Part 13
I woke up about three minutes before my buzzer was going to wake me. It's just a habit that I've gotten myself into. I didn't have to get up until about 7:00 this morning, because I don't have to be in the office until about 9:00. I turn the volume on the buzzer down completely and turn over to see Catherine sleeping peacefully beside me. This is gonna be a very good day, I can just tell. I smile, run my fingers along the part of her arm that is outside the blanket, and give her a kiss on the forehead. As I do she starts to stir, but then reverts back to her cuddled-up position in the bed. I pull the sheets back, put on my robe and MY slippers, and walk out to the kitchen to make coffee. After setting the coffee machine, I head to the spare bathroom and have my shower. I could have used mine, but I didn't want the sound of the spray to wake her, so I decided this was my best option. I step out of the shower, dry myself off, wrap my robe around me again and go to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. I grab my cell phone and see that there's a silent message that was sent to me. Gee. I wonder who this could be from. I hit redial and call Josh.
"Hey buddy. Good morning."
"Hey, Sam. What's new?"
I smile.
"Nothing. You?"
"Nothing. Same old, same old. How are things?"
I sit down on the couch and take a sip of my coffee as I quietly flick on the TV.
"Not much. How'd it go last night?"
"Last night?"
"I mean, you know. In the Oval?"
"Oh yeah. That. Well, let's just say that the First Lady took care of business."
I smile.
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
"Yeah, and Toby decked the bastard."
Really?
"What? Toby? As in Toby Zeigler the Director of Communications?"
"Yeah, I don't know another one, do you?"
"No, I mean, it's just not like him to… Let me take that back. It IS like him to do something like that. Did he have the ok to do that? It's not going to be a thing, is it?"
"No, it was just fine. He had the ok from Ron and from the President. I loved watching it, it was great."
"Good. You read him the order?"
I take another sip from my coffee. As I do, I hear movement coming from the bedroom.
"Yeah. He just stood there like a lost little sheep. It was fantastic."
"Did you say anything?"
"Yeah. The President let me."
"Oh god."
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"I told him that if he ever showed his face around here again, I'd personally see to it that he was… well… I didn't really get that far because he cut me off at that point."
"Really? He had the nerve to do that?"
"Yeah. But that's when the President gave Toby the OK."
"I had a feeling that's how it would play out."
I hear footsteps coming from down the hall, and I head to the kitchen and pour her a cup of coffee.
"Yeah. I did tell you that the First Lady ripped him a new one, didn't I?"
"Yeah. You did. I still can't believe that she would say all that. That's fantastic."
"Hey."
I turn to see Catherine dressed in her robe and the now infamous bunny slippers, and I speak into the phone.
"Hang on a sec."
"Kay."
I look at her and smile.
"Good morning."
She smiles back.
"It is. Good morning."
I hold my arm out to her and she slowly walks toward me. I wrap my arm around her waist, and I place a kiss on her lips. She starts to melt into me, deepening her kiss. I hear a voice from my phone.
"Sam? Hey buddy, you there?"
I pull away from Catherine and smile.
"I'm sorry, I forgot he was on the phone."
She smiles.
"That's ok. Go ahead."
I hand her a mug full of coffee.
"Thanks. Here you go."
She accepts the mug from me with a smile.
"Thank you."
I smile, and return to my call with Josh.
"Sorry about that, buddy."
"Hey, no worries. I understand, these things can happen."
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to go."
"Getting a little distracted?"
"Yeah, it has a tendency to happen when a beautiful woman walks in the room."
She takes a sip of her coffee, rolls her eyes at me and smiles. I smile back at her, and give her a wink.
"Ok. I'll see you there in about an hour. I have a few things to do around here before I head over."
"Ok. Take it easy, I'll see you soon."
"Ok. Bye."
I click my phone off, and head into the Living Room to find Catherine. She's sitting at the table, drinking her coffee and reading the morning paper.
"How are you?"
She looks up at me.
"Good. A little tired, but good. You?"
I give her a sly smile.
"Pretty much the same. But it's a good kind of tired, do you think?"
She smiles.
"Yeah. The best."
I walk over to her and hold out my hand to her. She takes it and I help her up from the table, taking her in my arms. I run my finger along her face and smile.
