Part 9
See disclaimers in Part 1.
"Margaret," Leo says tenderly, touching her face with his fingertips, and then running his hand though her hair. "God, you're so beautiful," he breathes out softly. 'How did I ever get so lucky?' He thinks gratefully to himself.
"Hmm..." She says, stretching her long frame.
"Hey there, sleepy head," he whispers. "When did you get back?" He asks, gently running his hand up and down her arm.
"A little after four," she yawns. "What time is it?"
"It's..." Leo quickly looks at his watch, "five-thirty. We're gonna to have to hurry to make our dinner reservations," he informs her, as he moves so that she can sit up.
"Where are we eating?" She asks, a little more awake now.
"It's a surprise."
"Leo, how will I know what to wear?"
"Well, I hope you don't mind but, I already picked out something for ya to wear earlier from your closet."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I hung it up in the bathroom for ya. You'll probably need to grab a light sweater too. It might get a little chilly tonight," he suggests.
Margaret gets up off the bed and walks into their now shared bathroom. Leo smiles when he hears the tone of her voice when she call his name.
"Leo," she calls from the bathroom. "You found this in my closet?" She asks, coming back into the room, holding a beautiful light green flowing sleeveless dress that she's never seen before.
"Ah... yeah. Okay... so it was only in there for a short time, but it did hang in your closet for a while after it was delivered today," he explains.
"Leo, it's beautiful. Is this my surprise?" She walks over and gives him a quick kiss.
"No, not really," he informs her.
"It's not?" She has a puzzled look on her face.
"No," Leo says, as he quickly checks his watch again. "Now, why don't you get dressed? We need to get going in about thirty minutes. Is that going to be enough time?"
"Yes, plenty. I'm used to getting ready in a hurry. Remember I work for Leo McGarry and you never know when he's going to call you and tell you to get to the office as soon as you can." She smirks.
"Is that so?" He laughs.
"Yes it is," she lightly laughs. "Oh, by the way?"
"Yes?"
"How did you know what size I wear?"
"Margaret, how can you ask me that after last night?" He smirks.
"Really?"
"Nah, I cheated. I looked inside one of your dresses," he admits, walking over to the closet and picking out a pair of slacks, shirt and sport coat for him to wear tonight.
"Oh," Margaret says, as she heads over to the chest of drawers. "I forgot about something."
Leo turns and watches her. "What?"
"These," she blushes, as she holds up the silk boxers that she bought for him. "I umm... sorta found these Monday when I was shopping."
"Margaret," Leo breathes out as he walks over, takes them, and smiles when he sees that they have Air Force written all over them. "You got these before I got here, now how did you know what size?" He laughs.
"Leo, I've had my hands on your boxers, several times, even before last night," she smirks, as a shiver runs down her body at the memory of last night and early this morning, too.
"You have?" Leo raises an eyebrow.
"Yes silly, remember who normally packs for you," she reminds him, as she starts to move away from him
"Oh, yeah, right," he growls, reaching out and gently taking her by the arm, pulling her to him and hugging her. "I don't think I've ever thanked you properly for all the extra things you've ever done for me over the years," he murmurs into the side of her face, as he starts to assault her neck with kisses.
"Leo," she playfully says, trying to pull from his arms. "You said I had only a few minutes to get ready."
"Yeah, but..."
"But nothing. I want the rest of my surprise," she tells him, kissing his cheek and starts walking toward the bathroom.
"Okay, but can I come watch you get ready?"
"No, cause if you do that we may never get out of here," she advises him as she pulls the door closed behind her.
"Spoilsport," he says to the closed door.
"I heard that," she informs him from behind the door.
Leo laughs, shakes his head and starts to get ready for their evening out.
True to her word, Margaret is ready in less than thirty minutes. She walks out into the living room and finds Leo waiting for her out on the balcony. He looks incredibly sexy in his brown tweed sport coat and light colored pants. He grins when he sees her.
