Story: Phoenix
Chapter 4
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Jed was cranky on day four of his nicotine withdrawal; Lizzie announced she was running for class president; Ellie was concerned how the baby would affect her; Abbey told Jed she would wait to continue her residency
Summary: The Bartlets celebrate Ellie's fifth birthday with a party at the farm!
Abbey stood on the porch of the old white farmhouse. She looked across the open fields as her wind-blown tresses bounced off the collar of her crimson knit blouse. A recognizable tingle invaded her arms, creeping through her veins like blood rushing towards her heart as her hand shielded her eyes from the sharp ray of sunlight that threatened her view of the half dozen five year olds sprinting up the side of the grassy knoll. Jed trailed behind, a jubilant Ellie sitting on his shoulders.
It wasn't discomfort she was feeling. It was a warm and fuzzy sensation wrapped in a layer of love.
There was a prominent spring in his step. His sapphire orbs sparkled so bright Abbey could see them from the deck. Jed stopped suddenly and kneeled to the ground, allowing Ellie to climb off and walk freely beside him. All seven girls surrounded him as they continued the trek, baskets in-hand, and apples jiggling from side to side.
"Hey! The candy ready to go?" Jed called out to Abbey when he noticed her intrusive stare.
"Just about!" Against her better judgment, she had surrendered to countless pleas from Jed, Lizzie, and Ellie begging for the opportunity to make candy apples.
"Mommy! Look at all the apples!" Ellie ran in front of her friends, leading the way up the stairs.
"I see that! You know you can only have one candy apple. The rest you're going to have eat plain."
"But I don't like it plain."
"Maybe we'll make cider," Abbey replied with a soft pat on her head. "Go see if your sister is ready for you." She watched the girls enter the house then turned to see her husband still quite a distance away. Jed had stopped to tie his shoe laces. "A bunch of five year olds just passed you!"
Still hunched over, he threw her a glare before standing up. "I let them pass. You'd be amazed what it does for their self-esteem."
"What does it do for yours?"
"It makes me feel good to make them feel good." He climbed the stairs in pure exhaustion. Spending the afternoon lifting seven kids to help them grab for apples took a toll on his muscles.
"Mmm Hmm." His indifference wasn't convincing, perhaps thanks to his futile attempts at hiding the deep breaths that managed to escape his tight lips.
"Aren't you going to go in?"
"I was just waiting for you."
"I thought I'd stand out here and enjoy the nice breeze for a little while." He leaned against the railing, heaving his chest forward and breathing in the fresh air.
"I'll stay with you."
"No! You should be in there, supervising. You've got a bunch of little girls, hot cherry-colored candy, and Lizzie, Amy, and Sara in charge."
"My parents are in charge."
"Still, if that isn't a recipe for disaster..."
"Okay, okay." Abbey turned to walk inside, but stopped herself just short of her last step. "You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." Jed waited until she disappeared around the corner of the screen door, then stretched his arms as high as he could, simultaneously massaging the lingering pain in his shoulder.
"Jed..." He jumped at Abbey's unexpected return. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
"Did I scare you?"
"Not at all." He seemed insulted by the implication that he'd ever be frightened.
"Jed."
"What?"
Abbey placed her hands on his shoulders and directed him into the old patio chair beside them. "How's that?" she asked as she ran her fingers over his sore spots, kneading the flesh gently.
"It would feel great if I were in pain, which I assure you, I'm not."
"Okay, well, you just let me know when you feel like you can join us inside."
Jed shrugged off her fingers. "I don't want to go inside. They're making a mess in there and I'm the one who's going to have to clean it up."
"That's because you're usually the one who makes the mess. You never let the girls make candy apples by themselves and it's only after you get involved that there IS a mess!"
"We had a deal. I walk them down to the orchard and you deal with the aftermath."
"I did. Lizzie, Sara, Amy, and I made the candy."
"And you were supposed to help the girls dip the apples."
"That's fine. I'll hold up my end of the bargain." Once again, Abbey began her retreat into the house.
"Thank you."
Once again, she stopped. "Just remember," she said with a soft, husky voice as she cocked her head behind her, "If you don't come in to help us make them, you don't get to have one later."
Jed sat for a moment longer, contemplating her ultimatum. Initially, his brain won the battle. The thrill of candy apples wasn't worth the agonizing hours of cleanup it entailed. Soon, sticky red handprints would be plastered all over the kitchen. Every corner, every inch of tile would be covered in the cherry coating. The sugary cherry coating. The sugary cherry coating that sweetened all his taste buds upon the first lick. The hard shell that melted into a soft, creamy candy in his mouth, exquisitely disguising the crunch of the apple.
His lips began to curl with just the thought of the homemade treat that Abbey always sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon. "Oh hell."
