Title: HEAVEN AND HELL, Entente
Cordiale (Chapter Four)
Authors: Enigmatic Ellie and Westwinger247
Webpage: http://wing_nuts.tripod.com
Notes: This is the sequel to THE QUEST. Thanks to those of you
who followed us from one series to the next.
Operations Bullpen
Tuesday morning
"Oh no," Donna gasped in sympathy as she read the news briefs buried on the inside of the morning's paper.
"What?" Josh asked as he cruised out of his office on his way to meet Leo.
"Oliver Thomas is sick," she said in a heartfelt manner.
"Who?"
"Oliver Thomas," she said, shaking her head. She should have figured Josh would not know the name of the children's programming legend.
"Oliver the Conductor?" Josh responded.
"Yes," Donna responded with amazement. "You've heard of him?"
"No, I can read 11 point type from 12 feet away," he said. "Yes, I know who Oliver the Conductor is; I was a child for a few minutes once."
"I wanted to marry him," Donna mused, ignoring the sarcasm, as she read the short piece explain that the 86 year-old had been hospitalized with pneumonia over the weekend. "He was my first love."
Josh shook his head and continued down the hallway, hearing Donna hum the theme song to the program about the train conductor that children across the nation had sung for more than four decades. It was one of those infectious tunes; Josh could hear the strains of if playing in his head as he neared Leo's layer.
He arrived, having won the battle with the music in his head, to find CJ waiting in Leo's office as well. She said nothing to him but did offer a displeased glance that Josh cared not to question without a witness present. Leo returned moments later from a meeting in the Mural Room that had left him with an expression to rival CJ's.
"Ah, you," Leo said tersely as he swept into his office and honed in on Josh with a laser stare.
"What did I do?" Josh asked mystified. He knew why CJ was scowling at him, but he was unaware Leo was sharing notes with her.
"Earl Brennan," the Chief of Staff replied.
"The Ambassador?"
"You know any others?" Leo asked.
"Not really, no," Josh replied.
"Then, yeah, that one," Leo said. "He had lunch with Tommy Carlysle."
"Who is..."
"He's a leading fundraiser for the Green Cross," Leo informed his deputy sharply.
"The terrorists?" CJ asked.
"No, the rock group," Leo said. "Yeah, the terrorists. Well, not terrorists precisely. Our intelligence reports that they funnel money that they raise to the IRA. They're a pass-though organization."
"And?" Josh asked, not sure why he was being blamed for a lunch date he wasn't invited to.
"Your guy had lunch with their head guy in
"Okay, you just said a lot of stuff there that I don't understand," Josh shook his head. "And I still don't see why you're blaming..."
"You convinced the President," Leo said. "I'm just warning you that you're the one he's gonna use for..."
"Target practice," Josh nodded as Leo trailed off. He was unhappy about the prospect but not overly concerned. "Fine, but why me? I just got the guy to agree to take the job. State gave him their stamp of approval, and you're technically the one who put his name on the top of the short list."
"Well, I decided it's better you than me," Leo said. "I deal with the nasty stuff; you field the dumb things."
"I can handle dumb," Josh nodded, making a note to call Brennan to hear his side.
"Of course, I'm not too worried about seeing the State Department breaking bread with terrorists in a pub when I've got a lovely soap opera brewing right here in Washington with the Commerce Secretary," Leo continued, focusing on CJ this time. "What the hell is going on with Cortez? We vetted this guy. We did it two and a half years ago when he took the job. This never came up?"
"He was still dating her," Josh shrugged as he responded. The glare he received from the two others in return caused him to study his shoes intensely for a few moments afterward.
"They want us to comment," CJ said.
"We're not going to," Leo said instantly.
"Why not?" Josh replied. "Leo, we say we didn't know. We didn't and frankly we don't care. No harm."
"No harm?" Leo repeated.
"The guy is being sued for palimony," CJ responded. "He had a 10 year affair with this woman..."
"I don't care if he let her paint his toenails pink," Josh cut her off. "It's not against the law."
"He's being sued," she countered.
"That's different than indicted," Josh countered. "CJ, it's a sleazy story that, at it's core, is a personal matter. The guy broke up with his girlfriend and some shyster convinced her to file suit then sell the story to a tabloid. His wife stood with him at his press conference and said her bit. Until the guy is accused of impropriety on the job..."
"He's the Secretary of Commerce," CJ cut in.
"Thanks," Josh replied. "I forgot that seeing as I'm the one who vetted him."
"Lesson for the future," she added. "Ask the next guy if he's having an affair or engaged in anything that would embarrass the President and make for a good story on Hard Copy."
"Enough," Leo silenced them. "CJ, nothing from us. Yet."
"Leo," Josh said exasperatedly.
"The guy serves at the pleasure of the President, Josh," Leo reminded him. "The fact that he can't keep his hands off his secretary and it's threatening to detract from policy initiatives might be something which could earn his displeasure."
"It's not his secretary," Josh offered after a short pause.
"I'm sorry?"
"Paul Cortez's secretary isn't the one making the claims," Josh said. "In fact, his secretary and his deputy both were surprised by the news, showing further that he did what we're all permitted to do on our personal time and that's conduct it in private. This woman was a junior vice president at an advertising firm who got fired after they lost half a dozen accounts due to market attrition of their clientele."
"Your point?"
"She's a highly educated woman who can is capable of making up her own mind and taking care of herself," Josh answered. "She's scorned because a guy decided he'd rather be with his wife than carry on with her."
"So it's her fault?" CJ asked.
"I'm not talking about fault," Josh said. "I don't think any of us--that includes the press--is in any position to discuss fault. I'm saying this is a private matter."
"Well, it's now and it's in my press room so there goes your theory," CJ scoffed.
"CJ's right," Leo said then turned to the Press Secretary. "He hasn't made up his mind. Stall, but don't look like you're stalling. Focus on the reforestation legislation we're sending to the floor today--"
"Leo," Josh protested.
"We need something and that's ready to go," Leo insisted. "It's tied in with the tightened restrictions on toxins in water. Marry 'em at your podium; that's the news coming out of this building for now."
"Gotcha," CJ nodded.
"Anything else?" Leo asked her.
She shook her head then thanked Leo as she left. Josh remained in silence.
"Don't look at me like that," Leo said without looking up from his memos.
"I'm not going to say it's wrong," Josh said. "I don't need to; you already agree with me."
"Yeah," Leo sighed. "What do you need?"
"We've got trouble in
"Strike?" Leo ventured.
"Yeah."
"Won't happen," Leo said.
"Marco Acevedo thinks differently," Josh said, naming the leader of the dock workers union.
"How do you know?"
"Because he sent me a message that said he thinks differently," Josh said.
"Wonderful," Leo sighed.
"We can't publicly step in," Josh stated. "Not now. We smoothed out the waves last time, but this is a whole new thing."
"Damn," Leo scowled and shook his head. "You know, I have 20 good minutes a day. Know when they occur? Right after I fall asleep until just before I start dreaming."
*****************
Saturday,
“Hey Sam,” Charlie said as the Deputy entered his office area. “The President’s with his economic advisors, but will be free in a few minutes.”
“Thanks Charlie,” Sam said as he leaned against Debbie’s desk.
“So how’s it going?” the aide asked.
“My mother’s cat died,” Sam answered. “She called me earlier this afternoon.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Charlie said sincerely. “It’s always hard to lose a family pet. Deana cried for a week when her hamster died.”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, but you gotta understand something about Mr. Winkles.”
