"Happy Birthday" Donna greets me as she comes into the kitchen dressed for work.
"You know I don't like to celebrate."
"Oh? So you don't want a birthday kiss?"
"Well, okay, yeah, I'll take one of those."
She sits down in my lap, wraps her arms around my neck, and kisses the daylights out of me.
When she's done she grins and says "You know, you're pretty good at that for an old man."
Growling a little at her, I take her face in my hands and go back for seconds. By the time I'm finished, we're both ready to move this party into the bedroom.
But it's a Thursday, we need to be at work in 30 minutes. Maybe we can be quick or a little late.
"Da-dee! Mama! Here!"
Welp, there goes that idea. Lulu's awake and calling us. In a complete sentence. Donna doesn't appreciate how advanced this is. On average, babies start speaking in sentences between 18 months and 2 years. Lulu isn't quite one yet! She really is quite remarkable.
Donna slides off my lap. "You wanna get her? I'll get the coffee ready to go." It's my birthday, the one day a year she'll get me coffee, even if I'm not about to be fired.
When I walk into the nursery, I'm greeted by Lulu standing in the crib facing the door. I'm glad to see that she pulled herself up. She's doing that more and more. Hopefully walking won't be too far away now.
"Da-dee!" Her whole face lights up when she sees me. I had no idea that having a child would make me feel this way, and even here almost a year later, I'm still a bit overwhelmed at my feelings.
"Hey Lulu!" I greet her back, lifting her out of the crib and snuggling her to my chest. "Good morning baby girl. Did you have a good night? Did you dream of all the amazing things you're going to do?"
Lulu hugs me back and I bury my face in the auburn curls at her neck. This getting old thing really isn't so bad.
"Well let's get you dressed. So do you think Mama has a special outfit for you to wear on my birthday?"
"I heard that!" Donna calls from the other room.
My eyes get wide and I make a funny face at Lulu. She immediately laughs at me.
"Well, Lulu, since she heard me and didn't say that there is a special outfit, I guess I can pick whatever I want, can't I?" I whisper so that Donna can't hear me. And Lulu seems happy to share secrets.
It's a little overwhelming looking through her dresser. She's got lots of cute clothes. But then I find the perfect thing. A navy shirt that has pink sleeves with white dots. The shirt declares that she's sweet, smart and sassy.
"Just like your Mother." I tell Lulu with a grin. I pull out some fuzzy pants. They' have stripes but they are the same colors so I think this works. Sometimes it's hard to tell when it's okay to mix patterns and when it's not.
Once I have her dressed, we head back into the kitchen.
"Hey Baby doll!" Donna greets her with a kiss. She doesn't say anything about the outfit so I must have done okay. Either that or she's letting it slide because it's my birthday.
"Mama!"
Donna gives Lulu a grin. God help us when she starts asking for things. I don't know how we'll be able to resist. I hope she never asks for a pony.
"Ready to go?"
"Ready if you are."
I give the girls kisses and we part ways after we walk through the portico. I watch them go a bit wistfully. I used to go with them and spend a few extra minutes with them, helping Lulu get settled in before Senior Staff, but we'd discovered that Donna efficiently dropping her off is a better routine to avoid separation anxiety. Both mine and Lulu's.
When I get to my office, I find a steaming Carmel Macchiato and a Brown Butter doughnut from my favorite place.
"Thank you Margaret!" I call out.
"Happy Birthday, Boss!"
I hope this is the entire breadth and width of my birthday celebration at the office. I've really tried to keep a lid on it. Only a few people know.
Of course Margaret does, because she knows everything. Last year, I had mixed feelings when I discovered that it was Margaret, not Donna, who had left the coffee and doughnut for me. When I had told Donna about my disappointment, she reminded me that my Assistant got me coffee and a doughnutt for my birthday, my wife would give me a different sort of treat all together. That got me over my disappointment real fast.
Sam knows it's my birthday too. I've always been able to count on him not to make a fuss. As he walks in the door for Senior Staff, he takes a look at the doughnut that I'm savoring and says "Oh yeah. Best wishes." And that's it.
"Thanks man. Now, what's the latest on the Anti-Violence Against Women Act?"
"It's getting ready to come out of committee, and there's a problem with some of the language."
. . . . .
Last week was one of those weeks that didn't seem to end. Between the legistlative agenda and the up-coming Mid-term elections, I had barely a moment to celebrate my birthday with my wife. Although we certainly made the most of the time we had.
There has been constant pressure from the DNC and candidates in close races to either fast-track or slow-down our agenda depending on how it affects them personally. The President has been jetting off to stump for candidates. We're trying to hang on to the House and maybe, possibly, take control of the Senate. I'm trying not to get too excited about the possibility of controlling both and imagining what we could accomplish! No need to tempt the wrath of the thing high atop the place.
Tonight it's time for a break. Of sorts. Helen and Donna insisted that we all go trick or treating together. It's funny, the last couple years I was anxious for the trick or treating photo op. Hell, I even remember on the campaign trail suggesting that we fly to another time zone for a second chance at it after Peter threw up. But now that it's my own daughter, I'm wondering if this is a good idea.
