Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: Phoenix
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Ellie won her school election; Jed told Ellie a story to reassure her of his and Abbey's love with the impending birth of the baby; Jed tried to calm Abbey's fears about the baby by sharing the legend of the Phoenix
Summary: When Lizzie doesn't come home from school, Abbey fears the worst
Author's Note: Originally, this was going to be posted last Thursday, but unfortunately, we woke up to terrible news that morning and since this chapter touches on the terrorism of late 1979, we decided to hold it out of respect for everyone affected by the London attacks. Also for that reason, it's rated R for sensitive readers.
It happened instantly. A flash of video footage and neither Jed nor Abbey would ever forget the horrific pictures on television. From the very first click of the knob, the images took root in their minds, where they would settle forever. Abbey's fingers gripped the cushion of the sofa. Jed stood next to her, his emotions paralyzed by anxiety.
An angry mob of Iranian students had taken to the streets of Tehran and overrun the United States Embassy. Armed with guns and shielded by American hostages, the terrorists chanted Persian obscenities while they burned scores of American flags. The smoke rose from the red, white, and blue cloth as deeper flames were seen from a distance. It was a surreal portrait of such unexpected violence.
"What's going on?" Lizzie asked as she walked out of her room, oblivious to the chaos her parents were watching.
Jed quickly turned off the television before she could get a good look at the brutal scenes. "Are you ready for school?" .
"What's happening? Why were they burning our flag?" Her eyes continued to stare at the darkened screen.
"They're protesting," Abbey answered.
"Protesting what? Where?"
Husband and wife exchanged a glance before Jed attempted an explanation. "Sweetheart, the news is showing us what happened yesterday in Iran."
"What happened?"
This was an attack that came without even a hint of pre-violence turmoil, leaving everyone with very few answers. "Some of the citizens of that country are unhappy with our government."
"Why?"
"It's a lot of grown-up stuff. The point is, they're not big fans of the United States right now so that's why they're protesting."
"They're protesting us?"
"Yes, but everything's going to be okay," Abbey tried to assure her, not really believing the sentiment herself. "We'll talk about this after school."
"I wanna talk about it now. I saw a gun and they looked mad! And why would they burn our flag?"
"After school, Lizzie," Abbey repeated. "Okay?"
It was a difficult situation to understand. Deciphering the barbaric reasons to young children seemed nearly impossible. And in the Bartlet house, there was yet another dilemma. While Abbey usually wanted to shelter both girls from universal evil, Jed believed that a crisis like this one had to be clarified and explained in order for Liz to grasp the global ramifications. This wasn't just a bump in the road to world peace. It was a significant incident that would define the mood of the world around her.
Educating his children without the a cloak of sunshine and flowers took precedence for Jed, for it was the only way he could ensure his kids grow up to be well-informed adults. Any other approach would leave them vulnerable to the shattering realities they would someday learn.
He waited for Lizzie to disappear into her bedroom before addressing his concerns. "She can be late for school, you know."
"Why? So we can scare her half to death before sending her off to her first class?"
"She saw the pictures, Abbey. She saw what was going on. Don't you think it's scarier not knowing the whole story?"
"I don't know the whole story and neither do you. And I would bet that we can't answer most of her questions. I say wait for her to come home and we'll talk to her about it. By then, we'll know more."
Unfortunately, by then, Lizzie would also know more, most of her information grounded in unsubstantiated rumors circulating throughout the school. The halls were buzzing with false accusations, students impressing one another by claiming to know details they really didn't know. By mid-morning, the allegations became more colorful and speculation among the kids had run rampant, thanks to the conspicuous absence of their Persian classmate, Sara.
Desperately trying to shut out the ruckus created by one flamboyant student's suggestion that the little girl's absence was part of a conspiracy that threatened the small New Hampshire elementary school, Amy and Liz continually stared at Sara's empty desk. It was unlike any of them to miss a day of class, but that day of all days, it was especially puzzling.
"I bet they had to move." Amy shared her guess as she and Lizzie sat practically motionless on the swings at recess.
"Move where?"
"They probably changed their names and moved to some small farm in Pennsylvania. I saw a movie where they sent a man there to live with the Amish. You know, like in the Witness Protection Program."
"They wouldn't send her to live with the Amish. And anyway, she doesn't know anything. She was here. In America." Lizzie's feet kicked at the sand, her gaze falling to the ground.
