Chapter 37
"I want Brian back." Julie stated again and Holly laughed.
"Making an appearance at the event makes sense." Josh argued.
"It will be like, 20 minutes…30 tops and it will boost turnout
twofold."
"I'm tired, Josh. Do you understand tired? Do you get tired?
Does exhaustion not effect Josh Lyman at all?" Julie muttered.
"Not especially; no." Josh deadpanned.
"I want Brian back." Julie repeated.
"He's too soft on you. You need to be pushed in the final
stretch." Josh maintained.
"And you're just the guy to do the pushing?" Julie guessed.
"I'm a phenomenal pusher." Josh agreed.
"I'm going to push your ass right out of the-" Julie
muttered quietly.
"Pardon me?" Josh asked, amused by the exchange. Not many people
threatened to push his ass anywhere these days…except Donna of
course and that didn't really count since it had been that way since
the beginning.
"Nothing." Julie tempered her reply, but couldn't keep her
eyes from rolling in disgust. "How about we send a surrogate…you
know, someone who has had sleep recently."
"Sleep is for the weak!" Josh explained.
"Sleep is for humans." Julie replied.
"We'll hit this stop, get your fifteen minutes of fame, and then
take you directly home…after you drop me at my hotel." Josh
amended and Julie groaned.
"I want Brian back." Julie nearly shouted in the enclosed car
and Holly, unable to contain it any longer, burst out laughing.
"Boss, I think she's genuinely fried."
"She can make it. It's character building." Josh maintained.
"It's suicide inducing." Julie retorted, but when the
vehicle drove up to the community center, Julie put her game face on and
went to greet the assembled group. She gave a couple impromptu modified
stump speeches when it felt appropriate and was praising the efforts of
the local community that supported the community center they were in as
well as the wellness center next door. Publicly financed organizations
such as these, she noted, were the basis for strong communities and
economic growth. It was all well received which was why nobody's
radar was up when a member of the press showed up and asked her a
question.
"Excuse me, Ms. Peterson? Is the reason you feel so strongly about
these community organizations because of your personal experience with
them?"
"I'm sorry? I don't understand your question." Julie
asked for clarification.
"Yes, I'm asking if your personal experience with community
centers that provide birth control methods and abortions is the reason
your public policies include greater funding for them." The reporter
watched her shrewdly and noticed the very second his question registered
with Julie.
"I…I feel that every woman, regardless of economic level or
health insurance status has the right to maintain her health and these
clinics have been the backbone of that goal."
"Then your personal experience with the community center in
Rochester was positive?" The reporter pushed and although the crowd
was oblivious to his meaning Julie was not and she turned very pale.
Josh looked up suddenly from the newspaper he'd been reviewing while
Julie fielded questions and saw the panic on her face. This was bad. He
motioned for Holly to cut it short.
"Thank you everyone. Don't forget to vote in three weeks.
It's important that everyone's voice be heard." Holly
ushered Julie away and met Josh at the car.
Josh didn't say a thing all the way to his hotel; neither did Julie
or Holly, despite the fact that Holly was anxious to find out what this
all meant. Josh ushered Julie up to his room and took a drink from the
mini-fridge for her which she left untouched on the table next to her.
He was about to delve into what had transpired when his cell phone rang.
"Josh Lyman…where is it?....Yeah, shoot it over to my email,
will you please?" Josh hung up and powered up his state of the art
laptop. He looked over at Julie surreptitiously. "Do you know a
Melanie Howard?"
Julie pursed her lips and nodded. "She was my best friend in
highschool. Her family moved to Illinois right after graduation."
"She's back here now…" Josh told her and turned his laptop
screen so that they could both view it. "She's given some kind
of statement. It's on the internet."
They watched together as a tearful Melanie recounted the fateful trip
she and her best friend Julie Peterson had taken to the Planned
Parenthood Clinic in Rochester; opting to drive nearly 50 miles from
home so no one would recognize them. Melanie argued that she'd tried
to talk Julie into keeping the baby, but Julie was adamant about getting
the abortion. Josh didn't look directly at Julie but had enough of a
peripheral view to see the tears streaming down her face. When Melanie
had finished her story with her amazement that her friend of old was
running for Congress, Josh shut it off.
