Chapter 3
“Got a minute?” Josh asked as he knocked on the doorjamb of Sam’s office.
“Just. LeMont and Jacoby will be here shortly for a budget meeting.”
“How’s it going with them?”
“Fine, I guess. They roll their eyes at me a lot.” Sam admitted.
“Economists, despite what President Bartlet always maintained, are NOT a fun
bunch to work with, but these guys know their stuff. Take lots of notes, ask lots of
questions, and ignore the eye rolling.”
“What did you need?” Sam asked.
“I just wanted to stop by and see how you were adjusting…to the new job and
everything.”
“I’ll admit it’s a little more difficult than you made it look.” Sam told him. “And I feel
like I’ve been out of the loop for so long in California that I’m going to be playing
catch up for awhile yet here. In the meantime, I feel like I’m letting you and the
President down.”
“You’re not.” Josh replied simply all too familiar with what Sam was feeling.
“It doesn’t bother you that I don’t know all these players and I don’t know which
buttons to push?”
“That will come in time.” Josh reasoned. “I kind of threw you into the deep end on
this one for selfish reasons. I need you in this office. I need someone I can trust
and who understands what we’re trying to do here. That’s you. The rest will come.”
“Sam, your next appointment is here.” Came the voice of his assistant over the
intercom. Sam pressed the appropriate button to call her back.
“Thanks Alex, I’ll be out in a minute.” Sam told her and looked back at Josh.
“Look! You’ve already figured out how to work the intercom. That’s more than I
was able to do in the last administration.” Josh smiled.
“You COULD have worked the intercom. You just chose not to because you
preferred to bellow for Donna so she’d come see you in person.”
“Maybe….Listen, come find me when you’re done here. We’ll grab some dinner
and we can work on some strategy together.”
“Got it.” Josh watched his friend and Deputy walk out to greet the men waiting for
him before continuing on his path to the office of the Legislative Director.
He knocked out of courtesy, but he didn’t care what Amy was doing behind the
closed door. When the Chief of Staff knocked you dropped whatever you were
doing.
“Come in!” She called from inside.
Josh opened the door and stepped inside. “I need you in my office in ten minutes.”
“Why not here and now?” Amy shot back.
“Because I have something else to do first and I asked you to meet me in my
office in ten.” Josh wasn’t going to back down from this pissing contest. He stared
at her right in the eyes until she dropped hers and said, “Fine. Ten minutes then.”
Josh took a long leisurely walk around the West wing, surveying his kingdom so to
speak before heading back to his office. His walk had taken about 20 minutes
according to his crappy watch so he knew Amy would have been kept waiting in
his office for a good portion of that time. He walked into his office to find Amy
pacing inside. He shut the door loudly and the sound had her whirling around to
face him.
“Ordering me onto your territory, keeping me waiting until you deign to show up;
what kind of games are you playing, J?”
“The same kind you are Amy.” Josh took the paper the President had given him
and tossed it to her. She caught it with both hands and after looking at it, rolled
her eyes and set it on his desk.
“That’s not a game, J. That’s my job.”
“Stop calling me J. I tell you what your job is and you NEVER tell the President
what his job is.” Josh motioned to the paper.
“I outlined what I think the President should be addressing legislatively.”
“Fine, but you bring these outlines to me. And don’t think we won’t be addressing
these priorities at a future date.”
“I serve at the pleasure of the President, JOSH. He hired me personally. I don’t
need to run things through you.”
“Yes, Amy, you do. That’s how it works. It all gets filtered through me. If you’re
having trouble with the pecking order, you’re going to find yourself out of the
pecking order completely. Do I make myself clear?”
“Hardly ever.” Amy replied saucily. “Now is the time to strike with some of these
initiatives. I’ve already got sponsors.”
“Then that’s regrettable, because we’re not pushing anything but education right
now. There’s going to be nothing else on their plate while Congress is working on
this.”
“And I’m supposed to tell my sponsors, what?”
“That you didn’t clear the agenda with me first, so now you all have to sit down
and wait your turn.”
“Like hell.” Amy turned to walk to the door that connected to the Oval.
“Touch that door, and I’ll have you escorted out of the building.” Josh threatened.
Amy turned back to Josh, assessing his level of seriousness. Josh didn’t have
much of a poker face when it came to Amy, but luckily he didn’t need one
because he wasn’t bluffing.
She stormed toward his other door but before she could leave he had one more
word of advice.
“If you want the President to see, hear, or discuss this legislative agenda again,
make an appointment to discuss it with me first.” Amy slammed the door shut
behind her. Josh had the feeling it could be a long 4 years.
He picked up his phone and called Ronna. “Ronna, it’s Josh. I need you to update
your gatekeeper list. Amy Gardner gets no private face time with the President
unless it’s approved by me, okay? Thanks.” Maybe that would solve the
problem…at least for now.
***********************************
“Senator Lee is here, Donna.”
“Thanks Deb, send him right in.” Donna rose from her desk but stayed behind it
and waited for the Senator to come to her. She hadn’t worked for Josh for all
those years without learning a thing or two about power games.
“Ms. Moss, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to see me
today.”
“That wasn’t a problem, Senator, although I am curious as to the reason for the
visit.” Donna replied. “Please have a seat and tell me what brings you to the First
Lady’s office.”
“I have heard…that the First Lady is scouting issues that she might like to
address.” Senator Lee began.
