Chapter 8
"How'd it go with Hamilton?" Will asked Toby while they ate in his office.
"Fine. He's going to help draft the education legislation in the next session. He's got ideas, he'll be good to have on the team."
"He's one of the good guys."
"Yeah," Toby replied, reading a speech Will was working on and not really paying attention to him.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Toby looked up, and then back at the draft. "Do you expect an answer?"
Will smiled, a little uneasily. He still didn't quite get Toby. "What's going on with Josh and Donna?"
"They're in Palm Beach. His mom had a stroke."
"I know that, but if your mom had a stroke, would you take Ginger?"
Toby shrugged. "It's different for them."
"How different?"
He looked up again. "Why do you care? You thinking about asking out Donna?"
Will chuckled. "I haven't been around for long, but I've seen enough to know Josh wouldn't appreciate that."
"No," Toby said, looking back at the draft again.
"Ok."
"Yeah."
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As he woke up, the first thing he noticed was that his face was buried in Donna's hair, which smelled like peaches, and that he liked it. He smiled and pulled her a little closer to him. The second thing he noticed was that his hand on her stomach, under her shirt, and he definitely liked that too. He pried his eyes open to see that they were in basically the same position they had started in, on their sides, his arm around her. As for actually falling asleep… that he didn't remember all to well. He must've been really tired. He remembered saying something about Betty and Russell, but after that, it was all a blur.
He lay still for another minute, half in and half out of consciousness, yet fully aware of Donna's body against his. Oh, how his mother would enjoy knowing about this. In fact, maybe she planned the whole thing as some sort of….no, he knew that wasn't true. He only wished it were. He wished that this was some sick joke, he wouldn't even be mad, he'd be so happy to have her well.
Finally, he pulled his hand away from Donna and sat up, moving the small bed as little as possible. He stood and went to his phone, which was sitting on the television; no messages. He got a pair of shorts and a polo shirt from his bag and started to go into the bathroom, when he saw Donna stirring. He stood still, trying not to make any noise, and after a minute, she settled again.
A few minutes later, he came out of the bathroom, left a quick note, and headed down to his mother's room. When he got there, Betty was on the phone by the window and Russell was sitting next to Elizabeth, watching his wife. "How's the patient?" Josh asked as he walked in.
Russell looked over at him. "You're gonna be in big trouble. It hasn't even been five hours."
"Well, if she wants to yell at me," he said, looking at his mom, "She can wake-up and do it." He sat in the chair closest to Elizabeth's bed and took her hand in his.
"Where's Donna?"
"Sleeping, hopefully for a few more hours. Has the doctor been in?"
"No, but nurses are in and out of here all the time."
Josh looked over at Betty. "You two are probably pretty bored by now."
Russell looked at his wife and smiled. "Nah. I consider it a privilege to spend the day arguing with my wife. I live for it, in fact."
Josh looked back at the man and smiled. "I know exactly what you mean."
Betty got off the phone soon after. "Marjorie and Gary will be here tomorrow morning at ten," she said as she put the phone in her purse.
"Who?" asked Josh.
Betty looked at him, noticing him for the first time. "You didn't sleep long enough," she said matter-of-factly. Then she switched subjects. "Marjorie and Gary are friends of your mother's. She can't cook for anything and he watches too much NASCAR, but they're nice enough and they're coming tomorrow morning to stay while you and Donna sleep. JoAnn and Arvin are coming on Sunday. JoAnn's a gossip, don't tell her any government secrets."
Josh laughed. "You've book visitor's for my mom?"
"No, I've booked rest for you," she said, looking directly at him. He smiled and nodded. "Besides, everyone's been wanting to come, they just didn't know if she was allowed visitors. Now, where's Donna?"
"Still sleeping."
"Of course she is; she's smarter than you," Betty said as she started shuffling cards. "Do you play cribbage?" Josh shook his head. "Well, it's time you learned. Russell, get out the cribbage board."
"Are you going to badger to boy while we play?" the man asked his wife.
"Not at all, I'm just going to ask him why three nurses have referred to Donna as his wife."
"That's my mom's fault," said Josh, picking up the cards Betty dealt him.
"Really," she skeptically said, looked over at him. "In her condition, she told several people that you and Donna are married?"