"I'm sorry."
"What?" Josh asked.
"I never wrote it down on your sheet; the opposition research
sheet."
"No, you didn't."
"It was private. It was legal."
"Yes, it was." Josh agreed.
"Not aymore." Julie guessed.
"No, not anymore." Josh agreed again.
"There was this guy. You know, the guy in your class that all the
girls would kill to go out with? One day, he noticed me and invited me
out to his family's cabin for a bonfire. It started out t be the
thrill of my young life. Here was `the guy' paying attention to
me in front of all the cool kids in school and kissing my hand, my
cheek…Then he invited me to go for a walk with him and the kisses
got more insistent. When I tried to get him to take me back to the cabin
he got a little more insistent, but I still wasn't worried. There
were all these people around, right?"
"Jules…you don't have to-"
"When he tried to take my clothes off I screamed and he hit me. He
called me all kinds of foul names and pushed me to the ground." Josh
could no longer make eye contact with her. It was too painful to see
what was in her eyes. "When he was done he just left me there and I
walked to Melanie's house. I told her everything but made her
promise not to tell anyone else. I was so ashamed."
Julie took a calming breath. "A couple months later, right before
graduation, I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't keep the baby,
Josh, I just couldn't. I wasn't even out of highschool, my
mother was going through her first round of chemo, and the very thought
of his child inside me made me sick. I went to Melanie and asked her to
drive with me to Rochester the next day. Then I'd stay overnight at
her house and be home the next day with no one the wiser…she swore
to me she'd never tell a soul and I believed her. That's why I
didn't write it on your list."
"Julie…I can't even begin to imagine…look, I just suck
at this stuff. Is there someone I can call for you?"
"Nobody knows, Josh. Not my dad, my brothers…God, Brian!"
Julie cried anew at having this most personal story told to her
fiancé by a stranger over the internet.
"Hey, don't worry about that. I'll get him back here now.
This isn't going to get to him in Virginia before he gets back here.
I'll call him now….but Julie? You better call your dad yourself.
It won't be long before someone knocks on his door and asks for a
comment." Josh advised and Julie nodded. When she picked up the
phone to call him Josh left her alone to give her some privacy. Where
the hell was Donna when he needed her?
He went down to the café to get some coffee and call Brian. Josh knew
his lack of information was alarming the younger man, but he
couldn't provide anymore answers without violating his promise to
Julie. In the end, he simply re-iterated that Julie was okay, but that
she needed him here as soon as possible. With that said, Brian promised
to get on the next flight out.
When Josh returned to his room, Julie was right where he'd left her
and she was re-watching the video clip.
"Are you some kind of masochist? Turn that thing off!" Josh made
a move to close the laptop, but Julie stopped him.
"Why would she do this? What cold she possibly gain from it?"
Julie asked quietly.
"People have all kinds of motives for this kind of thing; jealousy,
money, fame, revenge. I don't know anything about this woman, But
I'll bet my four children that she didn't come forward on her
own." Josh told her. "And you know how I adore my children."
That made Julie smile a little and Josh though maybe he wasn't
screwing this up so badly after all.
"Was your dad okay? Do you want to drive out to see him in
person?" Josh asked.
"How would you feel if you got a call like this from Ally or
Tori?" Julie asked back.
"First, I guess I'd want to hold them and tell them it was going
to be okay…then I'd use my considerable resources to hunt the
son of a bitch down and make sure he paid for every tear that slipped
down my daughters' face." Julie saw the vehemence on his face
and again thought that this man was not just a great political
operative, but also a great Dad.
"I guess that's where he's at right now too." Julie
admitted. "He didn't say much."
"I'm guessing he wasn't sure what to say." Josh
grimaced. "I think he'd feel better if he could see you and hold
you right now. Why don't we take a ride out there and you can spend
the night. Brian will be here in the morning."
"What about-"
"This isn't the time to be worrying about the campaign. You do
what you need to do and I'll take care of this end, okay?"
"Okay." Julie nodded and sniffed. "And Josh? Just for the
record. You don't suck at this at all. Thanks." Julie enveloped
him in a hug which Josh found himself returning.
"Let's hit the road, Jules."