"I couldn't imagine a better way to start the day."
She looks at me with the 'you're incorrigible' look, then smiles.
"Sam, I'm still kinda tired from last night, well, this morning. Besides, I don't know if my back and legs could take it just yet."
I smile, and kiss her on top of the head.
"I don't mean that. Well, that IS a wonderful way to start the day. But I meant that I couldn't imagine a better way to start the day than to wake up and see you laying beside me."
She starts to cry.
"Sam, that was the most beautiful…"
I hold her close to me.
"I meant it."
We stand there holding each other for a moment, then I get an idea.
"Cath, why don't you come to work with me today. We can do stuff together."
She looks at me with curiosity.
"Sam, I'd be in the way, I know it."
"There's plenty of things to do there, you know."
"I don't doubt that, but I'd probably end up signing my name on what I thought was a scrap piece of paper and end up canceling our trade agreements with some foreign country."
I laugh.
"I can see your point. Well, what are you going to do today, then?"
"I don't know. I was thinking that I might, if it's ok with you, head to the supermarket and get something for dinner. Just so you can have something ready for you when you get home."
I look at her with sincerity in my eyes.
"You don't have to do that, you know."
"Sam, I want to. Besides. Someone has to clean out that fridge of yours and take out all your science experiments. It's about time you started studying that course, by the way."
I laugh.
"Even if it takes the form of green stuff growing in my fridge?"
"Well, I can do without that. But I think it will be nice. To go out and get some stuff for you, clean it all out and have it looking just as good as new in no time at all."
I look at her and smile.
"Well, if that's what you want to do, that's what you'll do. I should be home sometime later in the evening."
She looks at me with a thoughtful expression.
"Josh and Donna."
"Yeah?"
"Did you want to invite them over for dinner? I could pick up a roast or something when I'm out."
She's amazing. I kiss her forehead.
"If you want me to and if you want to do that, I'm sure they'd love it."
She smiles a brilliant smile at me, and nods her head.
"I want to."
"Good. About 7:30?"
"Sounds good to me. I should go have a shower so I can get down to business."
"Ok. I'm going to get dressed."
"Ok."
I pick up my coffee from the table and walk to the bedroom, Catherine following behind me and taking a detour from my path, into the bathroom.
****
We're standing at the front door, and Sam is just getting his things together for work.
"Are you sure you have everything?"
He looks over his briefcase and pats his coat pocket.
"I think so. You have the spare keys?"
"I certainly do. So about 7:30?"
"Yeah. That's when we'll be back."
"Ok. Be prepared for a fantastic dinner, Sam."
"I will, I'm getting hungry already."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
We stand there for a minute just looking at each other and smiling. He runs his hand along my face and asks me.
"Are you sure that you don't want to come with me?"
"I'm sure. Don't worry about me."
"I can't help it."
"Sam, I'm gonna be just fine. I'll be ok."
He smiles at me.
"Yes. Yes you will be."
"Ok. Go to work, Sam."
"OK."
He leaves the apartment, and just as he gets close to the elevator, he turns to look at me.
"What? Did you forget something?"
"Yes. Something very important."
He starts to walk back towards the apartment.
"What? You didn't bring your laptop home last night, and you have everything else with you that you could possibly need. What is it?"
He's standing right in front of me and he drops his briefcase at his feet.
"I forgot this."
He pulls me towards him and places his lips directly on mine, taking me completely by surprise. After a moment of making out like teenagers in the hallway, he pulls away from me.
"That probably won't last me until 7:30, so I might have to pop home when I take my lunch."
I smile and shake my head.
"You're insane. But I love you anyway."
He smiles.
"I love you too. I'll see you later. Have a good day."
"You too. Do some good in the world today, Sam."
"I'll sure as hell try."
He walks to the elevator and presses the button. He stands there just looking at me with a smile on his face, and the elevator door opens and he walks in. Just as the elevator door starts to close, I hear him call out.
"I love you, Catherine."
The elevator door closes and I lean against the door frame, whispering my response.
"I love you too, Sam. More than you could ever know."
I can feel the smile on my lips as I turn and close the door behind me.