We've tried to keep her out of the press as much as possible. Bram and Annabeth have done a good job, and the press has been very respectful of Peter and Miranda's privacy. They seem to be including Lulu in the group of White House children to be protected, and for that I am grateful. The trade off is giving them occassional, staged access, usually around holidays.
At first, the ladies tried to convince us we could all be superheroes. Matt and I quickly nixed the idea of him in a Mr. Incredible costume. He earned himself a pretty good smack when he suggested that they go as the President and First Lady, but that she wear the Elasta-girl costume for him later.
Donna's choice for us isn't so bad. She bought Lulu a fuzzy Dalmatian costume and said we could be Roger and Anita from 101 Dalmatians. It's one of Lulu's favorite books. I can live with that. All I really need to pull it off is a sweater vest, a fedora and a brown jacket. Donna's got a curvy olive suit and a cute little black hat.
When I get upstairs I find my clothes have been laid out for me in the COS Bedroom. I see Donna's work clothes are hanging in the closet so she must have already changed. I bet she's off with Lulu getting pictures. I quickly get dressed so I can join them. I hope I don't take too much flack from Matt over this.
"Da-dee!" Lulu grins and calls out to me as soon as she sees me. Then she gets up on all fours and crawls over to me. She really does look like a little puppy. The photographer snaps away. These are going to be adorable pictures.
I sit down on the floor and she climbs into my lap and gives me a big smooch. "Aww, baby, I love you." I don't care how much flack I take from Matt. I'll wear a matching costume until she's 40 if she'll let me.
Donna joins us and we get a few more family pictures, then Miranda runs in. She's dressed as a ballerina complete with a giant pancake tutu. I wonder how she's going to fit in the limo.
"Do you like my costume Tio Josh?"
"Yes, Miranda you look very beautiful. Can you put on a dance for us?"
She twirls a few times and the photographer snaps photos, grinning the whole time. I did just make her job a lot easier there.
A few minutes later Peter comes in. He's dressed as a fighter pilot. Well, very gender sterotypical costumes, but otherwise unobjectionable. I'll take it.
"Nice costume, Peter."
"Whatever."
Hmmm, I sense a little attitude. Ever since he started Junior High he's been pushing back a little. The teen years. Yikes.
"What's wrong buddy?"
"None of my friends are going trick or treating or wearing costumes, and I hafta. And I'm probably going to be in the paper. AND on top of that I didn't even get to be what I wanted."
Well. That's quite a list. I wonder if I can fix any of this.
"What did you want to be?"
"The Joker from The Dark Knight."
Nope, can't help him there. I definitely don't want him dressed up as a villain for family photos.
"I think being a fighter pilot is pretty cool. And I'm wearing a costume too. I'm Roger from 101 Dalamations."
"Those just look like regular clothes to me."
"Do you want me to talk to your Dad about letting you just wear regular clothes?"
"No." He sighs "if I've got to do this I might as well get some candy out of the deal. Plus I think my Dad was pretty happy to have me use some of his uniform."
"Okay. Thanks for being a good sport. We'll see if we can't exclude you from this photo op next year."
"Thanks, Tio Josh."
Shortly after that Matt and Helen join us. Neither of them is wearing a costume. I really do sort of get where Peter's coming from.
The First Family gets a few family photos and then we head down to the Motorcade. Helen is carrying Miranda's tutu so I guess that answers that question. As they slide into the Limo, I put Lulu in her car seat in our SUV as Donna goes around to the other side. Then I climb beside her. I quickly finish buckling Lulu as we start moving. Then I give Donna the look and she puts her seatbelt on too. Donna doesn't think it's necessary when we are actually part of the Presidential motorcade, but I do. You never know what could happen. And for Lulu's sake we need to consistently put her in her car seat and model good behavior by using our own seat belts. I'm non-negotiable on this.
Since there is no traffic it doesn't take nearly as long as normal to get out to Tacoma Park. Andy is up for reelection, so this is a combination photo op and campaign event. I can't wait to see all the kids together.
This is also a chance to have Matt and Toby meet. He's still a bit radio-active for the President, but I think if Matt actually meets Toby he might actually like him and see him for a person. I consider them both friends and I'd like them to be able to be in the same room together. Toby is a little disappointed not to be joining the trick or treating but at least he'll be there to see the Twins costumes.
After the agents clear the house, Andy greets us with her normal zeal. She's dressed as the Cat in the Hat. And she's making it look good. Not too sexy, but not too cartoonish. Whoever's doing her PR stuff is doing a good job. A few minutes later the twins run into the room. They are dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2, complete with blue wigs. They are adorable.
"Uncle Josh! Aunt Donna!" They each wrap themselves around one of our legs.
"Hello Thing 1!" I greet the twin attached to my knees.
"I'm Molly." Of course. I could tell, and even if I couldn't I could have guessed that she'd be Thing 1. Huck pretty much just follows her lead.
"Hi Huck." I greet him as well. "Nice hair."