“The First Lady has been contacted by many organizations hoping that she’ll be
their spokeperson or provide support of some kind. Mrs. Santos is sorting through
all of them and in the process of making some decisions.” Donna explained.
“Sure. This has to be a bit overwhelming to her; to you both really. All your
experience has been on the other side of the building with the Deputy Chief of
Staff.”
“And I’m ready to use that experience to assist the First Lady is setting her
agenda.”
“Obviously.” The Senator replied easily. “Mrs. Santos is fortunate to have you and
I can see your influence already in her search for a substantive issue to get
behind.”
“There should be much more to being First Lady than hospital openings and
hosting State dinners.” Donna noted.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Senator Lee continued. “When I read your
quote and had a chance to see and speak with Mrs. Santos at the dinner we both
attended last week, I had a brainstorm. I decided to bring it to you and see if you
were up to it. Now, keep in mind that I understand this is new territory and if you’re
not up to tackling it so early in the administration, I’ll understand.”
“What was your brainstorm, Senator?”
“The President and his Chief of Staff are single mindedly running their education
reform package through Congress.”
“I’m aware, Senator.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you have your own personal connection to the West
wing.” Senator Lee smiled solicitously. “In any case, as I looked through the
proposed bill something occurred to me. We’re spending all this time and money
revamping the school system when it’s only part of the problem.”
“Part of what problem?”
“The problem we have in graduating children from high school and competing in a
global market. The problem we have raising healthy children who don’t suffer from
obesity and diabetes. The actual schooling is only part of the big picture.”
“Unfortunately, Senator, you know as well as I do, that change comes
incrementally in Washington.”
“That’s true enough. But with the President so focused on this goal right now, I
think that with the help of a strong First Lady and savvy political team we could
make this a more global bill that would incorporate more than just an extended
school year and eliminating teacher tenure.”
“Just what did you have in mind?”
“I’ve put something together for you and Mrs. Santos to review. It’s
comprehensive in its approach and I think it’s something the First Lady could
really make a difference with.” Senator Lee handed her a bound briefing book
entitled “First Steps”. “Once you and the First Lady have had a chance to review
the material, I’d be happy to gather some of the people who helped me put this
pilot program together in California so we could answer any questions you might
have.”
“I’ll take a look at this and pass it on to Mrs. Santos.” Donna promised.
“I had a feeling that someone like you, with a strong legislative background would
see the importance in helping steer Mrs. Santos to something with real meat like
this. Given the circumstances, I think I’d prefer to run all my legislative ideas
through the East wing.” The Senator smiled and held her hand just a beat longer
than was socially acceptable.
“I think that might spell trouble for both of us. As it is, I’ll be running this by Josh’s
office just to make sure we’re not stepping on any toes.” Donna informed him.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you’d need to get his permission to proceed with this for the
First Lady. Maybe in that case, it would be better to bring this directly to him?”
“No. I don’t need ‘permission’ but it is a matter of courtesy.” Donna defended her
position.
“Well, sure, I wouldn’t want to be a source of domestic discord in the White
House…or in your house for that matter.” The Senator relayed. “Mrs. Santos is
very fortunate to have someone like you who knows the ropes and will keep her
out of the weeds on things like this.”
“Thank you for bringing this over, Senator.”
“Thanks for your time, Ms. Moss.”
Donna paused before she opened the briefing book. Her first meeting and she’d
blown it. She’d let the Senator maneuver her into spots she didn’t want to be in
and put her on the defensive. She'd just discovered first hand that handling ego
maniacal Senators wasn’t quite as easy as Josh had made it look.
Senator Lee obviously had his own agenda and thought he could manipulate
Donna, and the First Lady, into doing his bidding. Still, if there was something
worthwhile in this program, she might be able to do some manipulating of her own
and pull out something valuable for Mrs. Santos.
Warily, she opened the book and perused the contents. She hadn’t gotten past
the first page before she’d grabbed her highlighter and a stack of note cards. Her
pile of cards had grown significantly when Mrs. Santos found her there later.
“It looks like you’ve been busy. What’s all this?” The First Lady asked.
“I think it’s the project we’ve been looking for.” Donna looked up and smiled. “And
the best part of it is that we could fold it into the President’s ed bill.”
“What is it?”
“Take a look. It’s based on a pilot project that Senator Lee sponsored in
California and they call it First Steps. It’s comprehensive Early Childhood
Education; parent education, family education, and health education, as well as
universal preschool and childcare standards. This could be a great platform for
you.”
Helen, intrigued by Donna’s description, picked up some of her note cards and
started reading. Donna’s cell rang and she hurried to get it before it flipped over
to voice mail.
“Donna Moss.”
“Hey, it’s me.” Josh announced. “I know you’re heading home soon, but would you
mind if I stayed a little later and worked on some issues with Sam?”
“No, I think that’s a great idea. Wherever did you get it from?”
“You’re practically a professional comedienne, Donnatella.” Josh chuckled.
“We…uh…might get a drink afterwards?”
“Are you asking me for permission Joshua?”
“I’m…considerately letting you know my plans.” He replied carefully.
“Uh-huh. Thanks for your consideration. I guess I’ll see you when I see you. Have
fun.”
“That’s it? No lectures on the number of drinks I should limit myself to?”
“The Secret Service will be driving your sorry ass home, so I’m not worried about
your safety.”
“Ah. Saved by the Secret Service.” Josh concluded. “Are you leaving now?”
