I'm glad Josh took Mom out of the room and everyone else followed. I'm so mad at my mother I could spit. How dare she say something like that! And in front of Mom. I glare at her. Her eyes are blazing back at me.

"You've completely shut me out of your life, Donnatella. You never call. You didn't even tell me that you changed the nursery theme. I wouldn't have made a pink blanket!"

This is about the blanket? I love the pink blanket.

"I'm sorry I forgot to tell you that I changed my mind from pink & sage, Mom. But I still love the blanket. A girl needs a little pink in her life! And she'll keep it forever because it'll be her special blanket from Grandma Moss. And you know, the phone goes both ways. You could call me sometime."

"Well, since Sylvia's getting a rocking chair, we can buy the stroller. You didn't get one."

"Mom, you don't have to do that."

"No, we want to. Do you have one picked out? We can go online and order it right now."

"Mom, it's too much. You don't need to do this."

"Donna, just show me. Please."

Alright, I really need to sit down anyway. And I don't really want to fight with her. "My laptop's in our bedroom."

I march back through the living room without saying anything. Josh raises his eyebrows but I shake my head, and he shoots me a slow wink. I'm glad he's staying out of this. Mom follows behind me.

"This is your room?"

"Didn't Josh show you the apartment earlier?"

"Well, yeah, but not your room because you were taking a shower."

Oh. Of course. "Well, this is our room," I throw my arm out in a circle. "Josh has had this furntiture for a while, but he bought me this dresser after we got married. And I replaced the sheets and towels, and added these little throw pillows. We have an en suite through here."

I open the door and she pokes her head in. I hope she doesn't think its too dirty. The maid cleaned yesterday, and I did hang my towel up and wiped the sink down this morning.

"This is really nice, sweetie. I'm glad you've added your own touches. Now, can you show me the stroller?"

Damn. I kind of hoped she'd forget. But I sit in the chair and pull up the website. As I'm doing it, Mom pulls the footstool over and sits next to me. When I'm at the right spot, I turn the computer so she can see it.

"Donna! That's a $500 stroller! Why would you pick something this expensive? Were you hoping that the President would buy it for you or something?"

"No Mom. We plan on buying it ourselves."

"That's a waste of money. You should be saving for a house, so you can get out of this Brownstone."

"We can afford a house when we're ready. We like this Brownstone. Money isn't the issue."

"It isn't?"

"No." I say softly. We haven't ever really talked about our finances with my parents and I'm hesitant to start now. "Josh actually owns this whole building, Mom."

"Then why do you insist on working?"

"Mom, I'm not going to fight with you about this. My working isn't about the money. It's about making this world a better place. For my children. For my nieces and nephews. For you. For everyone. I know you really don't understand that what I do is important, but it is. And my decision to work is between me and Josh. NOT between me and you."

Oh. Sometimes she just makes me so mad. My head is pounding and my back kind of hurts. I need a break.

"Listen, Mom. I don't want to fight with you. I know there are a lot of things we don't see eye to eye about but you ARE my Mother and I do love you. You don't need to buy a stroller just because Sylvia is buying a chair. This isn't a competition. But if you really want to, you can take my laptop to the living room and Josh will help you. But I need to lay down for a little while, okay? Then we'll take you out sight-seeing and have a nice dinner."

"Okay." My Mom says softly as I haul myself out of the chair, and set the laptop down. I head to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I hope she'll leave the room before I get done.

Sure enough, she's gone when I come back out. But Josh is sitting in the chair waiting for me. I join him, sitting on his lap. He only "oofs" a little, so I only smack him lightly on the arm before I rest my head on his shoulder.

He immediately starts stroking my head, then asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm sorry my Mom wasn't very nice. Is your Mom okay?"

"Yes, she's got thick skin. Plus Carly and Anna are out there entertaining her with all sorts of stories."

"Well, that's good. What's Bella doing?"

"Ainsley is showing her wedding pictures. Bella is totally into it."

"Sam and Ainsley are here? I should come back out there."

"Your Mom said you were going to take nap. If you want to lay down for a while, you should. You don't have to play hostess. Sam and Ainsley will understand. I'm sure they are going to head home soon anyway. I could leave Mom here with you, and take your family over to the hotel and get them settled, then we can come back for you. I made dinner reservations at Old Ebbitt's. After dinner, we can take them to see a few of the monuments."