************************************
"Josh?" Brian was surprised to see his mentor at the airport
when he arrived in Minneapolis.
"How was your flight?"
"Where's Julie?"
"She's at her dad's. How was your flight?"
"Josh, no shit, what the hell is going on?"
"We'll talk in the car. Holly's circling the airport as we
speak. Have you got luggage?"
"You call me and tell me Julie needs me in Minnesota as soon as
possible and you think I stop to pack a bag?" Brian asked and Josh
remembered another spur of the moment trip when time couldn't be
taken to pack a bag. Thank God this one wasn't a life and death
experience.
"She's okay, Brian, she just needs her fiancé with her right
now. Get in the car." Josh indicated the SUV pulling up to the curb
with Holly at the wheel. Once they were inside, Josh pulled out his
laptop. "Julie asked me to show this to you on the ride down."
Josh played the clips from the internet and watched Brian's
expression. The anger came first, and it was only natural, given the
circumstances, but Josh was happy to note how quickly Brian's
expression turned analytical. The wheels in Brian's head were
already turning; determining how and why something like this would come
out at this particular juncture. When Brian finally commented, it was
as the campaign manager.
"It's Butler. It couldn't be anyone else. How are we
responding?"
"We're going with `the candidate is not prepared to address
this very personal matter at this time, but will be available later
today to make a statement and answer questions'." Holly replied.
Brian nodded.
"She's at her place?" Brian asked.
Josh shook his head `no'. "She's at her Dad's. "
Brian chuckled without humor.
"How's he reacting to all this?"
"About like what you'd expect." Josh replied. "How are
you reacting to all this?"
"About like what you'd expect." Brian parroted Josh's
answer. "Why didn't she call me?
"Brian…she's upset and worried about your reaction.
She's still reeling. Cut her some slack." Holly suggested.
"I'm not- I just meant that I could have helped. I could have
been there for her and now…"
"You will be there for her. You'll talk to her now, in person,
and you'll be standing by her side when she makes her statement
today. " Holly reasoned.
When they arrived at the Peterson residence, Brian practically jumped
from the car. He gave a perfunctory knock before letting himself in and
came face to face with his future father-in-law.
"Brian!" Jim took Brian's hand in a quick shake. "You
got here fast."
"Yes, sir. Where's Julie?"
"She's upstairs." Jim motioned toward the staircase.
"Brian? You're going to fix this, right?"
"Damn right." Brian replied before taking the stairs to at a
time.
When Julie looked up and saw Brian in the doorway, she froze.
"I'm sorry." She said quietly, but he shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I should have been here. I should have stayed."
Brian berated himself but didn't move any closer to her.
"And being here would have changed what, exactly?"
"It would have changed the circumstances. You wouldn't have been
alone."
"I wasn't alone. Josh and Holly were with me." Julie had
re-focused on something she was writing.
"Jules?" Brian tried to get her attention back on him but she
was crossing things out and scribbling furiously and refused to give him
eye contact.
"I'm trying to write this statement…Holly offered to
help…so did Josh, but I thought this should come directly from me,
you know?"
"Julie!" Brian spoke more forcefully and she her eyes jolted up
to his before scurrying away again. "Why won't you look at
me?"
"I can't." she admitted. "I should have told you about
this and I didn't. Now you had to hear about it from some stranger
and…and…" Julie's voice cracked and Brian physically pulled
her up to her feet and took her into his arms. "I'm sorry."
She repeated.
"Hey, it's okay." Brian assured her. "We're okay,
right?"
"I don't know. Are we?" Julie asked tentatively. "We
still haven't talked about it."
"We will." Brian promised. "But right now, all you need to
know is that I'm here, I'm staying here, and I love you. Got
it?"
"Yeah…I got it." Julie nodded her head against Brian's
chest.
"Okay, then." Brian pulled her out of his arms again to look her
in the eye before claiming her mouth with a kiss that told her how
strong his commitment was. "We will return to this regularly
scheduled program shortly, but right now, Holly and Josh are downstairs
waiting for us. Bring your statement and we'll get ready to fire
back."
"Fire back at Melanie?" Julie questioned. "What's the
point of that? She didn't even say anything that was untrue."
