Chapter 33
"Our son is 11." Donna noted for the hundredth time that day.
"Yes, he is 11." Josh agreed for the hundredth time that day.
"I'm saying, that's over a decade on this planet." Donna
pointed out.
"Yes, 11 years is more than a decade." Josh nodded his head and
took another sip of beer.
"Are you mocking me, Joshua?" she turned her head sharply in his
direction, her eyes shrewd.
"No, ma'am." Josh answered quickly.
"You act like it isn't hard to believe that our child is now
11."
"Well…having been with him for the 11 years, it's not hard
to believe, however I will admit to the fact that the 11 years has gone
by incredibly fast." Josh took another sip of beer.
"I am the mother of an 11 year old child." Donna repeated.
"Can I just ask…What, exactly, about Ben's 11th birthday has
you wigging out like this?" Josh chuckled until he caught
Donna's glare.
"Wigging out? You allegedly have a 760 SAT verbal score and you
accuse me of wigging out?"
"Maybe that was a poor choice of words." Josh admitted and took
Donna's hand to pull her closer to him. Once he had her settled on
his lap, he asked again. "Why is this bothering you so much?"
"I just don't believe I'm old enough to have an 11 year old
child." Donna said petulantly.
"Ah, so this isn't so much about Ben as it is about you?"
"What do you think I've been talking about this whole
time?!" Donna swatted his arm.
"Foolishly, I thought we were talking about Ben and his turning 11
today."
"Well…that too." Donna admitted. "It just makes me feel
old. Doesn't it make you feel old?"
"No." Josh laughed out loud.
Donna gave him another glare. "Maybe that's because you've
been so old for so long now, that nothing really bothers you about it
anymore."
"Hey!"
"You are 12 years older than I am. It might be a generational
thing."
"You are wicked when you're pissed, you know that?"
"Yes, and so should you by now." Donna replied.
"Fair point." Josh sighed.
At his admission, Donna settled down and curled up in her husband's
lap and stole his beer from his hand. "I don't like feeling old.
Do you think Ben would consider staying 10 for another year?"
"I think the ship has sailed on that one." He tried to wrangle
his beer back from her but to no avail. "What difference does it
make?"
"I wouldn't have to tell anyone I have an 11 year old son."
"You still don't have to; you have my permission to lie about
it. Tell everyone that Jake is your only child and the rest are mine by
a previous relationship." Josh suggested and finally got his beer
back.
"You're not funny." She stated. "It's just when I
hear that someone has an 11 year old son, I picture a middle aged,
frumpy woman."
"But that's because a lot of women with 11 year old children
aren't as beautiful and vibrant you are." Josh smiled and kissed
her neck. Donna considered this as she tipped her head back to allow him
better access.
"Plus, I do have the advantage of looking much younger than
you." She teased and Josh growled, but not in the good way.
"I'm trying to bring the woo here, and this is your response? A
put down about my age?"
"You're barely two weeks out of the hospital where you had heart
surgery. Bring all the woo you want, it's not going to…culminate
in the way you're hoping." Donna told him and took his beer
again.
"But I've been doing really well in rehab." He persuaded and
took her earlobe in his mouth, making her moan.
"You know how faithfully I follow doctor's orders." She
warned.
"I can compromise…instead of a…culminating event, it could
be a…preview of…coming attractions." Josh suggested.
Donna burst out laughing. "And I'm sure the pun wasn't
intended, either."
"The hell it wasn't." He laughed along with her right before
he took her mouth in a kiss that made her toes curl. "You are more
beautiful today than the day I met you. And just so we're perfectly
clear, you were pretty damn hot when I met you." He told her when
they came up for air.
"You bring this now, when I can't fully express my
gratitude?" Donna asked.
"Any form of gratitude is acceptable." Josh whispered. It
continued to amaze him that this incredible woman, 12 years younger than
him, was committed to him for life; but he wasn't going to waste a
moment of it. He captured her lips again and was about to unbutton her
blouse when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, so he groaned
instead.
"Sorry…averting my eyes…" Jenny teased as she came down the
stairs and into the living room. "Although I could mention there are
many, many areas of the house more private than this one."
"Or you could just..you know, go away quickly and quietly." Josh
suggested.
