Friday Night
"Hey Stevie, pass the parmesan cheese." Jason asked. Stevie raised an eyebrow playfully as she picked up the container and passed it to him.
"Can you pass the parmesan please?" she quipped.
He teasingly scoffed, rolled his eyes, and said, "Please? Before Ali takes it all!"
Alison stared at them in mock offense and snorted, "We all know that mom eats the most cheese in this house!"
Elizabeth glared at them, and protested to the best of her ability. But she knew the kids wouldn't let her wiggle out of the "eats the most cheese in the house" title. Henry grinned, "They do have a point, babe…"
Elizabeth laughed, and retorted, "Can we move on? Please?"
"Pass the salad, Jason" Henry volunteered.
"Sure, dad." Jason responded.
Henry and Elizabeth looked at each other and smiled like Cheshire cats, partly wondering why all three of their kids were in such a good mood, because that rarely happened.
As Jason was passing the salad and the dressing bottle to his dad, Stevie spoke up and tentatively asked, "Hey, Mom, can I go with you and Ali tomorrow to pick out her dress for graduation? I already asked her and she's okay with it."
"Stevie, I don't know…" Elizabeth started, thinking of the chaos of sisterly drama that could potentially ensue. That's the last thing she needed to happen, let alone in public.
"Please, mom, pretty please? It can be like a girls' day out!" Alison pleaded, giving her the best puppy-dog eyes she could.
Stevie and Ali looked so excited at the prospect of having their mom to themselves for a few hours that Elizabeth threw up her hands and proclaimed, "It's a date!"
Jason smirked, and Henry laughed, "Watch out Washington D.C.!"
Everyone laughed, and then dug into their dinner, chattering away in between bites, soaking up the happiness that was radiating from each member of the family.
Saturday Early Afternoon
"Why don't we go out the back way," Elizabeth proposed as she tracked down her purse and sunglasses. "Has anyone seen my Ray-Bans?" she inquired.
Alison smiled and replied, "They're on your head, mom." Elizabeth blushed in embarrassment, "Thanks, noodle. What would I do without you?"
Stevie looked puzzled as she looked outside, expecting the usual entourage of body guards to be ready for them, "What did you say to your detail, mom? They're usually ready for us by now."
"I asked them if they all wanted to follow a teenage girl around shopping all day…" Elizabeth chuckled and grinned.
"And?" Stevie and Ali chimed in.
"They agreed to send only one guy in plain clothes and in his own car. It breaks protocol in about a hundred different ways, but I have a feeling that the President would understand the reasoning behind the decision," Elizabeth smirked.
"Would you guys get out of here already?" Henry joked as he came down the stairs. "The store's going to be closed by the time you get out of here!"
"Oh, really?" Elizabeth mumbled as she grabbed her husband and pulled him in for a kiss.
Stevie and Alison immediately protested the PDA and looked away in mock disgust, even though they secretly enjoyed seeing their parents being lovey-dovey once in a while.
Jason walked in with his gym clothes on, holding a basketball and a water bottle. "Come on dad, let's go! I want to get the good court!"
Henry threw him the keys to the car and told him to get in, and that he'd be there in a minute. He reminded Alison, "Don't forget to be thinking of graduation gift ideas! Time's ticking!"
"I know, I'm thinking!" Alison promised on her way out the door.
Saturday Afternoon
"How about this one?" Elizabeth held up a knee-length turquoise chiffon dress.
"I don't know mom; turquoise isn't really my color. But thanks! I love that fabric!" Ali said confidently. That was the tenth dress her mom had pulled off a rack in the last 5 minutes, but she didn't care. She knew her mom loved picking out clothes for them, and she didn't want to crush her spirit. And if she was really honest with herself, she loved the extra attention that her mom had been giving her lately.
"I'll try that on, actually." Stevie said. Elizabeth grinned and practically threw the dress at her. They were all having such a great day. Nobody got on each other's nerves. They all accepted each other's ideas without attitude. It was actually the best day that they had had in a very long time.
"Ooh, put on this belt with it!" suggested Alison. "And these shoes!" Elizabeth handed her a pair of brown sandals.
When Stevie came out of the dressing room with her outfit on, both of their jaws dropped. "How do I look?" Stevie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You look absolutely gorgeous," gushed Elizabeth, "and I'm not just saying that because I'm your mom." Stevie smirked.
"No, she's right! It's stunning on you. Promise!" Alison agreed.
Stevie blushed. "I think I have my outfit then! Thanks for the compliments." Elizabeth and Alison gave her each a side hug, and Elizabeth said, "Ali, it's your turn! Go try on the orange silk dress you've been drooling over since we got here!"
"But mom-" Alison began.
"No buts! I don't care how expensive it is. You only graduate from high school once! Go!" Elizabeth beamed.
Alison grinned and nearly knocked her mom over with her hug, squealing, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Try these heals on, too." Stevie passed her a pair of knock-off Jimmy Choo's.
"Good eye, Stevie. They go perfectly!" Alison practically waltzed right into the dressing room.
Elizabeth sighed happily, and looked over to Stevie. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"She's really loving this, you know." Stevie told her mom. "All of the extra attention you've been giving her lately… it's really made a difference. I think she feels way less invisible now. It's amazing, mom."
"You really think so?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head slightly.
"No doubt. There's only so much dad and I can do in that department. A mom's love and attention is a really special thing." confided Stevie.