I woke up about three minutes before my buzzer was going to wake me. It's just a habit that I've gotten myself into. I didn't have to get up until about 7:00 this morning, because I don't have to be in the office until about 9:00. I turn the volume on the buzzer down completely and turn over to see Catherine sleeping peacefully beside me. This is gonna be a very good day, I can just tell. I smile, run my fingers along the part of her arm that is outside the blanket, and give her a kiss on the forehead. As I do she starts to stir, but then reverts back to her cuddled-up position in the bed. I pull the sheets back, put on my robe and MY slippers, and walk out to the kitchen to make coffee. After setting the coffee machine, I head to the spare bathroom and have my shower. I could have used mine, but I didn't want the sound of the spray to wake her, so I decided this was my best option. I step out of the shower, dry myself off, wrap my robe around me again and go to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. I grab my cell phone and see that there's a silent message that was sent to me. Gee. I wonder who this could be from. I hit redial and call Josh.
"Hey buddy. Good morning."
"Hey, Sam. What's new?"
I smile.
"Nothing. You?"
"Nothing. Same old, same old. How are things?"
I sit down on the couch and take a sip of my coffee as I quietly flick on the TV.
"Not much. How'd it go last night?"
"Last night?"
"I mean, you know. In the Oval?"
"Oh yeah. That. Well, let's just say that the First Lady took care of business."
I smile.
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
"Yeah, and Toby decked the bastard."
Really?
"What? Toby? As in Toby Zeigler the Director of Communications?"
"Yeah, I don't know another one, do you?"
"No, I mean, it's just not like him to… Let me take that back. It IS like him to do something like that. Did he have the ok to do that? It's not going to be a thing, is it?"
"No, it was just fine. He had the ok from Ron and from the President. I loved watching it, it was great."
"Good. You read him the order?"
I take another sip from my coffee. As I do, I hear movement coming from the bedroom.
"Yeah. He just stood there like a lost little sheep. It was fantastic."
"Did you say anything?"
"Yeah. The President let me."
"Oh god."
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"I told him that if he ever showed his face around here again, I'd personally see to it that he was… well… I didn't really get that far because he cut me off at that point."
"Really? He had the nerve to do that?"
"Yeah. But that's when the President gave Toby the OK."
"I had a feeling that's how it would play out."
I hear footsteps coming from down the hall, and I head to the kitchen and pour her a cup of coffee.
"Yeah. I did tell you that the First Lady ripped him a new one, didn't I?"
"Yeah. You did. I still can't believe that she would say all that. That's fantastic."
"Hey."
I turn to see Catherine dressed in her robe and the now infamous bunny slippers, and I speak into the phone.
"Hang on a sec."
"Kay."
I look at her and smile.
"Good morning."
She smiles back.
"It is. Good morning."
I hold my arm out to her and she slowly walks toward me. I wrap my arm around her waist, and I place a kiss on her lips. She starts to melt into me, deepening her kiss. I hear a voice from my phone.
"Sam? Hey buddy, you there?"
I pull away from Catherine and smile.
"I'm sorry, I forgot he was on the phone."
She smiles.
"That's ok. Go ahead."
I hand her a mug full of coffee.
"Thanks. Here you go."
She accepts the mug from me with a smile.
"Thank you."
I smile, and return to my call with Josh.
"Sorry about that, buddy."
"Hey, no worries. I understand, these things can happen."
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to go."
"Getting a little distracted?"
"Yeah, it has a tendency to happen when a beautiful woman walks in the room."
She takes a sip of her coffee, rolls her eyes at me and smiles. I smile back at her, and give her a wink.
"Ok. I'll see you there in about an hour. I have a few things to do around here before I head over."
"Ok. Take it easy, I'll see you soon."
"Ok. Bye."
I click my phone off, and head into the Living Room to find Catherine. She's sitting at the table, drinking her coffee and reading the morning paper.
"How are you?"
She looks up at me.
"Good. A little tired, but good. You?"
I give her a sly smile.
"Pretty much the same. But it's a good kind of tired, do you think?"
She smiles.
"Yeah. The best."
I walk over to her and hold out my hand to her. She takes it and I help her up from the table, taking her in my arms. I run my finger along her face and smile.