“Maybe. I got a little distracted by a project I think would be perfect for Mrs.
Santos, so I might stay awhile after all.”
“Where did this perfect project come from?” Josh asked suspiciously.
“Senator Lee brought it to my attention.” Donna replied and Josh moaned.
“He’s an operator, Donna.”
“I think I figured that out for myself.”
“What did he do?” Josh demanded.
“He just tried to push my buttons, is all. Besides, it’s the issue I’m interested in, not
the Senator.”
“Please God, tell me you’re not hijacking our news cycle.”
“Give me some credit…”
“Or our agenda?”
“Contrary to what you may think, there is a world outside the Oval office, Joshua.”
“I know that. I just don’t think it’s a very important world. Hey, if you stay late, take
a cab home, okay? I don’t want you walking home by yourself.”
“Awwww…you’re so swe-“
“What did I say about calling me that outside our apartment?”
“Right. Have fun with Sam and I’ll see you later.”
*****************************************
“How is your fiancé adjusting to D.C.?” Josh asked Sam later when they were at
the Hawk and Dove.
“My fiance?” Sam grinned.
“Yeah.”
“You can’t remember her name can you?”
“Sure I can. It’s going to be Mrs. Sam Seaborne.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Molly.” He supplied helpfully. “Her name is Molly.”
“Hey, I only met her once!”
“Twice.” Sam corrected. “And I only talk about her, you know, all the time.”
“I’ve been preoccupied.” Josh countered. “I’ll get it down before the wedding.
Speaking of which, when is the big event?”
“Why? You want to make sure it doesn’t interfere with the legislative calendar?”
“NO!...well, that too, but I don’t remember you mentioning a date.”
“You don’t remember me mentioning my fiance’s name either so that’s not saying
much.” Sam teased.
“Stop it. When are you and ‘Mary’ taking the walk down the aisle?” Josh teased.
“MOLLY and I haven’t picked a date yet. Our plans kind of fell to the wayside
when I was dragooned out here to be Deputy COS.”
“You need to get off the stick and pick a date, Samuel Norman.”
“Look who’s talking!” Sam laughed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you should get off the stick and marry Donna already.” Sam explained.
“What?! We’ve only been dating for like 3 months!”
“You’ve only been sleeping together for 3 months you’ve been dating for 9 years.”
“I think it’s interesting that you deflected my perfectly reasonable question about
your wedding date with a question about my love life.” Josh mused and signaled
the waitress for another beer.
“I’m not deflecting. I bought the ring, got down on one knee, and asked the
question.” Sam pointed out.
“Yes, I’ve noticed that you’re good at the part. You’ve done it twice now, haven’t
you?”Josh attempted to re-direct the flow of the conversation with a poke at Sam.
“Nice.”
“It’s the actual follow through where you seem to have some difficulty.” Josh
continued.
“It’s also worth noting that both times I asked a woman to marry me, you showed
up and screwed with all my plans. So technically, I think it’s all your fault.” Sam
passed his empty glass to the waitress and took a long swallow from the fresh
drink she’d brought them both.
“Blame it on me if you want, but I think there’s a deeper issue here.” Josh opined.
“Josh Lyman; relationship counselor. God help us all.” Sam pronounced.
“Hey, Donna and I are doing just fine. Didn’t I get her to move in with me after only
a couple weeks?”
“Months.” Sam corrected.
“Whatever. The point is I saw, I took, I conquered.” Josh declared.
“You are so full of shit.” Sam argued. “If you work on the Santos administration
like you worked on your relationship with Donna…we’ll be lucky to get a bill
through before he’s opening his Presidential library 10 years from now.”
“I am not full of shit!.” Josh retorted. “I was prevented from pursuing a relationship
with Donna before because she worked for me and I worked for the President.
Things are different now.”
“Is that right?” Sam confirmed.
“Yes, it’s a whole new ballgame for us; professionally and personally.”
“I hope so, my friend, because you’ve both waited far too long to blow this in the
last inning, to tag onto your metaphor.”
“I won’t blow it. Baseball is my game and I’m going to hit this one out of the park.”
*************************************
“Shhhhhhh…you’ll wake up…you’ll wake up…ummmm….”
“Donna?” Sam supplied.
“Right! Donna. Let’s not wake up Donna.” Josh suggested.
“Then be quiet!” Sam ordered.
“You two gentlemen are okay from here?” Agent Stevens asked.
“We’re fine…fine. We’re just going to quietly go to bed so we don’t wake
up…ummm…”
“Ms. Moss.” Jack Stevens filled in the blank.
“Not her; Donna!” Josh corrected him.
“Yes, sir. Mr. Seaborne?”
“Thanks, we’re fine. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, sir.” Agent Stevens shut the door to the apartment behind him. When
Sam turned back to Josh, Josh had left the living room and Sam could hear him
knocking things around in the kitchen.
“Josh, stop. You’ll wake up Donna.”
“Donna’s here?” Josh turned to look for the woman in question.
“I assume so. She lives here now, right?”
“Oh, yeah…she does. I love that.” Josh said sincerely as he moved closer to Sam.
“I love that woman, Sam.” Josh patted Sam’s cheek with his hand. “I really do.”
“I know, buddy, but right now, you need some coffee and some sleep.”
“Oh, she won’t bring me coffee. Not even now at home.” Josh explained.
“I’ll make the coffee. You sit down and be quiet.” Sam directed him.