Donna moaned at her husband's ineptitude. "Don't let Josh
take out his frustration on you, Jen." Donna got off of Josh's
lap and turned to face her niece.
"Never have before." Jenny teased Josh cheekily and sat down on
the chair facing them. "All the kids are down except Ben. He's
still ogling his loot."
"I bet." Donna drawled. When your parents rubbed elbows with
current and former Presidents as well as the movers and shakers in
political circles, oftentimes you made out like a bandit on birthdays
and holidays. Donna and Josh did their best to tamp it down, but they
weren't always as successful as they'd like to be. How did one
say `no' to the Bartlets for instance?
"I'd like to ask you both something, and you don't have to
answer now; just think about it first, okay?" Jenny began nervously.
Josh and Donna exchanged looks. "The answer is yes, if you leave
right now." Josh negotiated, trying to pull Donna back to his lap.
Donna slapped his hand.
"What is it, Jen?" Donna asked.
"I know when we talked last spring, I said I would just be taking 2
classes this fall, but I met with my advisor last week, and if I can add
2 more classes to my schedule fall semester, I would be eligible for an
internship in the spring." Jenny got it out in a rush.
"Do it." Josh advised her.
Donna and Jenny both blinked at his immediate response. "I mean it;
you should do it. You've put your life on hold for a long time. Now,
you know what you want to do and how to do it, so go for it."
"I don't want to leave you in the lurch and-"
"Jen, I don't know what we would have done without you all this
time. You've been a Godsend and you will always be a valuable member
of this family. But you don't need to worry about us. Do what you
want to do, need to do, and we'll work out the rest." Josh
assured her.
"Really?" Jenny asked apprehensively. "I know it's
really short notice now."
Taking her cue from her husband, whom she assumed had something in mind
here, Donna chimed in. "We're used to handling things that come
up suddenly. Josh is right. Do what's right for you."
"Jen, would it be easier for you, considering you're upping your
class load, if you lived on campus?" Josh asked.
Jenny's face dropped. "Are you…do you want me to move
out?"
"Hell no!" Josh answered immediately. "I get shudders just
thinking about you not being here, but 4 classes in a house with four
children, is going to be a challenge. If you think it'd be
easier-"
"No!" Jenny protested. "I'm excited about school and the
internship, but I'd be lost on campus, not to mention lonely as hell
without all the kids."
Josh smirked at her answer. "Okay, then. Get online and register for
the other classes."
"Thanks!" Jenny said sincerely and kissed them both. Just as she
was bounding up the stairs, Josh called out. "Do you want me to look
over the internship thing for you?"
"Not a chance!" She called back without turning around.
"Well… now that you've made Jenny's night, I'm
hoping you have an ingenious plan about what we're going to do
without Jenny while she's taking a full load of classes this
semester and is doing an internship next semester."
"A plan? No, I just wanted to get her out of here as quickly as
possible so I could get back to where we were before we were
interrupted." Josh tried again to coax her back onto his lap.
"Joshua…"
"I've had lots of time to think lately and I'm not happy
with how things are going."
Donna's eyebrows furrowed. "In what way?"
"I want to resign as President of Lyman consulting."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to spend more time with the kids, and with you, and I
can't do that and do what I've been doing with the company.
Something has to give."
"So you're going to do what? Be a stay at home Dad? The daytime
dramas alone will send you over the edge inside a week." Donna
estimated.
"Yeah, I need something to keep me challenged, besides the children,
or I'll go stir crazy. So I thought I might take advantage of one of
the teaching offers I've had. I could teach part time and still
spend most of my time here, maybe do a little consulting when I felt
like it."
"Just how long have you been plotting all this?" Donna asked
suspiciously.
"Since we scheduled my surgery." Josh said honestly.
"You don't think this is a knee jerk response that you will
quickly come to regret once you've actually experienced it for, say
a week or so?" Donna probed.
"I won't know until I try it. If I hate it, you think I have a
chance of getting my job back at Lyman Consulting?" Josh teased.
"Hell no." Donna teased back. "Once they get your ass out
the door, they'll change the locks so fast it will make your head
spin."
"Then I'll have to depend on you to get me back inside."