His brain may have won the battle, but eventually, his craving won the war. Just as Abbey suspected, he barreled through the house and broke through the crowd of kids all holding their apples in anticipation of the first dip.
She approached him, teasing him with the ripened fruit, her fingers just barely gripping the stick sphered into its stem. "Here."
He gladly accepted. "I thought you said I wouldn't get one if I didn't come in to help."
"I did."
"I told you I wasn't coming in."
"I know." Abbey licked the candy off her thumb as she adjusted the saucepan to move it closer to the cookie sheet.
"And yet you went ahead and prepared this apple."
"Yep."
"So either you knew I would eventually come in and you wanted to have my apple ready for me, or you figured I wouldn't come in and you were just fibbing about not letting me have one." Jed followed her as she lined the table with foil and passed out napkins to the girls.
"You forgot possibility number three."
"Yeah? What's that?"
Abbey greeted him with a smile. "That was supposed to be my apple."
With a sassy wink, she turned away from him, leaving only the napkin she tucked under his arm. Jed watched as all the children followed her to the table. Steam rose from the pot in her hand, the syrupy candy inside now simmering as she carefully guided tiny hands through a quick dip then helped them place the cherry red apples on the cookie sheet.
Abbey was many things. A talented doctor, her medical degree was a testament to the hard work she put in to graduate at the top of her class and gain acceptance into one of the most competitive surgical residency programs in the country. She was a scientist with boundless intelligence, a person with class and integrity, a woman with good looks and immeasurable sex appeal, and a mother with a heart of gold.
That was the undeniable part of her, the part that Jed loved the most. Deep in her soul, Abbey was never happier than when she was playing Mom. She made it look easy. Refereeing sibling rivalry, mediating skirmishes, and squelching tantrums before they were really tantrums. She made all of it look so easy.
Of course, even Abbey sometimes needed help.
"Why can't I eat it now?" Ellie whined.
"Because it has to cool."
"Can I make another one?"
"You already made one, Ellie. That's enough." Abbey lifted the tray out of her reach.
"But I want to do another one." Ellie stood in front of her and clasped her hands together, bending her knees slightly with every whimper. "Please? Because it's my birthday?"
"Let her have another one, Abigail," James playfully advised his daughter.
"That's an easy suggestion to make, Dad. You won't be the one chasing her down the halls at midnight."
"Pleeeeeeaaaaaasssssse!" Ellie continued to whine.
It didn't faze Abbey. She tweaked the little girl's nose and simply walked past her. "Nope. Sorry. We're going to have cake and ice cream later. That's way too much sugar."
"Can we have cake and ice cream now?"
Kneeling in front of another young girl to help her wipe the candy off her hands, Abbey looked up at her daughter. "Did you hear me say later?"
"But I want some now."
"Ellie, what did I say?"
"You said later."
"Okay then," Abbey replied as she stood up and approached the trash can with a damp paper towel.
Mary snickered at the exchange. "She's just like you were at that age, Abbey."
"She's still like that when she wants something," Jed teased. "You should see her at Christmas begging for a sneak peek of her gifts."
They were having fun, but Abbey wasn't amused. She crossed in front of her parents, shooting her husband a look of contempt.
Ellie followed. "But if I keep asking, you might change your mind."
Extremely unlikely, but the five year old's persistence did make Jed laugh. It was time to run interference. "Hey, Ellie, how about I take you and your friends on a hay ride?"
Lizzie wrinkled her nose from her perch on top of the counter. "I don't like hay rides."
"I do!" Ellie countered. "Can you take us, Daddy? Please?"
Abbey pinched Jed's back and directed his attention out the front window, a grin quickly forming at the sight of the horse trailer right outside.
Jed nodded. His hands firmly placed on Ellie's tiny shoulders, he led her into the other room. "Well, let me leave it up to you and your guests. We can either take a hay ride." He opened the drapes wide enough to give everyone a good look. "Or pony rides for everyone!"
He was greeted by a chorus of high-pitched screams. "Ponies!"
"Wow, we didn't do that for my birthday," Lizzie reminded her parents.
"We're doing it now. And it's not just for Ellie and her friends. The pony rides are for you, Amy, and Sara as well."
"And Grandma and Grandpa!" Lizzie added.
Mary was appalled at the thought. "You may be able to sweet-talk your grandfather, but not me."
"Come on, Grandma!" Lizzie pulled her along anyway. "It'll be fun!"
The older girls jumped in front of the younger ones in a race towards the animals. With his arm coiled around her waist, Jed and Abbey followed them out.
"Mommy, lets go!" Ellie ran back to her mother and yanked on Abbey's hand as hard as she could.