"No, she wrote it on her emergency contact list. We've been getting it all week."
"And how many people have you corrected?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Josh looked at her and narrowed his gaze, then looked at Russell for help. "Leave the boy alone, Betty," he said. "I'll bet Donna hasn't corrected anyone either." He looked at Josh and nodded.
Josh nodded back and smiled. He thought about it for a minute; she hadn't corrected anyone, and although he didn't really know what that meant, he was pretty sure he liked it.
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Donna came into the room a few hours later while Josh was shuffling. "There she is, and looking much better," said Betty.
"Hello," Donna said, smiling at the woman. Then she looked at Josh. "You should have woken me."
"You needed sleep," he said, dealing the cards.
"How long have you been down here?"
"Long enough to get yelled at by Betty and lose two games of cribbage. I'll teach you later."
She raised her eyebrows and grabbed a chair. "No need, how 'bout partners?"
"I told you she was smart," Betty said to her husband. "Women versus men."
"We're in trouble," Russell whispered to Josh. Josh just nodded in return.
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After Betty and Russell left, Josh and Donna began reading through Elizabeth's power of attorney, living will, and insurance information. There weren't too many surprises in her paperwork. Josh was her power of attorney if she became medically unable to take care of herself, which wasn't a surprise. She had ample insurance, no doubt set up by her late husband, which included excellent medical insurance, nursing home insurance, and life insurance. Her living will, however, stated that if she was being kept alive by machines, said machines were to be turned off after no more than fourteen days unless significant progress had been made. When Josh read it, he immediately felt sick to his stomach and ran to the bathroom.
Donna followed him into the men's room, hoping no one else was in there, but not letting the possibility that someone might be stop her. She could hear him vomiting as soon as she walked in, and found him in the handicapped stall, kneeling over the toilet. She went to the sink and wet several paper towels for him, and then went back into the stall and kneeled next to him awkwardly, rubbing his back with one hand and smoothing his hair with the other.
"You shouldn't be in here," he said, sitting down on the floor next to her, leaning against the wall.
"When has that ever stopped me?" she asked, saying it more like a statement.
"I don't know what happened. I just…" he put his head in his hands and took several long deep breaths.
"Josh, she's not being kept alive by machines. Dr. Bomboy said her heart is beating on its own."
"But the machines are feeding her," he said, as if she were far away.
"It's only been three and a half days. We don't need to panic about this yet. In the meantime, let's call her lawyer and talk to the doctor."
"Let's tear it up," he said to no one in particular.
Her head snapped to the side and she looked at him. "What?"
"I'll do it. You shouldn't be part of it." He sounded distant to her, like it wasn't really him talking.
"Josh…" She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
He looked up at her. "I mean it, you shouldn't be part of it, Donna. If it ever came back around…"
"You're just scared, you aren't thinking. This, if it even comes to it, is eleven days away. We'll talk to her lawyer."
"No," he said quickly. "We can't. We can't bring it up to him or he'll make sure it's enforced. Right now, he probably doesn't even know she's in the hospital." He stood and started pacing, in total political operative mode. "If he doesn't know she's in the hospital and I tear this up, then they won't know and…"
"Joshua. Listen to yourself," she interrupted as she stood up next to him. "You spend your life defending the rights of people. The right to choose, the right to privacy, the right to make their own decisions where their lives are concerned."
"That's different and you know it," he yelled. "This is my mother."
"Yes it is. Your mother has made clear rational choices and you have to let those choices stand."
He looked at her with harsh eyes and a racing pulse. "And what if I can't Donna? Are you going to turn me in?"
She took a deep breath and looked directly in his eyes before responding calmly, "You'd never put me in that position."
He looked at her for several seconds and then closed his eyes for several more, breathing deeply. Finally, he opened them again and pulled her into his arms. "Never," he whispered.
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Author's notes: I just wanted to mention that I finished this fic way back in September, and at the time, this chapter took a bit of heat. After thinking hard about it, I decided I liked it just the way it was and I haven't chaned it. So let me say this...
In the above scene, I'm simply trying to show that Josh read something and panicked. That's what you should've gotten out of it. Panic. That's it.
I am NOT getting into a Josh/Judism thing here, NOR am I getting into a living will thing. I think we've had plenty of that in non-fiction real-life lately.