"Melanie is a pawn; we're going after the Queen." Brian took
her hand in his and walked back downstairs with her. The trio in the
kitchen; Josh, Holly, and Jim were all busy. Josh was talking a mile a
minute into his cell phone. Holly was typing furiously onto her laptop
and Jim was making breakfast for them all. Still, everyone froze to
their spot when Julie and Brian came in.
"Sit down. Pancakes are almost ready." Jim declared, breaking
the tension. "Julie? Grab the bacon out of the frying pan, will you?
Everyone else sit down and clear a space. We're going to have a
solid breakfast and then we're going to kick Michelle Butler's
ass. We don't operate like this in Minnesota; and she isn't fit
to represent us in Washington if she does."
Julie, surprised at her father's statement, had to be prodded again
to retrieve the bacon from the oven. But shortly after that, they were
all seated and strategizing between bites of Jim's famous pancakes.
"I HAVE thought about it, Brian. I don't know what her
motivation could be. Like I told Josh, we lost touch after she moved.
Honestly, she'd become a reminder of a very painful time and I
didn't make any effort to continue the relationship after her family
had moved. But we didn't end things on a bad note and she wasn't
the type of person that would hurt someone else just for 15 minutes of
fame either."
"I agree." Jim added his two cents. "Melanie was always a
quiet, shy kind of girl and she and Julie were good friends because
Julie sort of took her under her wing."
"She didn't do this spontaneously on her own." Josh agreed.
"There was an outside force that pushed this story this close to the
election after Julie got her bump from the debate." Julie was within
2 points of Butler in the latest polls, which was well within the margin
of error. It was a statistical tie and Butler never imagined she would
be seriously challenged like this.
"So if we eliminate personal motivation that leaves financial
motivation." Brian summed up. "But Butler isn't going to be
stupid enough to leave any kind of financial link between them. It would
be too easy to prove and Butler can't afford any backlash."
"I've got someone on it, but I don't think we need to prove
anything. There will be many people who'll just assume this is
connected to the Butler campaign. It isn't a stretch." Josh
noted. "Let's skip to the end game."
"I think she should talk to Melanie." Holly opined and the men
all stared at her. "I'm serious. The woman Julie and Jim are
describing isn't someone who would purposefully do something to hurt
a friend; even an old friend who hasn't kept in touch. Seeing Julie,
talking to her, might be enough to get us the answers we're looking
for."
"I don't know if she'll see me but I think I should try.
This is what I've got so far." Julie passed her notepad to the
middle of the table so the others could see it. Josh felt himself moved
by her remarks and once he'd finished reading, passed it on to the
others.
"You're a classy lady Julie Peterson." Josh told her.
"No wonder my son fell for you."
That brought another thought to her mind. "I'm not sure how much
of this Ben might hear, but-"
"Let me handle Ben…or maybe we'll let Donna handle Ben."
Josh smiled.
"This looks great." Holly added.
"I wouldn't change a word." Brian threw in.
"Holly? You'll set things up for a statement this
afternoon?" Josh asked and Holly answered by getting on her cell.
"Jamie?" she began. "Holly Reynolds…that's why
I'm calling…the candidate will be making a statement at her
campaign headquarters at 3 followed by a Q & A…good, I look forward
to seeing you then."
Julie took the opportunity to do some calling of her own to try to
locate Melanie. After only a few calls, she discovered Melanie was only
an hour away. A brief debate ensued and it was decided that Julie and
Brian would drive out to try and see her after the press conference.
There was a decent size crowd at the campaign office by the time Julie
arrived. She tried not to let her nerves show, but she was pretty sure
she might throw up with very little provocation. Still, she kept her
head up as she walked to the front of the room to make her statement.
