Previously: Liz and Doug at the rally; Liz and Doug canvass together

Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: Man of the House

Chapter 36

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Previously: Abbey opened up to Jed about her unresolved emotions about the night she was attacked after she had nightmare; Doug Westin met Liz met at a GOTV rally during Jed's campaign (Chapter 8 of Changes); Liz and Doug canvass together on election day (Chapter 23 of Changes) and run into each other once again on Zoey's birthday (Chapter 24 of Changes)

Summary: Liz and Abbey bond when they attend the Take Back the Night rally together; Liz is surprised to see Doug again and even more surprised when Abbey accuses her of flirting with him; Jed spends time to Ellie and Zoey; the girls try to talk their parents into a family vacation

Take Back the Night was the name of the international march to condemn violence against women. Ever since the very first rally held in Belgium in the 1970s, communities across the United States took part in the annual tradition, usually sponsored by women's groups on college campuses from Maine to California and everywhere in between.

But it was more than just a rally. The program included a candlelight vigil where survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes told their stories through moving testimonials that united them in their cause. It was a way to reclaim their safety, a way to put an end to the word 'victim,' to take back control of their lives and snatch the power of fear away from their assailants.

When Liz's high school teamed up with the University of New Hampshire's Manchester campus, the socially and politically active teen volunteered to help organize the march, making it a part of that spring's pre-prom festivities, and as vice president of her junior class, she was given full autonomy by the Student Government Association. After all, no one in the club knew the affects of violence against women better than she did.

She was only 11 years old when Abbey was attacked by a maniac out to settle a score. She remembered the night her mother didn't come home. She remembered the concern she felt when Abbey didn't call after her shift at the hospital. That concern turned into fear and as the minutes ticked by without a word, she confronted a nightmare most of her friends just couldn't comprehend.

It was Jed who went out looking for Abbey that night while Liz and four-year-old Ellie stayed with the sitter. She'd never forget how every time the phone rang, Ellie, sensing something was wrong but not quite understanding what, would run over to answer it, her voice optimistic with the hope that it was Abbey.

"Mommy?" she'd answer over and over again in her sweet childlike tone, only to be disappointed into tears when she was greeted by a stranger on the line.

The police eventually located Abbey, who had stumbled into the hospital and collapsed after being traumatized by a man she didn't even know. She hadn't been raped, but the emotional scars left by her attacker changed her life - and Liz's - forever. So when the high school junior learned that she could play a part in a rally known for supporting women like her mother, she jumped at the chance, not only for herself, but as a heartfelt tribute to the woman she had loved and admired since the day she was born.

Abbey was proud of her. It was one thing to join sports teams and school clubs, but taking on something like a Take Back the Night rally when so many other teenagers turned an apathetic ear, said a lot about Liz and her willingness to fight for causes she considered important. It was a testament to the civic-minded duty that was as much a part of her as her long brown hair, and it was proof positive that her determination was her guiding force.

If only she could scrape together some of the spunk her daughter had, Abbey thought as she tried to calm the anxiety that had crept up on her during the drive. She wasn't yet ready to battle her demons. Not in public anyway. She needed more time to come to terms with the impact of her attack before she could even think about sharing it with others.

Liz turned the curb to pull into the parking lot at UNH, stopped the car, then noticed her mom sitting in the passenger's seat, pressing two fingers to her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Checking my pulse."

"Mom."

"You'll be happy to know it's returning to normal."

"Admit it, I'm a better drive than you give me credit for."

Abbey smiled at her in way that merely acknowledged her statement. "The jury's still out."

Pulling the key out of the ignition, Liz opened her door and got out of the car. She knew this rally could be hard for Abbey; she knew how much strength it took just to come. And even if she hadn't known it before, one look at Abbey's face now would have told her all that and more.

"You don't have to if you don't want," she offered.

"What?"

"You don't have to go to this thing. It's okay. We can get back in the car and I'll take you home."

"What are you talking about? I want to be here."

"Are you just saying that because of me?"

