Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: Stealing Cinderella
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Liz, who had run away to her grandparents' home in Boston after a fight with Abbey, returned on election day; James's attempt to talk Liz out of marrying Doug ended in an argument between him and Liz and him and Mary; Jed, Abbey, and all three of their daughters went to the polls together
Summary: While Jed strongly disapproves of Liz's engagement, Abbey feels conflicted
As Jed drove his family home from their polling station that morning, Abbey listened to the girls' chatter in the backseat. Elizabeth had stayed with her grandparents for the past week, so she and her sisters had a week's worth of gossip and stories to share. Ellie and Zoey spoke over each other, each desperate to steer the conversation toward their own interests. Abbey heard Liz laugh at their bickering, then mediate the discussion, and all she could think about was how grateful she was for that sacred bond between her daughters. It was like a sorority, the relaitonship between the sisters, a secret club whose members had one unique trait in common - they were the Bartlet girls, the only three people in the world who knew the privileges and the pitfalls of growing up with Jed and Abbey for parents.
There were many privileges, but that day, it was the pitfalls that gnawed at Abbey. She kept thinking of Ellie's reaction to the press, the way she held her mother's hand and clinged to her, determined to escape the attention cast on Jed. Ellie hated making a scene, hated the media trailing behind them for footage of the whole family walking in to vote. Unlike Zoey who gleefully waved at the cameras, Ellie bowed her head the whole time, her long blond hair spilling like a waterfall of curls covering her face.
And then there was Elizabeth, who had to be rushed into the building by Jed to avoid the onslaught of pictures. Her pregnancy and love life had become public fodder all because her father happened to be a United States congressman. Politicians weren't treated like ordinary human beings by the press and neither were their children, especially when their blunders fed headline controversies surrounding topics like sex education. In an era where the new threat of AIDS thrived in a wave of fear and ignorance, and anyone who had the courage to speak out in favor of STD awareness swam against the current, Liz's situation was a convenient excuse to criticize Jed.
Abbey wondered what they'd say if they knew about the engagement and the rift it had caused in the family. Would they report on that, implying that Jed wasn't fit to hold office because of the private turmoil in his home? Would the press be bold enough to inject themselves into every aspect of a candidate's life as if it was their right? Of course they would, she thought. Fortunately, they'd never get the chance. It was election day and Liz had wisely chosen to take off her ring. All they had to do was make it through one more day. In 24 hours, the cameras would be gone, the pundits would wrap up the ballot box analysis, and life could get back to normal. At least, as normal as it could be with Liz pregnant and engaged.
"I'm going to drop you and the girls off," Jed said.
"You don't even get a break on election day?" Abbey asked him.
"Brooke's got a full itinerary for me. Why, did you have plans?"
"I was hoping we could spend some down-time together, all five of us."
"I can't stay either." Liz spoke up from the back seat.
"Where are you going?"
"I planned to grab some signs from Dad's office and help out with visibility."
"No, you're not." Jed glanced at her through the rearview mirror as he turned onto the street that led to the farm. "I don't want you anywhere near the campaign."
"Standing on the side of the road holding a sign is not a big deal."
"It is to me."
"The press isn't going to approach me, Dad."
"They don't have to approach you to get video of you."
"They already have video of me. And anyway, what difference does it make? The cat's out of the bag. They know I'm pregnant."
"That doesn't mean you have to flaunt it."
"That's what you think I'm doing?"
"By putting yourself right in front of the cameras? Yes, I think you're daring the press to go after you." He pulled up to the front of the house.
"Because I'm a spoiled drama queen craving attention?"
"That's not what I said."
Liz jumped out of the car, disappointment in her voice. "You didn't have to say it."
Jed stepped out of the driver's seat. "Elizabeth, for once in your life, do what I say without challenging me. I don't want you near the campaign. Can I be clearer about this?"
"Forgive me for wanting to help. Maybe it's best if I just go back to Boston."
"Don't throw that in our faces," Abbey replied as she climbed out of the passenger's side.
"What?"
"Boston. If you don't get your way, you're going to leave...again. We love you and we want you here, but we're not going to let you use that as leverage."
"That's not what I was trying to do." Liz was horrified that Abbey believed that.
"Really?" Jed interjected "You didn't run off to your grandparents', hoping that we'd agree to support your engagement to get you back home?"