When Miranda comes out of the bathroom with her tutu on, she immediately takes the Twins attention away from us. Miranda's 7 is just enough older than Molly's Five and a half that they can play together pretty well, but that Miranda clearly has the upper hand. Molly and Huck don't seem to mind and Miranda has so few playmates she doesn't care either.
I use the opportunity to join Matt and Toby in the living room.
"Hey man, good to see you. How's the fall semester going?"
"Most of my students are idiots, but there are a couple of bright ones."
"Outstanding."
"So what about the professors?"
"Them too."
"That's why we need to end Teacher tenure." Matt interjects. "Teacher who are idiots shouldn't be allow to teach just because they've managed to fly under the radar long enough."
Toby chuckles. "Well, the Teacher's unions are NEVER going to support that. They'll say that tenure protects good teachers from being fired for inappropriate reasons."
"But it also protects bad teachers from being fired for perfectly valid reasons." Matt volleys back.
"There are grounds and ways to fire tenured teachers when there is sufficient cause."
"But how often does that happen?"
"I don't know. I haven't studied the data. I'm fairly new to this profession. But I can tell you this, you aren't making many friends up there."
"I didn't do this to make friends."
"Well, you're going need a few to get re-elected, otherwise you better get a move on with your agenda, and hope it doesn't get reversed the minute you're out of office."
Matt just stares at Toby a minute. Then he breaks into a grin. "You've got no problem telling truth to power, do you?"
"No, sir."
"Daddy! It's time to trick or treat." Miranda interrupts the discussion.
"Okay, sweetheart." Matt stands up and then looks at Toby. "We aren't done with this conversation yet. Why don't you join us, Toby?"
"Thanks, but not during an election year for Andy. At least not yet. I'm not glowing quite as brightly these days, but I don't want to take any chances. I'll be here when you get back."
This is why I'd admire both these men. Matt Santos is his own man but he's open to ideas. I hope Toby can see that. And Toby is doing right by Andy and the kids the best he can. I'm pretty proud of him too.
Once we start actually trick or treating, Peter gets into the spirit of it. I remember this age, wanting to be a man, but still most of the time feeling so young. Hell, sometimes I still feel that way.
Andy's neighbors each give the kids large handfuls of candy. So even though we only stop at the 8 houses that have been vetted by the Secret Service, the kids buckets are almost full. It may have been a completely staged event but I don't think they have any complaints. I wonder how much of Lulu's candy I can get away with eating.
Back at the house, Miranda, Peter, Huck and Molly spread out and start counting and sorting their haul.
While Donna changes Lulu into pajamas, I join Matt and Toby in the den for a drink.
"There are some serious trade negotiations occurring in the other room." I tell them as Toby hands me a beer.
"Free trade creates better paying jobs." Toby offers with a smirk.
I can't help but grimace. I'm relieved that I'm not working for a Free Trader anymore. "You know it's more complicated than that, Toby."
Helen pokes her head into the room "Enough shop talk. It's time for us to get going. Miranda wants Molly to spend the night. Andy said it's up to you, Toby. I know you've only got them on the weekends."
"Yeah, it's fine. Huck and I will have a little one on one time tomorrow."
"Great. You and Andy can pick her up tomorrow around 3."
"You want me to come to the White House?" Toby looks from Helen to Matt in surprise, while Helen uses her eyebrow on Matt to send a message that it's time to let Toby back in.
Finally, Matt responds. "Yes, you should come pick her up. We can finish our talk about Teacher tenure."
"Okay."
On the way home, Lulu drinks her bottle then falls asleep. I'm not really surprised. I'm glad Donna told Steve to drive us straight home instead of stopping at the Residence.
I carry Lulu directly into the nursery and lay her down in her crib. I can't help but stare at her for a few minutes, running my hand over her auburn curls. "Goodnight baby girl. I love you so much." I whisper to her before I leave the room.
When I walk into the kitchen, I see that Donna is about to flip the calendar to November. My breath catches.
"Wait!"
Donna turns and looks at me in confusion. "What?"
"Don't turn the page to November. I'm not ready yet."
"Josh, what are you talking about?"
"When you turn the page, it'll be November and Lulu will be a year old. I'm just not ready yet."
I brace myself for Donna's teasing about how much more sentimental I am than she is, but her eyes are soft, and instead of turning the page on the calendar, she comes up and wraps her arms around me, and holds me securely.
"Josh. We can't stop time just by refusing to turn the calendar."
"I know."
"And we don't really want to stop her from growing up, do we? There so much more to life for her to discover! And we get to experience it with her. Aren't you looking forward to that?"
"Yeah, it's just that I blinked and the first year flew by! What if I blink again and she's heading to college?"
"I don't know." She smiles a bit sadly at me. "It might feel that way."
"Are you sure we can't stop time?"
"I'm sure. In three days she'll be a year old. Then it's mid-terms, then Lulu's Party. Then Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before you know it. We just have to enjoy each moment in time for what it's worth."
"It's really been 12 Months?"
"Yes. It really has."
"Okay. Turn the page."