“Mr. Winkles?”
“The cat," Sam said quickly. "It’s, uh, my aunt named it when she gave it to me years ago.”
Charlie looked up from his computer. “I thought you said it was your mother’s cat.”
“Well it is... was,” Sam clarified. “My aunt, Lucy, gave to me when I was a teenager. I had Mono when I was 15 and she felt bad for me. So she gave me a cat."
"I'd have preferred ballons or something," Charlie added.
"Me, too," Sam said. "See, the thing is, I don’t like cats. I'm generally not an animal person."
"I didn't know that about you."
"Now you do," Sam continued. "My mom took over Mr. Winkles’ care.”
“So your mother unknowingly volunteered to take care of the cat,” Charlie surmised. “You duped her.”
“It wasn’t that,” Sam argued. “I just persuaded her that Mr. Winkles would be better off in her care because she was a mother, and it was in her nature to care.”
“I can see why women think you're a sexist and why you went into politics,” Charlie smirked. “So how is Mrs. Seaborn handling the passing of the feline?”
Sam adjusted the glasses along the bridge of his nose.
“Funny thing," he explained. "It turns out that my mother never liked that cat. She only kept him because she thought that I liked having him there. In fact, she told me she had Mr. Winkles put to sleep.”
Charlie looked at Sam. “Put to sleep? On purpose?”
“Well, not really,” Sam enlightened the aide.
"The cat's still alive?"
"No, he's very dead," Sam said. "My father told me the real story. My mother spared my feelings."
"What happened?"
"He got out of the house and was hit by a car," Sam said. "Ran under a UPS truck. So, I guess you could say he put himself to sleep."
"You think the cat committed suicide?" Charlie asked.
"He ran under a three ton truck, Charlie," Sam said. "That's suicide."
The door to the Oval Office opened and the staffers exited. Sam greeted each staffer on their way out as Charlie approached the door. He leaned into the Oval Office with Sam in tow.
"Mr. President? Sam is here to see you.”
“Send him in,” the President answered from his desk.
“Don’t be too harsh with him,” Charlie added. “His cat recently passed away in a self-inflicted manner.”
Bartlet rose from his desk and made his way to the door. “Really? Sam I am so sorry.”
“Thank you, Mr. President,” Sam said, giving Charlie a quick glare. “It's nothing, really. I wanted to talk to you about the…”
Bartlet ushered the speechwriter in and cut him off in mid-sentence. “Ellie had a fish once, Marvin. She was seven…”
Sam scowled back at Charlie. “Thanks.”
“No need to suffer alone,” Charlie responded and shut the door.
****************
CJ Cregg's Office
Thursday, 10 a.m.
Josh entered CJ's layer. She was finishing her morning briefing and would return shortly. He sat on the edge of her desk and looked at the fish who guarded the room. There was a new structure in the bowl--a minature model of the White House. He shook his head and wondered who was responsible.
"I thought you said this Paul Cortez thing would blow over," CJ said as she breezed into the room.
"It will," Josh assured her. "It's a slow news week. That's a good thing."
"Now, a slow news week is when they ask me things about the President's cufflinks or our stance on the Ground Hog's predictions," CJ disagreed.
"Do we have a stance on the Ground Hog?"
"What do you want?"
"I just spoke with Ambassador Brennan--again," Josh said.
"He wrote a memo," CJ reminded him sternly.
"I know," Josh nodded. "We talked about that. I told him that he can disagree with State and he can do it in writing but..."
"Did you let him know that CC'ing Danny Concannon on it is not professional?" she asked hotly.
"I think I covered that, yeah," Josh said. "Look, he's.... It's under control."
"Because you say so?"
"Yeah," Josh nodded.
"Donna told me you have an Entente Cordiale," CJ offered.
"I'm sorry?" Josh asked stupefied. "She.... She what?"
"A friendly working relationship," CJ translated. "An agreement of sorts."
"She did?" he swallowed hard.
"It doesn't surprise me," CJ continued. "You worked for the guy and got him through some tough spots. I just thought that since you dumped him and went to the Senate he might still be sore, but if he's still willing to listen to you, I couldn't be happier."
"You meant Ambassador Brennan," Josh nodded, able to breath again. "Yeah, that's.... Good."
"What's going on?" CJ asked. "You're in your own little world over there."
"Only when necessary," Josh shook his head. "So, he's coming back to the States for a family wedding and I'm going to sit with him face to face and smooth things over with Kendall and the the guys at State. I just wanted you to know that you don't have to worry about it. He's getting public laryngitis and writer's cramp for a while--guaranteed."
CJ looked at Josh and smirked. She could tell the grin made him uneasy, which made her happier still. Keeping Josh on his toes was almost as much fun as rocking Toby off his heels when he got entrenched with an idea. She wasn't sure what she had done to frazzle him so early in the day, but it pleased her. If she could figure out what it was, she would do it more often.
"How do you solve a problem like Earl Brennan," CJ said in a lyrical fashion.
"You don't have much a singing voice there," Josh cut her off as he headed toward the door. "Better stick to dancing in the chorus line."
"I have the legs for it," she said confidently.
*****************
Oval Office
Friday,
"So
we're agreed the man's a lunatic and an unmitigated pain in the ass?"
Bartlet said summarizing his conversation with the Deputy Chief of Staff about
the
"He might even have a standing directive to have that as his epitaph," Josh remarked.
"Okay," Bartlet relented. "Well, so long as we're on the same page."
"He's coming home soon for his nephew's wedding," Josh said. "I spoke with him twice this week and he understands that this is not just an example of the boys over at State being... Well, never mind what he calls them."
"Probably the same thing I do," Bartlet shook his head. "I don't understand Brennan. I'd say I didn't understand his type, but the more I think of it, I don't know anyone else like him so I'm hard pressed to come up with a category for his type."
"Manic Leprechaun," Josh shrugged.
"Mmm," the President nodded. "I still can't figure the guy out. He's radically liberal except when he's stiflingly conservative."
"Try being the one who has to get him re-elected," Josh groaned.
"Political boot camp?" Bartlet ventured as he prepared to leave the office. "Well, it's probably all behind you for a few hours."
"Thank you, sir," Josh grimaced. "Will that be all?"
"Going somewhere?"
"Uh..., I guess that's up to you, Mr. President," Josh said mystified.
"Yes, it is," Bartlet continued. "Charlie!"
The President's aide appeared in the door way.
"Are we all set?" Bartlet asked.
"Yes, sir," Charlie responded. "We're ready when you are."
"Fine," the President responded. "I'm going to the residence briefly and then we'll get started. Show Leo's Deputy here where he's supposed to be. I'm afraid he's going to claim ignorance, and I'd just as soon head that ploy off at the pass."
"Yes, sir," Charlie grinned as the President breezed out toward the colonnade on his way to his bedroom to change into a more comfortable attire.
"What's going on, Charlie?" Josh asked, following the aide out of the Oval.
"Movie night," Charlie said with a knowing smirk.
"No," Josh groaned and hung his head. "He's serious about this?"
"He had me send you all those invitation," Charlie reminded him. "Everyone else is heading to the screening room now. You'd better hurry or you're going to have to sit down front with the President, and trust me, Josh. This is one of those times when you do not want to be sitting next to him."
"That bad?"
"Worse," Charlie said as he turned off his computer.
******************
White House screening room
9:30 p.m.
The low hum of staff members grumbling and wondering amongst themselves why they were gathered filled the room. They were scattered throughout the room. Josh caught a lucky break when Donna saved a seat for him behind and to the left of the President's seat.