"No! I went to Boston because Mom and I had a fight and it was clear that I was just making things worse by being here."
"I didn't want you to leave," Abbey told her.
"I know you'd never throw me out, but you needed a break and so did I."
"I didn't need a break from you."
"All I did was ask for your opinion about holiday weddings and you went off on me, Mom."
"Maybe I was harsh. I just wanted you to think about what you were doing."
"You were angry."
"Okay, fine, I was angry. Can you blame me? You blurted out news of your engagement at a family dinner like it was no big deal, despite our feelings about Doug. It was a slap in the face to me and your father."
"Did you think we'd be happy about it?" Jed piled on.
"I..."
"Don't answer that," he stopped her.
"Why?"
"Because it's rhetorical. You're a smart girl and you know better. You knew we wouldn't be happy. You were trying goad us."
"I wasn't!" Liz's stare moved from one parent to the other, neither willing to make eye contact. They didn't believe her and that hurt. "You guys think the worst of me, don't you?"
"No, we don't. We just think you're in over your head. You've convinced yourself of a fairytale ending for you and Doug and you're pissed at us for not jumping for joy."
"That's not why I announced the engagement."
"Then why?"
"I thought that if you knew he proposed, you'd stop hating him, that it would prove to you that he loves me."
"It's true," Ellie jumped in. She and Zoey had been standing on the porch, watching, ever since Jed pulled up to the front of the house and she was upset seeing Liz trying so desperately to defend herself.
"This has nothing to do with you, Ellie," Abbey said, her attention still on Liz.
"Yes, it does. I was in Lizzie's room that night after dinner. We heard..." Ellie stepped down, looking at Liz as if waiting for permission to tell them the rest of the story. "We heard you and Dad complaining about the engagement and saying what a terrible mistake Lizzie was making, that she was gonna ruin her life."
"We were venting," Abbey explained.
"Lizzie was so sad. She told me that Doug wanted to elope, but she said no. She wanted her family at her wedding. She wanted our support and she made her announcement at dinner because she thought you and Dad would stop worrying that Doug would hurt her if you knew he wanted to marry her. She wasn't trying to pick a fight."
Jed turned his gaze from Ellie to Liz. The pained expression on her face filled him with remorse. He wanted so badly to call a truce, to take her in his arms and give her his blessing. But to do that would be a charade. She was too young to get married and he was still convinced that a marriage to Doug would end in disaster. It was like a train wreck waiting to happen and as a father, it was his job to push his daughter out of the path. How could he swallow his instincts and support her when everything inside screamed for him to run the other way?
Abbey approached Liz gently and said, "We shouldn't have doubted your motives."
"It's okay," Liz replied after a beat.
"No, it's not." Abbey looked at Jed. "I told you this morning we have to find a way to deal with this and this is exactly the reason why." Her gaze went back to Liz. "We can't go on like this."
"I know, but it's like the only way to make you and Dad happy is to call off the engagement and throw Doug out of my life."
"We don't want you to throw him out of your life." He was the baby's father, after all. "We just think you're rushing into a wedding."
"But I'm not."
"What's wrong with a long engagement? You can get married after the baby's born. He or she can be part of the ceremony."
Liz shook her head. "I want to be married before she's born."
"No one's going to think less of you or this child if you wait," Abbey continued.
"I'll think less of me! I don't want to have her as a single mom. I don't want to introduce Doug to my doctors as 'the baby's father.' I want him to be my husband. I'm going to marry him anyway. What difference does it make if I do it now or a year from now?"
"It makes a difference."
"Not to me."
Several seconds of silence passed between them, each waiting for the other to break it. When no one did, a disappointed Jed gave up.
"Well, that's that then." His tone was sharp again. "We should have known."
Abbey addressed her husband. "It's election day. You have to get to work. We can talk about this later."
"What's there to talk about? She's not going to listen to us. In the end, she's going to do exactly what she wants, which is what she always does anyway."
"Tomorrow, we're going to sit down as a family and put everything on the table."
"It won't change a thing. Don't you get it, Abbey? She didn't come home for our advice. She came home for our blessing." Jed glanced at Liz for confirmation, which was what he got when she refused to look at him.
"It doesn't matter why she came home, Jed."
"Of course it matters!"
