"Donna, I've got Regan Stevens on the line for you. She says that she's the decorator?" Karen's voice over the intercom sounds uncertain. I probably should have told her I was expecting a call.
"Oh yes! Put her through, please."
"Hello, Mrs. Lyman," a bubbly voice greets me as soon as the line clicks over. "Linda Green asked me to give you a call to discuss furnishing for your new house."
"Please, call me Donna, and yes! You're the decorator that staged the house before we saw it?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Please, just Donna." I remind her. "Anyway, I'm hoping you can help me. I've got this job, and I'm about to have a baby, and we need a lot of furniture. And I've never really worked with a decorator personally, and I have no idea how any of this works."
"Well, what I like to do is talk to you for a few minutes, get an idea of what colors and styles you like. Get an idea of your budget and how many rooms we're talking about, and then I'll send over a contract. And then I'll send over some suggestions for your approval and we'll get going. Does that sound alright?"
"That sounds fantastic, do you have time to talk about it now?"
Regan laughs. "Yes, of course. Let's start with what you liked about the house when you walked through it."
"I love the Turquoise front door. And the oranges in the dining room. In fact- if I could just buy that dining set, that would be perfect."
"So you like bold bright colors."
"Well yeah, but not all the time. Definitely not in the bedrooms. We need a place that feels calm and relaxing. You know, where we can wind down."
"Okay."
"And I like classic, timeless stuff, but not too formal. I want it to feel like a home. You know, cozy."
"So what colors make you feel that way?"
"I don't know. I really like the way our daughter's room turned out. It's painted a very light blue and has a lot of yellow."
"That sounds really nice- is the yellow bright or more buttery?"
"Buttery. It's a very soft color, if that makes sense."
"It makes perfect sense." She reassures me.
"In fact- I think I'd like to use the same colors in her room in the new house. We have a great oversized stuffed rocking chair that I want to keep, and I think that having Lulu's room be the same colors as it is now will help her feel at home faster in the new house."
"That's a very good idea. Okay. According to my notes, that home had 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, formal dining and sitting rooms on the main floor, a family room in the basement, and a study. And there is an outdoor living space, are you contracting my services for all of those rooms?"
"Yes, but we're actually going to use the study as a nursery for the time being, so one of the rooms on the top floor needs to function as an office, but if we can we'd also like it to do some double duty as guest space. I have a big family."
"Okay, that's not a problem."
"And we'd like to move in at the end of the month."
"THIS month?"
"Yes. We're closing on July 25th and I'd like to move in as soon as possible after that. This that a problem?"
"Well…" she hesitates a little, "no, but it may limit some choices on furnishings. We won't be able to custom order stuff that quickly- even if we expedite it. But don't worry about it! I'll figure it out!"
I appreciate the way she just talked herself into being able to handle the job. That goes a long way with me. And I really do want to move in as soon as we can.
. . . . .
I think I might be losing my mind just a little bit, because for the life of me, I do not remember having this meeting with Annabeth on my calendar. And I can't think of a reason why we need to meet in the Blue room to talk about the Ambassador's visit next month. Shouldn't the Social Secretary be handling any reception? It's not like I'm going to be around anyway. I'll be out on maternity leave. Maybe that's why I can't remember what this is about.
Anyway. I hope it's quick because Josh is supposed to be meeting me for lunch and I'm starving.
"SURPRISE MAMA!" Lulu yells at the top of her voice when I walk into the room.
She's standing on a chair, at a large round table, surrounded by all the ladies of the White House, who are grinning at my shock.
I am, indeed, very surprised. "What is this?" I manage to stammer out.
"Oh, it's a little sprinkle for you and the baby. Just so you know how much we love you." Helen explains.
"There are cupcakes, Mama!" Lulu informs me as she bounces a little on the seat. But Sylvia has a hand on her arm keeping her steady, so I'm not too concerned.
"Sylvia! I thought you weren't going to be here until Friday?"
"A little birdie told me about the party and I didn't want to miss it. I hope that's okay?" She beams at me.
"Of course. I'm glad you're here." I look around the room at everyone. "I can't believe this. You really surprised me!"