"Good afternoon everyone. Recently, a statement given by an old,
dear friend of mine has made it's way across the internet and into
mainstream news media. It was shocking to hear her describe a time in my
life that was so painful and difficult to get through. It is not
shocking, however, that such a report should suddenly surface while this
very close race will shortly be decided. I leave it up to the voters to
determine whether or not they consider the timing to be
coincidental." She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Melanie Howard was my dearest friend in highschool. Anyone would be
lucky to have such a trusted and devoted friend as Melanie. That's
why she was the one I turned to after having been the victim of date
rape. Walking into the offices of Planned Parenthood was the single most
excruciating decision I ever made. I agonized over it. But in the end I
made the best decision I could at the time and Melanie held my hand
through it all. I will be forever grateful to her for that. As for my
decision; it was painful, private, and legal. Planned Parenthood
provided me with counseling and excellent medical care. My personal
experience is just one of the reasons I would continue to support
Government funding for these institutions. They provide invaluable
services to people who would otherwise have no options and no health
care. "
Julie scanned the faces in front of her for some sort of read on her
statement, but couldn't find one.
"Questions?" she asked hesitantly.
"Ms. Peterson, have you spoken to Ms. Howard personally or through
representatives since her statement was released?"
"I have not, but I hope that I can have that opportunity soon."
"Your words toward Ms. Howard have been quite complimentary today.
You don't harbor any anger about her revealing this story in such a
public way?"
"Do I wish that this had remained between the two of us? Certainly.
But I know Melanie very well and there must have been some kind of
extraordinary circumstances that would have caused her to betray my
trust like that." Julie's answer had the advantage of being both
true and sincere; and the press seemed to pick up on that.
"Your statement seemed to imply that there was a connection between
this statement or the timing of this statement and your current race
against Michelle Butler. Do you have any proof that the Butler campaign
was involved in this in any way?"
"No." Julie answered simply.
"Will you be investigating further to determine if there is a
connection?"
"I don't believe in coincidences, but investigating further
seems more like your job than mine."
"How has this news affected your family?"
"My family has been nothing but supportive."
"But they didn't know anything about these circumstances
previous to the statement of Ms. Howard being released?"
"No. My mother was going through her first round of chemo and my
father was understandably focused on her at the time. My
brothers…well, it wasn't something that a young girl usually
discusses with her brothers. However, the decision I made as a
frightened 18 year old girl is very different than the one I would make
now."
"In what way?"
"In every way." Julie replied succinctly, before turning to the
next reporter. "Gary?"
"How do you think this new information is going to affect your
campaign?"
"That's difficult to judge at this point. All I can do is tell
the truth about what happened to me. Minnesotans get to decide
what's relevant in deciding who to vote for."
"Usually these types of personal smear campaigns take a heavy toll
on a candidate. You're not concerned that with only 18 days until
the election this could wipe out any momentum you earned from the debate
and cost you the election?"
Julie smiled. "A member of my staff recently reminded me that
it's a miracle that I'm running in the general at all. My
philosophy about this election has always been that I will work hard,
explain my positions on the issues, run a campaign of integrity, and let
the chips fall where they may from there. That's what I've done,
and I'm exceedingly proud of my team and this campaign. Now the
voters get to make a choice. I'm betting that when they do,
they'll decide in favor of the candidate who is most aligned with
the values that Minnesota treasures. Thank you for your time."
Julie left the podium amid a few more shouted questions, and went
directly to the car where Brian was getting behind the steering wheel.
"You sure you want to do this, Jules?" he asked and she nodded.
"Then let's get this show on the road."
************************************************
"Dad!" Ben greeted him at the door with a big hug and a smiling
face.
"Hey, tiger, easy." Josh grinned at the enthusiastic response.
"I was only gone for a couple days!"
"But you haven't been on a trip for months." Ben argued.
"True." Josh agreed. "Where is the rest of our clan?"
"Jenny's at school, Ally's doing homework, Tori is watching
a video, and Mom is giving Jake a bath." Ben updated him on
everyone's whereabouts.
"Sounds like a busy place. Your homework is all done?" Josh
asked his eldest child.
"Don't have any." Ben told him. "We start our
standardized tests tomorrow…I can't wait til Julie gets in
Congress and then we can get rid of the stupid things."
"It takes more than one person to change Federal Education law,
Benjamin." Josh reminded his son.
"She'll do it." Ben stated with the complete faith only
children can have.
"Ah-kay." Josh just wasn't up for a bubble bursting
conversation at this point. He didn't want to tell his son that
Julie couldn't perform magic and he certainly didn't want to
tell him that her campaign had hit bump in the road.
He was saved from either conversation by his youngest child's
appearance, literally streaking through the living room with Donna in
close pursuit.
