Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: The Anniversary Waltz
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Previously: After being called into work, Abbey tried to make amends with Liz by buying her an expensive gift
Summary: Reeling from Millie's news, Abbey becomes concerned about her own marriage
- - -
When Abbey Bartlet was a little girl, she longed for the day she would meet her Prince Charming. On those cold Boston afternoons, she wrapped herself up in a fantasy world, dreaming of scenarios complete with the fairy tale wedding and the happily ever after.
When she was in college, she met him. And from that moment on, if there was one thing on which she could always depend, it was Jed's love. She never doubted it. From the way he woke her up in the morning with his warm, tender kisses, to the way he spoiled her with dinner in bed at the end of a grueling day at the hospital, every gesture was engulfed in solicitude, every touch flooded with affection.
To even the casual observer, their adoration was obvious in the way they looked at one another, the warmth that radiated from them every time they exchanged a glance, the light that sparked from within at the mention of the other's name. And when they were apart, no one dared to doubt that their every thought revolved around each other.
Millie occasionally joked that she and Jed must have been married in a previous life, for their devotion and commitment ran too deep to have been born with the spirits they host in this one.
Millie.
That's what this was about. Abbey returned to the present, causing her to momentarily abandon the feelings that had captivated her from the second she heard that word.
Divorce.
Like a Pavlovian response, that word conjured up many emotions for her, all of them shadowed in a sense of relief. Divorce was something that happened to other couples, not to her and Jed, not to her parents, and not to her best friend. Not to Millie.
But this time, it was Millie. She had uttered that word only moments before and in a split second, Abbey's fantasy of happily ever after was altered dramatically.
She sat at the table with her fingers locked to the edge of her seat. Her eyes tore into Millie's, and suddenly, the erratic movement of her lips was the only thing that registered in Abbey's brain. She fumbled with a napkin, unaware that she was shredding it to pieces. Perhaps it was out of anger, or disappointment, or maybe even fear.
This had happened before, to other people. In the past few years as she and her classmates graduated with their medical degrees and began residency, many of them had seen their marriages crumble as a result of the demands of their career. It was rare for a marriage to survive the tumultuous years of a doctor's training.
Millie and Steve were different. It wasn't supposed to happen to them. They, like Jed and Abbey, were going to beat the odds. That's what Abbey kept saying to herself. That's what kept her sane and secure. But Millie's security had shattered into a million pieces and the brittle shards of hope that resulted were now pricking at her soul.
She returned home that night with a heavy heart. She put Ellie to bed and said a little prayer for her family and her marriage.
- - -
When Jed and Lizzie arrived home, Abbey excitedly rose to her feet and embraced her daughter. "Hi!"
"Mommy!"
"You're home early." Jed approached her with a kiss, not at all bothered by the fact that she turned quickly right after he made contact.
"Yeah, I am," Abbey replied. "Lizzie, it's pretty late. You need to go take your bath."
"Now?"
"Yes, now. When you're done, you can watch a little TV before bed."
"Okay."
As she trotted off to the bathroom, Abbey picked up Jed's jacket as soon as he flung it over the sofa. She brought it up to her face to make sure she wasn't imagining things.
She wasn't.
"So why were you and Lizzie so late?"
"Her dance class ran late. Is Ellie asleep?"
"No, it didn't. The class let out on time. I spoke to the teacher when you didn't come home."
"You called?"
"I was worried."
"Sorry."
"So, what's going on, Jed?"
"Nothing."
"Didn't you hear me? I said I called the school and Lizzie's class let out on time. Why did you lie to me?"
He looked at her suspiciously. It wasn't like Abbey to check up on him. "Abbey, what's with you?"
"Why are you avoiding my question?"
"I'm not. But I'm beginning to feel like I'm being interrogated here." He tried to walk away.
"JED!" She grabbed his elbow and walked around to face him. "Why were you late?"
"I was a half hour late. Are you really going to give me a hard time when you're late practically every night?"
"I don't come home smelling like men's COLONGE!" she snapped as she threw his jacket at him. Jed lowered his head, briefly burying it in the fabric. "So why do you smell like women's perfume?"
He was dumbfounded. This was the last conversation in the world he expected to have tonight. "Abbey..."
"WHY?"
He dropped the jacket and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he opened his mouth, then closed it.
"Are you going to answer me?"
"It's not what you think. I swear, it's not."