Everyone looks absolutely delighted to have accomplished that feat. I'm just stunned that they could pull this off.
"Okay, everyone, let's take our seats." Margaret announces, guiding me over to a spot near Lulu.
The luncheon is perfectly delightful. Someone must have told the chelf to serve all of my favorite things from the White House kitchen. I'm really glad this is being served family style rather than plated. I swear I could eat a dozen of the mini-crossiants stuffed with chicken salad. The kind with cranberries. I've got to get Chef Milos to give me the recipe. But I limit myself to two and also take a healthy portion of fruit and spinach salad.
Lulu wrinkles her nose and shakes her head at everything except the fruit, but Nicole puts a sandwich on her plate anyway and whispers something into her ear. Lulu nods in agreement so I'm not going to worry about it. If she doesn't eat now, we'll find something for her later. I'm not getting into a battle over it.
Forty-five minutes passed in a blur of pleasant conversation. It really nice to see all the ladies of the administration chatting happily about personal matters and life in general. Away from this type of environment, these women are formidable. But it's good to see them relax. I'm so glad that we're all friends.
"Okay, it's present time!" Edie announces, standing up and moving a chair over to a small table covered with gifts.
"Oh you guys! You didn't have to get us anything."
"And miss out on buying cute baby clothes? Give my ovaries a break!" Ginger barks back. "Open mine, first!"
Everyone laughs at our exchange, but quickly settle down once I start unwrapping the packages. They really didn't hold back and soon instead of a mound of packages, I've got a mound of the most adorable baby boy clothes.
"I still can't get over these, Lou! Thank you!" I tell her as I show everyone the tiny black converse. Lulu is dancing around the room in a matching purple pair. It was incredibly nice of Lou to think of her as well.
She wasn't the only one. Lulu now has several "Big Sister" shirts and three dresses that match an outfit for the baby. She's in heaven. And so am I.
. . . .
I'm just so tired. It's practically impossible to keep my eyes open. And while I manage it, everything seems a bit blurry and disoriented. So I squint a little and re-read this email requesting the First Lady's presence at yet another inane event.
We can't say no to all of these. But I sure as hell am not saying yes unless I can figure out a way to tie it to a policy agenda or rally support for some vital piece of legislation. Matt and Helen don't have to run again. I don't want them to spend the last three years of this administration campaigning for other people. I want to accomplish something!
Eventually, I just can't take it anymore. This is ridiculous. I'm not even getting anything done at all. Maybe if I just shut my eyes for a few minutes.
. . . .
When I open my eyes, I see Josh sitting in a chair staring at me with an odd expression. A mixture of amusement and concern.
Looking around, it takes a minute for my brain to fully process where I am. My office. Laying on the couch. Why? It's a little fuzzy.
"What are you doing here?" I ask as I swing my legs around and sit up. Inside Jonah stretches too, lodging a foot into my ribs that makes me bite back a gasp.
Josh's brow furrows. "I was watching you sleep."
"Why?" I'm still very confused about what is happening right now.
"Donna, it's after 6. You've been asleep for almost 3 hours."
"No way." I glance at my watch. It's not that I don't believe him, it's just not possible."
"Yep. "
Damn. It really is 6:10.
"But I was just going to lay down on the couch and close my eyes for fifteen minutes before my staff meeting. What the hell happened?"
"Your deputy and your assistant made a command decision to let you sleep."
"How do you know this?"
"Karen told me. Apparently you told her to hold your calls for fifteen minutes, but when she came in to check on you a half hour later you were still asleep. Then when it was time for the meeting, Ashley just took care of it."
Well. That news doesn't really make me very happy. "Where are they?" I ask, maybe a bit sharply. "They should have woken me up."
"Don't be mad at them, Donna. They're your employees but they're also your friends. You're 38 weeks pregnant, they were just looking out for you." He responds softly, not really answering my question.
Then he moves over to the couch and wraps an arm around me. "I sent them home at 5:30. I thought about waking you up, but honestly, you haven't been sleeping that well lately. And if you were getting that much rest here of all places I just wanted you to get as much sleep as possible."