"Ellie, Sweetie, you're going to have to go alone."
That was simply out of the question. She pulled harder, facing the direction she was walking. "No! I want you to come too!"
Abbey tightened the grip and stopped. "Hey." Ellie spun around, a hint of confusion in her blue-green eyes. "I can't ride, Sweetheart."
"Why not?"
Abbey crouched down to her level. "Because of the baby," she said, immediately taking note of the sad frown on Ellie's face. "I'm sorry."
"The pony doesn't care about the baby."
"Yeah, but you know how you bounce around and move from side to side when you're riding Shasta?"
"Yeah."
"That's not good for the baby."
"We'll tell the pony not to move fast. We can tell it not to gallop at all." The desperation in her voice provoked a couple of tears.
"It doesn't work like that."
As Ellie hung her head towards the grassy field, Jed grabbed her from behind and threw her up into the air. "I'll ride with you!"
"Okay." It was small consolation for the disappointed girl.
"And I'll tell you a secret."
"What?"
"You get to keep one of these ponies," he whispered into her ear.
"Really?" Suddenly, her sadness was gone. "Just one? What happens to the other one?"
"Lizzie gets the other one. But don't tell her yet," he replied with a big kiss to her cheek just as he caught Abbey's astonished gaze. "What?"
"You planned this out. You didn't rent these ponies. You bought them."
"You said they could have a pet."
"I meant a cat."
"We'll get them a cat too!" He shot her the puppy-dog eyes she could never resist. "I should have told you."
"Yes, you should have."
"But there are people here who can care for them and they're all paid for. I just wanted to make her happy." And that was the motivation behind everything he did. It was difficult to fault him for simply loving his daughters.
"Next time, I just want to know."
"I promise," he assured her with a quick kiss.
"Daddy, can we take the ponies home with us?"
Jed lifted Ellie onto the pony. "I'm afraid not. They have to stay here at the farm. This is their home."
Abbey tried not to smile, but she failed miserably. His generous gift had squashed Ellie's disappointment and, at the moment, that was all that really mattered.
Later, as the family scattered around the piazza, Ellie's friends surrounded her with the stereotypical oohhs and ahhs at the very first glance of the birthday cake. Two tiers of pink, blue, and white icing elegantly molded to look like a castle. The artistically designed faces of Disney princesses peeked through the rose petal-framed windows and a single crease gave the illusion of the pink tower flag waving in the wind.
"Happy Birthday to Ellie. Happy Birthday to you."
Ellie scanned the crowd of friends and family as they finished singing. Her grandparents donned proud smiles. Jed and Abbey stood behind them, Jed snapping pictures as his younger daughter bit down on her lower lip in anticipation. She closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, much sharper than she actually needed to for the shallow breath she let out to extinguish the candles. Her tiny body shook as she blew out the last bit of air aimed at every flame.
Abbey moved around the table, her hands reaching out to grab the birthday girl and pull her into an embrace. "Happy Birthday, Princess." Ellie dropped her weight and wrapped herself around her mother's neck. "Oh, Sweetie, you're getting too heavy for this."
Abbey couldn't resist. Despite the involuntary moans that came from picking her up, she lifted her into her arms.
"Ellie, don't you want to open your presents?" Jed held out a small gift box, a sure way to distract her into giving Abbey a break.
"I want Mommy to help me!" It's not so easy to distract a five year old.
Ellie always felt especially close to her mother, but ever since she heard the news of a new baby, she had become more clingy, as if vying for Abbey's attention at every turn.
"That's fine. Mommy can help you," Jed offered, with a stipulation. "But you're going to have to sit in the chair."
Ignoring her father's gesture of patting down the chair, Ellie looked to Abbey. "Why can't you hold me?"
"You're getting big now, Sweetheart. I can't hold you and open presents at the same time."
Once lowered to her chair, Ellie reluctantly kicked her feet in front of her and held the first gift in her hands before tearing through the paper. She opened the flaps of the box. "Oooohhh." She picked up the Rubik's Cube inside.
Jed was even more impressed than Ellie. "Oh that's a wonderful present!" He looked around the crowd. "Who's responsible for this one?"
Lizzie slowly raised her hand. "I am."
"Good thinking, Lizzie! We're going to have a lot of fun with this."
"We certainly are." The gift brought out the imaginative side of James as well.
When Ellie set it aside in favor of opening another gift, Jed joyously picked it up. He examined it closely, turning the edges of the colorful puzzle to carefully inspect all twenty-six cubes. Methodically, he twisted them, scrambling the colors into a nail-biting pattern that an ordinary person may never have been able to solve.
But this wasn't an ordinary person.