"Jacob Lyman get back here this minute!" She called after him.
Jake jumped up and into his father's arms which wrapped themselves
around his small, wet, naked body.
"Daddy's home!" Jake shouted with glee.
"Daddy's wet." Josh corrected as he felt the warm bathwater
drip on his shoes.
"When did you get here?" Donna asked in shock at her
husband's surprise appearance.
"Hi Donna, I missed you too." Josh snarked. "Give me the
towel will you?"
Donna wordlessly handed over the towel she's been chasing Jake with.
Josh made a game of scrubbing Jake's body with the towel while Donna
and Ben watched in amusement.
"Dad?" Ally asked from the top of the stairs. "You're
home early!" She flew into her dad's arms just as he emptied
Jake from them.
"Hey, Ally cat. Did you miss me?"
"A ton." Ally gave him a smacking kiss.
"I should leave more often if I get this kind of reception when I
get return." Josh smirked at Donna when she too, leaned in to give
him a kiss.
"Hi." Donna said simply. "Tori! Daddy's home!"
Tori appeared at the top of the stairs immediately. "It's not
Tuesday yet."
Josh instantly knew what she meant. They'd talked about his schedule
before he left and he'd assured her he'd be back on Tuesday
around noon. He was two days early.
"No, it's not, baby. My plans changed, so I'm home
early." Josh told her and walked over to meet her at the
stairs."What have you got there?"
"My daddy book." Tori showed him and Josh took it from her
hands.
"Tori!" Ally yelled at her sister, who didn't seem to
understand why her older sister was angry.
"Your daddy book?" Josh opened it to find a kind of scrap
book…of the life and times of Josh Lyman. "When did you do
this?"
"It was supposed to be a surprise and she ruined it." Ally
complained.
"Jenny helped us make it for your goodbye party." Ben chimed in.
"THAT was supposed to be a surprise too!" Ally threw up her
hands and went up to her room in tears.
"Oh, yeah." Ben remembered belatedly. Donna put her hand on
Ben's shoulder in a `don't worry about it' gesture.
"I'm putting all the page numbers on it." Tori proudly
showed her father her work.
"You're doing a great job." Josh told her and kissed her
temple.
"But you can't have it until you're all done working for
us." Tori explained.
"Got it." Josh smiled. "I'm going to check on Ally."
"I think we should order dinner in to celebrate your early
arrival." Donna spoke up before he could disappear up the stairs.
"There isn't a hot, homemade meal waiting for me in the
oven?" Josh teased.
"I think you can count on feeling the heat with one more comment
like that." Donna quipped.
"Fine, but I'm going to want my slippers and smoking jacket when
I'm done with Ally."
"You don't have a smoking jacket." Donna retorted.
"Of course I do. I won a contest for it during the first Bartlet
administration, remember?"
"What I remember is that Mandy and I were equally disgusted by it
and it met an untimely demise before the second inauguration. Go talk
your daughter down from the ledge." Donna instructed.
"For the past two days, all I've done is calm down distressed
females." Josh groused to Ben as he climbed the stairs to Ally's
room. "There really should be some kind of hazard duty pay."
"No kidding." Ben commiserated. "They're always going on
about something."
"I hear both of you!" Donna called.
"Just kidding, baby!" Josh called back, but shook his head
quickly to Ben to negate the comment he made to his wife. "Why
don't you give me a minute with your sister, tiger, and then
we'll catch up."
"Okay." Ben quickly agreed and gave him the privacy Josh asked
for.
"Ally?" Josh called to her as he opened the door.
"I HATE her." Ally complained. "She's so stupid. She
doesn't understand ANYTHING."
"Hey, it's okay. I'm so old and forgetful, I'll
completely forget I know anything by bedtime." Josh joked but Ally
didn't even crack a smile. "Allison Joan, you know she
didn't mean to ruin the surprise."
Ally shrugged, angry tears still falling down her face. "I worked so
hard on that book and she hands it to you, ruins the surprise, and takes
all the credit!"
"Ally cat, it wasn't like that. She just showed me her
numbers." Josh tried to appease his oldest daughter.