"I came home to vote, Dad!" Liz blurted out then. "For you! Yes, I want your blessing and I was hoping you'd give it to me, but I would have come home anyway because I wanted to vote!"
Jed opened his mouth in an attempt at a hasty reply, but he cut himself off when Abbey spun around to face him.
"STOP!" she pleaded with him. "Liz, go in the house." She waited a beat, but Liz didn't move. Abbey turned to face her. "Please."
"Fine."
Abbey watched as Ellie and Zoey followed their sister inside. She then turned to Jed again.
"Things were finally calm for a minute and you had to start again. Are you gunning for another round? In the driveway of all places?"
"I didn't choose the location of the fight."
"Why can't we talk about this rationally?"
"Because nothing she's done in the past few months has been rational."
"Maybe not, but snarking at her isn't going to help. You're supposed to win an election today and you're getting into a shouting match over the same damn thing you've been screaming at her about since she got pregnant. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that keeping our daughter from making the biggest mistake of her life is more important than the election!"
"Liz is not getting married tonight. She'll still be engaged tomorrow. If you want to play the role of overprotective father, do it then."
"If I want to play the role...? Am I in this by myself now?" Abbey took a deep breath. "You support what she's doing?"
"No," she said unconvincingly.
"What's going on?"
"I don't want to lose her, Jed. The last time we argued, she left for a week."
"I thought you said you weren't going to let her use that against us."
"She's not using it against us. It's not a ploy. It's serious."
"For the sake of argument, say you're right. You're more worried about losing her than about her ruining her life?"
"She's going to do this whether we want her to or not. And call me crazy, but if she's going to ruin her life, I want to at least be there to pick up the pieces when she does." He turned from her, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't want her to run away. When she left last week, she went to my parents'. This time, we might not be so lucky. She could run off with Doug and God only knows when we'd hear from her again."
"That won't happen," he said, turning toward her again.
"It might. I'm afraid she'll elope if we don't come to some sort of compromise."
"She won't. Trust me, Abbey. She'll say that to get you to agree to the wedding, but she won't do it."
"Didn't you hear Ellie? Doug wanted to elope from the start."
"And Liz said no."
"That's right. She said no - this time."
"So what, we just give in because Doug once mentioned the possibility of an elopement? And to be perfectly frank, we don't know if he did or not. Maybe Liz told Ellie that so that Ellie would tell us. She knew that you'd concede if you thought she was going to elope."
"Listen to yourself. No wonder Liz said we think the worst of her. You're accusing her of scheming and conspiring. That's not her, Jed. She's not like that."
"She spent weeks covering up her pregnancy with lies."
"Because she was scared to tell us, not because she was trying to manipulate us. I thought you forgave her for that."
"I did. I only brought it up because it's relevant. We can't take for granted that she's always being honest with us, that's all I'm saying."
"She is this time. I can tell."
"Fine. Give her what she wants then. Tell her she can have the wedding of her dreams, paid for by dear old Dad, so long as she allows us the privillege of being a part of her life. How about we promise her a week in Maui for the honeymoon?"
She glared at him, annoyed by his sarcasm. "I can't talk to you when you're like this."
"What about Ellie and Zoey? If they threaten to run away, are you going to give in to their demands too?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"How is it ridiculous?"
"Lizzie's not a child! She can do what she wants, when she wants, and she doesn't need anyone's permission. She's not a little girl anymore."
"Yes, she is," he said in a calmer, sadder tone. "She's my little girl. I don't care how old she is, she's still my little girl."
His voice broke when he said it and once again, he turned away from her.
"Jed." Abbey put a hand on his shoulder.
"I rocked her to sleep in my arms every night, I read her bedtime stories, I dried her tears when she fell off her bike. And now, because she's an adult, if I dare to be concerned about her, if I dare to want to protect her, I'm an ogre."
"No, you're not."
"What she's doing...these impulsive decisions she's making...she's destroying her future. It's breaking my heart, Abbey."
"I know."
"I can't give her my blessing."
It tore Jed apart that he couldn't be happy for his daughter. He'd thought about her wedding day so many times before, usually with the natural fatherly angst that every dad felt at the prospect of his little girl growing up and getting married. But deep down, Jed dreamed of the day Prince Charming would waltz into the picture and sweep his little Cinderella off her feet. He pictured himself, proud and confident, his arm looped through hers as he walked her down the aisle toward her groom, imagined giving her away and then joining Abbey, both emotional and teary-eyed while witnessing the union of their eldest child and the man she loved.