"Okay. That sounds like a good plan." I get up and head toward the bed. I really could use just a few minutes rest.

Josh tucks me in, kisses my forehead and leaves the room.

When I open my eyes again, I'm not sure whether they are all leaving or all arriving, but there are a lot of voices. Well, even if I only have been a sleep a few minutes, I need to pee. When I roll over I spot the clock. Oh. It's almost 6. Guess I slept for more than a few minutes.

When I come out of the bathroom, Josh is waiting again. "Morning, Sunshine! Did you have a good nap?"

"Yes." I answer, giving him a kiss.

"Ready for dinner?"

"Yes, but let me change. Sleeping in this dress didn't do it any favors."

He watches while I slip out of it and into some black pants and a blouse. He never misses an opportunity to watch me get even a little undressed. When I'm done, he gives me an unabashed grin. He's also not a bit apologetic for watching me. It's actually very flattering.

"Okay. I'm ready." I tell him taking his arm.

We manage to get all of us into the cars without much fuss. This time I end up with Bella and the girls, while Josh takes both Moms in the town car. I think that was intentional.

"After dinner, we'll go to the National Mall. The view from the top of the Washington Monument is really spectacular," I tell Carly and Bella, "isn't it Anna?"

"It's pretty cool." She confirms. Bella doesn't look that convinced. I don't think she really cares whether or not she sees the monuments. She's never really shown any interest in government, politics or history.

"Carly, is there any place that you want to go tomorrow?"

"Are we going to see the big statute of Abraham Lincoln on the chair?"

"Yes, that's the Lincoln Memorial. We'll go se that tonight. It looks really great all lit up."

I look at Bella. "Have you guys talk about a museum to visit tomorrow? You could fit in part of one of the Smithsonians before your flight back home."

"Anna really wanted to do the Newseum this summer. I thought maybe we'd go do that. I know you and Josh don't want to go, but you've probably already been to everything else too. We can just go on our own."

A shiver runs down my spine and I shutter a little. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that Anna looks embarrassed that her Mom brought it up. I take a deep breath and evaluate how I'm feeling. I'm a little disappointed, and a little relieved. I mean, they aren't here very long so it's kind of a shame not to spend more time together. On the other hand, Mom is on my last nerve, and I have homework I should really get done this weekend anyway.

"That's fine. We can explain how to use the subway, or you can get a cab. If you have enough time when you're done, we could meet for a late lunch or early dinner before your flight."

We pull into the alley of Old Ebbitt's and Bella looks confused.

"The secret service likes to take us in through the back."

The manager greets us by name. This is one of our favorite places to eat. We are fairly regulars now. "Cheese Sampler to start, Donna?"

"Yes, please!"

When we get to the Cabinet room, we see the Speaker of the House with his detail. He and Josh nod at each other. I cross my fingers that neither of them will bring up lobbying reform. I give Josh a look and he grins at me and steers me to my seat.

A few minutes later, the waitress brings our cheese tray and the menus. I don't need any time to look it over. Today I want a French Dip and French Fries! I see Mom and Bella's eyes get a little wide for a minute. This is a step above the type of place where they'd normally eat. Should I tell them that Josh is getting the bill?

Sylvia orders first, she gets a crab cake. Always a good choice. Anna orders a Mixed Green Salad with chicken. Carly orders chicken tenders and fries, which gets a grin from Josh, sometimes he orders that too. Mom is a little hesitant.

"I don't know, maybe I'll just get a salad."

"Please, get whatever you'd like, Mom." Josh encourages her. "It's not every day that I get to take 6 beautiful women out to dinner. This is my treat."

My Mom looks really please that Josh called her Mom. Maybe that evened the score a little in her mind.

"I'll get the Frutti de Mare." Carte blanche and she still picks pasta.

Bella looks up at the waitress. "I'll have the New York Strip. Medium please."

Bella's choice makes me cringe a little. She's never one to miss an opportunity. I don't really care about the price tag. It's just that I know she's not going to eat a 14 ounce steak. Maybe I'll have the leftovers tomorrow.

Josh is the last to order. He gets one of his standards, Steak Frites, well done.

The food is really good, as always. I probably ate too much. By the time we get to the National Mall, I feel like I'm waddling.

"I'm just going to sit here for a bit." I tell Josh making my way toward a bench facing the Memorial. "You go ahead."

