, Tom?”
“Hmph….” Tom responds.
“That’s incredible. What is he like? Is he the same in person as he is on TV? He
always seems so smart and steady on TV.” Lorraine adds. Wait ‘til I tell Toby that
quote.
“He is definitely both of those things, Mrs. Moss, but you’ll get a chance to find
out for yourself. The President has offered his farm in New Hampshire for the
wedding. Naturally, I told him we’d have to discuss that with Donna’s family but-“
“A wedding at the President’s farm?” Poor Mrs. Moss looks like she may be
having vapors.
“See, he’d like to be invited to the wedding, and this way the venue would
already have Secret Service approval and-“
“A wedding at the President’s farm?” She repeats again.
“Get a hold of yourself, woman. He’s just a man.” Thomas reminds her.
“He’s the PRESIDENT!” Lorraine disputes this contention. I see that her smile isn’
t the only thing Donna got from her mother. “It’s a great honor for him to even
offer.”
“The bride’s family arranges the wedding. Our family and friends are expecting
the wedding to be in Wisconsin.” Mr. Moss puffs up. I’m not about to get into a
pissing match with this guy.
“And that’s entirely up to you, of course. The President just asked me to pass
along his sincere invitation. He’s been very impressed with your daughter…and
her ability to put up with me.” I smile in what I hope is a self-deprecating manner
and look over at Donna who has been uncharacteristically quiet.
“I think I see your luggage.” She tells them and scurries off. Hell no, she is NOT
leaving me alone with her parents. I catch up with her in a few seconds with a
mumbled ‘excuse me’ to her parents. I’m shoulder to shoulder with her at the
luggage carousel.
“Donna, what’s going on?” I ask her.
“I TOLD them that I’d spoken to the President; several times. I told them we had
dinner with him and the First Lady. Did they think I was lying to them?” She
whispers harshly.
“I…don’t know…?” How does a guy respond to this?
“They’re always…I don’t know…they just have NEVER believed in me. Not the
way your mom believes in you. They thought I was SO LUCKY to have landed
Dan; a MED student.”
“Well, that’s just stupid.” I mutter and Donna turns to look at me. “What? It is!
The guy is a pig. You deserve way better than that…you deserve way better
than me.” I tell her honestly.
“How is it that you see that in me when my own parents don’t?” She asks with
tears in her eyes.
“They do. Of course they do. How could they not? Sometimes it’s just hard for
family to show it.” I try to soothe her.
“They were embarrassed when I dropped out of school, and even more
embarrassed when I left the guy I dropped out of school for. I know my parents
love me, I just always felt that they loved me in spite of who I am instead of
because of who I am.” She wipes a tear away.
“Hmmmm…” I think that over. I never had to wonder about my parents love or
their pride. Even after the fire, when I felt that they’d never be able to look at me
let alone love me again, they showed me nothing but compassion and love.
“Then just wait until the President starts bending their ears about you.” I shrug
and hug her close to me; I can feel her chuckle.
“That’s their luggage.” She points out two huge, ugly green bags to me. I do my
duty and haul the stuff off the carousel. This stuff doesn’t even have wheels.
“Ah-kay. Let’s go.” I heft the bags and follow the love of my life back to her
parents for the ride to my mother’s house. This could be a long weekend.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
This has snowballed completely out of control. It was supposed to be a couple
days skiing in Connecticut coupled with meeting Josh’s mom. That’s all good,
right? Then before I knew it, Josh was taking an entire 10 days off (at Leo’s
insistence, I’m guessing) and he was on the phone inviting my parents to come
for a visit so all of us could get to know each other a bit.
Maybe that part wasn’t exactly his fault. He’d called with the intention of asking
for my parents’ blessing on our engagement. He used the word ‘permission’
once, but he didn’t make that mistake again. Anyway, I was too nervous to listen
to the call so I left the room. When I couldn’t stand being out of the loop any
longer, I came back in the room to hear Josh invite them to Connecticut. I couldn’
t believe it, but I thought surely they’d refuse the invitation. You could have
knocked me over with a feather when they accepted. This had disaster written all
over it.
All this is by way of saying that we’re sitting around the Lyman family dinner table
and the conversation is awkward despite Sarah’s best efforts in making
everyone welcome. I think my parents were every bit as overwhelmed by the
opulence of Westport in general, and the Lyman home in particular, as I was.
Only I’ve had a few days now to adjust.
“Your home is just gorgeous, Sarah.” My mom attempts to break the silence. “I
don’t know that I could keep up a house this size all by myself.”