"Where's Sam?" Josh asked as he sat beside her and cranked his neck around in search of the speechwriter.
"Over there," Donna said and pointed. Sam caught the motion and winced as she waved to him. "Is he avoiding you for some reason? He seems kind of edgy when I see him."
"No clue," Josh said as the President entered and strode to the front of the room. The chatter ceased swiftly as he held up his hands to summon quiet.
“I’m glad you all could be here,” Bartlet
began.
“We were ordered to be here, sir,” Toby reminded him.
“Did that order include permission to interrupt me?”
Bartlet asked.
Toby grimaced and sunk into his seat.
“Thank you," the President continued.
"Now, as I was saying, I am pleased to have you all here. As some of
you may know, a couple weeks ago Abbey presented me with a gift. It was a
DVD of all of our home movies. She had them transferred from all the old
film we had. I'd seen them all many times, but I never tire of them.
Now they're on a disc, digitally preserved for ever. It was probably the
greatest gift, other than my daughters, that she ever gave me. There
really is nothing like fond memories to share with those you care about, and
that got me to thinking. We spent the last year fighting a battle
side-by-side, and if we weren’t already as close as any staff that ever
inhabited this building then we never would be. I appreciate all of you
and everything you do for me, for this administration and for this nation; it
occurs to me that I don't say that often enough. You all mean a great deal
to me, and I know the sacrifices you make in your own lives and those your
families make in order for you to be here doing this work. So, with that
in mind, I wanted to bring you all together and share the way families do.”
“Sir,” Sam cautiously interjected. “May I ask
how…”
“I’m in charge of all remarks tonight, Sam,” Bartlet
said quickly. “Your job is to sit there and enjoy this.”
“Yes, sir,” Sam answered.
“Now, in the invitation you received," Bartlet said.
"It was more of an order," Toby grumbled.
"I could turn this into a sing-along and have you
lead us, Toby," Bartlet quipped then returned to his other guests.
"I believe you all received an invitation for this evening that informed
you we would 'be watching a film about you.' I dare say some of you
read that message and took the descriptor of ‘about you’ as the title of the
show. I suspect some of you even did some research to find out what kind
of arduous and unending punishment you could expect.”
"You're looking at me, sir," Josh remarked.
"Am I?" the President responded with a devious glint in his eyes. "What would give you that idea, Mr. Please Tell Me I'm Not Worthy?"
Josh slouched in his seat and cast his eyes side to
side—grateful to see he was not the only marginally guilty party in the room.
Ed, Larry and Carol had practically crawled under their seats; Josh hoped the
President could see this.
“Well, you no doubt failed to locate this title,” Bartlet
announced. “This is a film. It’s my film. Actually, it’s
your film. We’re all familiar with our most polished and some of our
not-so-glittering moments in front of the camera.”
CJ strategically coughed though it sounded suspiciously like
she was saying Josh’s name. When she was pegged in the head
instantaneously by a piece of popcorn, she had a short list of suspects.
"Again, sir," Josh said turning his attention away from the Press Secretary. "You're looking here."
"Well, that one wasn't intentional," Bartlet remarked. "But I do love your greatest hits."
"That makes one of us," Leo groaned.
“Okay, Leo didn't get his nap today, so we'd better pick
things up before someone gets fired," Bartlet continued. "It
seems that many of us were stars long before we even graduated from high school.
Since I am the executive producer of this project, I assigned Debbie Fiderer to
pull it all together. She obtained all the necessary footage and saw the
project through to its end. I have not seen it yet—this is the premier.
So, sit back and enjoy.”
The lights dimmed and a montage of images of the staff from
interviews during the campaigns and appearances on news magazines appeared.
The final frame was one from the President's most recent Inaugural Address.
As his words faded, so did the picture; the blackness slowly dissolved to
display shaky footage showing grass and someone’s feet. It appeared that
the camera operator--someone with an old camcorder from the quality of the
picture--was obviously walking without realizing the camera was on. Then
rose a giggling sound and two young girl’s voices whispering.
“Zoey, aren’t you supposed to use this camera for your
science project,” the unmistakable voice of a teenage Ellie Bartlet asked.
“Don’t worry,” Zoey replied. “I’m doing this
for Mom.”
They rounded a corner, which those viewing now recognized as
the backside of the Bartlet’s farmhouse in
“Don’t think I don’t know that you’re there,”
Bartlet said without looking at the camera as he paused in the aria. “I
heard you planning this in your room. You’d be wise to recall that sound
travels; and, Zoey, your bedroom is directly above the spot where I stand right
now.”
The girls scoffed a minor complaint at their surprise being
thwarted before Bartlet returned to his performance unhindered by the camera
that was catching every moment.
The staff did not spare their chuckles though they held off
any outrageous cackles. The scene faded to black and proceeded on to the
next victim. In no specific order, so many of the staff was put on display
with up to 10 minutes each of footage.
Ginger showed up as a cheerleader during a basketball game in high school--give a little squad pep talk before taking the floor and rising to the top of the pyramid. Sam proudly practiced the clarinet for his grandmother while interrupting his performance to tell her about how his best friend had dropped his lunch in the middle of the cafeteria the previous week in front of everyone. Ed was bursting with energy in his Junior Varsity football uniform, then dropping the ball as he tripped over his shoelace and later explaining to his father (the one with the camera evidently) that he did know how to tie his shoes on most days but not always on game days.
Larry received several cat calls as he appeared modeling a
tux for a college fashion show to benefit a cause he could no longer recall.
He swore amid the chides that he was not wearing make up, but could not explain
to his co-workers why his cheeks were so rosy and his lips that shade of pink.
Donna, too, was in the film—dressed in her band uniform as she grinned
spectacularly at the camera and showed off her high school mascot that drawn on
her cheek by her sister using an eye pencil; she then spent several moments
bursting with school spirit about the homecoming game.
"That the game where you did the domino thing?"
Josh asked quietly from beside her.
"Yes," she hissed and jabbed him viciously with an
elbow for recalling the pile up she accidentally confessed to him before the
primaries.
Charlie appeared in a duet of sorts, dancing with his
sister Deana in a talent show around Christmas at age 12. CJ suffered
through teases from her brothers as she stood for pictures before her first
prom. Her date, a confident boy nearly a foot shorter than her, stuck her
with the pin as he attached her corsage.
The frame faded to black on CJ's pinning only to be followed
by the sound of a shrieking of a child. As the blackness dissolved into a
picture, a blond woman could be seen wrestling a toddler who failed his arms and
legs in a seizured frenzy.
“Darling, you have to put your tie on for Mommy,” Anna
Lyman pleaded as the child squirmed from her grasp. “Joshua, you’ll be
so handsome.”
“I don’t wanna be handsome,” he yelled back and
attempted to run from her. “I want my lellaplant!”
The cameraman then spoke.
“He doesn’t need the tie, Anna,” the man spoke.
“And you don’t need to film this, Merrill,” she said
tersely.
“It’s called a ‘slice of life’ story,” the
mysterious Merrill announced. “It’s very big in the film schools.”
“So you’re in film school now?” asked a tall gentleman
who entered the frame. He sported an amused grin with dimples. “I
thought you were a banker.”
“Noah, Merrill is not your concern,” Anna said.
“Deal with your family. I’ll deal with mine.”
“Technically, Joshua is yours, too,” Noah Lyman said,
easily lifting the runaway toddler from behind the sofa and placing him back on
a cushion then handing him a stuffed animal. “He’s not just mine when
he acts like this.”
