A/N: Hi guys, welcome back to another chapter! Thank you kindly for your comments, I love reading them. We are getting close to the end of State of Grace, only a few chapters left. For now, please enjoy the latest installment.
Chapter Seven
Since Hannah was six years old, she's known the trajectory of her parents fights. Like most married couples, it's starts out with an issue. Then, after ignoring it for a few days, one of her parents, usually Claire, decides to confront the problem directly. That leads to a fight, which inevitably causes her father to yell and her mother to stare at him until he's done. After that, one of two things happen: her father admits that he overreacted and her mother agrees, and they work together to resolve the issue in a way that is favorable to both parties. Or, on rare occasions, her mother storms out, and her father sulks anywhere from one to three nights, and then her parents talk amongst themselves to reset the equilibrium in their marriage. Rinse and repeat every three to six months.
This time is different, and Hannah can't figure out why. Since her father became president, her mother has been asking him to help secure her a position in his administration. Claire decided on an ambassadorship in the State Department, working alongside Catherine Durant. She would've been confirmed by the Senate had the Adam Galloway cheating scandal never happened. However, Claire's convinced that Frank would simply give her the position, but he's hesitating. Now, that is leading to instances of her parents having unresolved micro-fights, which is something Hannah has never seen them do before.
"Where's Hannah?" Claire asks her husband a few nights ago. She hasn't seen the teenager since she left for school after the press conference. Frank looks up from his paperwork, shrugging his shoulders.
Hannah walks by her father's study, seeing the door cracked open. She can see the outline of her mother's silhouette, standing over her father's desk. The teenager hovers, wanting to see where their conversation leads. Ever since her father indicated he might not give her mother the ambassadorship earlier this afternoon, she's been hesitant to be around her parents. She has a feeling they are about to have another one of their infamous fights.
"I don't know, probably in her room. I haven't seen her or you in a few hours." Frank expected his wife to lay low in the residences after her failed confirmation. She needed time to lick her wounds alone.
"I took a nap after the hearing. I haven't been sleeping much these past few days." Claire sits down across from him, crossing one leg over the other. "Francis, we need to talk about the timetable on when we are going to hold a recess appointment for my ambassadorship. The Senate is going to be breaking in less than a week."
Frank lets out a long sigh. He knew his wife wouldn't give up so easily, but he thought he had more time to convince her to look for another position.
"Claire, are you sure this is what you want to do?" He asks. Claire tilts her head, confused as to why he would ask her such a question. She's been preparing for this position for months. It would be foolish of her to seek out another role now.
From outside the study, Hannah inhales a breath. She can imagine the irritation on her mother's face after her father's question without having to see it.
"Why are you even asking me that question?" Frank holds out his hands, knowing he needs to tread carefully.
"All I'm saying is we can find something else for you. It doesn't have to be this."
"Yes, it does, Francis. You're hesitating and I want to know why."
Claire's made it clear to her husband that she won't be just his First Lady. They made an agreement while he is in the Oval to elevate her position so she will be able to run for office later. She's been patient, and now, she wants Frank to fulfill his promise.
Hannah waits with bated breath for her father's response. She moves to the side a little in case her mom walks out after he says whatever he's going to say. Nothing good will come of her parents discovering her eavesdropping on their conversations.
"I just want us to think it through and make the best move. We have always done that in the past. Why is this time different for you?"
"Because you are stalling. There is a window of opportunity here that is closing rapidly. All I'm asking is that you don't go back on your word." Claire stands up and Hannah sprints down the hall, wanting it to appear as if she's just coming out of her room.
"Claire," Frank calls out, half-expecting her to keep walking. Surprisingly, she turns around, wanting to hear what he has to say. "Let me talk to some people and we will set up an appointment."
His wife is half-right. He did agree to do everything in his power to secure a position for her. However, he will take a hit politically if he hands her the ambassadorship after the Senate voted her down. He needs them on his side if he wants any legislation to be passed through during his tenure as president. It would be easier if his stubborn wife waited for another position to open, but she has her heart set on this one.