And the reception. Jed still remembered all the times he twirled Lizzie around the living room in her frilly white dresses, thinking that someday, she'd be too old to want to dance with him, that her friends would eventually become more important, boyfriends would be waiting in the wings, and he would have to settle for knowing that there would be one more dance in their future - the father-daughter dance at her wedding reception. He'd make sure it was perfect, he'd promised himself all those years ago. But it was a sure bet that any reception Liz had now would be one that he wouldn't be invited to attend.
His life would be so much easier if he could accept this engagement, he thought for one fleeting moment, but like a black cloud casting its shadow, an image of Doug popped into his head and he realized that he couldn't just placate Liz. All that would do is give her a smooth path toward the alter. If he resisted, maybe she'd at least think about it. Maybe she'd hesitate. Maybe she'd consider his point of view and eventually, re-evaluate her plans. As long as there was a chance of Liz changing her mind, Jed couldn't give up. She might hate him for the rest of her life, but if he had any influence over her, he was bound and determined to use it.
Back in Boston, James Barrington was at a loss. All he had wanted to do was get through to his headstrong granddaughter, to drill in her head the things that her parents couldn't, to make her face the reality of the situation she was creating, the life she was building for herself that contradicted all the dreams she once had. But the conversation had veered in a different direction and before he knew it, there was an argument. A tearful Elizabeth had stormed off and Mary had blamed him.
He sat in the kitchen now, contemplating the breakfast that had been sitting out for 45 minutes. He poked his fork at the cold stack of waffles on the serving dish before he decided he couldn't eat with his wife so upset. He pushed his plate aside, got up, and headed upstairs.
He peeked into the master bedroom to see Mary on the bed, her back to him. Assuming she was asleep, he backed away.
"I'm up," she told him as she rolled over.
"Are you feeling all right?"
"Just a headache."
"You want your pills?"
"No, I'm fine."
He climbed into bed beside her. "I came up here to apologize, but to be honest, I don't know what I did to make you so mad. I've been replaying the whole thing in my head and the only thing I can come up with is what I said about Liz going to college and establishing a career. Was that it? Because if it was, I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with being a stay-at-home mom."
"I know." Mary nodded as if confirming that she believed him. After 43 years of marriage, she knew her husband well enough to know that he'd never intentionally disparage a woman's choice to be a wife and mother. "The whole thing just got to me and I reacted poorly to that statement. I'm sorry."
"So am I."
"James?" He looked at her. "You can't badger Lizzie like that."
"I wasn't badgering her. I was trying to get through to her."
"But you weren't listening to her."
"Just because I disagreed doesn't mean I wasn't listening."
"You're not giving her a chance to prove herself. A year ago, you couldn't stop raving about how bright she was. 'Someday, she'll be one of the greatest legal minds this country has ever known,' that's what you said."
"I remember."
"Then don't you think she's smart enough to make her own decisions?"
"No one makes good decisions when they're blinded by love."
"They're still HER decisions. She doesn't forfeit her right to make them just because people don't agree." They lost eye contact then and James looked straight ahead. Mary took his hand to get his attention. "Did I ever tell you that my father didn't want me to marry you?"
"He didn't?" He faced her, shocked.
"He liked you, but he thought I was doing it because it was the norm back then to go from your father's home to your husband's home. He thought I was being pressured."
"By me?"
"By everyone - you, my friends, even my mother. It was no secret that my mother wanted me to get married," Mary recalled.
Her hometown was an upscale New England village where every year, a new group of teenaged debutantes graced the pages of the local paper as they prepared for the annual Boston Cotillion. Mary's mom took pride in the tradition, so one year, Mary was one of those debs. She debuted in a beautiful white ballgown that had been designed and custom made for her. She smiled and curtsied, she posed for photos, she shook hands in the receiving line, and all night long, she floated through the room with a glow that captured everyone's attention. But that glow had nothing to do with the ball itself. It was the handsome young man who served as her official escort that evening, the one who waltzed across the ballroom with her. His name was James Barrington and Mary was instantly smitten.