“When he acts like you, he’s all yours,” Anna Lyman
huffed. “Get him dressed. Oh good, you found Fwancis.”
“Fwancis!” young Josh yelped, hugging what appeared to be
a stuffed elephant. “Thank you for finding my lellaplant, Daddy.”
“The word is elephant,” said a young school aged girl in
a bored tone that spoke of a constant state of annoyance with her little
brother. “How many times do I have to tell you? Say it
right. El-e-phant.”
“Tha’s what I said,” the boy argued. “Lellaplant.”
“Brat, four letters; Josh, four letters,” the girl said
and nodded to her father. “Coincidence?”
“Joanie, you’re not helping,” Noah sighed at his
daughter.
“Okay,” she nodded and smirked. “Maybe if you
didn’t let him sneak downstairs to watch those stupid movies with you late at
night he wouldn’t be so cranky in the morning and pitch tantrums about wearing
clothes.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, this is not a tantrum," Noah
said. "This is..."
"Josh being Josh," the girl surmised.
"And they’re not stupid movies,” Noah continued as
he wrangled a tie around the little boy's neck, who seemed more interested in
biting on the elephant's trunk than being cooperative. “The Marx
Brother’s are brilliant and unless I handcuff him to his bed, Joshua pretty
much wanders around as he pleases. Would you prefer he end up in your room
making you read to Fwancis..."
"Daddy, say Francis or he'll never learn," the girl insisted.
"Are you certain?" Noah asked with a grin. "He's the world’s only lellaplant; Fwancis might be the correct..."
"Daddy!" she huffed while fighting off a smirk before stomping out of the screen. "I don't care what its name is. I still think we should sell them both to gypsies.”
In the lull, Noah knotted his son’s tie while
shaking his head--possibly contemplating the gypsy transaction.
“Anna says if he’s sarcastic when he grows up, she’s
blaming you,” Merrill offered as Noah hoisted the boy over his shoulder and
prepared to leave.
“Merrill, the number of things your cousin is going to
blame me for is so large that I stopped counting,” Noah replied then shouted
to the area off camera. “Okay, everyone in this house who holds the name
Lyman better be in the car in two minutes or Joshua and I are going to Atlantic City!”
“No Nana and Poppa?” the little boy asked while hanging
upside down over his father's shoulder--his face turning red with the
inversion--still clutching his stuff animal.
“That's what I meant," Noah answered righting the boy.
"We're going to their anniversary party. About 20 minutes after we
get there, I want you to tell Mom you don't feel well and want to go home."
"How long's that?"
"Don't worry," Noah promised the boy.
"I'll tell you when."
“Okay," young Josh answered eagerly with a giggle.
"I drive?”
“No,” Noah responded tiredly.
“Poppa lets me,” the child informed him. “I
steer.”
“I know,” Noah said. “That’s why we don’t
leave you alone with Poppa any more.”
“I drive fast,” Josh said proudly.
“You’re not helping your case, kid,” Noah sighed as the
frame faded slowly to darkness. "Joanie! Anna! We're
leaving!"
Josh heard the snickers and the teasing around him, but what
he heard mostly was the echo of his sister's voice. He’d forgotten it.
The precise sound of it had been lost to him for decades. He had no
independent recollection of the moments just viewed; he had never seen this film
before nor known of its existence. He sat passively staring at the scene.
Leo was next victim on the block, giving an interview on
television in
The room stayed dark for several seconds. Though painful for moments individually, the President surmised that the project had gone over well. After several moments, he stood and signaled the lights to be turned up. He thanked the staff, promised them he would never look at any of them the same again, then dismissed them to wallow in their mortification and go back to work.
****************
CJ
Cregg’s Office
“Larry finished it ten minutes ago,” Sam said as he popped a fried
donut in his mouth.
CJ glared at him. “Thank you, Itzak Pearlman.”
“Itzak played the violin,” Sam informed her. “I played clarinet.”
“And not very well,” Josh spoke from his lounging position on CJ’s couch.
"How would you know?"
"My mother's a music teacher," Josh reminded him. “What
song were you butchering?”
“It was a work in progress,” Sam replied. “My grandmother loved
it.”
CJ chuckled. “Did she have her hearing aid in when you played?”
Sam protested. “She said she didn’t need it.”
“Grandmothers will say anything,” Toby said. "They lie like mothers because they can."
As the dissection of Sam's musical talents continued, Josh shrugged as he swiped
an egg roll from Donna, who was sitting in front of the couch.
“That’s mine,” Donna protested. “I was planning on eating
that.”
“Not anymore Miss Fighting…," Josh shook his head.
"What the hell was your mascot?”
“That’s none of your concern, Tantrum Boy,” she replied as she took
a swig of water.
“I think it was a buffalo,” Sam piped in then quickly added.
“I mean, not that I was that interested or anything.”
“Let’s settle it,” Josh offered. “A play-off.
Flute versus clarinet. Winner takes all—just be careful, Sam; she’s
wiped out entire battalions of
CJ scoffed. “This from a man who pitched a fit when he couldn’t find
his lellaplant. Which, I gotta tell ya, Josh, if the Republicans ever got
a hold of that footage…”
“It was a toy and I was a child,” he defended through clenched teeth.
“I don’t even remember owning it.”
“Looked like more than a toy,” Toby said. “Fwancis looked
like your best fwiend.”
“And some things never change,” CJ continued. “Let’s see:
Throws fits, clothing in a shambles, isn’t handsome. This whole
missing lellaplant ploy won't work. Do you still sleep with
your wittle buddy?”
“I don’t,” he said confidently.
CJ cocked an eyebrow: “And why should I believe that?”
“Because I didn’t take anything with me,” Josh said simply.
Silence felled the room. The staff looked around at each other, not
sure what to say; Josh stared uncomfortably at his plate for a moment, knowing
he had said too much. He hadn't meant it to come out like that; he was
just giving a simple answer. Some in the room knew only the bare minimum
of his past; others knew more. None were inclined to discuss the matter
further. The only sounds that could be heard were the rustling of the
chopsticks against the paper boxes and the shuffling of feet.
“And let me just say,” Charlie said suddenly standing in the doorway,
“that that was real classy of you, CJ, to let your boyfriend cop a feel in
front of your father. It shows you were a real woman on the edge even then.”
“Okay, Bo Jangles,” CJ responded, looking at him and knowing that the
tension was broken. “Paul was trying to pin on my corsage.”
“Sure took him long enough,” Sam smirked. “To be that brazen
right there took guts.”
“Speaking of brazen,” CJ said, shifting the focus away from her.
“Toby! A cigar?
You were like 16 and you’ve got a cigar sticking out of your shirt
pocket.”
“I was mature for my age,” Toby answered. “Something that no one
else in the room knows anything about.”
“And his Dad was a gangster,” Sam added.
“Not likely anyone was going to reprimand him.”
“He had a Jewish mother,” Josh shook his head and grinned.
“They aren’t afraid of anything.
You hid your cigars from her I’ll bet.”
“Cultural wisdom from the elephant boy,” Toby countered.
“You’re a disgrace to the Democratic Party.”
“He was a disgrace before we knew about the elephant,” Ed shrugged
and earned himself a glare from the Deputy Chief.
“Hey, I thought this was bring the funny hour?”
“Charlie did you need something?” CJ asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I needed to speak with Josh.”
“Sure,” Josh replied and rose from the couch. Donna promptly abandoned her spot on the floor and stole his place. “I’m coming back.”