“There’s not much to keep up since it’s just me. It needs some grandchildren to
mess it up.” Sarah replies sending me a hopeful glance. The woman is
shameless.
“Did you grow up in this house then, Josh?” Mom asks him.
“Mostly.” Josh gives her a tight smile but doesn’t comment further. I haven’t
spoken to my parents about the fire or Joanie’s death, so I’m anxious to change
the subject until I can give them a heads up.
“Josh gave me a five minute tour of the city.” My teasing eyes met Josh’s
“Five minute tour?” Mom repeats.
“The whole city is only 33 square miles.” I inform her. “They only have 26,000 itty
bitty little citizens.” I add and see Josh’s cheek twitch.
“And each one of them earns 10 times what someone in Madison earns.” Dad
mutters.
“Tom.” Mom kicks him under the table.
“That’s okay. The 220,000 Madison residents can band together and take on
the east coast elite.” I gloss over it. If I’m marrying into this rich and influential
families, I might as well have a little fun with it. “Do you think there’s enough room
on the President’s farm for all of my family’s tents?”
Mom, Sarah, and Josh all burst out laughing, but Dad is not amused. He hasn’t
been amused since I left Madison, truth be told.
“We can always have him order in some FEMA trailers.” I add. Hey, I’m on a roll.
“You’ve already decided on having the wedding there, then?” Dad asks and all
laughter stops.
“No, Daddy, I was just making a joke.” I sober instantly. “That’s a decision I’d like
to make as a family.”
“Like your decision to pack up and move to D.C?” he shoots back and I’m
stunned by the speed at which I’m catapulted back in time to when I was 15 and
out past curfew.
“Josh, will you help me take the dishes into the kitchen?” Sarah asks in an
obvious ploy to give me and my parents some privacy. Josh waits for my nod,
and then begins the clearing up.
“I can help too, Sarah.” Mom insists and picks up some dishes as well. Once they’
ve left us alone, I can’t even lift my eyes to my fathers. What can I say to him
now?
“I had to leave Madison, Daddy. There was nothing left for me there.”
“Your mother and I were there. Your brothers and their families are nearby.” He
counters.
“So I was supposed to what? Come back to my parents house with my tail
between my legs and let your and mom take care of poor, pathetic Donna?”
“Don’t talk like that. Don’t ever let me hear you speak that way about yourself
again.” Dad blows and I blink in surprise.
“I thought…I thought that was how you saw me.” I explain.
“It burns me up that that’s how you see yourself!” He contradicts me. “I couldn’t
believe a bright, talented young woman like you would give up your hopes and
dreams for that egotistical jackass. Then when you finally wise up to his two-
timing ways you run away to D.C.!”
“I was embarrassed!” I explain. “I wanted to get far away from anyone who knew
how stupid I’d been and try to make a fresh start for myself. I thought if I could
make a success of myself here maybe you’d be proud of me again.” I swipe at
the tears running all over my face.
“You…” Dad pauses and I see tears in his eyes too. “I’ve always been proud of
you, Donnatella. You’re my angel.” He can’t speak for a minute and we both
pretend we don’t notice he’s choked up. “I’ve been worried about you is all. You’
re so far away from me. I can’t see that you’re alright or drop by with some food
from your mom and check out your place for…safety and such. That’s a father’s
job; to protect and look out for his daughter.”
“You’ve always done that job very well.” I tell him. “But I’m an adult now.”
“Damn. You think that matters? You think once a child turns 18 then a parent
just brushes their hands off and declares the job’s done? Hmph! Just wait ‘til you
and that Democrat of yours have children. Then you’ll see how it is.”
I laugh through my tears at his term for Josh. Little does he know that Josh has
spent the last 24 hours complaining about the sullying of his boyhood home by
the Republican from Wisconsin. They may be more alike than either of them
would be comfortable with.
“His name is Joshua Lyman, Daddy.” I correct him gently.
“I know what his name is. He told it to me plain enough when he called to ask my
permission to marry you.” Dad complains further so I decide not to correct him
on the permission/blessing thing. If I’ve learned one thing in Government it’s that
sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war. He can win this battle.
“That was his idea, not mine.”
“No doubt.” Dad drawls. “At least your man has sense enough to understand
how these things work between men.”
“He is very smart.” I agree.
“Fulbright scholar.” Dad notes and I look up at him in surprise. “I know how to
google.”
“You. Do. Not.” I shake my head sadly.
“Well, your brother does and he showed me.” Dad defends himself.
“You Googled Josh?” I confirm.
“It’s my job as a father to check him out. Have you not heard a word I’ve been
telling you?”