“I’m hungry. I’ll make some eggs.” Josh popped back up out of the chair. “Donna
likes my scrambled eggs. Dooonaaaa? Want some eggs, baby?”
“Oh good God.” Sam shook his head and started the coffee.
“Sam, you’ve brought my man home drunk.” Donna complained when she came
into the kitchen a minute later.
“Not me so much as…yeah, I guess it was pretty much me.” Sam admitted. “He
needed to decompress a bit; we both did.”
“And yet Josh is the one that’s drunk?”
“I’m a little fuzzy.” Sam replied.
“Then step away from the coffee maker; I’ll make the coffee.”
“Donna! You’re making us coffee?” Josh pulled her into his arms. “That is so
great. I’m making us eggs. I love you so much.”
“As nice as that is to hear, I prefer to hear it sober.” Donna replied.
“You’re drunk too?” Josh asked.
“Sit down, idiot boy, before you burn yourself and destroy our kitchen.” Donna
pushed him aside. “You want some eggs too, Sam? I can add some turkey and
cheese.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Does Molly know you’re here?” Donna asked.
“I called her on the way over.” Sam reported.
“Sam’s going to get married as soon as they set a date.” Josh recalled.
“That’s usually how it happens, yes.” Donna laughed.
“Not for us, though.” Josh declared.
“What?” Donna laughed and Sam groaned.
“We don’t do anything the usual way.” Josh continued.
“That’s true enough.” Donna agreed. “Sam, you want to get some cups down for
the coffee and plates for the eggs? They’re in the cupboard above the toaster.”
“Sure.” Sam grabbed three cups to carry back to the table.
“When we get married we’re gonna just run off and do it.” Josh went on. “We’ve
waited way too long already, right Sam?” Sam nearly bobbled the ceramic cups.
“Excuse me?” Donna inquired from her post at the stove.
“Josh, I don’t think now is the best time to broach this subject.” Sam whispered
urgently.
“You were right, Sam. You usually are about girly things like relationships.” Josh’s
voice dropped to a loud whisper. “I’m gonna marry that woman…you
know…ummmm…”
“Donna.” Sam supplied once again.
“Right. Cause I love her and she makes great eggs. Don’t they smell good?”
“They do. They really do.” Sam agreed and exchanged a helpless look with
Donna who was smirking.
*****************************************
“God almighty, what is that noise!” Josh moaned from under the pillow.
“It’s the alarm, Joshua. It’s time for you to get up.” Donna explained.
“No, that can’t be right. I’m dying.” Josh slowly processed why he felt like he was
dying. “Wait a minute. Sam and I went out for drinks last night.”
“Yes.” Donna agreed.
“It was Friday night.”
“Yes.”
“Did I sleep through until Monday?”
“No.”
“Then why do I have to get up at,” Josh lifted his head to read the clock and
moaned, “8 am on a Saturday morning?”
“We have to leave in 30 minutes. We have lots to do.”
Josh shook his head blearily. “What? What do we have to do? It’s a Saturday.”
“I know. And the county office is only open until noon.”
“Why do I need to go to a county office and if it’s by noon don’t I have hours to
get there?”
“We. We have to be there by noon and since it’s in Virginia-“
“Virginia!” Josh shouted and sat straight up, then instantly regretted it.
“Yes, remember? D.C. has a waiting period, but Virginia doesn’t. If we leave now
I’ll have time to stop and try to find a dress.” Donna was opening and shutting
bureau drawers with abandon. Josh flinched with each slam of a drawer. “And you
have to call the President to tell him neither of us will be in today.”
“Donnatella Moss. What, in the name of all that is Holy, are you talking about?”
Donna froze in her hasty packing process and turned to face him. “You…you
don’t remember?”
“Remember what? It’s all hazy.”
“Oh, my God. You honestly don’t remember?” Donna cued the tears to well up in
her eyes.
“I…I remember the Hawk and Dove and Sam…Sam came back here with me…”
“You have done a lot of hurtful and miserable things over the years, Josh Lyman
but this is absolutely the worst.”
“What…Donna I don’t remember…what did I do?”
“You don’t remember telling me you love me. You don’t remember saying that we
shouldn’t wait any longer; that we should elope?” Donna pressed. “And now you’
re denying the whole thing?”
There were just enough bits and pieces coming together for Josh to give
credence to the story.
“Wait a second, Donna. I’m barely conscious and extremely hung over.”
“That works great as an excuse. You can just say whatever you want when you’re
drunk and then take it all back when you’re sober?” Donna questioned.
Something was off, but Josh couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was.
Before he could put up a decent defense Donna left him alone in the bedroom. As
she passed through the living room, where Sam was half asleep on the couch, he
called out to her.
“You are an evil woman, Donnatella Moss.”
“$100 bucks he won’t come home drunk like that again for a year.”
“No bet.”
“When himself wanders out, tell him I’ll be back with some breakfast and some
Bridal magazines.” She joked and Sam laughed.
Josh walked gingerly to the couch a couple minutes later. “She completely played
me, didn’t she?”
“Well, you did tell her you loved her and that you were going to elope when you
got married, so I’d say you had it coming.” Sam reasoned. “For some reason
women don’t appreciate it when you talk lifelong commitment while you’re
inebriated.”
“Go figure.” Josh drawled. “Please tell me she’s getting food.”
“And, I believe she mentioned, Bridal magazines.”
“I am so dead.”