“And when you come back, you can ask like a nice little boy to have your seat on the big people couch,” Donna smirked as she starting picking at the carton of food he left behind.
“You are so fired,” he shook his head then followed Charlie into the
hall.
The group continued to fire off at-times insulting insights to the film, filling the room with laughter. They all agreed that the President did mean well when obtaining the film though as a group they were likely scarred irreparably.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Sam said. “You know who didn’t
change? Leo. I mean, the hair isn’t red anymore, but everything else…”
“Even then, he could command a room,” Donna agreed.
“I wonder what he was like to know when he was younger.”
“Ask Josh,” Toby offered. “He
knew Leo.”
“His father knew Leo,” Donna corrected him.
“Josh doesn’t really remember seeing or speaking to Leo until
college.”
“Mallory remembers his sister a little,” Sam offered.
“She mentioned once something about visiting some place by the shore
and Josh’s sister was baby sitting her. She
doesn’t remember Josh being there, but she remembers that time because
she remembers being sad later when her mother told her about…. you know. She said her family traveled to
“They were sitting Shiva,” Toby explained.
“Josh had grandparents in the area; it's customary to sit Shiva in the
home and since... Well...”
“Right,” Sam nodded.
"I never knew about fire until after the Rosslyn," Ed said. "I read about it in one of the magazine articles."
"It isn't exactly a comfortable conversation topic," Larry added.
"He doesn't even have a picture of her, does he?
I mean, in his office. He's
got some of his family--his parents and his grandfather.
I don't think that girl from the film isn't in any of those.
Well, that’s depressing. Weren’t
we talking about Leo?”
“Yeah, we were wondering what he was like,” Ed offered.
“He’d like you all to go back to work,” Leo announced as he
appeared in the doorway. “This building doesn’t run itself, and we’ve got
a commerce bill we’re prepping so if you all have this extra time to sit here
and gab, maybe you could be productive, too.”
“You do say the sweetest things,” CJ remarked.
*****************
“What’s going on?” Josh asked as he found himself in his office
having followed Charlie there.
“I hope you don’t mind my asking, but I wanted to see how you were," Charlie stated.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked.
"I remember the first time I saw my mom and heard her voice on a tape after she died," Charlie said. "It hit pretty hard. It was like two months after she died and Deanna was messing around looking at a tape from one of her birthdays. I didn't know what she was watching. I walked in the room and suddenly there was my mom. I had to leave the room. Your mom said that you'd never seen this film, so I was just seeing if... you know...."
"Thanks," Josh said. "But I'm fine. I don't really have any strong memories of my sister; I had a laugh at my expense--not as hearty a laugh as everyone else, granted, but this meant nothing to me. Really."
"You don't even call her by her name," Charlie observed. "It's just that I've noticed the rare times I've ever heard you acknowledge her, even to people who know about her, that you just say 'my sister.' I just noticed, is all."
"Yeah," Josh nodded. "I didn't know her. I was too young. I mean, we were a few years apart and.... If I'd just heard that voice from the movie on a tape without anyone else's--like without my parents--I'd have never known it was her. She's not even a memory really--more like a vague dream; it was so long ago."
"If you say so," Charlie shrugged, knowing Josh was lying. He then handed him a disc case. "Debbie wanted me to give you this. It's a disc of the whole video your mother sent her. It's only about 20 minutes long. Your mother sent two or three video bits and told Debbie to pick one. Debbie sent the video back but had a copy made to give to you."
"I didn't know my mother had home movies from then," Josh shook his head. "That's the real mystery. I was just saying to CJ that there's nothing from when I was young."
"These weren't at your house," Charlie explained. "That cousin, Merle?"
"Merrill," Josh said. "My mother's screwball cousin from
"Right, well, apparently his family had this stuff," Charlie explained. "They gave it to your mother recently."
"Oh," Josh nodded. Merrill's sister lived in
"She did you a favor," Charlie smirked. "I haven't seen it, but she said she'll never look at you the same way again."
"Maybe I will become a Republican," Josh shook his head.
"That might help us," Leo announced as he walked in. "Charlie, the President was looking for his glasses again. Could you..."
Charlie nodded and exited the room on his quest.
"You okay?" Leo asked.
"I was cuddling an elephant and calling it a sissy name," Josh summarized as he dropped into his chair. "Probably not going to live that one down for a while."
"I think CJ called me 'Red' as I left her office," Leo shook his head. "You know, I tell him some things are a bad idea and look what it gets me."
"If it's any consolation, I'd be willing to swear Toby's cigar was Cuban," Josh said.
"No, that doesn't help me much," Leo said.
"Me, either," Josh said. "Let's just become Republicans and wreck their Party from the inside out."
"Hey, we've got plenty of experience," Leo nodded as he turned to leave the room. "Just don't call the Chairman Fwancis and get us fired our first day."
"And so it begins," Josh sighed.
****************
Operations Bullpen
February
14th
Ginger and Donna entered the bullpen after a quick lunch in the Mess. Ginger was continuing her conversation about her latest boyfriend when they stopped at Donna’s desk.
“So I’m thinking Jake and I are becoming a thing,” Ginger grinned, then noticed a decoration at Donna’s workstation. “Hey, you got flowers?”
“I do?” Donna asked. She grinned at the beautiful array of lilies, pink carnations and white roses. “I do.”
“Who are they from?” Ginger asked, peering at the card.
“Josh,” she said casually.
Ginger cocked her head. “Josh who?”
“I mean...” Donna corrected, realizing her mistake. A rosy blush crept around her cheeks. “Uh...”
“Oh, did you finally convince him that your anniversary is in February?” Ginger asked.
“I'm sorry?”
“For when you started working for him,” Ginger clarified. “You say February and he gets all belligerent and claims its April every year. Did you finally win out?”
Donna heaved an internal sigh of relief, thankful that Ginger didn’t catch on. “Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, yes. I must have. That's precisely what it is.”
“They're nice,” Ginger remarked, walking towards Communications.
Donna waited until Ginger had disappeared before breaking out into a blinding grin. She felt giddy about her flowers because they could only be from one person—Josh. And it wasn’t for their anniversary. She glanced at her calendar and thought about the sweet moment that Josh was providing her at work. She ripped open the card:
Congrats
on the promotion Dom!
--From Carol, Alice and Johanna.
She recognized the senders’ names. They were secretaries from the Protocol Office and the flowers were not for her. They were for Dominick Mossey; he had recently been promoted and the flowers were congratulatory in nature. She hadn’t received flowers from Josh after all.
Donna solemnly carried the flowers down to the next department. She offered her congratulations to Dominick and returned to her desk. She sighed dejectedly as she sat down at her desk and began to type up a memo. Donna completed the memo and clicked the button, spitting the document out. She knocked on his door to acknowledge her presence and placed it on his desk.
“Thanks,” he replied not looking up from his report. Instead he pointed to a large binder on the corner. “Oh, hey, take that to Sam would ya?”
“Anything else?” she asked. “Anything you want to say to me?”
“Not really,” Josh answered as he continued reading.
Donna wordlessly picked up the binder and exited the office. She silently admonished herself for thinking that Josh would remember Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t a recognized government holiday and despite all the blazon reminders around the office, Josh seemed oblivious to it. Donna entered the Communication Bullpen as Sam was exiting his office with a gentleman she vaguely remembered.
“Oh, hey Donna,” Sam said nervously as she stood next to him. “What…what can I do for you?”