"Wow, Margaret. You look... incredible," he informs her, moving to her side and offering her his arm.
"Thank you. I love this dress," she says, twirling, showing off her dress, before taking Leo's arm. "Now, are you going to tell me where we're going?"
"Not yet, you'll see when we get there," Leo walks them to the door.
Margaret and Leo arrive at the Delta Portico, a short time later.
"Mr. McGarry," the young man in the hotel uniform says, as he opens the door for them. "Your limo's here."
"Thanks," he tells the young man as he slips a tip into his hand.
"Leo, how did he know your name?"
"I talked with him earlier today about arranging transportation for us."
"I bet the only reason he remembers your name is because you gave him a huge tip earlier today, didn't you?" she softly accuses, as she lets Leo guide her out of the hotel.
"Who me?" Leo laughs.
"Yes, you," she says, shaking her head.
"Well, maybe."
The limo driver is standing by the rear door and opens it after the hotel doorman waves at him informing him that his passengers are here.
"Good evening, Sir, Ma'am," he says, opening the door.
Leo helps Margaret into the car. Leo hesitates for a second, "You know where we're going?" He asks the driver.
"Yes Sir," the driver responds, giving Leo a small look of bewilderment.
Leo nods, giving the driver a knowing smile and then gets into the limo. The driver shuts the door, and then gets behind the wheel. He pulls out of the hotel circle, drives a few hundred feet and then takes the first left. He's gone less than a half a mile when he stops.
"Sir, it will be just a few seconds, they're unloading the bus, and then I can pull up to the drop off area," he informs Leo over his shoulder
"Thanks," Leo tells him.
Margaret has been too busy looking around the back of the limo to realize where they've stopped at. She looks out the window quickly; sees the General Jackson sign and then back to Leo.
"Leo, is this my surprise?"
"Yes, you said you loved boats."
"I do, but... Leo we could have just taken the free shuttle here to the dock from the hotel, or we could have even walked this short distance."
Leo notices the driver's slight nod of the head in agreement and almost laughs. He knows the driver's been thinking the same thing.
"Yeah, we could have, but... we didn't," he lopsidedly grins, as he turns his full attention back to the fiery red head next to him.
"But Leo... we never even left the resort property," she mildly complains, as she cranes her neck, looking back towards the hotel.
Leo laughs at her, reaches out with his fingertips, touches her chin, pulling her attention back at him, "Now Margaret... how can I properly court someone on a shuttle with all those people around us," he smirks.
"I think you just like to spend money," she politely points out. "You don't need to impress me, remember... I've already seen the financial disclosures," she softly laughs.
"True, but if we were on the shuttle... then I wouldn't be able to do this," he whispers, leaning over and gently brushing his lips against hers. At first, the kiss is light, but soon it intensifies, as he wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer to him.
Margaret willingly allows Leo access, and her tongue is moving playfully with his, "Oh... I see your point," she happily murmurs into his mouth.
They are so involved in the moment that neither one of them realizes that the limo has pulled up to the drop off area.
"Ahem..." The driver clears his throat, "The drop off point, Sir," he says opening his door and getting out so that he can open the door for them.
"Yeah," Leo breathes out, having pulled himself from Margaret as he tries to get himself under control. He eventually steps out of the vehicle and then reaches in, offering Margaret a hand, to help her out.
Leo turns towards the driver, "Here, go get something to eat while we're gone." He hands him some money.
"Thank you, Sir," the young man says in a very appreciative voice. "I'll be here when you get back," he assures Leo.
Leo nods his head, and then takes Margaret by the arm and leads her down the gangplank and onto the Show Boat.
They enjoy a nice dinner aboard the Show Boat at a secluded table for two. They spend most of the time talking about each other. Leo learns a little more about her family and her childhood. Leo tells some stories about Mallory and a little about his family. Margaret has met his sisters a few times over the years, but has never really heard much about them. Leo also tells her a little about his mother. Margaret knew that she was dead, but didn't realize that she had died right before she came to work for Leo at the Labor Department. Margaret notices Leo grow a little sad, when he talks about his mother.