"I think you forgot that I, too, am planning on resigning my
position with Lyman Consulting. In fact, I announced it some time
ago."
"Lyman Consulting without any Lymans consulting in it?" Josh
asked.
"Well, Ben could start working part time. You know, after school,
weekends, that kind of thing." Donna suggested tongue in cheek.
"True, he is 11 now." Josh brought up the subject that initially
spurred their whole conversation.
"You had to bring it up again, didn't you?"
"I kind of did. That way, you'd get upset again, and I could try
to make you feel better again." Josh admitted.
Donna acquiesced and took her place on Josh's lap again. "You
really want to try this?"
"God, yes, but the doctor said we have to wait 4 more weeks."
Josh reminded her while he attached his lips to her neck. Donna whacked
him lightly on the back of his head. "Ouch!"
"The resigning/teaching part."
Josh stopped his activity to meet Donna's eyes. "I really
do."
"Then we should give it a try." Donna agreed and sealed the deal
with a kiss that made her husband wish he could time travel into the
future…at least 4 weeks.
******************************************************
"Something smells really good." Ben noted.
"Everything smells really good." Jenny Fernandez corrected. Her
husband wisely turned his laugh into a cough and continued to push their
two year old daughter, Paige, in her stroller down the street of the
Minnesota State Fair.
"I knew we should have had some breakfast BEFORE we came out
here." Billy mentioned again.
"And pass up State Fair food? Are you nuts?" Jenny asked in
horror.
"Cookies!" Paige threw in for good measure.
Billy laughed. "Not for breakfast, Princess." Then saw his
wife's pout. "You can't be serious!" The pout deepened.
"What about Ben? Donna will kill me if she finds out I fed Ben
cookies for breakfast."
"We'll have milk with them." Jenny reasoned.
"Right. Because you're not the one she gave a 20 minute lecture
to about the rules for taking care of Ben while we're here."
Billy pointed out. Ben waited with baited breath to find out the outcome
of this debate. The cookies smelled VERY good.
"If you want plausible deniability, you'd better walk away
now." Jenny warned him as she maneuvered her obviously pregnant body
through the crowd, up to the front of the booth to get the cookies.
"If you tell anyone about this kid…" Billy threatened, but Ben
just smiled.
"Which part? Breaking Mom's rules or Jenny walking all over
you?" Ben teased. Billy had noticed Ben was more relaxed these days
and was acting more…childlike, he guessed. Not in a bad way; just
not so intent on proving he was an `adult' around him, more
willing to be silly. Billy thought it was a very healthy turn of events.
"Little shit." Billy muttered.
"Shit." Paige copied and Ben's eyes grew huge before turning
to see if Jenny heard.
"Man, you are so dead!" Ben whispered. Ben knew this for a fact
because when Dad has said a similar word in front of Jake and Jake had
repeated it forever, Mom wouldn't even speak to Dad for a week. She
just kept giving him these `looks'.
"Distraction is what we need right now." Billy declared and took
the cookies from Jenny as she returned to them. He promptly shoved a
cookie into Paige's mouth and smiled a smile of victory.
"Billy!" Jenny laughed and took one for herself and one for Ben.
Ben gobbled it up quickly while watching Paige closely. It was bound to
come up any moment. Billy took the handles of the stroller and had Ben
use the map to navigate them to the Peterson for Congress booth.
"Is there any kind of food they haven't put on a stick?"
Billy asked in wonderment.
"They didn't have every kind of food on a stick at your State
Fair?" Jenny asked.
"I never went growing up." Billy admitted.
Jenny and Ben froze. "Not one? Ever?" Jenny confirmed.
"I just never wanted to go." Billy shrugged. "Disgusting
food, huge crowds, and rides that haven't had safety checks in
years; not my thing. And who are you staring at Benjamin? When was the
last time you were at a fair?"
"We go every year in Wisconsin with Grandma and Grandpa Moss."
Ben declared.
"What about winning a prize for your girlfriend at the games, or the
concerts at night?" Jenny asked.
Billy raised both eyebrows at her and she burst out laughing with a
mouthful of her second cookie.
"What?" Ben knew he missed something, but wasn't sure what.