"No." Abbey took a beat, then added, "Well, not completely. I am here because of you. But I'm glad I'm here, and that's because of me. I want to be here. Just don't make me get up and give one of those testimonials, okay?"

"I promise," Liz replied sincerely. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"I know how awful it was for you when that jerk got out of jail. And with Dad living in DC, it must have made things worse. You were scared, weren't you?"

"It showed?"

"No. You never showed it."

"I must have shown it if you knew."

"I knew because I know you." Elizabeth was many things. Perceptive was definitely one of them.

"The only time I was worried was the first night he was out. I had to get used to the idea."

"And you did. It was great, the way you handled it. Other women might have been terrified of every shadow lurking around the corner, but you went on with life as if he wasn't even worth your time, worth your sanity. I think that's incredible."

"Are you buttering me up for something?"

"No. I just think you're super cool, that's all. I hope that one day, I'm as strong as you."

Liz had no idea how much it touched Abbey to hear that. During the drive, she had been wishing she could be more like her daughter and here Liz was wanting exactly the same. For the first time in a long time, Abbey felt as close to her as she had when she was a little girl, when every playtime involved a romp through her parent's closet to wobble around in high heels and one of Abbey's dresses so she could pretend she was mother, and bedtime, which was never complete without a goodnight kiss and a soft-spoken pledge from Lizzie that she wanted to be just like her mom when she grew up.

Wrapping her arm around her, Abbey brought Liz close enough to press a kiss to her forehead and said, "You already are."

Together, the duo forged ahead towards the registration post.

"Daddy, how come when you see birds sitting on a wire, there's always one bird that's all by itself?"

"I don't know, Zoey. That's a really good question."

Jed sat on the side of the tub to help Zoey with her bath. He missed this time with her. When Liz and Ellie were young, Abbey was so busy in med school and residency that evening baths were usually his responsibility. He never complained. It was a time to bond with his daughters, to talk about cartoons or storybooks or anything else they wanted to tell him. Now that he spent most of his nights in DC, he had to depend on the weekends to connect similarly with Zoey.

"How come in Snow White, Snow White falls down and dies without swallowing the bite of the apple?"

"She does swallow the apple."

"Uh uh!" Zoey insisted with an earnest shake of her head. "I saw with my own eyes! She doesn't swallow, she only bites."

"Yeah? Hmm, I don't know then. Maybe it's the kind of poison that travels through her lips?"

The five-year-old scrunched up her face. "What kind of poison is that?"

"I really don't know." He poured a pail of water over her head to rinse the conditioner off her hair.

"How come the TV doesn't have a channel one?"

"Well...um..." Determined not to give her another shrug of his shoulders, Jed searched his brain for a decent answer, but when he couldn't come up with one, he was left with only one option. "I don't know, Zoey."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"What DO you know?"

"For your information, missy, I know a lot."

She giggled in response to his tone and to being called 'missy.' "Like what?"

"Like..." He retrieved a fluffy blue towel from the hook behind the door. "I know that in five minutes, The Sound of Music is on and if I don't get you out of here, we're going to miss the beginning."

"I don't wanna miss it." Zoey stood up and held out her arms for Jed to pick her up out of the tub.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Jed lifted her out. "Let's go get your jammies on."

Back at the rally, Abbey mingled as Liz helped guests sign in to get an official headcount. She was working dutifully alongside a faculty member from UNH and two coeds from the college's Women's Issues club, but as the line dwindled down, she was left by herself to help the lone male standing in front of her.

"Boy, you really get around," he said.

Liz glanced up from her clipboard to address him. "Is that a pick-up line of yours? Because if it is, I'm about clobber you with my clipboard."

It was Doug, the young man she had originally met when speaking during a political rally for Jed's congressional campaign at UNH last fall. He still looked the same to her - brown hair, brown eyes, and a silly grin that made him look clueless and cavalier at the same time.

"It's not a pick-up line, just an observation."

"What are you doing here?"

"Helping to take back the night?" he replied, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"This is for women."

