Donna keeps squeezing my hand and smiling at me nervously. I grin back and ask her-
"Did you ever imagine?"
Something flashes in her eyes, a bit of embarrassment. I realize that I've seen this look before. She has imagined it. I just never realized. I'm discovering new things about my wife every day. It's like opening a gift. Amazing.
"You okay with this? We can bail if you want to."
She laughs and hits my arm and says-
"Sure, we can just bail on the President of the United States!"
For better or worse, we decided to tell the Bartlets about our marriage first. A bit of it was just good timing- our flight arrived back at National at 4 pm. That gave us enough time to drop our things off at the apartment, freshen up and get to the residence by 8. Once we are done there, we'll call our parents and tell them. We haven't decided who we are going to see this weekend for Thanksgiving. We are due back in the office tomorrow morning, so we'll share the news with everyone else then.
I took a chance yesterday and called the switchboard after hours. Just like he promised, I was put right through to President Bartlet. I'll admit I was both incredibly pleased and a little bit surprised. There have been times over the last 8 years where he has definitely been a father figure to me, but I've never forgot that he's the President and I've never been sure that I wasn't just projecting my own feelings.
He'd answered the call with a "Hey, kid, what can I do for you?" that made my heart swell and reassured me that his offer hadn't been just for professional purposes. Still, I stammered a bit when I'd asked him if he and Mrs. B were available to meet with Donna and I tonight about something personal. He'd paused for a moment, causing my heart to pound uncontrollably, then said "Oh! OH!" Like he'd realized something big was about to happen, then he'd said "Of course, son, we'll always make time for you." I'm not ashamed to admit that I got a bit teary and that I might possibly have something in my eye, just thinking about it now.