"Leo," she softly says, reaching out and placing her hand on his.
"I hate that she died before I stopped drinking. My mom was so worried about Mallory and Jenny. One of the last times I saw her, she got so mad at me and told me I was just like... my dad. I told her she had no idea what she was talkin' about, but... she did. It wasn't long after that... that she had a heart attack and... died." Leo looks up, closes his eyes trying to keep the moisture inside.
"Oh Leo," she says, squeezing his hand.
"I cleaned up my act for a while after that trying to prove her wrong, but... it didn't last long, and well you pretty much know the rest," Leo pauses, returns Margaret's squeeze, "I just... just wish she could've seen that..."
"Leo, I'm sure she was already proud of you and I imagine that somehow she knows that you've put your life back on track. Leo you've done so much, and I'm so proud of you," she tells him, leaning in close and resting her head on his.
"I've screwed a lot of things up too," he quickly admits.
"Who hasn't? Leo, you're only human. You need to stop feeling so guilty about everything. I know you blame yourself for almost every bad thing that's happened to this administration and in your personal life, too," she pauses taking a breath and then continues. "Well, I know for a fact that your divorce... wasn't all your fault," she blatantly informs him.
"Margaret," he frowns.
"Well, it wasn't," she points out to him in a strong tone. "And it's about time you stop blaming yourself," she adds, as she looks at him. "Do you think I was blind and deaf all these years I've worked for you? I always liked Jenny, although she seemed to despise me."
Leo gives her half a frown, "Margaret that's not true," he halfheartedly says, cause he knows that Margaret's right. Jenny had never liked Margaret from the moment that she first met her, and it made it worse when he would come home and sing her praises. He learned very quickly that he couldn't talk about Margaret's silly attics or her efficiency. Jenny became very jealous of Margaret, and she deeply resented the fact that Margaret was able to take better care of Leo than she ever could.
"Jenny was just as wrapped up in all her charities, woman's groups and committees that she headed. She could be very demanding and self-centered and... yes, you did forget your anniversary, and I know how much that killed you and I blame myself too for not reminding you like I had in the past, but Leo... the divorce was not all your fault."
A surprised Leo, stares back at her. He's stunned by her bluntness. Margaret's never said anything about his marriage before, but then again, she wasn't involved in his life the way she is now. "Margaret, it wasn't up to you to remind me of my anniversary and I hate to admit it, but some of what you just said... is true," he motions in the air with his hand. "But let's face it, I'm an alcoholic, a drug addict and a work alcoholic, all of which didn't make things easy for Jenny for a lot of years."
"Yes, Leo you are all those things, but you're also a kind, gentle, loving man with a big heart," she lovingly tells him, as she touches his face with her fingertips, and then traces his strong jaw line. "Leo, I didn't mean to get you upset and I wasn't trying to blame it all on Jenny. I just needed to tell you how I see things, too."
Leo nods his head, "I know and I realized a while ago that... that my divorce wasn't all my fault, but it's still just another failure in my past." Leo looks off to the left, takes a slow deep breath, and then returns his gaze at Margaret as he reveals his biggest fear; "It seems I'm not very good when it comes to... sustaining relationships. I know I hurt Jenny and I failed miserably with Jordan. I just don't want to do any of that to you."
Leo notices a ripple of anguish wash across Margaret's face, and her eyes darken when he mentions Jordan's name. He's always suspected that Margaret didn't care for Jordan, but now he realizes that his relationship with his lawyer hurt Margaret. His heart aches for having caused her pain. He inwardly cusses at himself as he reaches for Margaret's hand.
"Oh Margaret, I'm sorry. I wish I could take back certain things I've done, and you must know that I never meant to hurt you," Leo's voice is full of emotion as he pleads for her forgiveness.