She waited for him to continue and when he didn't, she broke the silence. "Millie came to see me today. She and Steve are getting a divorce." His brows furrowed in obvious shock. "While she was completing her residency, Steve was screwing around."
"What?"
"Because of her marathon shifts, he said she wasn't satisfying all his needs." She didn't just sound angry. She was bitter and despondent. "What I want to know is how would it even be possible for her satisfy these 'needs' he allegedly had? She was out busting her ass 100 hours a week. Makes it a little inconvenient to gratify his insatiable sexual appetite. Don't you think?"
Was she lashing out at him or at men in general, he wondered. "Who was the woman?"
"Does it matter?" He shook his head. "As if that would excuse anything."
"That's not what I meant."
"So, are you going to tell me who sprayed perfume all over your jacket, and your shirt by the way? Was it one of the spritz girls at the mall?"
He resented her tone, but desperately trying to remain calm, he ignored it. "No."
"Where were you tonight?" She allowed him to hesitate briefly before she continued. "Did you know the divorce rate among resident surgeons is fifty percent? Those are some odds, huh?"
"We're part of the other number - the other fifty," he replied.
Her eyes followed him to the record player. He lowered the arm and returned to her, pulling her into his arms.
"Jed."
Her voice was silenced when she realized what he was doing. He was actually dancing. Not just swaying. Dancing. He led her in the Viennese Waltz to one verse of Once Upon A December, the song he used to recruit Lizzie into practicing with him.
He twirled her around, then lifted the arm from the vinyl to stop the music. "I've been taking dance classes for the past several months, right down the hall from Lizzie's lessons. That's where I was tonight. WE got out late. Lizzie's class was on time and she got to come to my class to watch the end. You can ask her. Or better yet, you can check with the studio if you want. I'll give you my teacher's name and her studio number."
"Why haven't you mentioned this before?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise - for our anniversary. And it would have been, too, if my dance partner hadn't drenched herself in perfume and, of course, if Steve hadn't been such a bastard."
His head hung forward, but he raised his eyes over his brows to see her reaction.
"I can't believe you can dance."
"It's not that unbelievable," he teased. His hands framed her face to keep her eyes locked into his. "Steve really is a bastard. I would never do what he did."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"I do. I swear I do. I just lost my mind for a minute. I never should have doubted you, Jed, I'm sorry."
"Abbey, listen to me. No other woman on this planet has what you have." His fingers gently traced her anatomy. "No one else has this incredible brain, these beautiful green eyes, these gorgeous lips, this incredibly hot, sexy body, this body that shields the thing I love more than anything in the world - this enormous heart." His hand rested against her chest. "This heart that I fell in love with, that I could never live without. I promise you I will never, ever break it."
Always a wordsmith. The sentiment brought tears to her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I'm glad this came up. We should have had this conversation a long time ago."
"What?"
"This. You. Me. Us. You feel guilty for having to work. You're always trying to make it up to me and to the girls."
"What's wrong with that?"
"Other than the fact that Lizzie now expects gifts every time you get called in to work?"
He had a point. She sighed in acknowledgment. "I just hate disappointing her."
"I know. But there's nothing you can do about it. You said you wanted to be a surgeon. This has always been your dream. You knew the commitment necessary."
"I didn't expect it to be so hard to leave the girls...to leave you."
"We're dealing with it. And we'd deal with it a lot better if we could all sit down and work something out, a schedule or something. The girls just don't like the unexpected emergencies. They can handle it if we can plan for it."
"I can't plan for it. I never know when I'm going to be needed." It was the most difficult part for her as well.
"I know, but maybe if we could map out your days on a calendar."
"Or maybe we could let Lizzie manage my schedule, kind of like she kept track of the weeks when I was pregnant with Ellie." That was it. That was a temporary solution.
"We could buy her a planner and let her mark off your hours, your days off, everything."
"Yeah. I really think it'll help. She'll feel a part of it at least."
Her expression never changed. Still sad and depressed, she looked away until Jed took her hands in his. She didn't have to say it. He knew what she was thinking. "Abbey, you're not a bad mother. I've never seen a more caring mother than you."
Reassurance. He always gave it to her. He was always on her side. "If only I could work on being a better wife."
"Stop it. You're the best wife I could ever ask for. I am so blessed to be your husband, Abbey. I love you."
"I love you too. I love you so much."
She leaned in to a kiss as one thought ran through her mind. She may have temporarily forgotten, but now she was reminded of the obvious. She had found her Prince Charming.
TBC