******************

I forgot how peaceful my house can be at times. My

sisters and their children have gone to their

respective houses and my father has shut himself away

in his study, so it's just my brother Oz, my mother,

and I in the living room.

"So I hear you got a phone call today."

I look up from my book to give Oz a vicious glare. He

is the only one who understands why I do what I do.

That doesn't mean he's not above giving me grief about

it.

"Yes."

"From a man in DC."

"Drop it, Oz."

"Your boyfriend in DC." He's pissed that I didn't tell

him about it. I can hardly blame him. If it had been

true I would've told him the moment I got home.

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"No, I just want to torture you."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"Oswald, Donnatella, be quiet," my mother orders, but

her usual mix of annoyance and superiority is absent.

She's been like this since Josh called. I wonder

what's up.

"Yes, Donnatella, stop your childish prattle," Oz says

in a dead-on imitation of our great-aunt Elizabeth. I

laugh quietly and accept his subtle apology.

"Oswald, I wish to speak to your sister alone." He

nods and sends me a comforting look as he leaves. We

both know what's coming.

I'm about to be decapitated. The same thing happened

when I left Dr. Free Ride. She screamed and yelled and

guilted until I fled the house in tears. And- well,

you know what happened after that.

"So, you're in love with a politician."

"Yes." To my surprise I realize that I'm not lying.

Well, hello Mr. Epiphany. How nice of you to come and

join us.

"This Josh Lyman person."

"Yes." Wow. It just gets easier every time I say it.

"Good," she says curtly and goes back to her reading.

What? Huh? But...she...how?

"Huh?"

"I said good. And close your mouth, you look like a

cow."

"Good? That's it? No screaming? No guillotine?"

"No, though I could roll it out of the pantry if you

want it so badly." My mother is making jokes? What the

hell is going on here?

"Mother-"

"You know my opinion of politicians, Donnatella, but

that doesn't change the fact that you've finally found

the man you wanted. Neither of your sisters have found

that yet. I'm glad you have," she says, as if this

something I should already know.

"But you hate Josh!"

"I hate that job of yours, but Mr. Lyman seems to be

reasonably respectable. I'll have to meet him, of

course." I take this as an empty threat, as neither of

my parents have left the state of Wisconsin in ten

years.

"But-"

"And since you seem to be so ignorant to my attitude

towards your life, I'll tell you that despite my

dislike for anything political, I'm extremely proud of

you and the work that you do everyday."

I sit there speechless. Literally without speech. All

speech ability gone. Sans speech.

Mother stands and lays her book down on the coffee

table. "I am going to retire now, as should you if

you're going to pack to tomorrow. You know your

tendency to leave things like that until the last

minute. Good night, Donnatella."

I finally manage to croak out a, "Good night, Mother"

but she has already left the room.

Wow. That was weird.

"Hey! You're still here!" Oz pokes his head in the

door and gives me a grin. I return it, if a bit

dazedly.

"Yeah. Surprise surprise."

"You still have your head and everything."

He flops down on a nearby couch with the ease of

someone who belongs. The only place I've ever felt

that is the Operations bullpen. Josh's office, to be

exact.

"No thanks to you, you traitor."

"I'm sorry about that," he apologizes guiltily. He

could compete with Josh on the puppy dog look.

"You're forgiven. You want to know why I didn't tell

you?"

"Why?"

"Because it's not true."

"You're not dating your boss?"

"No."

"Then why'd you come up with such a crappy lie?"

"I don't know. His name was the first one that came to

mind."

"Because you have a thing for him."

I look at him in surprise. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I called you after he was shot, remember?" he asks

seriously, eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah."

"Are you going to do something about it?"

"It's so complicated, Oz. He's my boss and-"

"Since when do you shirk from complicated

relationships?"

"Shirk?"

"It's a word."

"I know. Just not one I've ever heard used in a

sentence before."

"Stop trying to change the subject. What are you going

to do about Lyman?"

"Nothing, Oz. Absolutely nothing."