"And men. They're allowed to come."

"I didn't say they weren't allowed to come. I'm just surprised that you'd be interested in this."

"I'm joining my sister. She...um..." he stumbled slightly. "She was date-raped her first year in college."

"Oh." Liz handed him the sign-in sheet and a pen. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I thought you were here just to mock it or something."

"I would never do that."

"I get that now."

"What else can I enlighten you about? Or would you rather stand there and think me a jerk instead of accepting the possibility that your assumptions about me are wrong and that I'm quite a nice guy and you'd be head over heels in love with me if you gave me a chance?"

"You see, that's the attitude that made me doubt you."

"What attitude?"

"That arrogant, superior air of egocentric narcism." She was outraged when he chuckled. "Why are you laughing?"

"It's amusing how many words you need to call me vain."

"That's because you wouldn't understand if I used only one."

"Elizabeth," Abbey intervened after she overheard the banter between the two. "Do you want to introduce me?"

"This is Doug Westin," Liz told her.

Doug extended his hand to Abbey. "We've already met, Mrs. Bartlet. I was one of the volunteers on your husband's campaign last year."

"Oh, well, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Wanting to clarify, Liz added, "He only volunteered so he could hit on me."

"I did not. How would you know my motives?"

"Because Teri said that your first night on, you asked when election day was."

"So?"

"So, why would anyone who really cares about a political campaign not even know when election day was? You even told me at the GOTV rally that politics wasn't your thing and that you weren't even planning to vote."

"So I changed my mind. Sue me."

"You only showed up at the campaign because I turned you down at the rally."

"You didn't turn me down. You spent time explaining - in a partisan way, mind you - why I should vote for your dad after you made me register. Is it my fault you were so convincing that I had to visit campaign headquarters to see what all the fuss was about?"

"And to hit on me."

"You wish."

"Then why did you manipulate your way into my canvassing group on election day?"

"I knew you liked me. I was trying to do you a favor and make it easy for you."

"He's loopy," Liz told Abbey.

"She's in denial about the fact that she thinks I'm cute," Doug countered.

Liz ignored his statement and talked to her mother once again. "He's proof positive there's a clueless gene on the Y chromosome."

"She came into the bakery where I work to beg me to bake a birthday cake for her little sister in under an hour. She said I was her hero."

"You're such a liar! I never called you my hero!"

Caught in the middle, Abbey held up her hands. "Okay, enough. I had no idea you two had such a history."

"It's not something I'm proud of," Liz assured her as she got a look at the line forming behind Doug. "If you don't mind, I need to check these people in."

"I'll get out of the way, but I'll find you afterwards. I have more to say."

"I'll be sure to get my hands on a pair of earplugs in the meantime."

Amused, Doug roamed towards the amphitheater in the quad while Liz began greeting the people behind him, one eye steadily watching him as he put his arms around a woman she assumed must have been his sister.

"I have never seen you behave that way," Abbey whispered to her daughter.

"He gets under my skin."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"What?" Horrified, Liz covered her cheeks with her hands.

"And so was he. Now can you please explain to me what kind of flirting that was?"

"MOM! It was NOT flirting!"

"It was, Elizabeth. Your face is as red as my sweater."

"Flirting is supposed to be sweet and kind."

"Traditionally, yes. But when have you ever been traditional?"

"Mom!"

"Even when you were hammering him over the head, you had a big smile on your face and so did he. It confused the hell out of me."

"He's disturbed."

"Then why do you like him?"

"I don't like him."

"Baby doll, you can deny it if you want, but I know what I saw."

"Are you trying to set us up or something?"

"I'm doing no such thing." Abbey impishly denied her intentions.

"He's a 19-year-old sophomore in college."

That did it. Given his behavior, Abbey had assumed Doug was Liz's age. But now that she knew the truth, she wiped the grin off her face and in her strictest motherly tone said, "Forget I said anything. You're not allowed to talk to him ever again."