“Got a minute?” Josh asked as he knocked on the doorjamb of Sam’s office.
“Just. LeMont and Jacoby will be here shortly for a budget meeting.”
“How’s it going with them?”
“Fine, I guess. They roll their eyes at me a lot.” Sam admitted.
“Economists, despite what President Bartlet always maintained, are NOT a fun
bunch to work with, but these guys know their stuff. Take lots of notes, ask lots of
questions, and ignore the eye rolling.”
“What did you need?” Sam asked.
“I just wanted to stop by and see how you were adjusting…to the new job and
everything.”
“I’ll admit it’s a little more difficult than you made it look.” Sam told him. “And I feel
like I’ve been out of the loop for so long in California that I’m going to be playing
catch up for awhile yet here. In the meantime, I feel like I’m letting you and the
President down.”
“You’re not.” Josh replied simply all too familiar with what Sam was feeling.
“It doesn’t bother you that I don’t know all these players and I don’t know which
buttons to push?”
“That will come in time.” Josh reasoned. “I kind of threw you into the deep end on
this one for selfish reasons. I need you in this office. I need someone I can trust
and who understands what we’re trying to do here. That’s you. The rest will come.”
“Sam, your next appointment is here.” Came the voice of his assistant over the
intercom. Sam pressed the appropriate button to call her back.
“Thanks Alex, I’ll be out in a minute.” Sam told her and looked back at Josh.
“Look! You’ve already figured out how to work the intercom. That’s more than I
was able to do in the last administration.” Josh smiled.
“You COULD have worked the intercom. You just chose not to because you
preferred to bellow for Donna so she’d come see you in person.”
“Maybe….Listen, come find me when you’re done here. We’ll grab some dinner
and we can work on some strategy together.”
“Got it.” Josh watched his friend and Deputy walk out to greet the men waiting for
him before continuing on his path to the office of the Legislative Director.
He knocked out of courtesy, but he didn’t care what Amy was doing behind the
closed door. When the Chief of Staff knocked you dropped whatever you were
doing.
“Come in!” She called from inside.
Josh opened the door and stepped inside. “I need you in my office in ten minutes.”
“Why not here and now?” Amy shot back.
“Because I have something else to do first and I asked you to meet me in my
office in ten.” Josh wasn’t going to back down from this pissing contest. He stared
at her right in the eyes until she dropped hers and said, “Fine. Ten minutes then.”
Josh took a long leisurely walk around the West wing, surveying his kingdom so to
speak before heading back to his office. His walk had taken about 20 minutes
according to his crappy watch so he knew Amy would have been kept waiting in
his office for a good portion of that time. He walked into his office to find Amy
pacing inside. He shut the door loudly and the sound had her whirling around to
face him.
“Ordering me onto your territory, keeping me waiting until you deign to show up;
what kind of games are you playing, J?”
“The same kind you are Amy.” Josh took the paper the President had given him
and tossed it to her. She caught it with both hands and after looking at it, rolled
her eyes and set it on his desk.
“That’s not a game, J. That’s my job.”
“Stop calling me J. I tell you what your job is and you NEVER tell the President
what his job is.” Josh motioned to the paper.
“I outlined what I think the President should be addressing legislatively.”
“Fine, but you bring these outlines to me. And don’t think we won’t be addressing
these priorities at a future date.”
“I serve at the pleasure of the President, JOSH. He hired me personally. I don’t
need to run things through you.”
“Yes, Amy, you do. That’s how it works. It all gets filtered through me. If you’re
having trouble with the pecking order, you’re going to find yourself out of the
pecking order completely. Do I make myself clear?”
“Hardly ever.” Amy replied saucily. “Now is the time to strike with some of these
initiatives. I’ve already got sponsors.”
“Then that’s regrettable, because we’re not pushing anything but education right
now. There’s going to be nothing else on their plate while Congress is working on
this.”
“And I’m supposed to tell my sponsors, what?”
“That you didn’t clear the agenda with me first, so now you all have to sit down
and wait your turn.”
“Like hell.” Amy turned to walk to the door that connected to the Oval.
“Touch that door, and I’ll have you escorted out of the building.” Josh threatened.
Amy turned back to Josh, assessing his level of seriousness. Josh didn’t have
much of a poker face when it came to Amy, but luckily he didn’t need one
because he wasn’t bluffing.
She stormed toward his other door but before she could leave he had one more
word of advice.
“If you want the President to see, hear, or discuss this legislative agenda again,
make an appointment to discuss it with me first.” Amy slammed the door shut
behind her. Josh had the feeling it could be a long 4 years.
He picked up his phone and called Ronna. “Ronna, it’s Josh. I need you to update
your gatekeeper list. Amy Gardner gets no private face time with the President
unless it’s approved by me, okay? Thanks.” Maybe that would solve the
problem…at least for now.
***********************************
“Senator Lee is here, Donna.”
“Thanks Deb, send him right in.” Donna rose from her desk but stayed behind it
and waited for the Senator to come to her. She hadn’t worked for Josh for all
those years without learning a thing or two about power games.
“Ms. Moss, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to see me
today.”
“That wasn’t a problem, Senator, although I am curious as to the reason for the
visit.” Donna replied. “Please have a seat and tell me what brings you to the First
Lady’s office.”
“I have heard…that the First Lady is scouting issues that she might like to
address.” Senator Lee began.