"She wrecked the whole thing!" Ally continued. "She always
does. We can't go to the pool as a family because the water and the
crowds freak her out. We have to have dinner every night at 6 because
it's on her visual schedule. Everybody runs around in circles to
keep her happy and she only ruins things for us."
"Tori doesn't do it on purpose, kiddo."
"No, she can't help it right? So the rest of us don't matter
cause she's the one who's sick."
Josh was about to speak again when he got a good look at his
daughter's face. It was full of rage. Ally was usually the most
patient one with Tori and since they shared a room they were very close;
or as close as someone can get to someone else with autism. This was
very unlike her.
"Ally, what's wrong?" Josh asked.
"She ruined my surprise for you!"
"I get that, but Tori's done stuff like this before and it never
bothered you. What's different this time?"
"Everything's different!" Ally shouted. "You and Mom are
quitting the company, you're going to stay home with us and teach
part time, and you have a machine in your heart now."
"We're not quitting the company, Ally cat. We're just
stepping back a little and letting some other members of the team step
up; it's time to change things up a little there. I'm excited
about being home with you guys more. The teaching…well, we'll
see how that goes. I'm a little nervous about it myself, but I'd
like to give it a try."
"What about your heart?"
"It's beating just like it should now and I'm doing
everything I can to keep it that way. I'm exercising, taking my
medications, and eating healthier now…even when your mom isn't
watching." Josh pointed out and finally got his daughter to smile;
but it was short lived.
"I'm sorry, Daddy. I just get so sick of Tori sometimes. You
don't know what it's like to have a sister like her. People
stare at us, like at the Wild game we went to. Or they whisper about us
at school. I just hate it."
"I can understand how that would get on your nerves. It can be very
frustrating sometimes. And you're right; I don't know what
it's like to have a sister with autism, but I do know what it's
like to lose a sister and it's much, much worse than having a sister
with a disability, Ally."
Ally could count on one hand the times her father had talked about his
sister Joanie; her namesake. Grandma Ruth talked about Joanie a lot, but
her Dad hardly ever mentioned her. Mom said it was because it made Dad
feel really bad when he talked about her. Ally knew there was a fire
when her Dad was really little and that her Dad got out of the house
that was on fire, but Aunt Joanie didn't and she died. Grandma Ruth
said that their family was heartbroken for a long time and that
Dad's heart never got better until he met Mom.
Ally tried to imagine what it would be like if something like that
happened to Tori, but she couldn't. Tori drove her nuts sometimes,
but she also made Ally laugh a lot. Ally looked around the room they
shared and tried to picture it without Tori's bed, her picture
schedule, her stacks of books everywhere. Ally thought it would be
pretty lonely in here without her sister. But she wasn't quite ready
to forgive Tori yet.
"She shouldn't have wrecked the surprise."
"No, but I'm kind of glad she did." Josh admitted. "I
don't always do so well with surprises like that."
"Well, you have to pretend to be surprised." Ally insisted.
"I'll do my best." Josh promised. "We're okay
now?"
"I guess…I'm glad you're home early." Ally snuggled
up to her dad again.
"Me too. You have no idea how much." Josh squeezed her and made
her squeal.
The Lyman family dinner was chaotic as usual; noisy and messy. By the
time dinner was cleared, baths were taken, and children were put to bed,
Josh was exhausted. He dropped down backwards onto the bed he shared
with his wife and closed his eyes fully dressed.
"You might want to get undressed before you slip into a coma there,
Joshua." Donna teased from their adjoining bathroom where she was
brushing her teeth.
"Nope, I'm fine exactly like this. I tell you Donna, it's
been nothing but emotional females for the last two days…I'm
wiped."
"Poor baby." Donna purred as she stretched out beside him.
"But look at it this way. You've handled each situation
beautifully. That shows real growth and potential on your part, and
I'm sure that when you're standing in front of a mostly female
class of students, that will serve you well."
Josh moaned. "No, no, no. I will teach them about Government. That
is my job description; I checked…twice."
"Mr. Lyman, I tried to write my paper on gridlock in Government, but
I broke up with my boyfriend, Alan last night and I just couldn't
concentrate." Donna pretended to choke on a sob. "Can you
believe that asshole was cheating on me with Clare this entire
semester?" Now Donna went into fits of fake tears and
incomprehensible speech.