Liz didn't admit it, but Abbey was right. There was something in Doug that piqued her interest. His personality intrigued her and though she hated feeling even a little bit attracted to him, the truth was, she liked the way he always managed to engage her in conversation, even if it was the kind of choppy and pointed banter they had just exchanged. He was different than the boys she was used to. He wasn't pulling his prince charming act, he wasn't falling all over himself to ask her out or to get her phone number. He was just himself and, at least on some level, that appealed to her.

At the farmhouse, Jed was camping out on the large plush sofa in the family room watching The Sound of Music with Ellie and Zoey. He expected both girls to fall asleep before it ended, but no matter how many times they had seen it, sleeping was out of the question. As the movie reached its finale and the old grandfather clock struck 9 p.m., he turned off the television and grabbed the large bowl that held leftover kernels of popcorn.

"Time for bed. Come on, I'll walk you both up." His announcement fell on deaf ears. He wandered out of the family room by himself, returning seconds later to find Ellie and Zoey still on the sofa. "Ladies?"

"I hate going to bed," Ellie whined as she reluctantly rose to her feet.

"You can hate it even in dreamland."

"Don't think I won't," she grumbled on her way out of the family room.

"Zoey?"

"I don't wanna go to bed."

"It's past your bedtime."

"I know."

"It's a school night."

"I don't wanna go to bed."

"Well, let's see. It's a school night and it's past your bedtime. You really think there's going to be much negotiation here?"

"Let's play tag!"

Typical, he thought. Zoey was a wiz at trying to get out of going to bed. "Not tonight."

She smacked his arm and fled before he knew what hit him. "You're it!"

"ZOEY!" Jed shouted. "Get back here!"

"You have to catch me!"

"You're asking for it!" Looking up to the heavens, he sighed, and then took off after her.

"You can't catch me," she taunted. "You can't catch me!"

Zoey ran into the living room, circling the sofa once and the loveseat twice, followed by a hurdle over the coffee table as Jed chased her. He paused on the side opposite the preschooler, taking predatory steps as if he was about to trap her behind the end table. Father and daughter squared off for a solid minute before Jed grabbed her by her arms and tossed her into the air.

"I GOT YOU! Now what are you going to do?"

"DADDY!" she giggled and shrieked so loud, she lost her breath.

Jed showed her no mercy. He tickled her relentlessly. Only when she started coughing from the excitement, did he ease up. "You okay?"

Zoey coughed once more. "My stomach hurts."

Holding her in his arms, he pushed her soft strawberry bangs off her forehead. "I'm sorry. Let's go brush your teeth and then I'll read you a story."

Zoey held on to him, her upper body twisting to see in front of her as he carried her toward the stairs. Just as they approached the foyer, they heard the sound of keys jiggling the lock. With one arm around Zoey, Jed extended his other to turn the knob and help Liz and Abbey in.

"Is this your idea of putting them to bed on time?" Abbey held out her hands to her youngest daughter, disapprovingly shaking her head at her husband as he transferred Zoey to her arms.

"We're getting there."

"Where's Ellie?" Liz asked.

"Upstairs, getting ready for bed."

Liz ran up the steps in search of her sister.

"Mommy, my tummy hurts. Daddy was too rough with me."

Abbey cocked a brow at Jed.

"Zoey Patricia Bartlet." With just the tone of his voice, Jed challenged her.

"You were!"

That devilish twinkle in her eye didn't go unnoticed by Abbey. If Jed had been too rough with her, it was undoubtedly because Zoey wanted him to be. She loved her baby girl, but she was fully aware that Zoey had a definite, though harmless, mischievous streak inside her and the object of her playfully wayward schemes was usually Jed. He was so good-natured about the way his daughters manipulated him that it made him a fun target for all three of them.

"Tell your mother the truth." Jed's stare moved from Zoey to Abbey. "She's trying to get me in trouble."

Abbey feigned skepticism. "Not my little angel. She'd never do that."

"She's a devil in disguise, I tell you."

"Well, I think it's time I get this little devil upstairs."

Liz and Ellie bounded down the stairs before Abbey could take her first step.