“The First Lady has been contacted by many organizations hoping that she’ll be
their spokeperson or provide support of some kind. Mrs. Santos is sorting through
all of them and in the process of making some decisions.” Donna explained.
“Sure. This has to be a bit overwhelming to her; to you both really. All your
experience has been on the other side of the building with the Deputy Chief of
Staff.”
“And I’m ready to use that experience to assist the First Lady is setting her
agenda.”
“Obviously.” The Senator replied easily. “Mrs. Santos is fortunate to have you and
I can see your influence already in her search for a substantive issue to get
behind.”
“There should be much more to being First Lady than hospital openings and
hosting State dinners.” Donna noted.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Senator Lee continued. “When I read your
quote and had a chance to see and speak with Mrs. Santos at the dinner we both
attended last week, I had a brainstorm. I decided to bring it to you and see if you
were up to it. Now, keep in mind that I understand this is new territory and if you’re
not up to tackling it so early in the administration, I’ll understand.”
“What was your brainstorm, Senator?”
“The President and his Chief of Staff are single mindedly running their education
reform package through Congress.”
“I’m aware, Senator.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you have your own personal connection to the West
wing.” Senator Lee smiled solicitously. “In any case, as I looked through the
proposed bill something occurred to me. We’re spending all this time and money
revamping the school system when it’s only part of the problem.”
“Part of what problem?”
“The problem we have in graduating children from high school and competing in a
global market. The problem we have raising healthy children who don’t suffer from
obesity and diabetes. The actual schooling is only part of the big picture.”
“Unfortunately, Senator, you know as well as I do, that change comes
incrementally in Washington.”
“That’s true enough. But with the President so focused on this goal right now, I
think that with the help of a strong First Lady and savvy political team we could
make this a more global bill that would incorporate more than just an extended
school year and eliminating teacher tenure.”
“Just what did you have in mind?”
“I’ve put something together for you and Mrs. Santos to review. It’s
comprehensive in its approach and I think it’s something the First Lady could
really make a difference with.” Senator Lee handed her a bound briefing book
entitled “First Steps”. “Once you and the First Lady have had a chance to review
the material, I’d be happy to gather some of the people who helped me put this
pilot program together in California so we could answer any questions you might
have.”
“I’ll take a look at this and pass it on to Mrs. Santos.” Donna promised.
“I had a feeling that someone like you, with a strong legislative background would
see the importance in helping steer Mrs. Santos to something with real meat like
this. Given the circumstances, I think I’d prefer to run all my legislative ideas
through the East wing.” The Senator smiled and held her hand just a beat longer
than was socially acceptable.
“I think that might spell trouble for both of us. As it is, I’ll be running this by Josh’s
office just to make sure we’re not stepping on any toes.” Donna informed him.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you’d need to get his permission to proceed with this for the
First Lady. Maybe in that case, it would be better to bring this directly to him?”
“No. I don’t need ‘permission’ but it is a matter of courtesy.” Donna defended her
position.
“Well, sure, I wouldn’t want to be a source of domestic discord in the White
House…or in your house for that matter.” The Senator relayed. “Mrs. Santos is
very fortunate to have someone like you who knows the ropes and will keep her
out of the weeds on things like this.”
“Thank you for bringing this over, Senator.”
“Thanks for your time, Ms. Moss.”
Donna paused before she opened the briefing book. Her first meeting and she’d
blown it. She’d let the Senator maneuver her into spots she didn’t want to be in
and put her on the defensive. She'd just discovered first hand that handling ego
maniacal Senators wasn’t quite as easy as Josh had made it look.
Senator Lee obviously had his own agenda and thought he could manipulate
Donna, and the First Lady, into doing his bidding. Still, if there was something
worthwhile in this program, she might be able to do some manipulating of her own
and pull out something valuable for Mrs. Santos.
Warily, she opened the book and perused the contents. She hadn’t gotten past
the first page before she’d grabbed her highlighter and a stack of note cards. Her
pile of cards had grown significantly when Mrs. Santos found her there later.
“It looks like you’ve been busy. What’s all this?” The First Lady asked.
“I think it’s the project we’ve been looking for.” Donna looked up and smiled. “And
the best part of it is that we could fold it into the President’s ed bill.”
“What is it?”
“Take a look. It’s based on a pilot project that Senator Lee sponsored in
California and they call it First Steps. It’s comprehensive Early Childhood
Education; parent education, family education, and health education, as well as
universal preschool and childcare standards. This could be a great platform for
you.”
Helen, intrigued by Donna’s description, picked up some of her note cards and
started reading. Donna’s cell rang and she hurried to get it before it flipped over
to voice mail.
“Donna Moss.”
“Hey, it’s me.” Josh announced. “I know you’re heading home soon, but would you
mind if I stayed a little later and worked on some issues with Sam?”
“No, I think that’s a great idea. Wherever did you get it from?”
“You’re practically a professional comedienne, Donnatella.” Josh chuckled.
“We…uh…might get a drink afterwards?”
“Are you asking me for permission Joshua?”
“I’m…considerately letting you know my plans.” He replied carefully.
“Uh-huh. Thanks for your consideration. I guess I’ll see you when I see you. Have
fun.”
“That’s it? No lectures on the number of drinks I should limit myself to?”
“The Secret Service will be driving your sorry ass home, so I’m not worried about
your safety.”
“Ah. Saved by the Secret Service.” Josh concluded. “Are you leaving now?”