“Josh asked me to drop this off to you,” Donna handed him the binder. “And that’s it,” she sighed, “if you have any questions you should ask him.”
Sam winced as he chose his words carefully. “Donna, are you okay? What’s the matter?”
“Oh nothing,” she replied quietly. “If you count receiving flowers from someone you wanted them to be from only to find out that they weren’t even for you in the first place. Talk about a cruel joke. And on Valentine’s Day even!”
“Oh, um…uh…” Sam stuttered. “I’m…sorry about that…Donna. So that means you don’t have a date?”
“No.”
Sam turned to the man next to him. “Well, Pete doesn’t either. This is Pete Tanner from the State Department. Pete, may I introduce to you to Donnatella Moss, assistant to Josh Lyman.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Pete replied, shaking her hand. “I usually don’t do this – have Sam set me up.”
“Oh, Donna’s a good sport,” Sam answered for her. “I’m sure you
two would hit it off perfectly. Pete’s from
“That’s nice,” Donna replied as her eyes glanced back and forth from the two men. Sam had a mischievous glint in his eyes and Pete was smiling. “So, I’ll see you around. Nice meeting you Pete.”
“Wait,” Sam stopped her. “You said you didn’t have any dinner plans. You don’t have any other plans for tonight, do you?”
“Uh, well, I don’t think so,” Donna replied. Josh had not made it known to her that she was invited over to his place that night. He seemed wrapped up in the report. “Not unless Josh…”
“Perfect,” Sam smiled. “Then I think you and Pete should go to dinner tonight. I’ll make a call to get you in. I don’t think that two very eligible, single people should celebrate this night alone. You up for it Donna?”
“Sure,” Donna replied quickly. “What about you?”
“I have a date with an education speech,” Sam replied. “Now you two
crazy kids have a good time tonight. I’ll make the reservations for
Sam spun around on his heels and entered his office. He shut the door leaving Pete and Donna alone.
“So I’ll see you later,” Pete waved as he walked toward the exit. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Same here,” Donna said, pasting a smile on her face for his benefit. “This should be…interesting.”
****************
Communications
Bullpen
February
14th
“Was Ginger going to get us dinner or was she making fun of you?” Josh asked as he launched a foam football at Sam.
“She had a date,” Sam replied as he caught the football and swiftly tossed it back.
Josh caught it against his chest. “What's that got to do with our dinner?”
“It means she's bringing us something from the restaurant,” Sam clarified as Donna entered.
“There you are,” she replied as she stepped in between the two.
“Yes. Here I am. And there is Sam,” Josh smirked. “But where is Ginger with our dinner that is the question. Hey, Donna, you can get it for us. Can...Where are you going?”
Donna, clad in a low neck powder blue sweater and short black skirt, placed her hands behind her back.
“Out," she said simply.
“Out?”
“Yes,” she replied.
"Donna has a hot date," Sam said helpfully--pleased that she was seeing the company of someone other than him on Valentine's Day.
"A date?" Josh repeated in a stunned fashion.
“Can I talk to you for a second in your office?” Donna asked quickly.
“Hey,” Sam interrupted. “I’m glad you're going to dinner with Tanner. I think you and Pete have some chemistry. You look good together.”
“Uh, thanks Sam,” she replied, casting a wary glance at Josh.
“You've got a date?” Josh asked again as he took in her appearance.
“It's just dinner,” Donna explained.
“With Pete?” Josh asked. “Pete who?"
"Tanner,” Sam said eagerly. "From State. You know Pete."
“Pete Tanner from State?” Josh said again. "I see."
Sam stepped closer. “Yeah. I met with him earlier today. Donna happened by. And, wouldn't you know it, we started talking and I found out that they were both free tonight so dinner plans were made; I think it was a fate thing. Some good karma there..”
“And she said yes?” Josh asked, not looking at Donna.
“Without hesitation,” Sam nodded.
“Thank you, Sam,” Donna said tersely.
“That's great; enjoy yourself,” Josh answered as he returned the ball to Sam on his way out of the bullpen. “Sammy, think quick. I gotta go check on something.”
Josh walked down the hall towards his office. He swiftly entered his office without a word and started rooting around his desk. Donna hurried to catch up with him. She arrived and stood in the doorway, leaning on the casing.
"Are you mad?" she asked coyly, trying not to sound obvious.
"About what?"
"I have a date," she said. "On Valentine's Day. With a very good looking and clever man."
"So you said," Josh said sharply. "Actually, so Sam said. The thing about the date, that is. He didn't really comment on Pete."
"He's witty...," she began.
"Sam?"
"No, Pete, and cute," Donna continued, childishly prodding him to say what she wanted him to say--that he was jealous and didn't want her to go. Some of what she was implying was true. She did like Peter but it was more in a hi-let's-have-lunch kind of way. Still, she saw no need to tell Josh that. Donna saw this as an opportunity to test out her arrangement with Josh.
"He's thoughtful," she continued. "And he's going places. I've heard several people say that he has a long and bright future at State. I think with a little polishing, he'll be...."
"Yeah, he's just Dr. Freeride all over again," Josh said in a nasty tone that caught Donna off guard. She was momentarily silenced. Her jaw hung open slightly. "Don't let me stop you. Better dash off. Pete's waiting."
Donna shook her head and tried to find something--anything--to say to let him know that...
"Josh's that's not what....," she began then stopped.
Then what? What had she been trying to do? There was no need to put on a show to make Josh jealous. She didn't want him to be jealous; jealousy was an ugly emotion. Besides, she'd experienced his jealousy before--not realizing that's what it was until now--all those times he berated her choice of dates in the past. From the cold and disinterested look he gave her, Donna was afraid that her game had been damaging. She knew that they had agreed their after-hours liaisons were not going to be serious, but that was long before this thing, this attraction between them became serious. She thought he knew what she felt--even if he never let on--Donna had been sure that he was confident and secure about her feelings for him. She could see now that was not the case. What ever he might have thought, he surely was thinking differently now. Or worse, had had his insecure feelings confirmed.
"See you Monday," he said, dismissing her as he suddenly shifted his tone to mild and bored. He sat in his chair and started reading a folder on his desk.
"Will you need me later?" she asked.
"No," Josh replied without looking up. "I don't need you."
"If you need...."
"I said I don't need you," he replied, deeply engrossed in the report before his eyes. "If I want you, I'll have someone call you."
Donna nodded and walked stiffly out of the office, valiantly fighting the urge to cry. She won the battle. She said good night to five people as she left and none were aware she was deep in the throes of heartache.
Donna had just disappeared through the doors to the lobby when Josh stood up and violently flung his report into the trash and cursed quietly under his breath.
"Hey," Sam said, as he arrived a moment later. "Anything wrong?"
"No," Josh lied calmly. "So what's up?"
"Ginger's back," he said. "Good news, bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Bad."
"I knew you'd say that," Sam replied then sported a solemn expression. "She didn't get the Chinese food."
"Man."
"I know," Sam nodded vigorously. "Good news though. Debbie's getting sushi."
"I didn't want sushi," Josh whined.
"Neither do I," Sam said. "That's why I ordered Chinese."
"But you said..."
"Debbie's going to get sushi, but she's also picking us up Chinese," Sam explained.
"Wouldn't this conversation have been shorter if you'd just told me that at the start or just called me when dinner was here?" Josh wondered.
"I was bored," Sam shrugged then tossed Josh back the football. "We've still got a game going."