"Leo, I know that. It's just... it hurt... so much to watch you shamelessly flirt with her on National TV like that."
Leo lowers his eyes. He's not very proud of he handled himself with Jordan. He lifts his eyes, "Margaret, I'm sorry. I was... no, there is no good excuse for what happened. But, it was Christmas and... well... the hearings... and she was... in some ways like Jenny, and it was comforting, and I guess, familiar for me to be with someone like Jenny."
"Leo, I had no right to be upset about it. You didn't know that I cared for you," she tells him, as she reaches out and touches his face.
"That may be, but I still want to explain something to you about my relationship with Jordan. It was never like what you and I have already experienced. I was lonely... and I had been for such a long time that... well I needed..."
"Shh..." Margaret puts a finger to his lips. "Leo, we've all done things we regret. I too have made some bad choices for the wrong reasons, so you're not the only one who's made mistakes because they were lonely," she confesses.
"I just wasn't thinking," he shakes his head.
"It's in the past, and we've found each other now. All things happen for a reason. Maybe you needed to have a fling. Didn't you marry Jenny right out of college and didn't you guys date for years before that?"
"Yeah, we did."
"Leo, you've never been able to be free, without the weight of the world on your shoulders. You've had grown-up responsibilities since you were twelve years old after your father..."
Leo nods his head, "I guess... but I never knew how much it hurt you. I'm so sorry."
"Leo, it wasn't fair that you've had to be the man of the house since you were twelve years old that's way too much responsibility for someone so young and then when you did finally leave home it was to go off to war. After which, you come back, put yourself though college, got married, and had Mallory."
"So... a lot of others had to do the same thing," he argues.
"Well, I'm just saying that shouldn't be too hard on yourself for waiting to... well to be... with Jordan. You never had a chance to sow any wild oats," she smiles. "I just wish it could have been with me, but then again maybe we wouldn't be here right now, if we had...before," she decides. "And I like where we're at right now," Margaret says, as she brushes her lips against Leo's.
"Mmm... me, too," Leo agrees, capturing her lips and intensifying their kiss. After a few moments they break for air.
"Good," she contentedly sighs. "Leo, all those things are in your past and what's important is what you do about your future," she reminds him, as she gives him a loving smile.
"Well, I'm kinda hoping you're going to be around to help me with that," he grins back at her.
"Me too."
"Good."
"Yeah," she leans against him. They sit like this for several minutes. Just enjoying watching the riverside go by.
"Hey, would you do the honor of dancing with me? They have a dance floor somewhere on this boat, at least that's what the concierge said," Leo breaks their long silence.
"Yes, I would love to dance with you," she whispers in his ear, then kisses his cheek.
Leo stands, takes her hand and they head off in search of the dance floor.
They eventually find the dance floor, and Leo takes Margaret by the hand and leads her out into the middle of the floor. There are several other couples dancing and no one seems to notice them. Leo's a little nervous about dancing with Margaret even though they have danced a couple of times before at White House functions, but this is different now. Leo gently takes her in his arms and pulls her tight against him. He whispers in his gravelly voice, "I've waited for a long time to do this." He leans in and places a tender kiss on her cheek.
"We've danced before," she politely points out, as she melts perfectly into his loving arms.
"True, but never this close," he murmurs, rubbing his hand on her back in small loving circles.
"Well, things are a little... different now," she breathes into his ear.
"Yeah, they are," he nods his head a little. "I'm glad they are," he says, brushing a kiss on her lips.
"Me too," she whispers back to him, as she accepts his kiss and then initiates one of her own. She presses her lips firmly against his, and soon they are lost in their own little world on the dance floor.
"Mmm," Leo murmurs, as they break from their kiss, the need for air is the only reason they break apart.