“Yes. I heard every word.” I affirm. “But you could have just asked me.”
“You haven’t known him all that long either.” Dad points out.
“Not that LONG, no, but I know him SO well, Daddy. He’s a good man and I’m
completely in love with him.” Then for good measure, I decide to tease him a bit.
“He’s even willing to overlook your pathetic party affiliation.”
“My-my- “ Dad stutters, then notes my expression. “You’ll pay for that, young
lady.”
“No doubt.” Now it’s my turn to drawl.
“This wedding at the President’s farm. Is that something you want?” He asks.
“Only if you and Mom are okay with it.” I insist. “I think it would mean a lot to Josh.
He really respects and admires the President and feels that it’s a great honor
that he offered it to us.”
Dad shakes his head. “My baby girl getting married at the President’s farm?
Unbelievable.”
“Only if you’re there to walk me down the aisle.” I add.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He whispers and I start to tear up.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“I’m going back in there.” I announce.
“You are not.” Mom shoots right back.
“If he’s got a problem with us getting married, then I should be in there too.”
“He doesn’t.” Lorraine Moss. “Truly, Josh, he doesn’t. He just needs to work out
a few issues with his daughter. They’ll be fine. You just aren’t used to the
daughter in the family dynamic being an only child.”
Mom and I share a ‘how do we respond to that’ look.
“Actually, Lorraine, we did have a daughter in our family. Her name was Joanie.
But she died very young in a house fire.” Mom explains. I keep my gaze fixed on
the dishes I’m drying. I don’t want to see the pity in Lorraine’s eyes.
“Sarah, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Of course you didn’t. How could you?” Mom soothes her house guest and I
send another anxious glance at the door. “Joshua, relax, she’s in the other room
with her father not a Republican Special Prosecutor.”
“Her father’s Republican.” I point out and both women laugh at me. “That’s it. I’m
going in.”
I storm out before they can stop me and see Donna crying in her father’s arms. “I
was just..is everything…Are you okay, Donnatella?”
Donna smiles and my whole body relaxes. She holds her hand out to me and I’m
quick to take it in mine, while keeping a cautious eye on her father. “I’m
wonderful. The two men I love most in the world both think I’m smart and
beautiful. Life doesn’t get any better than that.”
“Ah-kay.” I reply carefully. She’s crying again and Mr. Moss’s eyes look a little
misty too.
“Dad assures me we’ll understand better when we have children of our own. But
in the meantime, we need to narrow down a few date options to speak to the
President about.”
I look from Donna to her father and back again. “It’s okay? To have the wedding
at the President’s farm?”
Thomas Moss shrugs. “I figure with the security checks, we may be able to avoid
inviting some of your mother’s relatives.” Donna promptly hits him upside across
his shoulder. “What? You were thinking it too!” He insists. “Better get the women
in here so we can start planning a wedding.” Mr. Moss reaches a hand out to me
and I shake it firmly. Dads look for that kind of thing you know. Donna runs into
the kitchen to get our mothers. “You’d better take damn good care of my angel.”
He warns me.
“I will, sir, I promise you. She’s my angel too.” I explain and for the first time, I
think Thomas Moss and I may understand each other.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“We’re going to be late tonight. I TOLD you that this morning.” She tells me.
“This morning?” I repeat thinking back over my day. There was incredible
lovemaking right before work. Is that when she told me? Does she honestly think
any of my brain cells are functioning during something like that? “I don’t
remember that. Why are you going to be- Oh, man, is he doing Capitol Beat
AGAIN?”
“Josh…”
“For that lame ass bill on re-districting?” I guess.
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to as a lame ass bill, Joshua, but-“
“Fine. Let him do the show. He doesn’t need you to stay there for that.” I argue.
“Yes, he really does. We’re doing a final prep on the way over.” She counters.
“Donna…” I whine. In the 2 months since I first saw Stanley, I’ve been doing
much better at balancing my professional and personal life. Tonight, I’d carved
out some time for a personal life. Unfortunately, I forgot to tell Donna that tonight
was the night I’ve carved out personal time for us. Damn.
“I won’t be that late. And to make up the late nights this week, I don’t have to go
in until after lunch tomorrow. So I COULD come over to have lunch with you. ”
She negotiates with me. Donna is becoming an excellent negotiator. Just wait
until you hear where we’re going for our honeymoon.
“Lunch isn’t that great a deal.” I complain for forms sake. “There are things one
can do at night, in the privacy of one’s own home, that one can NOT participate
in over lunch at the White House.” I point out.
“Says who?” She does this sultry voice and I can feel the blood draining already.