"What Fred here is telling us, Ben, is that he was too busy being
teenage geeky boy to take a girl to the concerts or the arcade
games."
"Really?" Ben asked. Billy always seemed so cool and smooth with
women. That couldn't be right.
"No." Billy contradicted his wife while shooting her a dagger
look. "I just had better things to do with my time than waste my
money on some stupid girl."
"Uh-huh." Jenny agreed but had a devious smile on her face.
"And I'd just like to remind you that if I hadn't been such
a geek at school, I would have never landed a job on the Seaborn
Gubernatorial campaign and we never would have met."
"Lucky me, then, huh?" Jenny leaned over and kissed him.
"Yeah, lucky you." Billy agreed.
"Hey, there's Julie!" Ben lost interest in the mushy stuff
and ran over to `his guy'. "Julie!"
"Ben Lyman! Look at you, you've grown a foot since you turned
11!" Julie gave him an enthusiastic hug. "I'm so glad
you're here."
"Me too." Ben told her. "We're having cookies for
breakfast."
"Well, they are made with milk, and eggs, and flour, right?"
Julie reasoned.
"Right!" Ben answered. "This place is so huge."
"It really is. When some more of the volunteers come back, I'll
take you for a tour."
"Cool." Ben agreed.
"Hey, Julie." Jenny gave Julie an awkward hug with her growing
stomach in between them and Billy followed suit. "Do you remember,
Paige?"
"Of course I do. How is that cookie, Paige?" Julie asked
scrunched down next to the child's stroller.
"Shit." Paige said plain as day. Jenny's horrified eyes met
her daughter's and then her husband's.
"William Fernandez…"
"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you know what kind of
people work at these things? She could have heard that anywhere."
Billy defended himself without actually denying anything. Jenny did not
miss that fact.
"We will be discussing this later, I promise you."
"In the meantime, maybe we keep her away from the press, right
Ben?" Julie joked.
"I don't know. Maybe she could be in one of your commercials.
Like, `Paige, what do you think of Butler's health plan?'
and then she could say-" Ben got cut off.
"Okay, funny man." Billy sent him a glare. "Why don't
you use that Lyman wit to sway some voters?" Billy nodded toward the
booth where pamphlets, bumper stickers, and buttons covered every
surface.
"Alright!" Ben hurried over to work the booth and Julie
introduced him around. If anyone thought it was curious that an 11 year
old was working a political booth, once they heard his last name, it was
relieved.
"Let's take Paige on some rides before it gets too hot."
Jenny suggested. "It's supposed to get up to 88 degrees
today."
"What kind of a place fluctuates between 88 degrees above zero and
40 degrees below zero?" Billy inquired.
"Luckily for us it does that across the course of a year not the
course of a day. Where should we take her first?"
"On any ride that has a recent safety check clearly displayed next
to it." Billy eyed the rides suspiciously.
"Honey, they're baby rides. They're not dangerous."
"Says you." Billy maintained. "How you could be so ready to
sacrifice our oldest child for a 2 minute thrill…"
"Well, now that we have another one on the way…"
"Jennifer!"
"Relax, Daddy. We'll start with the Merry Go Round. No height or
speed danger of any kind." Billy still wasn't sure about it, but
Jenny and Paige were very excited and he couldn't think of a
reasonable objection so to the Merry Go Round they went.
"My sister is bringing her kids over after lunch. Her son, Alex is 9
and I thought you might like to try some rides together?" Julie
posed it as a question to Ben who nodded eagerly. They were enjoying a
lull at the booth and catching up a bit.
"That would be cool."
"How's your dad doing?"
"Pretty good." Ben declared. "He can't play basketball
with me yet, though."
"Give him a little time. It's only been, what, 3 weeks since his
surgery?"
"Five." Ben corrected automatically. "Dad tells Mom all the
time; `Damn it, it's been five weeks, Donna'." Ben
imitated his father's tone and tenor so well that Julie burst out
laughing.
"I'm sure he's anxious to…be back to normal." Julie
hedged.
"Yeah, but he still can't play basketball." Ben reiterated.
"Brian said you finally got a debate on the schedule."
"Hey, I wasn't the one holding things up." Julie protested.
"It's set for October 8th, 5 weeks from Friday."