Elizabeth got choked up, sniffled, and gave Stevie a big hug. When she finally let go, Elizabeth quietly told her, "Thank you, Stevie. I appreciate you telling me. I really needed to hear that today." Lately, she'd been questioning whether or not she was a good parent.
Stevie smiled reassuringly.
Alison then walked out of the dressing room, and their jaws dropped. She was radiant. "Mom, this dress is fantastic! I love it!"
"Oh noodle…" Elizabeth started. She went to her daughter and hugged her. Alison hugged back twice as hard.
"You're growing up so fast." Elizabeth sighed.
Alison smiled. "I'll try to slow down."
Stevie looked at her watch. "The store's going to close soon. Why don't we change and get out of here? I'm starving."
"Let me take a picture of you two first!" Elizabeth pulled out her phone, and snapped a few pictures of her daughters. She didn't even need to tell them to smile. "Alright, go change, and I'll check in with your dad and brother."
She texted Henry. "How are you guys doing?" she asked.
"Doing great, babe. We're wrapping it up now. Jason actually gave me a run for my money. Maybe he should try out for the basketball team. How does Chinese sound for dinner?" Henry responded.
Elizabeth asked the girls, and they both agreed that Chinese sounded great. She texted back, "We'll talk about basketball later! Chinese sounds great. See you at the restaurant!" She tried to add an emoji, but couldn't find the right one and gave up.
Alison and Stevie had finished changing by then.
"Alright, let's get out of here then." They walked up to the counter and Elizabeth paid for the outfits, not even paying attention to the money she spent. It was worth it, she thought.
They walked out of the store arm in arm, and went to join Henry and Jason at their favorite Chinese restaurant.
Graduation Day, morning
Elizabeth's phone rang. "Jay, whatever it is, Russel and Nadine can handle it until tomorrow. I refuse to miss my daughter's graduation!"
"Understood, Madam Secretary, but this isn't work-related. I was just calling to tell you that Nadine and Blake are on their way over with some gifts for Ali. We all pitched in." Jay asserted.
Elizabeth nodded to herself. "Oh, okay. Thanks for the heads up. How is everything over there?"
"Great, actually. Everyone's behaving for the time being. Only a couple of small fires to put out, and Russell gladly took them in for you." Jay bragged.
"Wow, really?" Elizabeth remarked. The doorbell rang at that moment, and she told Jay that she'd check in later.
"Tell Ali congrats for me." Jay asked.
"I will. Thanks Jay. And thanks for the gifts!" Elizabeth hung up and answered the door.
"Ma'am." They both said when she opened the door. Nadine was holding a big bouquet of flowers, and Blake a small gift box from Sephora.
"Ali, get down here! We have to leave soon!" Henry yelled from the foot of the stairs.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Alison responded. She was the last one to finish getting ready.
"Would you guys like something to drink?" Elizabeth offered.
"No thanks, ma'am. We just came to drop these off. We should really get back to the office." Nadine replied.
"Nonsense! Jay just called and he's got it under control. Have some coffee!" Elizabeth insisted.
Elizabeth led them into the kitchen and Henry poured some coffee for her staff members.
"Let me put those flowers in some water." Elizabeth proposed.
At that point, Ali came barreling down the stairs in her new dress, shoes, in hand. "Ready!"
"It's about time. I think I've lost 2 lives!" Jason joked.
"You look beautiful." Henry beamed.
Alison greeted Blake and Nadine. "Are those for me?" she asked, looking at the flowers and Sephora box.
"Yes, they are noodle." Elizabeth grinned. "Everyone in the office pitched in. Why don't you open the box now?"
She admired the flowers and then proceeded to open the box and was dumbfounded by what was inside. It was the nicest makeup brush set that Sephora had, in addition to a $100 gift card to the store. Alison thanked them profusely, and they decided that now would be a good time for them to take their leave, especially since the McCords have to leave in a few minutes to get good seats at the ceremony.
"Go get your cap and gown." Henry instructed Alison on their way out the door.
"And prepare yourself for a bad class speaker while you're at it!" Stevie chimed in. Everybody laughed, because it was a McCord family curse to have bad class speakers at graduations.
"Um…about that... I'm actually my classes' speaker…" Alison blushed.
Everything stopped. Silence enveloped the room. Then everybody burst into congratulating her at once, everyone diving in for a hug.
"My baby is class speaker! That on top of highest honors? I'm so proud of you!" Elizabeth gushed. She started balling her eyes out right then.
"Mom, save it for after the ceremony!" Alison quipped, tears starting in the corners of her eyes.
"Ok, ok." She sniffled. "How's my makeup? Is it okay?"
"Mom, it's alright! You're good! You look stunning, as always." Stevie asserted, patting her mom on the shoulder for added reassurance.
Henry spoke up, "Let's roll!"
Graduation Day, afternoon
The ceremony went as smoothly as Elizabeth hoped for, and more. Nobody bothered her or her family. There wasn't any press waiting for her, before or after. Her daughter's speech was thoughtful, reflective, and heartwarming. And for those two hours, she wasn't Secretary of State. She was just a mom.
As they walked off the stage to their exit song, These Are Days by 10,000 Maniacs (a surprising choice to all adults involved), Alison was beaming. Her and her family's world was at peace, a rarity given her parent's occupations. She wanted to capture this moment in a bottle, she was so happy.
She took some selfies with her friends right after the ceremony, and then made her way to her family for pictures. Her senior English teacher, Mrs. Harding, took a formal family picture for them, and then they left. And the lyrics to These Are Days stuck with her…
"…These are days, you'll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this and as you feel it
You'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky
It's true that you are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you…"