"I couldn't imagine a better way to start the day."
She looks at me with the 'you're incorrigible' look, then smiles.
"Sam, I'm still kinda tired from last night, well, this morning. Besides, I don't know if my back and legs could take it just yet."
I smile, and kiss her on top of the head.
"I don't mean that. Well, that IS a wonderful way to start the day. But I meant that I couldn't imagine a better way to start the day than to wake up and see you laying beside me."
She starts to cry.
"Sam, that was the most beautiful…"
I hold her close to me.
"I meant it."
We stand there holding each other for a moment, then I get an idea.
"Cath, why don't you come to work with me today. We can do stuff together."
She looks at me with curiosity.
"Sam, I'd be in the way, I know it."
"There's plenty of things to do there, you know."
"I don't doubt that, but I'd probably end up signing my name on what I thought was a scrap piece of paper and end up canceling our trade agreements with some foreign country."
I laugh.
"I can see your point. Well, what are you going to do today, then?"
"I don't know. I was thinking that I might, if it's ok with you, head to the supermarket and get something for dinner. Just so you can have something ready for you when you get home."
I look at her with sincerity in my eyes.
"You don't have to do that, you know."
"Sam, I want to. Besides. Someone has to clean out that fridge of yours and take out all your science experiments. It's about time you started studying that course, by the way."
I laugh.
"Even if it takes the form of green stuff growing in my fridge?"
"Well, I can do without that. But I think it will be nice. To go out and get some stuff for you, clean it all out and have it looking just as good as new in no time at all."
I look at her and smile.
"Well, if that's what you want to do, that's what you'll do. I should be home sometime later in the evening."
She looks at me with a thoughtful expression.
"Josh and Donna."
"Yeah?"
"Did you want to invite them over for dinner? I could pick up a roast or something when I'm out."
She's amazing. I kiss her forehead.
"If you want me to and if you want to do that, I'm sure they'd love it."
She smiles a brilliant smile at me, and nods her head.
"I want to."
"Good. About 7:30?"
"Sounds good to me. I should go have a shower so I can get down to business."
"Ok. I'm going to get dressed."
"Ok."
I pick up my coffee from the table and walk to the bedroom, Catherine following behind me and taking a detour from my path, into the bathroom.
****
We're standing at the front door, and Sam is just getting his things together for work.
"Are you sure you have everything?"
He looks over his briefcase and pats his coat pocket.
"I think so. You have the spare keys?"
"I certainly do. So about 7:30?"
"Yeah. That's when we'll be back."
"Ok. Be prepared for a fantastic dinner, Sam."
"I will, I'm getting hungry already."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
We stand there for a minute just looking at each other and smiling. He runs his hand along my face and asks me.
"Are you sure that you don't want to come with me?"
"I'm sure. Don't worry about me."
"I can't help it."
"Sam, I'm gonna be just fine. I'll be ok."
He smiles at me.
"Yes. Yes you will be."
"Ok. Go to work, Sam."
"OK."
He leaves the apartment, and just as he gets close to the elevator, he turns to look at me.
"What? Did you forget something?"
"Yes. Something very important."
He starts to walk back towards the apartment.
"What? You didn't bring your laptop home last night, and you have everything else with you that you could possibly need. What is it?"
He's standing right in front of me and he drops his briefcase at his feet.
"I forgot this."
He pulls me towards him and places his lips directly on mine, taking me completely by surprise. After a moment of making out like teenagers in the hallway, he pulls away from me.
"That probably won't last me until 7:30, so I might have to pop home when I take my lunch."
I smile and shake my head.
"You're insane. But I love you anyway."
He smiles.
"I love you too. I'll see you later. Have a good day."
"You too. Do some good in the world today, Sam."
"I'll sure as hell try."
He walks to the elevator and presses the button. He stands there just looking at me with a smile on his face, and the elevator door opens and he walks in. Just as the elevator door starts to close, I hear him call out.
"I love you, Catherine."
The elevator door closes and I lean against the door frame, whispering my response.
"I love you too, Sam. More than you could ever know."
I can feel the smile on my lips as I turn and close the door behind me.