"Are you nervous?" Ben asked curiously.
"More than a little, my friend. It's going to be on
television." Julie noted. "I may just throw up."
"There was this one guy in Pennsylvania who was running for Congress
who got sick whenever he saw television cameras. So Dad sent camera
crews to all the guys events and he ended up quitting." Ben
chortled. "It was so funny. The guy would just turn green. They
weren't even real camera crews."
"That's a lovely story. Thanks for sharing." Julie
deadpanned. "See, once your dad is completely recovered, he'll
be able to provide you with new campaign stories."
"No, he's not going to do that anymore." Ben informed her
while he munched on a deep fried snicker bar. They were pretty good.
Then he noted the look on Julie's face and remembered that no one
else knew that yet.
"Why would he- Ben, your dad is really okay, right?"
"Except for the basketball stuff, yeah." Ben hesitated. "I
wasn't supposed to tell anyone that."
Julie struggled with an internal war. She desperately wanted to ask Ben
more questions about Josh's future career plans, but didn't want
to abuse their friendship and pump the child for info either. She took
the high road.
"Tell anyone what? I didn't hear anything." Julie grinned at
him. "I just want to know your dad's healthy. After all, if it
wasn't for the two of you, I wouldn't be sitting here right now
thinking about throwing up during debates."
Ben grinned back and leaned closer. "He's not going to do
consulting anymore. He's going to teach political science at
Georgetown in January and stay home with us." Ben's face was
beaming and Julie found her face matching his; it was infectious.
"But you seriously can't tell Brian, okay?"
"It will be our secret." Julie promised. Josh Lyman a teacher; a
University Professor. Yes, she could imagine there were quite a few
things Josh Lyman could teach the next generation of law makers;
including, but not limited to, sending fake news crews to your opponents
events to make him sick.
Ben and the Fernandez family spent the entire day at the fair. Jenny and
Paige took a short nap in a shady spot near Julie's booth at one
point, and when they were well rested, went out in search of more food
and fun. By the time they returned to their hotel room, everyone was
exhausted again and asleep in minutes.
Ben arrived back at the fair with Billy the next morning his brand new
cell phone at his ear. He was describing the sights, smells, and sounds
to his parents who were taking in every detail. Then he took orders from
his siblings about what he should bring back for them. He passed out
pamphlets and buttons with a religious fervor; as if he could single
handedly get Julie elected.
Everything was fine until after dinner when a fairgoer, who'd
obviously indulged in a little too much alcohol tried to pick a fight
with Ben.
"Are these liberals making you work long hours in the hot sun for
peanuts, kid?" the man asked.
"I'm a volunteer for the Julie Peterson campaign. She's
running for Congress. What district do you live in?" Ben replied.
"A district where we don't elect tax and spend liberals who take
all our money and give it to illegal immigrants and welfare
mothers." The young man and his companions laughed at his
`wit'.
"Then I think you'll be looking for the Republican booth.
It's two blocks down on your right." Ben told him.
"You're quite a lippy thing aren't you?"
"Hey, isn't it illegal for kids to work?" A second member of
the group asked the crowd at large. "Someone calls the cops."
"I'm not working for the campaign, I'm vol-un-teer-ing."
Ben over enunciated and rolled his eyes.
"Watch how you talk to me, kid. I'm your elder. Your parents
should teach you some respect for your elders instead of this flag
burning, Democratic bullshit."
Ben wisely chose not to reply, but simply turned toward the next group
of people nearing the booth. "Hi, I'm Ben Lyman. I'm
volunteering for the Peterson campaign. Do you live in the first
Congressional District?"
"Don't you turn away from me, kid." The belligerent man
grabbed Ben's arm and Brian was at his side in a shot.
"You'll need to take your hand off the boy now sir, and walk
away." Brian strongly suggested.
"You should teach your child better manners, but you Democrats are
too busy telling the rest of us how to raise our children to take care
of your own."
Brian didn't contradict the man, but simply moved Ben behind him.
"I'll keep that in mind. Enjoy your day at the fair." Brian
backed up.
"Lyman…Hey, are you Josh Lyman's son?" A woman nearby
asked Ben and he nodded. "I remember reading he was running this
campaign! Is your dad here?" the woman craned her neck to see around
the group assembled.