"Fine. Goodnight, Francis."
"Goodnight."
The next morning, Hannah sits between her parents for an awkward breakfast. She anticipated one of them to be absent. They are both there, silently passing sections of the newspaper back and forth. No conspiring, no smirking at each other over coffee; just silence. After Frank leaves, Hannah turns to her mother.
"What's going on between you and Daddy? Are you mad at each other or something?" Hannah asks. Claire briefly looks up from the newspaper and shakes her head.
"No. Why do you ask?"
"You could cut the tension in here with a knife. You glared at him when he set the travel section of the newspaper down instead of handing it to you." Claire smirks at her daughter's observation. "He's not going to give you the ambassador position, is he?"
"Why do you say that?" Hannah senses her cheeks flame. She must be honest with her mother, just like she would be with her.
"When I asked him if he was going to make you an ambassador, he told me it's 'whatever I decide.' I thought it was odd, given you guys always make decisions together." Claire reaches down to straighten the non-existent wrinkle in her pristine navy blazer.
"Hannah, there's no need to worry. Your father promised me he would do give me the job and I trust that he will." Her mother seems to be saying that to convince herself. "Have a good day at school." Claire leaves her daughter at the kitchen table. The teenager can guess with absolute certainty on where her mother is headed.
Claire walks into the Oval unannounced, catching her husband and Remy in mid-conversation. Frank waves her over and Remy quickly exits the office.
"Do you think we are making things uncomfortable for Hannah?" Claire asks while hopping onto her usual spot on his desk. Frank furrows his eyebrows as he tries to dissect his wife's question.
"How do you mean?"
"She said something about a tense breakfast between us this morning after you left."
"I didn't notice it." Claire sighs, glancing outside before looking back at her husband.
"Francis, we aren't being honest with each other. If you don't want me to have the ambassadorship…"
"We already discussed this, Claire. I will have Remy set up an appointment for you."
"But you don't want to. That's the problem. I feel like I don't have your support."
Frank feels terrible for making it seem as if he's not behind Claire one hundred percent. She's never wavered in her support for him. He believes in her. It's the political complications he's concerned with, which she isn't considering.
"Claire, it's not that." He gently places his hand on her thigh. "I just don't want there to be any more backlash on us."
"We know there's going to be. Regardless of what position I take in your administration." Claire pauses and suddenly maneuvers her way off his desk. There's some reason as to why he's so reluctant to hand her the position. He blames it on the politics, but his argument is thin. He's concealing the real reason because he knows she'll be angry at him. And that could only mean one thing: doubt. He must be uncertain about her capability to do the job.
"I want you to look at me and tell me that you don't doubt my ability to be an ambassador," Claire insists, because she needs to know the truth. After nearly thirty years of marriage, she can read his face, knowing exactly what to look for.
Before Frank can respond, an aide pops their head into the Oval, disrupting their heated conversation.
"Sir, Secretary of Defense Donaldson is waiting outside," the aide says and closes the door behind her. Claire and Frank turn to each other. He reaches to skim his fingertips along her arm.
"We will talk about this later," Frank tells her. Claire nods slowly, debating if she wants to push her husband or not. She can tell by the avoidance of this discussion that he doesn't want to answer her.
Claire leaves his office without answering her husband. She doesn't want to hear his excuse for why he doesn't believe she will be an excellent ambassador.
As Claire is heading into an early afternoon meeting, she senses her cell phone ring in her pocket. She slides it out, wanting to make sure it's not Hannah attempting to contact her. Instead, she sees an unknown number with a familiar area code. It's a call originating from Dallas, Texas. And there's only one person with that number that would be calling her.
"Hello Mother," Claire says with little enthusiasm. The last person she wants to talk to after a day like today is Elizabeth Hale. She is guessing her mother is calling to voice her opinion about Claire's failed hearing and she doesn't want to hear it.
"Claire, I'm coming to D.C. for a few days," Elizabeth says bluntly. Claire lifts her eyebrows in surprise. In all the years she's lived in Washington, she can't recall a time her mother came her way. The two usually avoid each other when they can.