"No, wait!" Liz demanded. "Family meeting."

"Now?" Jed glanced at his watch.

"Yeah, it's important."

"It's late. You guys have school in the morning."

"Please, Dad. You're leaving for Washington tomorrow afternoon. If we don't do it now, we have to wait a whole week."

Abbey set Zoey down and she and Jed agreed to follow their girls to the living room where Liz quickly set up a presentation easel with a map of the United States on the first page of the pad. Florida had been highlighted and the script beside it read, "Reasons for a Bartlet Family Vacation in Florida."

They knew they were being cornered with a plan that had obviously been hatched long before they were summoned to the meeting, long before the rally even. They took their seats on the sofa anyway, and listened with an open mind.

"As you know, Ellie just won a trip to Space Camp," Liz began. "The three of us think this could be something the whole family could get into. It'll be educational, fun, and even romantic. So sit back, relax, and listen to all the reasons we think a trip to Florida is exactly what we all need this summer!"

Ellie continued where Liz left off with a nod of support from her big sister. "First off, we can all learn something at Cape Canaveral. Did you know that they have a tour and a program for kids Zoey's age? They have a museum and a whole seminar on the history of space just for you, Daddy. Also, if we all go to Florida, then it takes the pressure off me. I only have one extra ticket and I don't know who to give it to. I can't choose between my own mother and father. If we all go, I won't have to."

She flipped the page to a picture that immediately brought back fond memories for Jed and Abbey - 10-year-old Lizzie and 4-year-old Ellie, each wearing Mickey Mouse hats and sunglasses and standing on either side of Cinderella in front the enchanted castle at Disney World.

It was Zoey's turn to speak now. The five-year-old replaced her sister at the easel just in time to deliver a speech Liz had spent two days teaching her. "I've never been to Disney World and I think that's very unfair because you already took Ellie and Lizzie. I'm not in any of the pictures and I feel left out and I always will unless we go back."

Abbey tilted her head sympathetically while Jed crossed his arms over his chest with a tight-lipped grin. Zoey had obviously been coached Elizabeth, he guessed. His eldest daughter was notorious for knowing exactly how to reach her parents to get what she wanted.

"I want to see It's A Small World," Zoey went on, "and the Peter Pan ride and the teacups and the Disney Castle and the parade and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and Cinderella and Snow White and Goofy and..."

Liz approached the young girl, but Zoey fought her off, insisting she had more to say. Liz bent down to whisper into Zoey's ear, presumably promising a game of Candyland or something to get her to end her lecture. Zoey agreed to whatever Liz bribed her with, flipped the page once again - this time to a picture of a white sandy beach and sapphire blue water - and handed the presentation back to Elizabeth. Liz took her place at the easel and led Jed and Abbey into the last part of the presentation.

"The beaches in Florida are completely different from the beaches here in New England. There's more sand, more sun, and a lot more waves down there. Think about all the family time we'll have, playing out in the water all day long, building sand castles and burying Dad at the water's edge so he can scream that we're going to let him drown in the tide, the way he always does."

Abbey looked over at Jed, chuckling. He pinched her arm.

"And at night," Liz told them after she turned the page to a picture of a man and a woman holding hands on a moonlit beach. "Think of the romantic walks along the water. You could cuddle up on the balcony of our hotel room and watch the sun rise. It'd be too cold to that in New Hampshire. In Florida, you could even swim in the beach at two o'clock in the morning if you wanted." She turned another page. "Something else that I feel I must bring to your attention is that the University of Miami is on my list of possible colleges. During this trip, we can take a tour of the campus so that I know what I'm getting myself into if I decide to go there. And if you guys don't wanna come, that's fine too. I'll just rent a car and drive down to Miami by myself."

That little statement spurred protest in Jed. "All right, hold on."

"Wait, Dad. I'm almost finished."

"It's my turn to speak."

"Mom?"

Abbey laid her hand over Jed's. "Let her finish and then we'll have our say."

He grouched as he sat back.