*****************
Josh’s
Apartment
Josh lay on the couch reading the latest issue of Newsweek. He was about to turn on the television when his evening was interrupted by a knock on the door. Josh ceased reading to see if the knocking sound came from his neighbor across the hall who was receiving a visitor. When the knock repeated itself, he flipped the magazine on the coffee table and made his way to the door. He carefully opened it as no one buzzed his apartment. He was surprised at his uninvited visitor.
“Hi,” Donna said.
“What?” Josh sighed.
“You weren't at the office when I got back,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
"Yeah," Josh said suspiciously. "That's why I came home. Thanks for checking in. See you Monday."
Josh moved to close the door but was stopped abruptly. Donna pushed the door back and edged her way in, sliding under his arm to get into the apartment.
"Josh, I stopped by," she said apologetically.
"I can see that," he replied. "You didn't need to. As
I just said, there was no need. I'm sort of busy here, so....
Why don't you go back and see Pete? If you drive fast and avoid
"Oh, for the love of god, Joshua," Donna said
exasperatedly. "It was just dinner, okay? I had dinner with
him. That's all."
Josh looked at the empty hall where she had previously stood before closing the door.
"Don't be so negative," he offered as he turned to speak to her. "Maybe your next date will go better. You shouldn't give up on the guy after just one date. Pete is probably the one for you. He's non-threatening; without a solid, definable opinion and generally afraid of confrontation unless he has a memo completely outlining every stance he is permitted to assume."
"Don't say that and don't call him Dr. Freeride," Donna said angrily. "You were out of line to..."
"I'm sorry," he relented. "That was uncalled for. Pete is not a complete louse. I apologize for saying as much."
"No, he's not," Donna agreed. "But that's not what I meant."
"You don't owe me an explanation," Josh said as he walked away from her and back toward the living room. "If you like dull, boorish and lifeless--which apparently you do since you jumped at the chance to date the guy--then he's your match. Hey, he's got a degree from Utah State--so you can add mediocre intelligence to the bill. You should hang on to this one."
"There won't be a next date," she said.
"Don't give up," Josh said encouragingly. "I'm sure you'll do better with your next date with whatever State guy Sam marches into the office and who looks lonely."
"Stop it!" Donna said as she stomped her foot. "Would you shut up for one damn minute?"
"I'm just trying to be helpful," Josh answered as he took a seat on the couch.
"You're really not."
"I am trying," he said earnestly.
"Helpful? You call this helpful?"
"Yes, that's why I just said I was being helpful," he replied. "Donna, you're right. I was harsh earlier and I didn't need to be. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't let tonight taint your view of dating. There's an outside chance, maybe 48-52, that not all nights will be as... What was wrong with tonight? Pete dull? Not all nights and other men will be as dull as this and Pete. I'm sure Sam knows a lot of people and perhaps a few of them aren't complete alpha emitters."
"Pete was charming, if you must know," she said defensively as she sat on the couch, aware that she had not been invited and was still wearing her hat and mittens. "But that's not the point either. The point is that I didn't want to go on the date."
"You jumped at the chance," Josh offered. "Like a desperate woman in...."
"It wasn't desperate, but I was forced to say yes," she contended.
"You lost the power of speech when communicating the word 'no'?"
"It wasn't that simple," Donna explained. "Sam was there and he was pushing me."
"I know Sam," Josh argued. "He's good, but he's not that persuasive."
"I had a horrible time," she admitted with a sigh.
"Did he make you pay for dinner?" Josh asked. "I know Pete a little and to me he's always looked like the cheap kind. Plus, the guy wears a bow tie several times a week. I always thought that hinted that he had deep and private feelings about Tucker Carlson. Is that what it was?"
"What?" Donna asked, staring at him and wondering what year it was. This conversation could easily have--and in fact had--occurred numerous times in the first five years she knew and worked for Josh.
"The reason you didn't enjoy your date," he explained. "Was it because Pete's a Republican? I'm not fond of them professionally, but personally I know several who are fairly human. But if it's party loyalty stopping you, I'm sure Sam knows some Democrats who..."
"No, that is not the reason," she said, confessing. "I couldn't get the look on your face--the one when I told you I had a date--out of my mind."
"What look?" Josh asked, badly covering his guilt. "There was no look. I told you to have a good time, and if I didn't, I meant to."
"You said it but didn't mean it," Donna said. "And there was a look and there was a tone in your voice."
"Okay, there was no look, and there was no tone," he insisted. "You're an adult. What you do with your own time is your choice. You owe me--and by me I mean the Administration--certain hours during the week, but after hours are... yours to spend as you choose."
"Fine," she said dejectedly. She had hurt him through a juvenile need to feel wanted and now he was making her pay to satisfy a similar need. She stood and prepared to leave. "You're right. I thought I'd just let you know."
She was barely out of the living room when he called to her.
"Donna?"
"Yes?"
"You didn't have to come all the way over here," he said.
"It was on my way," she replied.
Josh left his seat and joined her near the door with a questioning and disbelieving gaze. He shook his head and grinned slightly.
"Home," she said, pointing toward the door. "It was on my way home."
"You said you went back to the office," Josh pointed out. "Your way home from the office doesn't take you by my place."
"Pete dropped me off at the White House because that's where my car was," Donna explained. "And I had to grab my bag and noticed you weren't there, so I swung by on my way home and... Wait. No, you don't get to do this."
"Do what?"
"Pretend you caught me... you know... here because I wanted to....," Donna said flustered. "I just spend five minutes telling you that I came here specifically to apologize."
"You did?"
"Yes," she said emphatically. "Weren't you listening?"
"Not really, no," he admitted.
"You're the poster child for passive aggressive juveniles," Donna sighed.
"I am photogenic," he nodded confidently, ignoring the sharp part of the jab.
“So, what are you doing?” Donna asked. “You said you were busy. With what? You're working? Do you need any help?”
“No,” he answered. “I mean, I'm not... I wasn't working; I finished. I was going to watch something.”
“What?”
“Why do you care?”
“I'm curious,” Donna stated. “You only watch C-SPAN, MSNBC and CNN.”
"I watch other things," he said defensively.
"It's not even close to baseball season so there can't be any Mets related programming," Donna stated. "Besides, your TV isn't even on.”
“I just got here," he said, but her stare told him she wasn't buying the line. "Fine. I was going to watch a home movie my mother sent me; does that satisfy the inquisition?”
“Anna sent you a movie?” she smiled.
“Yeah,” Josh nodded. “Two, actually.”
“What are they? Do you know?”
“Not really, that's why I was going to watch them,” Josh answered as he moved toward the entertainment center.
“Oh. Sounds interesting,” Donna said. “You want to be alone?”
Josh shrugged. “Well, if you've got nothing better to do, you can watch it. If you want. You don't have to. I mean, if there's some place else you want to be... Another date.”
Donna sighed quietly to herself. "No, I'd... I'd like to watch it.”
Donna gingerly sat down on the couch, careful to leave enough space between them.
Josh picked up the remote and sat down next to her, significantly closing the gap between them. “I'm warning you, this could be boring.”
“Or embarrassing,” she pointed out.
“Good point,” he paused before pressing play. “Maybe I should screen it in private.”
"Worried it'll ruin my image of you?" Donna said stealing the remote from him.
“No," he said,
though his tone said the answer was a resounding YES. "My mother
said it’s a compilation of the movies she got from her cousin and something
that one of the coven..... I mean, one of the wives of the
Plimpton and Dubois partners put together for her and some other stuff she found
in the attic when she moved. She liked the President's movie idea and had
all the old films and the video tapes put on discs. She sent me copies.”
