Washington, D.C.
CJ Cregg was already late for her senior staff meeting. She was finally about to get out the door, when the piercing sound of the phone ringing penetrated the air. She reluctantly returned to her desk and picked up the phone.
"CJ Cregg."
"'The First Lady is very volatile and has a tendency to lose her head'? That's very good, CJ."
CJ's eyes widened.
"Mrs. Bartlet!"
"I mean it, that's a good line. I may use it some time."
"Ma'am, I am so…"
"Sorry? No. Don't apologize."
"I didn't mean to insult you in any way. Danny Concannon was just…"
"CJ, I said don't apologize."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Look, I just wanted to tell you that I'm…sorry about Danny thing."
"Ma'am?"
"I put you in a very difficult spot, having to tell the President, and I'm sorry. I hadn't planned on it happening that way."
"Due respect, Mrs. Bartlet, but…when you tell a reporter that you're giving your marriage a rest, what way did you expect it to happen?"
"Touché. I guess I…didn't have a plan at all. I spoke without thinking, and I shouldn't have. I admit that. But let's keep it just between us, hmm?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Also, Zoey and I are skipping Greece and Spain."
"Does that mean your coming home?"
Abbey laughed.
"No. We're just going to be spending more time in London than we thought."
Manchester, New Hampshire
Elizabeth Bartlet Westin stood in front of the sink of her kitchen, washing the dishes from lunch. She had asked Annie to do it, but she had shirked her duties as always and ran out the door before Elizabeth had a chance to chide her. She was counting the days until Gus was tall enough to reach the sink. But by that time, Annie probably would have clued him in on how to successfully shirk his duties as well. The truth was, Liz didn't much blame them. She had been the exact same way when she was a kid.
Nevertheless, she couldn't have been more grateful when the phone suddenly rang. She grabbed a towel and dried off her hands before answering it.
"Hello?"
"Liz, it's me."
"Hey, Zoey! What's up? Where are you?" Liz questioned.
"We're in Paris."
"Oh, God, Paris. You have no idea how much I envy you right now. I'm standing here doing the dishes while my kids are somewhere slacking off."
"Where's Doug?"
"It's 1 o'clock here, Zo. He's at work."
"Oh, yeah. Listen…I have to talk to you about something," Zoey said.
"Uh oh. What is it?"
Liz heard her sister's sharp intake of breath and instantly feared for the worst. When she heard quiet sobbing from the other end of the line, the fear only got stronger.
"Zoey, what's going on!"
"I think Mom and Dad are gonna split up," Zoey stated, quietly, swallowing back tears.
"What? Hon, I can't understand you. What are you saying?"
"I think Mom and Dad are gonna split up!"
Elizabeth laughed.
"Very funny. Really. What's going on?"
"I'm serious, Liz."
"No, you're not. You can't be. What makes you say that!" Liz demanded, panicking.
"Well, for starters, they're not speaking."
"Still?"
"Actually they spoke like a week ago…Dad was yelling at her about that Danny Concannon article."
"Yeah, I read that. I figured it was just gossip. But then I remembered Danny doesn't write gossip, so I got a little worried. But when I didn't hear anything about it from you, I brushed it off immediately," Liz explained. "Did Mom really say all of that?"
"Yes. That's why Dad was so angry. Oh, my God, Liz, it was horrible. The first time they'd spoken in weeks was…like that. Dad screaming, Mom crying. I've never seen them like this. Ever. I'm scared."
"They'll overcome it, Zo. They've been married thirty-seven years. I don't think either of them is about to throw that all away."
"Don't be so sure."
"Why?"
"Because now there's someone else."
Florence, Italy
"Mom? Are you almost ready to go?" Zoey called, poking her head into the hotel room.
"Yeah, just about," Abbey replied, throwing a few last items into her suitcase.
"Did you talk to CJ?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"Ok. Are you sure you really want to skip Greece and Spain?"
"We'll be back another time, Zoey. I just want to spend some extra time in London."
"A whole month?"
"Yeah! It'll be like old times. I spent over five years of my life in London, Zo. I miss it sometimes."
"Really," Zoey said, skeptically. "So that's why you want to spend so much time in London?"
"Yeah," Abbey replied, matter-of-factly.
"And it wouldn't be because of Tony?"
"What? No!"
"Mom, come on. You've spent nearly all our time in Italy on the phone with him. What am I supposed to think?"
"There is nothing going on, Zoey," Abbey said, adamently.
"Then why is it you'll spend all day talking with Tony and won't even exchange two words with Dad?"
"I'm not going to do this with you."
"I'm sorry, ok! I'm weirded out by all of this. I don't know what to think."
"I know it's hard for you, sweetie. But it's hard for me too."
"What's hard? What exactly is happening here?" Zoey questioned.
"I don't know," Abbey said, softly.
"Are you going to cheat on Dad?"
"Zoey Patricia!"
"What! It's a fair question right now, and you know it."
"No. I'm not going to cheat on my husband. You know me better than that."
"Do I?"
"Yes!"
Zoey lifted her hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay. Fine. But I just want you to keep something in mind."
"What?"
"Just remember how you would feel if Dad cheated on YOU."