Chapter 2
Jed quietly opened the bedroom door and smiled. Abbey had left the bathroom light on for him to see his way. He pulled off his suit, pulled on his sweats that Abbey had left by the side of the bed, and crawled in next to his sleeping wife.
Abbey stirred, aware of a change in her sleeping status. Keeping her eyes closed, she reached out to Jed, feeling his warmth. "If you're not married to me, you might want to leave."
Jed looked into the now open eyes of his wife. "Well, if I'm not married to you, maybe I need to be."
Abbey leaned over and gave her husband a welcome back kiss.
"Hi babe. Need to talk?"
"Yeah, but not tonight. I'm exhausted. Let's just lay here and hold each other."
"Fine with me," moving into Jed's chest, her head tucked under his chin.
Soon they both were sleeping, safe and secure in each other's arms.
They stayed that way until Jed heard a knock at the door. He opened his eyes and blinked at the sunlight streaming in the window. Eight am. At least he had gotten a few hours of sleep.
Abbey stirred as his warmth left her side. Gradually opening her eyes, she saw Jed opening the door.
"Good morning, Mr. President. Did you have a good trip?"
"Hi, Leo. Yeah. But it was long. Do you need me right away?"
"No, sir. I'm just your alarm clock this morning. Staff is at nine."
"Thanks. I'll be down soon."
"Yes, sir."
Jed closed the door and turned to go into the bathroom. As he entered, he realized that Abbey had already beaten him to the shower.
"Hon, I have to take a shower. I have staff in an hour."
Abbey pulled back the curtain. Her bare, milky white skin glowed with anticipation. "That's enough time, isn't it? I mean we've been apart for five full days."
Already Jed could feel his groin getting tight. "Yeah, we have plenty of time. Move over."
Jed entered the Oval at eight fifty-five, whistling his tune of the morning. Leo was waiting for him.
"Sir, I've heard that whistling before. Anything you want to share?" as a big grin split his rugged face.
"Nope. Great morning isn't it, Leo? Great morning. Bring the staff in."
"Yes, sir."
The rest of the meeting covered how the bill signing ceremony would be held and how best to persuade the American people that this was a very important expense and it needed to be done.
"Anything else?"
"No, sir."
"Good. Each of you knows what you have to do. Folks, this is a very serious situation and will require our full attention. The money must be used efficiently and effectively if we are to prevent a total catastrophe from engulfing this country. And I know we're just the people to get this task done."
"Yes, sir." Agreement was echoed throughout the room.