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Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: The Anniversary Waltz

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Previously: Abbey tried to help Jed come up with solutions to his problems at the State House

Summary: A family picnic is spoiled when Abbey is called in to work; Jed worries about Abbey's attempts to keep the peace at home

- - -

March 1977

Violated by the sharp ray of sunlight, Jed's eyes fluttered, opening only slightly as he stirred under the covers. He turned to his side with an unmistakable grin when he was greeted by her. Abbey lay motionless, a few tendrils of auburn hair accosting her dark lashes. She was absolutely angelic like this, face-down, head turned to the side in his direction with her hands gripping the pillow under her.

She looked so innocent, so sweet and relaxed. The peaceful slumber made him reluctant to wake her.

His finger gently swept the stray strand from her forehead, inviting a small grin of her own. She was awake. His smile widened as he climbed on top of her, lining up his body with hers. He pulled up her hair and leaned forward to drop a warm kiss on the back of her neck, just where she liked it.

She squirmed from his hot breath, his tongue now nipping lightly at her ear as his hands rested on top of hers.

"This is a really great way to wake up," she said, her voice groggy and strained.

"I know you need your sleep but I couldn't resist. I feel less guilty now that I know you were already awake," he replied with his mouth still pressed against her skin.

When he sensed her moving under him in an effort to roll herself over, he relaxed his weight onto his knees, giving her the leeway she needed. She flipped onto her back and stared up at him, giving him full access to the shiny warm depths of her eyes.

"I think we have some time before the girls wake up. I'm sure we could find a way to..." The suggestion for intimacy was left solely up to her, at least lately. Because of her hectic schedule, he wanted it to be that way.

"Are you sure? You're not tired?"

"I'm fine," she insisted as her hands cupped his face to draw his head down for a kiss.

Their bodies entangled, they rolled together under the sheets and succumbed to the passion that had been building for weeks. The seductive little winks they exchanged daily and the soft, yet sensuous kisses were reminiscent of their courtship, the desire rising to an explosive ending when they finally consummated their relationship for the very first time all those years ago.

It was a bit different now. The familiarity that came from years of marriage made the youthful outpouring of emotions more stable, their problems more vague. The closeness they shared was the binding force that would keep them together when career aspirations violently crashed with quality time with the family.

But that unbreakable bond between husband and wife couldn't smooth out the speedbumps they faced with their children.

As Abbey sat Ellie on the kitchen counter to help her fill the picnic basket, Liz lifted herself up to sit next to her sister.

"Can Ellie climb the monkey bars too?"

"Yes, but only when I'm with her."

"What if I'm with her?"

"I'm afraid not, Sweetie."

Ellie tugged on her mother's shirt to get her attention. "Why Mommy?"

"Because you'll get hurt," Jed interrupted, taking Ellie off the countertop and into his arms just as Abbey's pager started beeping. "Don't."

"I have to." Her voice held a remorseful tone, her eyes apologetic as she reached for the phone.

It was times like these that overwhelmed Abbey with regret. She had chosen a profession that required so much dedication that a simple picnic with her family could be interrupted at a moment's notice.

"I'm sorry." It was all she could say when she hung up the phone.

"No," Jed replied with a deep sigh.

"I have to go."

After a week of looking forward to the family outing, Liz's disappointment led to outrage. "But we were supposed to go to the park and play in the playground and feed the squirrels! You said we could go! You PROMISED!"

"I'm sorry, Lizzie. I really am."

"You're ALWAYS sorry!"

"I know, Sweetheart."

"Don't be sorry. Just this once, go with us! Please."

"You have no idea how much I wish I could. I can't, Baby Doll. I really can't."

"Fine."

"You go with Daddy and Ellie and I'll meet up with you later."

Ellie extended her arms towards her mother as Abbey dropped a kiss on top of her head and walked out of the kitchen. Her little sister's whimpers were suddenly silenced by the harsh sound of the picnic basket hitting the floor. Abbey paused and turned back around, her mouth opening in response to Lizzie's outburst.

"Go. I'll take care of this," Jed offered.