"Mmm, is right," Margaret agrees as she rests her head against Leo's, "Leo, I'm so happy. I still can't believe it's true. I keep thinking this is all a dream, and I'm going to wake up and it's..."
"Shh..." he brushes his lips against hers again, in an attempt to quiet her fears. "It's not a dream and I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he whispers as he stares into her eyes.
"Okay," she bobs her head. "I believe you," she brings her hand to his face and gently traces his jaw line. Then she leans in and kisses where her fingers have just touched.
Leo pulls a little from her arms, "Margaret, umm... we need to stop," he whispers in his raspy voice.
"Stop dancing?" She asks, with a puzzled expression.
"No, umm... I'm having ah... slight problem," he tells her, as he quickly glances down at himself and then back up at her.
"Are you tired?" She asks with a baffled tone, still not catching on to what he's referring to.
"No, I'm definitely not tired," he smirks with an impish grin as he pulls Margaret closer.
"Oh," finally noticing or actually feeling what he's been talking about. "That doesn't seem very slight to me," she coos into his ear as she pushes her hips back against him.
"Margaret," he growls, "you're not helping."
"Now, who's the spoilsport," she softly laughs.
"Let's just concentrate on dancing and I'll umm... try to think pure thoughts," he suggests, rolling his eyes.
"Do you really think that will work?" She quietly laughs.
"No, cause, yesterday the only thing that helped was a cold shower and well... I somehow don't think that's an option here," he says, looking around the crowded dance floor making sure no one's noticed that his pants are protruding in the front. He shakes his head at his situation. It's been years since he's experienced this type of problem in public.
"Well, I guess we could always find an abandoned passageway down below," she whispers into his ear, "and alleviate your problem."
"Margaret, you're not helping," he throatily growls, trying to concentrate on calming down.
"Sorry," she apologizes, shrugging her slender shoulders and giving him a tight lipped smile. "Okay... I'll try to be good. But it's going to be hard," she snickers.
"Margaret," he groans at her choice of words.
"Okay, I'll stop. I promise," she bats her eyes at him.
"I wish you would."
"So, do you want to talk about what Mallory and her new boyfriend might be doing right now?" She breaks out giggling, even though she was trying her best to keep a straight face.
"Margaret," he sputters, as he stops dancing. "I never wanta talk about what Mallory might or might not be doing with her boyfriend and I especially never want to think about what Mallory and her boyfriends are doing together."
"Leo, you know she's not a little girl anymore and I'd also like to point out... that I'm somebody's daughter too, you know," she informs him with a smirk of a smile.
"I know. It's just... difficult for me to let go. It seems like only yesterday that she was my little girl dancing on top of my feet," he smiles warmly at the memory.
"I bet you just ate that up."
"Yeah, I did. Its one of the few really good memories I have of Mallory being little. A lot of my memories are tarnished..."
"Leo, let's not go there. You've come a long way and Mallory loves you and is so proud of you," she tells him, as she pulls him closer.
"I know. It's just..."
"Shh... Lets just dance and enjoy the moment," she suggests, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Okay," he agrees with a sigh. He presses his face into her hair and breathes in the now familiar scent of her shampoo, and the corners of his mouth turn upward.
They continue to dance without speaking for a while. Sometimes just barely swaying to the music. When the song changes, the tempo of the music is a little faster. They start to move to the faster beat, when all of a sudden Margaret notices a glint of pain flash across Leo's face as he lurches a little to the right.
"Leo, are you okay?" She stops dancing and pulls from his arms.
Leo has no choice but to stop. His earlier problem is soon forgotten, due to the overwhelming pain in his hip. He tries to keep the pain from showing in his face, but fails miserably. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lies through clenched teeth.
"Leo, what wrong? And don't give me that 'I'm fine' routine," she warns him, as she takes a hold of his hand and guides him slowly off the dance floor. He's really limping now. She makes him sit down and then takes the seat next to him.
"Is it your leg?"