"No, ma'am. He's at home." Ben answered.
"His dad was the Chief of Staff to President Santos." The woman
told her companion. "I voted for Santos twice!" She then
reported to Ben who smiled at the friendly face. The altercation with
the man still glowering at him had made him a little nervous.
"Well, we'd love to have your support for the campaign."
Brian added. "Julie, can you stop over here a minute?"
Julie appeared at their side and introduced herself.
"So this hotshot, big wig, Democrat sends his kid out here
alone?" the man raised his voice again. "Some `family
values'! Maybe they should have had one of the abortions they love
so much if they can't be bothered to raise their own kid."
"Come on, Jer. Let's go." One of his friends urged him.
"No! These freaking liberals are always telling us they know best
but they can't even take care of their own families. And this one
doesn't even have any manners!" Jerry continued.
"Back off you jerk." The woman who'd been talking to Julie
piped up. "Leave the boy alone."
"The boy doesn't have any business telling adults who to vote
for. Go home and tell your mom and dad to stop sticking the Government
in my life and take care of their own." Jerry tried to step closer
to Ben again, but now Julie and Brian both stood in his way.
"My mom and dad don't need anyone like you telling them what to
do. They're American heroes! And you're clueless." Ben
shouted back.
"I'm clueless?" Jerry started to bluster.
"Jerry, let's go. The kids not worth our time." His
companion insisted again. Jerry seemed to respond to that, and even took
a step or two away while Brian forcibly moved Ben back toward the
relative safety of the DFL booth. But then Jerry decided he needed one
last face saving comment.
"Kid probably can't even spell Peterson." Jerry laughed.
"Once he learns to read that stuff he's passing out, he'll
die from embarassment."
Ben broke away from Brian and positioned himself right in front of
Jerry, eyes blazing.
"Julie Peterson wants to change our schools so that even idiots like
you can learn more than how to parrot Republican talking points. She
wants to stop giving tax breaks to wealthy people who don't need
them and use that money to make our cities safer from you and your
friends who think anyone should be able to walk around with guns."
"Ben!" Brian admonished him and grabbed his arm, but Ben shook
him off.
"Ben!" Julie tried, but Ben was his father's son.
"She's going to make your water and air cleaner and get people
with drug and alcohol problems the help they need to get sober. You
might want to look into that." Ben looked pointedly at the beer
Jerry was holding.
"You little shit." Jerry advance on him and the assembled crowd
gasped.
"Ben, that's enough." Billy added his voice to the exchange
as he approached the group and signaled Brian to move Ben far away from
them, but Ben had one last thing to say.
"She's going to be a great Congresswoman, and her name is
spelled P-e-t-e-r-s-o-n…moron." Ben muttered the last comment
under his breath, but even inebriated, Jerry caught it.
"That's it!" Jerry's path to Ben was blocked, but he
found Billy a fine substitute. "That kid needs to be taught a
lesson."
"Yeah, I'm going to teach him not to bother to argue with fools
or drunks." Billy noted. "You should move on, now. You don't
want trouble here."
"Maybe you're the one looking for trouble." Jerry moved
closer.
"Nah, I'm just looking for something to eat that isn't
served on a stick." Billy laughed it off. "Show's over,
folks."
"Not. Quite." Jerry insisted and clocked Billy with a right
hook. Billy staggered and when Jerry looked ready to swing again, Billy
simply sat down on the curb of the street.
"Get up, you wuss!" Jerry urged.
"Discretion is the better part of valor." Billy told him.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's an important lesson you'll want to learn. Say hello to
the police." Billy instructed and Jerry turned around to find two
officers who'd been summoned by someone else in the crowd who had
anticipated trouble.
"What's going on here? Things get a little out of control?"
One of the officer's inquired.
"The gentleman here got into a political debate with an eleven year
old and decided to take out his frustration on my face." Billy
related the information.
"This little snot nosed kid-" Jerry thrust him arm out in
Ben's direction and spilled some of his beer.
"Officers? Do you think we could move this someplace a little more
private?" Billy asked as more people crowded around the DFL booth.
One Officer led Billy and Jerry around the corner, while the second
Officer got statements from witnesses.