“Maybe. I got a little distracted by a project I think would be perfect for Mrs.
Santos, so I might stay awhile after all.”
“Where did this perfect project come from?” Josh asked suspiciously.
“Senator Lee brought it to my attention.” Donna replied and Josh moaned.
“He’s an operator, Donna.”
“I think I figured that out for myself.”
“What did he do?” Josh demanded.
“He just tried to push my buttons, is all. Besides, it’s the issue I’m interested in, not
the Senator.”
“Please God, tell me you’re not hijacking our news cycle.”
“Give me some credit…”
“Or our agenda?”
“Contrary to what you may think, there is a world outside the Oval office, Joshua.”
“I know that. I just don’t think it’s a very important world. Hey, if you stay late, take
a cab home, okay? I don’t want you walking home by yourself.”
“Awwww…you’re so swe-“
“What did I say about calling me that outside our apartment?”
“Right. Have fun with Sam and I’ll see you later.”
*****************************************
“How is your fiancé adjusting to D.C.?” Josh asked Sam later when they were at
the Hawk and Dove.
“My fiance?” Sam grinned.
“Yeah.”
“You can’t remember her name can you?”
“Sure I can. It’s going to be Mrs. Sam Seaborne.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Molly.” He supplied helpfully. “Her name is Molly.”
“Hey, I only met her once!”
“Twice.” Sam corrected. “And I only talk about her, you know, all the time.”
“I’ve been preoccupied.” Josh countered. “I’ll get it down before the wedding.
Speaking of which, when is the big event?”
“Why? You want to make sure it doesn’t interfere with the legislative calendar?”
“NO!...well, that too, but I don’t remember you mentioning a date.”
“You don’t remember me mentioning my fiance’s name either so that’s not saying
much.” Sam teased.
“Stop it. When are you and ‘Mary’ taking the walk down the aisle?” Josh teased.
“MOLLY and I haven’t picked a date yet. Our plans kind of fell to the wayside
when I was dragooned out here to be Deputy COS.”
“You need to get off the stick and pick a date, Samuel Norman.”
“Look who’s talking!” Sam laughed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you should get off the stick and marry Donna already.” Sam explained.
“What?! We’ve only been dating for like 3 months!”
“You’ve only been sleeping together for 3 months you’ve been dating for 9 years.”
“I think it’s interesting that you deflected my perfectly reasonable question about
your wedding date with a question about my love life.” Josh mused and signaled
the waitress for another beer.
“I’m not deflecting. I bought the ring, got down on one knee, and asked the
question.” Sam pointed out.
“Yes, I’ve noticed that you’re good at the part. You’ve done it twice now, haven’t
you?”Josh attempted to re-direct the flow of the conversation with a poke at Sam.
“Nice.”
“It’s the actual follow through where you seem to have some difficulty.” Josh
continued.
“It’s also worth noting that both times I asked a woman to marry me, you showed
up and screwed with all my plans. So technically, I think it’s all your fault.” Sam
passed his empty glass to the waitress and took a long swallow from the fresh
drink she’d brought them both.
“Blame it on me if you want, but I think there’s a deeper issue here.” Josh opined.
“Josh Lyman; relationship counselor. God help us all.” Sam pronounced.
“Hey, Donna and I are doing just fine. Didn’t I get her to move in with me after only
a couple weeks?”
“Months.” Sam corrected.
“Whatever. The point is I saw, I took, I conquered.” Josh declared.
“You are so full of shit.” Sam argued. “If you work on the Santos administration
like you worked on your relationship with Donna…we’ll be lucky to get a bill
through before he’s opening his Presidential library 10 years from now.”
“I am not full of shit!.” Josh retorted. “I was prevented from pursuing a relationship
with Donna before because she worked for me and I worked for the President.
Things are different now.”
“Is that right?” Sam confirmed.
“Yes, it’s a whole new ballgame for us; professionally and personally.”
“I hope so, my friend, because you’ve both waited far too long to blow this in the
last inning, to tag onto your metaphor.”
“I won’t blow it. Baseball is my game and I’m going to hit this one out of the park.”
*************************************
“Shhhhhhh…you’ll wake up…you’ll wake up…ummmm….”
“Donna?” Sam supplied.
“Right! Donna. Let’s not wake up Donna.” Josh suggested.
“Then be quiet!” Sam ordered.
“You two gentlemen are okay from here?” Agent Stevens asked.
“We’re fine…fine. We’re just going to quietly go to bed so we don’t wake
up…ummm…”
“Ms. Moss.” Jack Stevens filled in the blank.
“Not her; Donna!” Josh corrected him.
“Yes, sir. Mr. Seaborne?”
“Thanks, we’re fine. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, sir.” Agent Stevens shut the door to the apartment behind him. When
Sam turned back to Josh, Josh had left the living room and Sam could hear him
knocking things around in the kitchen.
“Josh, stop. You’ll wake up Donna.”
“Donna’s here?” Josh turned to look for the woman in question.
“I assume so. She lives here now, right?”
“Oh, yeah…she does. I love that.” Josh said sincerely as he moved closer to Sam.
“I love that woman, Sam.” Josh patted Sam’s cheek with his hand. “I really do.”
“I know, buddy, but right now, you need some coffee and some sleep.”
“Oh, she won’t bring me coffee. Not even now at home.” Josh explained.
“I’ll make the coffee. You sit down and be quiet.” Sam directed him.