"Before school, my mom said to be nice to Sara because she might feel like she's guilty by association," Amy replied somberly.
"It's not her fault."
Amy leaned against the chain and turned her head to Lizzie's swing. "Do you think she thinks it's her fault? Maybe that's why she isn't here. Maybe she thinks everyone's going to be mad at her." She looked to her classmates running around the monkey bars. "I mean, some of them kinda are - mad at her."
"I don't know," Lizzie shrugged. "I hope she doesn't think we're mad at her."
"You wanna stop by her house after school to make sure she's all right?"
"Yeah. I'll call my mom and let her know."
A phone call to Mom wasn't just a courtesy. It was a requirement. Jed and Abbey repeatedly emphasized the importance of knowing where their children were at all times. It had been drilled into Lizzie's head all her life, but occasionally, the eleven-year-old threw caution to the wind in favor of convenience.
"Did you call your mom?" Amy asked after school.
"I tried, but the line was busy. She must be talking to my dad. They talk on the phone like three times a day." She shook her head and led the way off campus. "I can try again when we get to Sara's."
Her intentions were good, but by the time they arrived at Sara's house, Abbey was waiting outside, expecting Lizzie to follow the other students down the metal steps of the bus. Several minutes passed and the chestnut-haired sixth grader was nowhere in sight.
When the door began to close, Abbey forced her arm in front of it to catch the driver's attention. "Excuse me, I'm waiting for my daughter, Elizabeth Bartlet."
"Elizabeth wasn't on the bus today."
It was Monday, the one day of the week that Lizzie was expected to ride the bus home. But she didn't come home and with that realization, Abbey's voice caught in her throat. This was it. Her fear of her attacker was still fresh in her mind. The threat he had made to Lizzie and Ellie had never lost its impact. This was the nightmare that kept replaying in her subconscious since that fateful night she was savagely assaulted. It was the moment of truth when her entire life would be toppled in the blink of an eye.
She inhaled a deep breath to soothe the immediate panic that coursed through her veins. Perhaps Lizzie just missed the bus, she reasoned in a failed attempt to squash the myriad of troubling thoughts.
She squeezed Ellie's hand and sprinted towards the house. The five year old ran as fast as her little feet could take her, trying to keep up as Abbey swung open the front door and grabbed the phone. She took a few more calming breaths before her fingers spun around the rotary dial while she struggled to remember the digits of the school's phone number.
Elizabeth hadn't been to the office, the administrative secretary told her. She hadn't missed the bus. Abbey allowed the phone to drop from her ear in a momentary battle to gain control of her senses and stifle her vivid imagination.
"Ellie, do you know where Lizzie keeps her address book with all her friends' phone numbers?" Ellie hesitantly nodded. "Can you go get it for me while I call Dad?"
Ellie stood silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was laced with apprehension. "Is Lizzie lost?"
"Just get me her phone book, okay, Sweetie?"
The little girl nodded once again and turned to her sister's bedroom.
Meanwhile, Lizzie stood in the foyer at Sara's house, a green receiver glued to her fingers as she repeatedly dialed the number home. Yet another busy signal.
"Who could she be talking to now?" she silently asked herself, one ear dedicated to the conversation between her two friends.
"So will your parents let you go to school tomorrow?" she heard Amy asking Sara.
"I don't think so," Sara replied. "They've been fighting all day because my dad wants me to start telling people we're from Turkey. Mom says it's not right to lie."
Appalled and confused, Amy prodded. "Why do you have to lie? You didn't do anything."
"It doesn't matter. My dad says it's better this way." She adopted a more neutral tone, lower and subdued, as if she was ashamed to continue. "People kept calling all night, yelling at him. I think it scared him."
"Who was calling?"
Sara shrugged. "Strangers. People we don't know."
Caught up in her friend's misery, Lizzie hung up the phone and wrapped an arm around her. The three girls walked to Sara's room, their heads hanging low in a clear reflection of the sadness between them. Without another thought, Liz abandoned any further effort to reach her mother.
Back at the Bartlet's, tension was rising as Abbey unsuccessfully worked her way through Lizzie's address book. Suddenly, she jumped at the noise coming from the driveway, but the glimmer of hope was dashed when she realized it was Jed, who had haphazardly driven through the grass as he sped towards the house.
"What happened? Where is she?" he asked, rushing to his wife's side.