Donna pushed play. “Well, let's see it.”
“Okay, but you won't know 99 percent of the people in it,” Josh
warned her. “I'm pretty sure it’s my parents and people I know from when I
was growing up in
“You said it yourself,” Donna smiled. “I'm an adult and capable of saying no.”
“Yeah, but not to me,” Josh corrected, then noticed her dubious look.
“Okay, so you can.”
The movie faded from
black. The first images were off color images and shaky camera work. Once the
camera came into focus, an image of a beautiful young blond dancing with a
tuxedo-clad gentleman appeared.
“Is that your mother?” Donna asked as she gazed at the couple standing together, getting ready for their official picture.
“Yeah,” Josh nodded. “This must be their wedding.”
Donna gasped. “Look at her. She's beautiful. That your father?”
“The guy who looks like he's going to throw up?” Josh smiled. “Yeah.”
“He did look a little green,” she chuckled.
“It's bad coloring on the film,” Josh pointed out.
Donna looked from the television to him. “You look a lot like him.”
“I look more like my grandfather actually,” he clarified.
“Well, I see a strong resemblance,” she replied as the first segment faded to black. The next segment started. “Ah. What's this? Family reunion?”
Josh squinted at the screen. “No. I think that's... Yeah. My dad's law firm used to have this family day thing in the summer...”
“Looks fun.”
A young girl appeared in front of the camera waving and smiling like a movie star. Donna caught Josh momentarily stiffen when seeing the image.
“That's your sister?”
“Yeah, he sighed, staring at the television.
Donna returned to her viewing. “And where were you?”
“From how old she looks, I might not even be born yet.” Anna suddenly appeared, holding hands with a little boy who was having trouble walking because he kept tripping and wouldn’t let go of the rock in his hand.
“Cute baby,” Donna remarked.
“I really was.”
Donna looked at Josh. “That's you?”
“Yeah,” he nodded.
“Oh my God, it is you," she cooed as she cuddled closer. "Aw, how adorable...”
Baby Josh ripped free from his mother’s grasp and immediately fell down.
“And graceful,” he winced as Donna laughed.
The next few images were a variety of shots of news conferences outside the courthouse with Josh’s father, Noah. Following that were more company picnics that showed the Lyman children growing older.
Shortly, the two children ceased to appear and only one remained. There were a variety of family gatherings. The later clips came with sound. Eventually there was a screen showing an adult Josh sitting on a couch, with something in his hand. A banner on the wall proclaimed Happy Birthday, Noah. Josh offered him an envelope. The elder Lyman opened the envelope and grinned broadly and proudly.
“Do you all see this?” Noah’s proclaimed, waving a letter in the air. “Ha! That's my boy! Yale. My son--Harvard graduate--going to Yale Law the number one law school in the country. The number one undergraduate school and now the best law school. Two best schools in the country and my son, everyone, my boy will have degrees from them both. He's brilliant. Takes right after me.”
Donna chuckled. “He worshipped you.”
“Feeling was mutual,” Josh said as Donna laid her head on his shoulder.
“How many years were they married at this?” Donna asked as she pointed to the television which showed the Lymans celebrating an anniversary.
“Uh, that's 35 years,” Josh replied. “You talked to your mom this week?”
“Yeah, she replied, thinking of her father. “She's heading out to Vegas with some friends of hers.”
“Vegas?” Josh asked. “Do you have the bail money saved up?”
“Can you loan me it?”
“If I gave you money it would make our arrangement illegal,” Josh smirked. He then nudged her closer to him. “So how was dinner?”
“Good,” Donna sighed. “I had lobster bisque.”
“You went where again?”
“Phoebe's,” she answered. “Which, ironically, I always seem to go whenever I have a date. I really think I should try a new restaurant.”
“Next time you should,” Josh agreed. “Sam and I got pizza from Bertucci's.”
Donna leaned up to look at Josh. “You and Sam? The two of the most eligible bachelors in the White House spent Valentine's Day together.”
“Hey, day's not over yet,” Josh replied, looking at his watch.
“Yes it is,” Donna countered as she pointed to the clock above the
entertainment center. It read just after
“Technicality,” Josh replied. “Sam's home alone right now and... I'm not.”
Donna rolled her eyes. “Nothing gets by you, Josh.”
“So?” Josh began as the movie ended, “that's it.”
“Yep,” she agreed. “That's one. You have two.”
Josh flipped off the player. “One's enough for the night.”
“It was a wonderful movie, Josh,” Donna reiterated.
“Mom's thinking of entering it at Sundance, but I told her to take it to Caan.”
“
“Well, you should some time,” he said, flipping off the television.
“I'll get around to it,” Donna stated.
They sat in silence for a moment before Josh spoke. “What are your plans for the rest of the night?”
“Why? Are you whisking me off for a weekend jaunt to France?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Actually, I was going to bed,” he announced, kissing the top of her head.
Donna released herself from Josh’s hold and stood. “Oh. Well, then. I'll leave you to it.”
“I could whisk you off in that direction if you'd like,” he whispered as he joined her off the couch and wrapped his arms around her. “Unless you've got a better offer waiting.”
****************
Roosevelt Room
Thursday, 2 p.m.
Leo entered the room as all of Josh's deputies
departed. The Chief of Staff had received two messages after lunch.
One from his deputy and one from a union leader in California. Both said
essentially the same thing: there was trouble on the docks.
Josh said nothing
as he met Leo's gaze. Instead, he stood and streched his legs. He
had been in meetings in this room all day and considered movement a luxury.
He moved toward the wall near the door and leaned on it as he waited for the
obvious answer--the one that occurred to him two hour earlier after receiving
hos own message from
"You got an idea?" Leo asked finally.
"You already know it," Josh said.
"Do I pay you for some reason other than to tell me I already know the answer and don't need you?" Leo asked.
"Hell if I know," Josh replied then answered the earlier question. "Leo, we've got to send him."
"This thing with the girl..."
"It's dying down," Josh said. "It's getting stale. A trip to the other coast will get him out of DC."
"It puts Cortez in front of cameras," Leo argued.
"As a former, federal arbitrator who has a reputation
of being tough on unions but who, oddly enough, has an amazing rapport with
these guys in
"Contract negotiation is sexier than a sex scandal?" Leo asked. "Where have I been?"
"Leo."
"I know what you're saying, Josh, but this is not Cortez's job," Leo said. "The guy is going to play duck and cover from the media as much as possible right now. He's not going home to jump into the middle of this. And he shouldn't. It's not his job."
"His job has a few facets and one of them is to act as the instrument of the administration and assist the country where possible," Josh argued. "I seem to recall that I've been asked for my input on speeches and a variety of other matters not explicitly in my job description."
"Fine," Leo waved off the argument. "But he won't do it unless the President asks personally, and if we have to do that, then we have to say that they spoke and that opens up one of those holes I don't need the President to fall into right now."
"So don't have the President ask," Josh said. "Cortez can be convinced without the President personally stepping in. He'll know it's what the President wants; it just won't be coming from his mouth."
"Who?"
"Me," Josh said.
"You?" Leo repeated doubtfully. "You can convince Cortez?"
"I can be persuasive," Josh replied. "Leo, we've got seventeen days left on the agreement out there. That's more time than I need."
"The guy is going to say no and if he does...."
"He won't say no," Josh said. "I give you my word, Leo. I'll get him to California."
Up next, Chapter 5: Mishap