"Oh, okay, when?"
"My flight leaves in an hour. I should be there in time for dinner." Fantastic, Claire thinks to herself sarcastically. She isn't in the mood to hear her mother's harsh comments. Not when she's already irritated with her husband. If Elizabeth senses any tension between her and Frank, she will pounce. Her mother has always hated her husband, which has caused even more animosity between Elizabeth and Claire.
"Okay, I'll have someone prepare a room for you."
"Good. And Claire, make sure they clean it. I don't want to stay anywhere dirty." Of course, Elizabeth would say that about the White House. It's not like Claire is asking her mother to stay at some rat-infested motel down the street with the tourists.
"Yes Mother, I'll see you when you arrive." Claire hangs up the phone and swears softly to herself. She wants her mother's visit to be brief and as painless as possible.
Claire hopes she can get to Hannah in time to warn her daughter about her mother. Elizabeth won't spare her unfiltered remarks on her granddaughter. If anything, Hannah will get the brunt of them because she's Frank and Claire's daughter.
"Tell Jessica that I am cancelling my meetings for this afternoon…my mother is coming into town," Claire informs her executive assistant.
After her three o'clock meeting, Claire walks back into the residences, looking for Hannah.
"Hannah?" Claire yells out into the living room. Her daughter is almost always perched at the dining room table doing her homework. "Hannah?"
"I'm in my room!" Hannah exclaims from down the hall. Claire breathes a sigh of relief. For some reason, she thought Elizabeth was already here.
"Can I come in?" Claire asks from the other side of the door. Hannah gives her permission and Claire walks into the teenager's room.
"What are you freaking out about?" Hannah asks. Her mother seems more wound up than she was this morning. The teenager is expecting Claire to tell her she is leaving the residences for a few days after a fight with her father.
"My mother is coming into town tonight. She'll be staying here." Claire is careful not to say, 'your grandmother.' She's leaving the title up to Hannah because of who Elizabeth is.
"Okay. Who is she?" Hannah doesn't remember ever meeting any of her grandparents. As far as she knows, her father's parents are dead, and her mother's father is dead as well.
"Her name is Elizabeth Hale. You met her once, when you were two and it didn't go well."
"What do you mean our reservation is cancelled?" Frank asks the concierge at their Dallas hotel. He and Claire have had a long day of travelling with their toddler. They would just like to get up to their hotel room to change and put Hannah down for a quick nap.
"I'm sorry, Sir. Someone cancelled your reservation a couple days ago. Apparently, you found a better offer somewhere else." Frank glances over at Claire, who is trying to feed a fussy Hannah a snack. She shakes her head. There wouldn't be a reason to cancel a room at the most expensive hotel in Dallas.
"Fine. Can you get us another room?" Frank isn't going to waste his breath arguing with this man.
"Unfortunately, Sir, there is a convention in town, and we are fully booked. We would be happy to call around to see if any other hotel in the area can take you."
Claire sees Frank bite his lip and knows it's time to intervene. She plops Hannah into his arms and bids the concierge goodbye.
"Where are we going to go?" Frank asks Claire when they are back in the car. Claire finishes buckling Hannah into her seat and climbs in the car beside her husband.
"My mother's." Frank sighs but knows his wife wouldn't be suggesting it if they didn't have anywhere else to go. "Luckily, it's only for two nights." There's enough room at the mansion that they wouldn't have to see Elizabeth if they didn't want to. And they certainly don't.
Claire gives the driver directions to the Hale mansion without bothering to inform her mother they are coming. When they arrive, Elizabeth answers the door with a smug expression on her face.
"Did someone cancel your hotel reservation?" Elizabeth asks. Claire rolls her eyes and adjusts Hannah higher on her hip. Frank manages a small grin at his wife's annoyance. Sometimes, he finds the two's strained relationship entertaining even if he's always on Claire's side.