Josh looks skeptical for a minute. So I give a little head nod toward Jackie, who is standing next to me. "I'll be fine."

"I'll say with Donna." His Mom tells him, and that seems to satisfy him. I can't help but chuckle. His Mom isn't going to keep me any safer than Jackie would!

Once Josh, My Mom, Bella, Anna and Carly head up the stairs, I realize it's a golden opportunity to ask Mom why Matt and Helen love her so much.

"So, Mom, what did you do on the campaign trail to make Helen Santos call you a miracle worker?"

"Oh, it was really nothing. You know, Joshua being Joshua."

"Come on, Mom, you've got to give me more than that."

"Well, apparently, he was being a tyrant. He lathered himself up into a tizzy, and he wasn't sleeping, and they were burning the candles at both ends. This was just after the nomination, so Leo was a little concerned. There was still a lot of campaign to go. He called me to make sure I was going to be at the Miami rally. He said he'd arrange for a car and driver, but that the Democratic Party needed me."

We both smile fondly at the memory of Leo.

"So I get there, and sure enough, Josh is spouting orders at everyone, going 100 miles an hour, and looking like a total zombie. So I grab him by the ear, just like I taught you, and I haul him back onto the bus. I make him sit down and lean against me. Then I started rubbing his head. He's out in 10 minutes. Once the rally was over, I made everyone sit on the bus with their eyes closed until we got to the airport."

I can totally picture all the staffers having a time out. I wish we'd had her on the bus as the campaign was winding down.

"President Santos offered to take Leo off the ticket and make me Vice-President if I'd join the campaign permanently. But I have my life in West Palm Beach, so I reminded Leo that I wasn't the only one who knew how to handle Joshua Lyman." She pats my hand.

"Are you saying that you suggested that Leo hire me to keep Josh in line?"

"Not at all, dear. I've been an active member of the Democratic party all my life. I simply reminded Leo that it was time for all hands on deck, and why were they leaving a valuable political operative on the sidelines just because my Son is pig-headed?"

"Thanks, Mom." I place a small kiss on her cheek.

"Of course, I did hope that just knowing you were on the same side again would bring Joshua around, and it did. I'm really glad it didn't take the two of you as long to sort things out this time."

"You're a good Mom. This is nice. It's just so easy to be with you. I don't feel so pressured. You just seem to understand me."

"You know, darling, sometimes being a Mother is hard. You feel so many things, and you don't know exactly what to say. But all you can do is try, and hope that your daughter forgives you for your mistakes. You know your Mom loves you right? Even when she doesn't do a good job of showing it."

"Yeah, but you agree she's not doing a good job right now, don't you?"

"Yes, darling, but she's still your Mother."

Speaking of Mothers, here comes mine now, along with the gang. Bella and Anna appear to be bickering over something, probably nothing important. Josh and Carly are walking behind them snickering.

From there we all head over to the Washington Monument. It's still a great view. It's always helped me see the big picture.

Still, I'm glad once we are back at home. Tomorrow we can sleep in a bit, get some work done, and then have an early dinner and say goodbye to my crazy family. Mom kisses us goodnight, and we head into our room.

Once Josh and I are in bed, he pulls me into his arms. Ah. My happy place.

"Hey, how ya doin'? Kind of a crazy day."

"Yeah, but this makes it better. I'm so glad we put my family at a hotel. My Mom is giving me a nutty."

"Yeah, I heard. . . . So, do you want to cross Leonora off the list, and just name her Olivia?"

"What?!"

Where is this coming from? He loves the name Leonora. I hear him whispering it to her in the mornings when he thinks I'm still asleep.

"You're the one doing all the work here. You suffered through all the morning sickness, and the swollen ankles, and the heartburn. You should get to pick her name. I wouldn't want you to use Leonora, just to make me, or your Mom, happy. Olivia is nice. I can live with it. Although, I probably will still call her Lulu a lot of the time. I'm pretty used to it now."

He really is the sweetest man. People have no idea. The truth is, I don't hate Leonora any more. I mean I wouldn't call her that very often, but ever since Memorial Day, the idea of naming her after Leo has really taken hold. In fact, I've been thinking that Leo isn't really that bad for a little girl.

Josh is still looking at me with so much love my heart feels like it's going to explode.

"I don't want to cross Leonora off the list. It's growing on me. Let's stick with the plan and wait until we meet her to decide. Okay?"

"Okay."