Two days later Jed was sitting in the oval awaiting Haffley's arrival when Abbey strode in unannounced and handed him a phone.
"Zoey" she mouthed silently.
He nodded and accepted the phone. "Hey Honey."
"Hey Dad." her voice was chipper. "I was talking with Mom and she told me you're meeting with the speaker and I figured we wouldn't have the chance to speak since the Prime Minister is coming over so I thought I'd just say Hi now."
He smiled warmly and settled comfortably into his chair. "Well I'm glad. How are you doing up there on your own?"
"Daaaaad. You do know I'm 21 years old."
He resisted bringing attention to the reason why he was concerned about his adult daughter being home alone; he deflected. "I know that. I also know it's a big house when it's empty. Not sure if the ghosts have been spooking you yet."
"Dad. I haven't believed your ghost stories since I was 15. Besides, I've spent the last few nights over at Liz's."
He nodded, "Yeah, you had mentioned you'd be in Hanover. What is it you're doing again? Something with Dr. Francis?"
"Yeah, she works with at risk teens in the area, she asked me to talk to a few of them. It's been really great actually. It's amazing, I feel like I can make a difference in some of these kids' lives just by listening to them." He smiled hearing the energy and excitement in his daughter's voice.
"Good. That's good Hon. I'm really glad to hear that."
Zoey was quiet for a moment on the other end of the line, "Dad?"
"Yes?"
"Are you coming home for Thanksgiving?"
Jed swallowed and twisted in his chair to glance at Abbey who was sitting casually in one of the office chairs. "I don't know Dear. Of course I want to but you know how things come up around here. We'll have to discuss it after I have a better idea as to where everything stands over the next couple of days."
Zoey sighed into the phone, "I know you want me to think you're talking about the budget Dad but I'm not an idiot. You need to tell Mom to let you come home for Thanksgiving. If she doesn't I'm coming down there."
Jed sighed, "Zoey..."
"No Dad." She cut him off, "I'm done being coddled. I'm ready to put this whole thing behind me and move on with my life but I can't do that if I feel like my parents haven't let it go either. Every time I see evidence of you two fighting I'm reminded of everything and it's really hard not to feel like it's all my fault."
Jed closed his eyes as his heart broke. "Oh Honey..."
"No, don't worry, I know it's not really my fault. Mentally I know that. But Dad, it's hard. I tried talking to Mom but she shuts me down, she won't talk to me about anything that she thinks is going to shake me." He could hear her struggling against tears, "I need you guys to be ready to move on before I'm able to close the book on this whole ordeal. And I'm never going to be whole again until you two are back to normal; my entire life the most bedrock constant has been my family and you and Mom in particular. Even when you've been states apart or arguing over something it's never been like this. I've never doubted you two and now that it's not the same it's a little scary. What's more I miss you. You said you'd be up and you never came. I know Mom wouldn't let you but I don't care Dad. It's almost Thanksgiving and I want to celebrate being thankful for my life with my family and that does NOT mean going with Liz to Doug's parents' house; it smells like cats over there."
Jed sighed. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry honey, I really am. I promise I'll work on it. You know I want to but I can't promise I will definitely be there but I promise I'll work on it. Okay?"
Zoey sniffled on the other side of the line. "Okay."
"Alright Kid, I better get going. I love you."
"I love you too Dad."
"Did you want me to give the phone back to your mother?" He stood and moved closer to where Abbey sat.
"No. She and I already spoke enough today." Zoey's tone was clipped and Jed thought eerily similar to Abbey's.
"Zoey..." He matched with a warning tone.
"No, Dad. It's okay. She knows. I'll talk to you both tomorrow." He sighed but nodded.
"Okay...Love you."
He hung up the phone and handed it back to Abbey. She remained where she sat so Jed gingerly sat in the opposite chair.
After a few moments of strained silence he looked over to her, "Zoey sounds happy working with Dr. Francis."
Abbey shrugged detachedly, "She's always said she wanted to work with kids. Who knows, this may end up turning in to something for her."
Jed nodded, "That's good."
Silence again fell upon the two parents. Jed sat back, rubbed his hands on his thighs, "She asked me about Thanksgiving."
Abbey didn't move, seeming lost in her own thoughts, "I know."
Jed sighed, "There's enough going on here that I can make up a solid reason why I can't come up if that's what you'd like me to do."
"Yeah." Again Abbey barely moved, her voice quiet and distant.
"Abbey?"
Her eyes snapped to him, "We should talk about this later."
Strengthened by his daughter's frustration Jed kept pushing, "How about we talk about it now?"
Abbey set her jaw, "You've got to stay focused on this meeting now. It's all a moot point if you don't accomplish what you need to accomplish here today. Stay focused on this now and we'll talk about Thanksgiving later."
Jed breathed deeply, frustration coloring his face, "I love how you feel it's your job to dictate what I should focus on. You know, I've been told I'm a pretty smart guy. I've been known to be able to hold more than one idea in my head at once!"
Abbey shook her head, "Getting snippy with me isn't exactly going to endear me to the idea of sticking around."
Jed rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut.
Abbey sighed, "Zoey's right." Her eyes glanced at her husband, expecting him to leap upon the statement but he kept quiet, his eyes steadfast on her face, silently asking her to elaborate. "Things need to change between you and I. It's not doing her any favors."
"It's not doing any of us any favors." Jed replied solemnly.
Abbey broke eye contact and looked down at her hands. "Yeah."
Jed leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "Abbey, I know you're angry and there's a lot to be angry for. I imagine there is a lot you'd like to say as well as explanations and apologies to demand. I know it's not anything that's going to be fixed in a day's time and let that be the first thing I apologize for. But let me also say this; I'm not giving up. I love you and I've been immensely happy having you here these past couple of days. However I am also aware the feeling isn't exactly mutual and I'm not going to push you. Would I like you to stay? Yes. Would I like to spend the holidays together? Yes. But I'm not going to push anything you don't want to do. I can get Zoey to calm down and back off. Whatever comes next is up to you; on your own terms and on your own pace."
Abbey took a deep breath, "Thank you."
They sat in silence until there was a knock at the door and Leo announced the arrival of the speaker. Jed watched her leave the office, confident in his ability to make some progress in his upcoming meeting. He just hoped that making progress politically wouldn't mean watching Abbey leave again.