"Mother, this is Hannah. Hannah, this is your grandmother," Claire says. Hannah refuses to acknowledge Elizabeth, choosing instead to tuck her head into her mother's neck. Elizabeth moves aside so Frank can carry in their bags.
"Why would you cancel our reservation? You clearly don't want us here," Frank comments. He learned a long time ago that bluntness works best with Claire's mom.
"You're right, I don't want you here, but I figured this was the only way I'd ever be able to meet my granddaughter. Hopefully, you two haven't done enough damage to her already." Claire sets Hannah down, letting her acclimate to this new place.
"We will only be staying two nights. Francis and I have events lined up so we will be out of your hair most of our trip," Claire informs her mother. Elizabeth nods slowly, keeping an eye on Hannah. The toddler is inching closer to a shelf with breakable antiques on it.
"What about the child? I'm not watching her," Elizabeth says. Frank gently rests his hand on Claire's shoulder. He can practically see the annoyance radiating off his wife.
"No, Mother, we are bringing Hannah with us." All the sudden, the three adults hear glass break from across the room. Hannah must've reached for the bowl on the shelf and it tipped over, shattering it on impact. The toddler is crying, frightened by the sound. Claire rushes over, sweeping the toddler in her arms. Frank bites back a sigh. This trip is already becoming a disaster and they barely arrived.
"Sure, coddle her instead of scolding her for breaking my things, that'll teach her," Elizabeth mutters, not bothering to hold back her frustration at Hannah. Frank stays quiet. Usually, he lets Claire decide how to respond to her mother. He only intervenes when he sees Claire becoming upset.
"I'll buy you a new bowl, Mother," Claire says. She doesn't bother recognizing her mother's comment. Elizabeth waves her hand in the air, as to suggest her daughter missed the point entirely.
"It's fine. I just wish…you would raise her correctly. Although, with parents like you two, I shouldn't be surprised." Elizabeth complains and walks upstairs, slamming the door behind her.
"She said that to you? What did Daddy say?" Hannah asks after her mother is done telling her story. Claire shakes her head.
"I think he was so shocked that she would say something like that to me, he didn't say anything."
"That's a first," Hannah mutters. Claire nods in agreement. It's rare her husband is rendered speechless. Only a few people can do that to him, one of them being Elizabeth Hale.
"He was stewing about it the whole trip. I think he ended up getting her kicked out of some Republican club she belonged to." Hannah laughs, she believes her father would be vindictive enough to do something like that.
"So, should I avoid her? Or try to be nice to her?"
"Hannah, whatever my mother says to you, just ignore it. She's going to say things to get a reaction from you. Trust me, she's been doing it to me my entire life."
There's no point in pretending this is going to be a pleasant visit. Claire is guessing her mother is going to decide she'd be better suited at a hotel downtown before the day is over with.
"Why does she hate you?" Hannah asks. Claire shrugs, she's been trying to think of an answer to that question for years.
"I don't know. I think for a long time she resented how close I was with my daddy. And then, she saw me marrying your father as an act of defiance. At our wedding, she kept telling everyone that our marriage was only going to last a year."
"A year? Wow, she had a lot of faith in you and Daddy," Hannah says sarcastically.
"She kept telling me I was making a mistake. And when I was pregnant with you, she told me the best thing I could do for you was to get rid of you."
"Why would she say that?" Hannah asks. She knows her parents weren't exactly thrilled about her arrival, but for her own grandmother to say that about her is unsettling.
"She convinced herself we would be lousy parents. And we were, for a while. We didn't know what we were doing with you, but we figured it out."
Hannah appreciates Claire being honest with her about Elizabeth and not letting her walk into a situation uninformed. A part of her thinks this will be fun to watch her mother, father and grandmother interact with each other when there's a lot of unresolved issues between the three.
"I have to find your father and tell him that his favorite person is coming," Claire tells Hannah and gets off the bed.
"I wouldn't do that. You know Daddy would just use that as an excuse to hide in the Oval all night." Claire nods, her daughter does have a point. Her husband would conjure up some imaginary crisis just so he wouldn't have to see his mother-in-law.