"Okay."

He waited until the door closed behind her before he pulled Liz off the countertop. "That was uncalled for. You're going to help me clean this up."

Lizzie stood back with her arms folded in front of her, refusing to look at her father. "I don't want to."

"I don't care what you want! You're gonna do it anyway."

He began to gather the contents, salvaging apple slices, sandwiches, and whatever had been securely wrapped and protected against the fall, then looked up at Liz who hadn't moved from her spot.

"NOW," he ordered with a firmer tone. "Or else we're not going on a picnic either."

She plopped down to the floor reluctantly and started to cry. "I don't wanna go to the stupid picnic anyway."

Jed sat beside her and gently ran his hand over her head. "I'm just as disappointed as you are, Lizzie. But this isn't the way to handle it. Your mother and I have told you time and time again, you do not throw things."

"Mommy throws things when she's upset."

"Then I guess I'll have to have this conversation with her too."

"You can't. She's never home. She doesn't even go to church with us anymore."

His heart broke for the sadness he saw in her deep blue eyes. "Yeah. She's been working a lot, hasn't she? But you know, she's helping people. Every time she goes to the hospital, she helps another little girl whose mommy or daddy might be hurt or in pain. How many of your friends can say that their mothers are saving other people's lives?"

Lizzie shrugged. "None."

"I know it's hard, but she's doing the very best she can with you and Ellie. Remember we talked about these next few years and how difficult it's going to be?" The young girl nodded, her frown more visible than ever. "I know it sounds like forever, but once her residency is over, she'll have more time to spend with us. And you know, she loves us more than anything in this whole wide world. You believe that, right?" He grabbed the hem of her skirt and pulled her towards him, a move that was sure to get a laugh. "Right?"

It worked. She slid across the kitchen floor with a smile. "Yeah."

With Ellie on one leg, he lifted Liz onto the other. "Do you like Paige? Is she nice?"

"Yeah."

"How about you, Princess? Do you like Paige?" Ellie nodded enthusiastically. "I'm sorry, guys. I know it's not fair that your mom and I are both so busy." He reached behind him into the pantry and pulled out two ring pops. "But today, I'm here. So how about you, Ellie, and I go have some fun at the park?"

"Okay." Liz's disappointment seemed to disappear when Jed handed her the red sugary treat.

He turned to Ellie with the purple one. "Okay?"

"Okay!"

- - -

Sacrifices.

It was a word Jed tried to avoid because of the negative connotations it brought with it. When they were in London, Abbey was the full-time mom while Jed was in grad school. That all changed when they switched roles after Abbey began medical school. Jed scheduled his classes around her shifts so he could be home with Lizzie.

They had a deal.

One of them would always be home for the children. Usually, they came through, but despite their best efforts, occasionally, there were some nights when he was forced to stay in Concord, some nights when Abbey was required to sleep at the hospital. The kids could forgive that. What was more difficult to accept were the other absences, the ones that were unplanned.

Abbey was regularly called away, interrupted in the middle of the day, and the resentment that was born from the long worknights only flourished when she missed things, especially for Liz. Having had her mother all to herself for the first few years of her life, the jarring reality that hit her now was a tough adjustment.

Torn between her ambition and her family, Abbey feared the sacrifices she made now would only damage her role as a mother later. She often shed tears when confronted with the realization. But after several minutes, she'd swallow her cries and continue, thanking God for blessing her children with such a wonderful father.

As for Jed, in some respects, he learned to be Mr. Mom. Every now and then, he'd step back and take pride in the fact that he had gotten used to solving problems on his own. Ten years ago, he never would have believed he'd develop the kind of fatherly skills needed to deal with his headstrong daughter.

But now, he was doing it fairly well. It didn't matter that he often supplemented his lectures and heart-to-hearts with a sweet snack in the interest of maintaining harmony. It was worth it.

Abbey thought so too. But instead of sweet snacks, she usually came bearing gifts.