"No, it's more my hip. It's sorta gets out of place," he grimaces.
"Leo, does this happen often?"
"Yeah, lately it has," he says, still working on getting the hitch out of his hip. He keeps moving his leg and rubbing his hip. After a few seconds, he finally gets his hip in a position that stops it hurting him as much. He instantly relaxes.
"Is it better?" Margaret asks.
"Yeah," he sighs. "Margaret, I probably should have already told you about this," motioning to his hip, "before we became involved but..." Leo keeps flexing his hip, trying to get the loose-body completely dislodged from his socket.
"What Leo? What is it? You're scaring me," she lays a hand on his arm. She knew this was too good to be true.
"Margaret, calm down," he pleads. "It's not that bad. But, I do have some... problems that need to be taken care of surgically, and sooner rather than later." He looks into her eyes, trying to get her full attention.
"Leo," her bright blue eyes mist up almost immediately and her bottom lip starts to quiver.
"Shh..." he whispers, as he takes a hold of her hand and squeezes it tightly. "It's gonna be fine."
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
"Okay, so what to you need to have done?" She asks, trying to calm herself down.
"I need to have my right hip, and knee replaced."
"Both?"
"Yes and I'm gonna need lots of help, and therapy afterwards, and you know how I'm going to hate that," he explains.
"Leo, what about the surgery?"
"Well... you've probably realized that I've been having a lot more pain lately, and well I haven't been able to conceal my... limp as well I normally can," he says, as he lowers his eyes.
"Leo, it's okay. Your limp doesn't bother me," she reaches out and touches his chin, forcing him to look at her.
"Well, I just don't want you to think that you're saddled with an old man with a limp."
"Leo, how could you think that?"
"It's just something that... someone said to me once and well... I guess I worry you'll feel the same way."
"Leo who could hurt you like this... oh, God Leo... did Jenny say that to you?" Margaret asks, realizing that she had to be the one who could have hurt him so deeply.
Leo slightly nods his head and then turns away as he thinks about how Jenny never could stand to look at his scar on his leg. It really hurt Leo that she wasn't able or willing to deal with it.
"I'm sorry she said that. Leo, look at me," she pulls his chin back towards her. "If this surgery leaves you with a permanent limp, we will deal with it, together. Never, and I mean never think that you having a limp would bother me in any way. I'm in love with you. It doesn't matter to me. I just can't stand to see you in pain all the time from your leg and hip."
"Okay," he softly responds, as he looks into her eyes and sees years of love and understanding in them.
"What did the doctor say about the surgery? Will it help your pain?"
"Yeah, "he says, "I should be relativity pain free and the chance of a limp is slight, but it's still a chance," he tells her.
"That sounds encouraging," she smiles, as she wonders what else about this he's not telling her.
"Yeah," he agrees, hoping for some relief from the persistent pain that he has been experiencing these past few months.
"Why do you have to have both your knee and hip replaced?" She asks. "I would think your knee would be the problem, since you know... because of the location of your previous leg injury."
"Yeah, but I've waited too long for the knee replacement, and it's messed up my hip now too. Here," he stands, takes a hold of her hand and places in on his hip as he takes a step forward.
"Oh, Leo" she gasps, as she feels the clunk and grinding as he takes a step.
"My hip joint socket is worn out and there's a 'loose foreign body' floating around in there and when it gets stuck in the joint well... you just saw what happens," he motions out towards the dance floor.
"What's loose-body?"
"It's a piece of bone fragments and maybe cartilage from the grinding when I walk," he explains.
"Oh," she scrunches up her face. "That sounds painful."
"It can be when it gets caught in the joint," he explains. "Oh and before I forget. I talked with Abbey about this before I left, and she wants to talk to the both of us after we get back."
"You told Mrs. Bartlet," she's unable to keep the surprise showing in her voice or on her face.
"Well, she sorta corned me at a weak moment," he explains.
"When was that?" She asks.