"Finish your home…" Claire cuts herself off when she hears voices coming from the living room of the residences. "Come on." She gestures for Hannah to follow her.
Frank and Elizabeth are standing by the window, chatting with each other. Whatever Elizabeth said just made Frank laugh. Hannah glances over at Claire, who looks just as perplexed as she does. However, Claire's noticed sometimes her husband treats Elizabeth like a constituent and puts on a show to impress her.
"It's about time you got out here. I thought you were going to leave me to talk with your husband all night," Elizabeth says to Claire.
"Hello Mother, you are looking well," Claire says, brushing past her mother's comment entirely. Hannah awkwardly stands next to her mother, not sure if she should introduce herself or her parents will do that for her. "I'm sure you remember meeting our daughter, Hannah."
"Hi, nice to meet you…" Hannah trails off, not knowing what to call Claire's mother. She holds out her hand for Elizabeth to shake but withdraws it when she sees the elder woman merely staring at her.
"She looks like you…what a shame," Elizabeth says to Claire. "I do remember meeting you, Hannah. I remember you breaking a bowl that belonged to my great grandmother within minutes of you entering my house."
It figures that's what Elizabeth recalls from meeting her granddaughter over twelve years ago, Claire thinks to herself.
Frank eyes slide over to his daughter's waiting to hear what she has to say. He is guessing his wife warned Hannah about how to deal with Elizabeth. Hopefully, the teenager is up to the task.
Hannah doesn't respond, letting the comment roll right off her. She isn't sure which strategy she's going to go with yet when it comes to her grandmother. For now, she's ignoring Elizabeth's remarks, but that might change depending on how fierce they become.
Elizabeth seems taken aback by Hannah's reluctance to react. She glares at the teenager as she shrugs her coat off.
Frank moves closer to his wife, gliding his hand up her spine. He was more than a little surprised to see his mother-in-law standing in his living room. He would've appreciated a warning from his wife.
Claire regrets not informing her husband about her mother's arrival, but she wasn't given the chance. And if she's being honest with herself, she's still irritated at him about their disagreement earlier today. Nothing is resolved, but they are going to shelve that conversation until after Elizabeth leaves.
"Well, are we going to stand here looking at each other all night, or are we going to eat?" Elizabeth asks, directing her question at Claire.
Hannah lifts her eyebrows in surprise at the disdain present in Elizabeth's voice when she speaks to Claire. The teenager thought her mother was exaggerating a little when she came to warn her. It's clear Claire was right about the icy exterior she receives from her mother.
Frank skims his hand up to his wife's shoulder blade, giving it a gentle squeeze. He can only imagine how the constant belittling weighs on Claire. She isn't weak by any means, but she responds differently when it's her mother. If it was anyone else, Claire would shred them to pieces. With Elizabeth, she holds back, only striking when she's had enough.
"We had the chef make something, it should be ready in a few minutes. Your room is down the hall." Claire points to the spare bedroom next to Hannah's. She isn't going to bother showing her mother to her room, Elizabeth can figure it out on her own.
Elizabeth, with a staffer's assistance, goes to put her luggage in the bedroom. Hannah, Frank and Claire remain in the living room, digesting the encounter they just had with Elizabeth.
"Holy shit, she's awful," Hannah whispers to her parents. They nod in agreement.
"Hannah, can you make sure everything is set for dinner? I want to talk to your father about something really quick."
Hannah walks into the kitchen, giving her parents some alone time as requested.
Claire turns to her husband, nervously fiddling with his tie.
"Should we even subject Hannah to this?" Claire asks. Frank gently detaches her hands from his already-straight tie. He thought she was going to bring up the ambassadorship instead of their daughter.
"Yes. She can handle it, just like you can." He reaches to gently pinch her cheek. Claire nods, stepping away from him when their daughter walks back into the living room.
"Dinner's ready."
A/N 2: This is where I leave you. Next chapter, Hannah squares off with Elizabeth and Claire learns why her mother is truly in Washington. Thank you for reading and please leave a review on your way out!