"What if I had listened to my father and broken our engagement until I was older?"
"I would have waited for you," James told her. "We would have ended up together eventually."
"Maybe. But those years would have been a waste because I knew all along that you were the one. That's how sure I was about you. How can I now look at Lizzie and question her when she says that she's that sure about Doug?"
"Just because you were sure about me doesn't mean that Lizzie might not be wrong about Doug."
"None of us know what's in her heart is my point. We have no right to presume we do."
James never disagreed with Mary when she made sense and at that moment, as much as it pained him to admit it, her argument made sense. Liz was a grown woman and it wasn't his place to discount her feelings. He thought back to what she said before she left their house that morning - 'I've never felt so alone.' The words stung even hours later as he realized his disapproval had genuinely hurt her. Her parents were looking out for her; what she needed from him was an ally, someone to support her and love her, not pose as another obstacle in her path. He acknowledged that. But acknowledging his boundaries as a grandfather didn't make it any easier to accept them.
Later that evening, Abbey tapped on the door to the bedroom in the Bartlet suite at the Marriott. "Jed?"
"Come in, Abbey."
She found him standing at the wall mirror, looping a new tie around his neck in preparation for his victory party. "Why did you change your tie?"
"Brooke said the other one bleeds on camera. It's too red."
"Is there such a thing?"
"Apparently." He stopped fussing with the tie as she took over. "Still mad at me?"
"I never was. Besides, I didn't come up here to talk about this morning. I came to tell you that you're winning."
"I am?"
"You can't be too surprised. I told you you would days ago."
"And you're not the least bit biased or anything," he smiled.
"I also thought you'd like hearing that you were right."
"I always like hearing that. What was right about this time?"
"Continuing your campaign after the Liz's pregnancy broke. It was the right thing to do." Jed gave her a hesitant nod. "What?"
"She wanted me to continue. I was reluctant at first, but she's the one who talked me into it."
"I know, and I'm glad you did."
"I just keep wondering what it proved."
"What it proved is that we raised a brave and strong daughter who isn't afraid to stand up for herself, and that you don't shy away from a fight. It also proved that despite how the press wants to paint it, candidates are human beings who experience all of life's ups and downs just like everyone else, and that the general public isn't narrow-minded enough to hold it against them."
"I think you're over-estimating the electorate there. I lost a lot of votes. If it wasn't for Randall's unpopular position on Seabrook, he'd be winning now, not me. It's fear that made people support me."
"That's not true."
"I've seen the polls, Abbey. The most important issue to most of them is Seabrook."
"I'm not disputing that. I'm telling you fear isn't the reason they support you. You stood up for them, Jed, and you didn't do it to win an election. You studied the situation, you spoke to advisors here and in Washington, you took a tour of Seabrook, you talked to the people on the coast, the ones who would be personally affected by an accident. You took your time, despite a death threat, and you made your decision when YOU were ready. And the decision you made wasn't to appease them or to win a popularity contest. You did it because you felt it was right. You think people don't respect you for that?"
"Some of them do, but any respect I got for Seabrook went out the window with a lot of others. The supporters I lost, it's because they think I'm a bad father."
"We know better. Anyone who's ever seen you interact with the kids knows better. You're a good father, Jed, a good husband, a good man. That's what makes you a fantastic public servant." She leaned in to give him a kiss. "I love you."
He stared at her adoringly for several seconds, then raised a brow and said, "I replaced your tire in the pouring rain last week."
"What?" Abbey asked, confused.
"When you got that flat, I canceled an appearance to drive out there in a thunderstorm and replace your tire. Remember? I was soaking wet, the rain pelted me like a firestorm of bullets..."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Jed shrugged. "I'm just saying, maybe I deserve a slightly higher rating than 'good' in the husband category."
Abbey smacked his arm and chuckled, then laced her fingers through his as they left the room hand-in-hand to begin a night that would end with John Randall's concession and Jed delivering a victory speech to a crowd of supporters buzzing around the ballroom downstairs. Tomorrow, the campaign would be over. Staffers and interns would clear out Bartlet for Congress headquarters on Elm Street, volunteers would pick up yard signs and distribute the last of the pins, decals, and bumper stickers, and the media would take a break from political coverage, leaving the Bartlets free to return to their lives and try to overcome the drama of the last few months in private.
TBC