"No answer at Amy's and Sara's line has been busy for the past half hour. No one else has seen her."
"Doesn't Amy have soccer practice on Mondays? Maybe Lizzie went to watch."
"She's supposed to call!"
"Honey, I'm sure she's fine." He tried to mask the silent hysteria that had invaded his own mind.
"Don't tell me she's fine when we don't know where the hell she is!"
Ellie sat in the corner, watching her parents with the same look of urgency that was visible in Abbey's eyes. "Can I go look for her? She might be lost."
Jed knelt down beside his younger daughter. "No, Sweetheart, you can't. We're going to find her though. Your mom and I are going to find her."
This was familiar territory. Ellie was echoing the same words she had spoken the night that Abbey didn't come home. "But I miss her," she informed him.
"Why don't you go color a nice picture for Lizzie so you can give it to her when she gets home?" He stroked her silky curls then spun around at the sound of Abbey's voice.
"Where the hell are the police? They should have been here by now."
Jed took the receiver out of her hand. "Lets call Sara one more time."
Abbey stood beside him on the tips of her toes, her ear pressed up against his and her hands tightening around the cord as she heard the first ring. Three rings later, the sound stopped.
"Hello? Is someone there?" Jed asked, confused by the lack of response.
"Hello?" Hashem replied. "Who is this?"
"This is Jed Bartlet, Elizabeth's father."
Hashem let out a sigh of relief. Finally, a friendly voice. "Oh, hi."
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm wondering if Sara has heard from my daughter. She didn't come home from school today."
"Elizabeth is here," Hashem answered, hesitating slightly because of his broken English. "She's with Sara now."
Jed put a comforting hand on Abbey's shoulder as she turned from him and buried her face in the palms of her hands, her fingers curling into a fist to rest against her forehead. Finally, she unclenched her muscles. It had been forty-five minutes since she realized Lizzie wasn't on the school bus. In that time, her entire body was held hostage by terrifying possibilities.
Since her attack, she and Jed had transformed their entire lives to ensure their daughters' safety and for forty-five minutes on this day, it wasn't good enough. Her stomach churned with raw panic when she realized her worst fears were just a breath away from becoming reality. And now that Lizzie had been found, the panic that struck in the most sensitive crevices of her mind, had turned into sheer anger as a wave of nausea washed over her, causing her to run to the bathroom before she became physically ill.
"Abbey?" Jed approached her after he hung up the phone. "Honey, are you okay?"
Abbey balanced one hand on the sink as she hunched over to splash water on her face. "She's at Sara's?"
"Should I call the doctor?"
"I'm fine. It's just morning sickness."
"You haven't had morning sickness in quite a while."
"I'm okay," she insisted, lifting her head to steal a glance in the mirror. "Is Lizzie at Sara's?"
Jed nodded. "Hashem says the girls are fine. Lizzie's just having fun."
"Until I get a hold of her," Abbey blurted out angrily as she started to leave.
Jed blocked her path through the doorway. "I think I should go get her."
"No, I want to see her. I want to make sure she's all right."
"Abbey, you're too upset. If you go over there, you're just going to get into a fight with her and before you know it, you will have both said something you'll later regret."
"I don't plan to regret a damn thing."
He gently squared her shoulders. "Honey, it'll make things worse. Let me go get her. You stay with Ellie. It'll give you a chance to cool off. You can't talk to her about this now, not when you're like this. All you're going to do is yell at her."
That was a likely scenario, she had to admit. "You're going to bring her straight home?"
"Of course."
"Okay." She reluctantly agreed.
Jed coiled an arm around her waist as he led her to the sofa. "Can I get you anything? Some ginger ale maybe?"
She shook her head. "Just bring Lizzie home."
It was hard to admit how much the incident had shaken her. But she didn't have to admit it for Jed to know. He already knew that every labored breath she breathed was a direct result of the emotional pain that gnawed at her heart. She had been to hell and back in the agonizing minutes that Lizzie was missing and in the few seconds that she allowed him to look into her shiny jade-colored eyes, he realized the psychological torture had yet to fade.
It scared him to see her like this. This wasn't the strong, resilient Abbey he knew. Her petite form was swallowed by the sofa cushions, dwarfing her frame and emphasizing a vulnerability he hadn't seen in quite a while. She wasn't just recovering from Lizzie's disappearance. She was still recovering from her own.
TBC