"Yeah, okay." I finally concede. I don't want to be mad at anyone. I'm just irritated. I hate feeling this way. I'm so ready for this pregnancy to be over. And Ashley is fully capable of running the staff meeting. She's up to speed on everything on my desk because she'll have to take over soon anyway.
"Where's Lulu?"
"She's still upstairs. She's helping Miranda and Helen make dinner. We've been asked to stay. Mom is having dinner with Jenny tonight, remember?"
"It would be nice not to cook."
"You just keep taking care of the bun in the oven." Josh jokes, rubbing my stomach lightly.
It's a terrible joke, but it makes me smile while I roll my eyes at him. I'm glad that he is still the same goofy Josh underneath everything else he's turned out to be. God, I just love him so much.
. . . .
"Hey, hey. It's Sleeping Beauty." Matt jokes when we walk into the kitchen in the residence.
Miranda and Lulu both look up in confusion, but when she sees me, Lulu's face bursts into a huge smile.
"Hi Mama!, Hi!" It's a nice change of pace, since Josh usually gets the bulk of her attention.
"Hi babydoll! What are you doing?"
"Makin' salad." She explains as she pours a bag of croutons into a bowl with lettuce in it. Matt is slicing some tomatoes for Miranda. It's a lovely domestic scene. It almost makes me forget where we are.
Sometimes I can't believe how lucky we are to work where we work. With people like this who have become our family. It's incredible.
"So, how's the shopping going?" Matt asks conversationally as he continues his task.
"Sylvia hired a decorator. I talked to her last week and she's taking care of everything thank goodness. She sent over a few color palettes for us to choose from and beyond that- I'm leaving it to her. I just don't have the time or mental energy for decorating."
"I remember when they were pushing me to make those kinds of decisions when we first moved here!" Helen chimes in. "Ugh! Like Matt cares what kind of flowers are in the mural room vases."
"Why would I care about that?" Matt asks.
"Exactly!" Helen points at him with her spoon and a bit of mashed potato goes flying towards him, causing everyone to laugh.
"I love my room!" Miranda announces. "It's pink and it's pretty. What color is your room, Lulu?"
"Pink!" Lulu declares enthusiastically agreeing with Miranda.
"Yellow, and light blue." I correct her gently, while giving Miranda a look asking for backup. I don't want Lulu to suddenly pick a new color scheme.
"Oh that sounds very pretty." Miranda responds, giving me a quick smile before turning back to Lulu. "I love yellow."
I really appreciate Miranda's perception. She's really become more like a big sister to Lulu and less like the baby of the family herself. I guess living in the White House really does mature everyone.
"I love yellow." Lulu quickly agrees. I suppose eventually I'll want her to have her own opinions but right now I'll take what I can get. I absolutely don't want to have to spend any extra time on decor stuff. Thank God for Sylvia's gift. And for Regan Stevens.
"Alright. Dinner's just about ready. Can one of you go get Peter, please?"
"I do it!" Lulu insists, sliding off her chair and running off to find him. Miranda follows her, just to make sure she's okay.
. . . .
By the time that dinner is over, I find myself fading again. How can I be so tired? I don't remember being this so utterly exhausted with Lulu.
Still, I'm not too tired to notice Josh flash a look at Matt, who lifts his eyebrows towards Helen. When she clears her throat, it becomes pretty obvious that I'm about to be ganged up on.
"So we were thinking . . ." Helen begins, gesturing at her accomplices, "maybe you should start your maternity leave early."
"No. That's not necessary. And there's a lot to do before the August recess. I don't want to lose any more of that time than necessary."
"You have a very good staff. They can handle it." Helen insists. "We'll be fine."
"But there's so much to do on the health care bill. The West Wing needs us."
"We do need you." Matt agrees. "But we need you and the baby safe and healthy. That's the most important thing."
Josh doesn't say anything. He just looks at me with his big brown eyes.
"The doctor said I was fine on Friday." I remind him. "She said I could keep working as long as I felt good."
"Do you feel good?" Josh asks in his most worried-wart way.