"Stop. I beg you, Donnatella, stop it now." Josh opened his eyes
and partially sat up. "Please tell me you're making this shit
up."
"College age young women…nah, it's going to be exactly like
that." Donna pushed him back down flat on the bed again and rubbed
his forehead. "We haven't even gotten to the fan clubs that will
be formed and the flirting that will ensue. Maybe I'm the one who
should be concerned about this career move."
Josh grabbed her hand to stop her from continuing the head massage.
"Let me show you just how unfounded that concern would be." And
he kissed the palm of her hand. After all their years together; through
political upheavals, personal trials, and more than one brush with
death, this man could still move her with just one look… one touch.
Donna simply melted. She reveled in the feeling of his hands moving over
her body while he disrobed her.
"You're not just doing this to put off the discussion I want to
have about you announcing your decision to the rest of the team are
you?" Donna moaned.
Josh chuckled. "It hadn't even crossed my mind. However,"
Josh paused to remove the last pieces of her clothing, "it does
occur to me that there is more than one advantage for me in this
situation."
Donna cuffed him on the back of the head. "Owwww…"
"More than one advantage?" Donna repeated.
"Well, there is!" Josh maintained. "Just as there's more
than one advantage for you, Donnatella…maybe even several advantages
for you as I've proven on many occasions in the past."
Josh's smile turned cocky.
"Yes, but that was before you had major heart surgery." Donna
shrugged at her husband's shocked expression."It's okay,
baby. We're both getting older, and you've had surgery. We
can't expect the same level of…performance that we used to
have."
Josh's eyes took on a determined glint. "Is that so?"
Donna nodded sadly. "That's what I'm told."
"I think you've been tragically misinformed." Josh told her.
"I'd be willing to accept evidence to the contrary." Donna
replied affably. Josh entered her in one strong, smooth stroke leaving
Donna to cry out in surprise.
He hovered above her until her eyes cleared enough to focus on him.
"You were saying, my love?"
"Saying? I wasn't saying anything. I couldn't possibly speak
right now." Donna panted as Josh increased his rhythm and her
excitement.
"Damn straight." Josh agreed and brought her to a climax in
record time. She was still trying to drag air into her lungs when he
collapsed beside her. "Major surgery my ass." He muttered.
"There is nothing in this world, ladies, quite like Joshua Lyman in
full competitive mode." Donna noted.
Josh's eyes opened suddenly. "You just…those comments were
just…damn it, Donna, you were playing me?"
"And it was so easy too." She purred.
"Donna!" Josh protested.
"Oh please. I'm sure there was more than one advantage for you
in this situation." She parroted his words back to him and saw him
smirk in appreciation of his wife's deviousness. He settled back
down next to her curling his body around hers. "You need to tell the
team tomorrow on the conference call."
Josh sighed. He'd been using the excuse that everyone was up to
their eyeballs in the final weeks leading up to Election Day and that
he'd tell them after that. But the truth was, he was reluctant to
tell his team about taking the teaching job. He wasn't sure how
they'd react and truth be told, he wasn't sure how he wanted
them to react. Did he want them to have a fit and beg him to reconsider
or did he want them to accept his choice easily and move on like it was
no big deal?
"It's not that big a deal. I'll just be teaching part time
and I'll still do some consulting."
"Keeping your foot in the door?" Donna teased.
"Well…yeah. What if I suck at teaching?" Josh replied.
"You're not going to suck at teaching." Donna laughed.
"How do you know?" he demanded.
"I have personal experience. You were always a very patient and
thorough teacher when it came to politics…well not always patient,
but certainly indulgent." Donna amended. "I've watched you
teach new operatives in the company, and I've watched you teach our
children. You're not going to suck as a teacher."
"Thanks." Josh said sincerely.
"It's much more likely that you'll piss someone off in the
administration and get your ass banned from campus." Donna
concluded.
"Thanks!" Josh repeated more sarcastically.
"In which case you can bring your very fine ass right back to Lyman
consulting." She explained while her hands started to wonder further
down his body.
"Jesus, Donnatella, you've got to be kidding me. I'm an old
man, remember?"
"Not to me, Joshua. Never to me." Donna assured him and set
about proving it.