This was Jed Bartlet, an intellectual who scoffed at the naysayers, the countless millions who had been dumbfounded by the mystery of the cube since it hit the stores two years earlier. He was determined to dispel the myth, to delve inside the complexities of the six-sided cube and abolish the secrets meticulously guarded by its inventor, Erno Rubik.
It was three p.m.
"Any luck?" Mary asked the two men who made themselves at home on the vinyl chairs in front of the table less than an hour later.
"Jed thinks he's getting close," James snarked.
"I am getting close! Just...a...few...more...turns." Every word was labored thanks to his deep concentration.
"And you've jumbled up the colors even more." Abbey couldn't help but mock the determined scholar.
"You laugh now, but tomorrow, you'll be begging me for the secret."
"Of course I will, Pumpkin. Come inside."
Jed ignored her request and continued to fiddle with the cube, spinning the blocks quickly as if speed would provide the answers to line up the appropriate colors.
By 6 p.m., the sun was starting to set, James had excused himself to enjoy a cup of tea after dinner, and the girls ran inside to play a board game before changing into their pajamas. Alone, Jed sat in his chair in the piazza, staring at the puzzle. There was something he was missing, he assumed. There was a single trick, some intricate key that escaped his analytical mind.
The seconds ticked away. The hours melted into one another and he was no closer to solving the perplex Rubik's Cube than he had been earlier.
Wanting to help Jed in any way she could, Abbey carried out his light autumn jacket. She draped it around his shoulders from the side and adoringly stroked his hair.
"Ready to come in?"
"Not yet. I just need a few more minutes."
It was 8 p.m.
No wonder so many consumers claimed this particular toy was too addictive to be given to children. If only it came with a warning label for adults.
Two more hours passed. Abbey had already set up the sleeping bags for the big birthday slumber party, James and Mary had retreated to the guest room for some much-needed sleep, and Jed remained seated in exactly the same spot, this time, twiddling his thumbs and waiting for inspiration.
It was tough. Much tougher than he assumed it would be. His mind raced with possibilities, each one crushed with further thought. Watching through the bay window, Abbey felt his frustration. The bright light that shined in his eyes, suddenly darkened with a dose of reality.
She opened the sliding glass door to call for him. "Honey, it's late."
"I almost have it. I just need a few more minutes."
Well, at least he was actually holding it in his hands now. "It's after ten."
"Get ready for bed. I'll join you in a few minutes."
She shrugged at his stubborn refusal to abandon the project until morning. Jed had many outstanding qualities, but if there was one thing Abbey sometimes wished she could change about him it was his need for perfection, the obsessive desire to excel at challenges most people wouldn't even consider. Ordinarily, she loved that determination, that admirable drive that made him into such a success. But sometimes, it pushed him to the brink, setting him up for massive disappointment. That's what she wanted so desperately to spare him.
After checking on the girls, Abbey retired to the bedroom and collapsed onto the mattress, slipping her bare feet under the covers and wiggling slightly to make herself comfortable. Exhaustion won out. She fell asleep without him, her only hint of his absence coming in the early morning hours when she rolled towards the empty pillow beside her.
Three a.m.
It was three in the morning and Jed hadn't come to bed. Abbey jerked the covers away from her body and stood up sluggishly. She wrapped her warm, flannel robe around her blue satin PJs on her way downstairs. She poked her head through the curtains of the door leading to the piazza. Immediately, her indignation melted into a warm chuckle.
Jed's head was buried on top of his arms, the Rubik's Cube nestled in his right palm. Abbey let herself out on the porch and tiptoed towards him, gently picking up the puzzle with extra effort not to wake him.
"So what's so great about this thing anyway?" she wondered aloud as she sat in one of the vinyl chairs.
It wasn't until after five a.m. that she finally answered the question. It really was a fun game, especially now that she declared her triumph.
Jed's head start worked to her benefit. She may not have been able to solve it entirely on her own, but thanks to his help, Abbey lined up the cubes perfectly, each one returned to its rightful place.
"We really do make a great team." She looked to her sleeping husband with a loving smile, then opened his curled fingers and placed the cube back in his palm.
She stepped behind him and leaned forward for a tender kiss to his temple.
"Mmm?" Barely awake, Jed tilted his head to her touch.
"It's time for bed, Baby."
"I almost have it," he insisted in a groggy voice, straightening himself up to get a look at the cube.
"Looks like you already have it," Abbey replied as she gazed at his hand.
Jed squinted and wiped away the cobwebs that clouded his eyes. He flipped the cube in amazement. He had completed the puzzle. Or so he thought. "Wow. I guess I do. I must have solved it right before I dozed off. I don't even remember."
"You're just that brilliant, Darling." He accepted her hand and rose to his feet, allowing her to lead him inside. "Lets go to bed."
TBC