Liz turned yet another page. "Did you know that Everglades National Park is only a few hours away? They have boat rides and wilderness campsites with great hiking trails for Mom." And finally, one last page. "Last but not least, what trip to Florida would be complete without a shopping spree, right Mom? There are great places to shop in Daytona, Miami, and even Orlando. Remember when we went to St. Armands Circle in Sarasota? Dad, you bought Mom that jade necklace she still wears. I think it's time for an upgrade."

"I think it's time for a muzzle," he said.

"Grow some patience, Dad," Liz teased in a similar tone. "So in conclusion, the three of us think a vacation in Florida would a pretty good deal for the whole Bartlet clan. We hope you'll agree that it's a trip we can't afford to miss!"

"Is that it?" Abbey asked.

"Yes."

"Are you ready to hear what we have to say?"

Feeling the bad news coming on, Ellie sighed, "I guess."

"Good, come over here." Abbey held her hand out to Zoey and Ellie to invite them to sit beside her on the sofa while Jed scooted over to make room for Liz to sit between him and Abbey. She then looked over to Jed. "You want to go first or should I?"

"I'll go first." Jed addressed Liz. "Regardless of anything else we say here, I want you to know that you renting a car and driving to Miami by yourself was a non-starter, no matter what we thought about the rest of the itinerary."

"It's for college."

"Fine. Like I've been saying all along, give me a list of three colleges that you want to see outside of New England and I'll buy the plane tickets and take you there myself. But you driving around Florida without me or your mom is a fantasy."

"I'm almost an adult."

"'Almost' being the operative word. If you want to visit UM, we'll go together."

"In July?"

"Sure, as long as you understand that while we're at Cape Canaveral, I'm going to be with Ellie during the days and that means that you have to stay in the hotel room until we get out of the Space Camp activities."

"WHAT? Why can't I hang out at the beach? It's only a short drive away!"

"Forget it. I don't want you running around by yourself getting into trouble. If you come along, you'll either tour the museum right there at the space center or stay in the hotel until the evenings."

"Every single day? What's the point of even going?"

"The point, Elizabeth, is to learn something about space travel."

"I don't care about space travel," she complained.

"Well, then, I guess you'll stay in New Hampshire."

"What about UM?"

"In the fall, we'll meet with UM admissions people if that's what you want."

"The fall? Dad, this was the summer I was going to learn to surf!"

"Since when?"

"Since Ellie won the science fair." She strengthened her voice after Jed laughed, "Hey, just because it hasn't been a lifelong goal or anything doesn't mean it's any less important to me. Anyway, if we all go, Zoey and I can hang out with Mom while you're with Ellie."

Jed passed the torch over to Abbey. "You want to weigh in?"

"I do," she said. "Ellie, we never would have made you choose between us."

"Then we're all gonna go?"

"No, sweetheart."

"Then how will we decide which one of you is going?"

"It's already decided. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it."

"You won't?"

"Space Camp is in July. I'll be training a new crop of residents."

July was a very busy month for Abbey and though she might have been able to pull some strings and plead with her colleagues to take over the residency training, she decided not to. It would have been unfair to them, she thought, and since Jed would be finishing up his legislative session in the early summer, letting him chaperone Ellie to Cape Canaveral would allow the two of them the chance to experience it all together. After all, he enjoyed the subject of space exploration as much as Ellie did and certainly much more than Abbey did.

But while Abbey plotted out her reasons with the best of intentions, Ellie was disappointed about what it all meant. She glanced up at her parents. "I guess that's it then. We won't be able to talk you into it if Mom has to work."

"Mommy always has to work!" Zoey huffed.

"She doesn't always have to work," Jed corrected his youngest daughter. "But this year, we planned our summer vacation in August so she worked it out with Dr. Nolan to take the time off then. If she changes it now, he'll have to change his plans too and that's not exactly fair, is it?"

"No," Liz agreed.

"What about Disney World?" That was Zoey's top priority.

"As for Disney World," Abbey started, "Are you girls forgetting that you sat us down and begged us to take you to Busch Gardens for spring break?"