That evening, as Jed and Liz sat across a chess board from one another, Jed's mind wandered briefly every time Ellie found a new toy to keep her occupied. At first, he didn't realize Liz had attacked his King. It wasn't until he heard her sweet voice with a hint of a smug chuckle that he got nervous.

"Checkmate."

Jed stared at her for a moment, then looked down at the board. Perplexed, he looked back up at her, and then back down at the board once again. "What?"

"Checkmate," she repeated. "They crisscrossed." To his surprise, her Bishops had trapped his King. He was speechless. "Daddy?"

"How? Where did you learn that?"

"Paige showed me."

Ah, the evil little do-gooder. A moment of silence passed as he contemplated his frustration over being outsmarted by an eight-year-old. "So you're really happy with Paige?"

"Yeah."

"Because if you're not, we can find you someone else, you know." He muttered under his breath, "Preferably someone who doesn't play chess."

"Daddy!" She laughed at his tone, stopping herself when Abbey walked through the door.

Ellie jumped to her feet and ran to her mother. Scooping her up in one arm, Abbey approached Liz cautiously. "Hi."

"Hi," she replied, a small bit of anger still apparent.

"Is everything okay?" Jed asked. "Your patient..."

"Yeah, it's fine now. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you at the park." She lowered Ellie and smoothed the top of Liz's hair as she leaned forward to give her a kiss. "I'm really sorry, Lizzie."

"I know."

When Liz traced the edge of the chess board silently, Abbey made another attempt at getting her forgiveness. "I have a whole week off this summer. I thought maybe we could go to the farm. We could have a picnic every afternoon, go horseback riding, hiking, anything you want."

"Will we still go to Acadia?"

"Acadia or one of the other national parks. This will be a week in addition to that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm just sorry I ruined today."

"It's okay." It didn't seem to bother Abbey that it took three apologies to get that response. She was elated about the little girl's cheerfulness. "I beat Daddy at chess!"

"You did?"

Jed cleared his voice deliberately. "We'll get into that later."

Throwing him a smile, Abbey headed back towards the door. "In the meantime, I have a surprise for the girls."

A large box glided across the carpet as Abbey pushed it from behind. Liz and Ellie stood frozen with wide eyes filled with excitement as they realized it sheltered a life-sized doll house.

"Is that ours?"

"Yes, it is."

"Me too?" Ellie had to be sure before she joined her sister in ripping the cardboard apart.

"Yours too."

"Come on, Ellie." Liz invited her to help. "We have to put it together first!"

It didn't go unnoticed that while the girls played joyfully, assisting Abbey in opening the box and revealing the hundreds of small pieces inside, Jed sat on the sofa with a straight face. He was unamused.

Abbey had done this before. To compensate for her guilt about leaving her daughters, she showered them with expensive gifts. Initially, it didn't bother him, but it was now becoming a routine. Liz had developed quite a talent for acting out as a response to disappointment, and while her motivation may not have been manipulating her mother, Abbey usually returned home with a handful of goodies in an effort to make peace.

He worried about the fallout it would eventually cause. He worried about Abbey, about that pain that ate away at her every time she walked out the door, and the pain that wouldn't quite go away even after her generous gifts were well-received.

He had tried to talk to her about his concerns, but it was a conversation that never happened. Abbey's defensiveness always kicked in and the discussion would be met with too strong a response to continue. It was always sidelined for more agreeable topics.

That night was no different.

- - -

"I thought we were going to buy them the dollhouse for Lizzie's birthday party next week," he started later that night.

"I know, but I felt bad about this morning so I decided to get it for them early. That's not a problem, is it?" Barely taking a breath, she continued, "And before you answer, in the interest of fairness, I think you should know that I noticed two ring pops missing from the hidden stash you don't think I know about."

She wasn't exactly playing fair, he thought, but it was a valid point. While she showed her remorse through expensive presents, he showed his through edible treats.

To avoid a possible disagreement simmering between them, he simply conceded with a nod. "No, it isn't a problem."

"Good." In true Abbey fashion, she changed the subject. "So Lizzie beat you at chess?"

"Yeah, about that...I think we need to look into firing Paige."

TBC