"Tuesday morning, just after... we talked," he sighs.
Margaret thinks back to what happened Tuesday morning, "Oh... Leo I'm so sorry I put you though that. I really..."
"Margaret will you please stop," he says shaking his head.
"When did you see the doctor?"
"Monday," he admits, slightly cringing inside.
"You had an appointment this past Monday?"
"Yeah."
"Leo," she squeals. "You made the appointment yourself?"
"Yes," he knows what's coming next.
"And you're not supposed to do that, are you?" She prompts him again. "Do I need to explain the rules on making appointments again? Are you confused about them?"
"Haven't we been though this routine before?" Leo rolls his eyes.
"Yes, but apparently you still haven't learned your lesson," she smirks. "Leo, why did you hide your doctor's appointment from me?"
"Cause... I wasn't ready to tell anyone and well... you worry too much about me, and I didn't need you driving me crazy with all the other stuff going on. Plus, I thought you might try to meddle with what's going on between me and the President."
"When have I ever gone to the President behind your back?"
"Margaret," Leo growls and raises an eyebrow at her. "Let's just say I'm aware of a few instances and leave it at that."
"I only ever did it for your own good," she tries to explain.
"I know, you were only trying to help when I was drinking and taking pills, but I don't want him trying to fix things just because of this." Leo stands and points to his hip.
"But won't Mrs. Bartlet tell him?"
"Nah, I told her not to, besides she's pretty pissed at him about how he's handling things."
"Really, I figured she'd be on her husband's side," Margaret says as she moves to Leo's side.
"It's not that she doesn't side with him about wanting a peaceful resolution to the Gaza situation, it's more like she's not happy about how he's ...dealing with... me."
"Well, there's a lot of that going around," she huffs, as she crosses her arms. "He's being an..."
"Margaret," Leo stops her. "He's the President and even if we don't agree with him, we still need to respect him and the office."
"You're right," she agrees. 'But he's still being an ass,' she thinks to herself. "Let's get back to your surgery."
"I knew it was too good to be true," Leo laughs.
"Okay. So how soon can it be done, and how much work did the doctor say you would miss?"
"Well, I'll be off six to eight weeks. It depends on how things go with physiotherapy after surgery, and Abbey might be able to give us a better time frame on Monday when we meet with her. She met with my surgeon this week and took a look at my latest x-rays. He might have told her when he has room in his schedule to fit me in."
"Well, I'm going to put in for a leave of absence for that same period of time," Margaret informs him rather matter of factly.
"Margaret, there's no need for that," he implores.
"You're going to need lot's of help, you said that yourself," she quickly points out.
"But I meant I was going to have to hire a nurse or somebody."
"Now you won't have to."
"But..."
"But nothing, Leo. I want to help. Besides, do you really want a stranger helping get you dressed and stuff?"
"Well, when ya put it that way. But, I'm going to personally pay you the same salary you get at work and that's final." He tries to leave no room for argument, even though he knows she'll fight him about it.
"Well, we'll see."
"Margaret I've made up my mind," he confirms.
"I'm sure you have," she patronizes him.
They are still talking about it when the boat docks at the landing. Leo guides Margaret towards the waiting limo.
"Did you have a good time?" The driver asks.
"Yes," they say in unison.
Leo helps Margaret into the back of the car and then turns to the young driver. "Hey, could ya take the long way back?" Leo asks with a smile as he slips the driver a hundred dollar bill.
"Yes, Sir," the driver happily announces with a wink as he runs around and starts the car, and puts up the privacy screen. Leaving the two lovebirds alone to enjoy the end to their romantic evening together.
To be continued in Part 10a
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Thanks to all of you who have already taken the time to provide such wonderful feedback! I have tried to personally respond to all of it, if I have missed you I am terribly sorry. I had originally planned to post the parts of FEW every three days, but I got so many people begging for it sooner, I switched it to every other day. See, your feedback does count!