Ellie chimed in to remind her, "That's spring break. This is over the summer."

"This summer's trip is already planned. We planned it last year, remember? We agreed on Yosemite."

"Oh yeah."

"How could you forget that?" Jed exaggerated his shock. "We have a whole week of hikes and bike rides and sight-seeing planned. Yosemite's going to be so much fun, you're going to be begging to go every year!"

"It won't be as fun as Disney World," Zoey assured him.

"Disney World in July is a place you don't want to be. It's crowded, it's hot, it's humid. We were there all of ten minutes last time and I felt like I was breathing water. I swear, I thought I was going to grow gills." He looked to Liz for the truly horrifying statement, "It's terrible hair weather."

Abbey knew what Jed was doing, making it sound miserable in an effort to cheer them up. She decided to help him. "You probably don't remember, Lizzie, but the lines were very long and both you and Ellie got sunburned."

It didn't work.

If they were saying no to all three of them, it wouldn't have been a problem, but denying Liz and Zoey from tagging along on a trip that Ellie was going on was a bitter pill to swallow. Confronted by the two long faces before him, Jed looked to Abbey for the go-ahead to reach a compromise with their girls.

"You know," he said, "Yosemite is in California. There's a small possibility that maybe we could be persuaded to get there a couple of days earlier than planned, spend a day surfing on the coast, and stop at Disneyland on our way to the park."

And suddenly, those long faces beamed with enthusiasm as Liz, who had been slouching, sat bolt upright. "REALLY?"

Ellie asked again to be sure. "We can go to Disneyland?"

"Hang on, I said MAYBE. It's not a done deal. You still have some persuading to do."

"Fine, anything," Liz volunteered. "What kind of persuasion is needed?"

Abbey jumped in to answer her. "We'll talk about it in the morning. You guys have to get to bed so that you can wake up early enough tomorrow for a big family breakfast, the way we used to."

"But tomorrow's Monday. We always just grab something on the weekdays."

"That's why I said 'the way we used to.' Over your bacon and eggs, you can convince us to leave for California a day or two earlier than planned."

"Pancakes too?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, pancakes too, just for you. But you need to go to bed right now, deal?"

In agreement, Zoey, Ellie, and Liz accepted the deal, then headed upstairs as Jed and Abbey followed them to the foot of the stairs.

"I'm so excited," Ellie gushed.

"Surfing in Malibu, can you believe it?"

As they hit the top landing and rounded the corner to their bedrooms, Zoey's voice echoed, "Is Disneyland like Disney World?"

Once they were out of earshot, Jed grinned adoringly at his wife. "Thanks."

"What for?"

"Breakfast in the morning. I miss that...a lot."

"I know you do." She took his hand and swung their arms back and forth. "By the way, this is what I was talking about before, in the orchard. You spoil them rotten, and not just Zoey, all of them."

"Guilty as charged." Jed did spoil them. He wanted them to have the childhood he didn't, to never spend a moment of their young lives feeling sad.

"They're going to think they can run every vacation from now on."

"They do that anyway. And don't you dare sound all accusatory," he said. "You were an accessory to this crime."

"Yeah, we need to reassess this good-cop-bad-cop thing. I'd like to be the hero for once."

"Okay. I'll go up there and tell them the deal's off and you can come in after a few minutes and save the day."

"I don't want to play mind games."

"Well then, screw this time. Next time, I'll be the ogre who puts them in time-out and you come in and offer them candy."

"Jed." She was less than impressed with that arrangement as well.

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing." She smiled.

"How'd it go tonight?"

"Well. Better than I thought actually."

"Good."

"You're my touchstone, you know that? I would have been a wreck all day without you."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did. Promise me you'll always be there to knock some sense into me when I start to have a meltdown like I did this morning."

"Is that all you want?" Their arms entangled, he squeezed their fingers together until their wedding rings clinked. "I've been the ying to your yang for 18 years, Sweet Knees. You just try to stop me now."

TBC