“Don’t bring the voice when you aren’t going to be around to fulfill the promise of
the voice for hours.” I warn her.
“Matt’s doing really well with all this.” She changes the subject.
“Too well, some days.” I note.
“You can handle it. I like watching my guys spar. It’s like the clash of the Titans.”
She teases.
So far, we’re all handling Matt’s increased face time pretty well. He’s establishing
himself as a leader in the Congress without selling his soul to the devil. I don’t
like it very much and I’m not sure where this is going to end up dropping all of us,
but for now…I’m dealing. Plus sometimes when I whine about it….Donna ‘makes
it up’ to me. Insert evil grin here. I’m da man.
“Well…yeah. We’re good like that.” I admit. “I’ll stay here then and get a little
work done too. You’ll call me when you’re done?”
“I will; love you!” She tells me before she hangs up. That my friends, I will never
grow tired of hearing.
~Epilogue~
"Happy anniversary, Mrs. Lyman."
"Mmm…" she smiles lazily as my hand slides across her stomach. Her
hand curls up into my hair and she stretches like a cat.
Donna's hot in the morning.
"Happy anniversary." She opens her eyes and turns her body to mine,
stroking my cheek with my thumb. We've only been married a year now
and I find her just as attractive as the day I first laid eyes on her
in the White House mess.
"Awfully convenient that our anniversary falls on a Saturday this
year." I smile. "Whatever shall we do with our entire day off?"
"I can think of a few things." She links her hand with mine and then
twists it up to lay it gently on her breast. I don't have to be an
expert at reading signals to figure out what THAT means!
"All day?" I squeak.
"All day." She says huskily.
"I could get behind that."
"I figured you could." She chuckles, but her face falls a bit. "Maybe
this time it'll actually work."
"Donna, just because you haven't gotten pregnant yet doesn't mean you
won't ever." I say gently. This has been a source of sadness for
Donna. But we haven't actually been trying all that long yet, at
least not in my book.
"Eight months, Josh." She says. "I went off the pill eight months
ago."
"And your doctor said it might take your body a while to come around."
"Eight months?"
"Your doctor doesn't seem worried."
"I know." She sighs and drops her eyes.
I hook my finger under her chin and tilt her head back up to look at
me. "It'll happen I promise. I know you're frustrated, but the doctor
said not to worry yet. And believe you me, I will try as many times
as it takes."
She rolls her eyes and smacks my arm, but kisses me nonetheless.
Crisis averted…for now…
When she breaks away, I'm pretty ready to start our day in bed, but
she seems to have a few more things to talk about.
"What were you and Matt talking about for so long last night?" she
asks.
"Him running for President as an independent." I reply.
"I didn't realize you two were still thinking about that. I thought
he'd kinda dropped it."
"Why would you think that?"
"No one's talked about it." She shrugs.
"Because it's a few years off." I reply. "But it's still the plan."
"You'd really run the campaign of an independent?"
"I'd run Matt's, yes." I reply.
"What about the things you disagree on?"
"I'm sure they're not going anywhere."
"What happens if he wins?"
"Well, Donna," I smirk. "The guy that runs the country is called the
President, and he lives in a BIG White House…ow!"
I break off abruptly when she pinches me hard. "To you, you jackass!"
"I don't know." I shrug. "That's a long way off."
"Doesn't the campaign manager usually move into the role of Chief of
Staff."
"Not always." I shrug noncommittally. We didn't really get that far
in the conversation because it's just assumed, but I think there's a
lot of factors going into that decision.
"You won't accept anything like that without talking to me first,
right?" she asks a little nervously. See?
"No, of course not." I assure. "Plus, if you're still working for
Matt then, you'd be campaigning and brought to the White House, too."
"Well, hopefully there will be a few kids around then and things
might be a little different." She says.
My heart really does break for her when she talks about having kids.
Her eyes light up and I know she wants it more than anything in the
world and I want to give her that but, I don't know, something
doesn't seem to be working at the moment. But it's not from lack of
trying…trust me.
"When that day comes, Donna, you're going to be a great mom."
"Thanks." She smiles softly. "And you'll be the best dad. I can't
wait."
I smile at her, but I'm not so sure. I mean, I loved my dad and he
was a great role model, but I don't know what kind of time I can
devote to a family. I'm all for having kids with Donna, but without
knowing how it'll all shake out, it's pretty terrifying.
Her lips meet mine and she hooks her leg over my hip. The morning
festivities are just gearing up so I'm going to save all that heavy
duty stuff for another day and enjoy the time I have with my wife now…
all day.
THE END