“I’m hungry. I’ll make some eggs.” Josh popped back up out of the chair. “Donna
likes my scrambled eggs. Dooonaaaa? Want some eggs, baby?”
“Oh good God.” Sam shook his head and started the coffee.
“Sam, you’ve brought my man home drunk.” Donna complained when she came
into the kitchen a minute later.
“Not me so much as…yeah, I guess it was pretty much me.” Sam admitted. “He
needed to decompress a bit; we both did.”
“And yet Josh is the one that’s drunk?”
“I’m a little fuzzy.” Sam replied.
“Then step away from the coffee maker; I’ll make the coffee.”
“Donna! You’re making us coffee?” Josh pulled her into his arms. “That is so
great. I’m making us eggs. I love you so much.”
“As nice as that is to hear, I prefer to hear it sober.” Donna replied.
“You’re drunk too?” Josh asked.
“Sit down, idiot boy, before you burn yourself and destroy our kitchen.” Donna
pushed him aside. “You want some eggs too, Sam? I can add some turkey and
cheese.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Does Molly know you’re here?” Donna asked.
“I called her on the way over.” Sam reported.
“Sam’s going to get married as soon as they set a date.” Josh recalled.
“That’s usually how it happens, yes.” Donna laughed.
“Not for us, though.” Josh declared.
“What?” Donna laughed and Sam groaned.
“We don’t do anything the usual way.” Josh continued.
“That’s true enough.” Donna agreed. “Sam, you want to get some cups down for
the coffee and plates for the eggs? They’re in the cupboard above the toaster.”
“Sure.” Sam grabbed three cups to carry back to the table.
“When we get married we’re gonna just run off and do it.” Josh went on. “We’ve
waited way too long already, right Sam?” Sam nearly bobbled the ceramic cups.
“Excuse me?” Donna inquired from her post at the stove.
“Josh, I don’t think now is the best time to broach this subject.” Sam whispered
urgently.
“You were right, Sam. You usually are about girly things like relationships.” Josh’s
voice dropped to a loud whisper. “I’m gonna marry that woman…you
know…ummmm…”
“Donna.” Sam supplied once again.
“Right. Cause I love her and she makes great eggs. Don’t they smell good?”
“They do. They really do.” Sam agreed and exchanged a helpless look with
Donna who was smirking.
*****************************************
“God almighty, what is that noise!” Josh moaned from under the pillow.
“It’s the alarm, Joshua. It’s time for you to get up.” Donna explained.
“No, that can’t be right. I’m dying.” Josh slowly processed why he felt like he was
dying. “Wait a minute. Sam and I went out for drinks last night.”
“Yes.” Donna agreed.
“It was Friday night.”
“Yes.”
“Did I sleep through until Monday?”
“No.”
“Then why do I have to get up at,” Josh lifted his head to read the clock and
moaned, “8 am on a Saturday morning?”
“We have to leave in 30 minutes. We have lots to do.”
Josh shook his head blearily. “What? What do we have to do? It’s a Saturday.”
“I know. And the county office is only open until noon.”
“Why do I need to go to a county office and if it’s by noon don’t I have hours to
get there?”
“We. We have to be there by noon and since it’s in Virginia-“
“Virginia!” Josh shouted and sat straight up, then instantly regretted it.
“Yes, remember? D.C. has a waiting period, but Virginia doesn’t. If we leave now
I’ll have time to stop and try to find a dress.” Donna was opening and shutting
bureau drawers with abandon. Josh flinched with each slam of a drawer. “And you
have to call the President to tell him neither of us will be in today.”
“Donnatella Moss. What, in the name of all that is Holy, are you talking about?”
Donna froze in her hasty packing process and turned to face him. “You…you
don’t remember?”
“Remember what? It’s all hazy.”
“Oh, my God. You honestly don’t remember?” Donna cued the tears to well up in
her eyes.
“I…I remember the Hawk and Dove and Sam…Sam came back here with me…”
“You have done a lot of hurtful and miserable things over the years, Josh Lyman
but this is absolutely the worst.”
“What…Donna I don’t remember…what did I do?”
“You don’t remember telling me you love me. You don’t remember saying that we
shouldn’t wait any longer; that we should elope?” Donna pressed. “And now you’
re denying the whole thing?”
There were just enough bits and pieces coming together for Josh to give
credence to the story.
“Wait a second, Donna. I’m barely conscious and extremely hung over.”
“That works great as an excuse. You can just say whatever you want when you’re
drunk and then take it all back when you’re sober?” Donna questioned.
Something was off, but Josh couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was.
Before he could put up a decent defense Donna left him alone in the bedroom. As
she passed through the living room, where Sam was half asleep on the couch, he
called out to her.
“You are an evil woman, Donnatella Moss.”
“$100 bucks he won’t come home drunk like that again for a year.”
“No bet.”
“When himself wanders out, tell him I’ll be back with some breakfast and some
Bridal magazines.” She joked and Sam laughed.
Josh walked gingerly to the couch a couple minutes later. “She completely played
me, didn’t she?”
“Well, you did tell her you loved her and that you were going to elope when you
got married, so I’d say you had it coming.” Sam reasoned. “For some reason
women don’t appreciate it when you talk lifelong commitment while you’re
inebriated.”
“Go figure.” Josh drawled. “Please tell me she’s getting food.”
“And, I believe she mentioned, Bridal magazines.”
“I am so dead.”
