August 28, 2020
Dressing room for TRL
"I'm not so sure about this outfit Mara."
"Sam, you look hot, all the girls will want you."
"I'm running for President not People's Sexiest Man Alive!"
"Who says you can't win both? If you change I'll punish you."
"You are evil, for that you have to be in the audience."
"Stop looking at yourself in the mirror! Are you prepared to answer music and movie questions?"
"Yes, although I hope that's not all I get to talk about."
"You can talk about how incredibly sexy your wife is."
"Everyone who saw the Post knows that already."
There was a knock on the door and Jenna walked in. She checked out what her Dad was wearing. He had on his black jeans, a blue oxford shirt that thankfully was untucked and a black leather jacket over it. She smiled and gave Mara, his stylist, the thumbs up.
"See even your daughter agrees you look good."
"You look hip Dad. The show just started, they will introduce you in five minutes."
"Then the two of you should get your butts out there."
"I thought you were going to stay here?"
"Your father thinks he's punishing me."
"Dad, by now you should know that it is impossible to punish Mar. See you out there."
"Break a leg." Mara purred and gave him a long sultry kiss.
Sam had just recovered from the kiss when the stage manager told him it was time to walk out. He searched for Jenna and Mara and was surprised that they were not together. Both were just off the normal camera range. Sam started by mentioning that he remembered when Carson Daly hosted TRL. The host teased him about being ancient and asked what he thought were the ten best recordings of all time. Sam answered questions about public service and the importance of exercising one's voting rights, health care, foreign policy, student debt, the minimum wage and government waste. He was thrilled by the quality of the questions and was happy to talk movies and introduce videos between questions. The next series of questions were rapid fire and more personal.
"Pizza or burgers?"
"Pizza, Sal's in DC and my wife make the best pizza around."
"Lobster or Filet Mingon?"
"Both, you have to love surf and turf."
"Great book or movie?"
"Book"
"Land or water?"
"Water."
"Favourite swear word?"
"Rhymes with sit."
Mara and Jenna looked at each other knowing he was lying, while he did use the word a lot, the F- word was his favourite.
"Biggest vice?"
"My wife's chocolate caramel brownies, they are heaven on earth."
"Booze or coffee?"
"I couldn't live without coffee, I'm happily, utterly addicted."
"Boxers or briefs?"
"Boxers."
"Incredible food or bad sex?"
Sam smirked, looked over at Mara and gave her a sexy grin. She wondered how he would phrase his answer. She knew whatever it was, it would be the sound bite of the day.
"There is no such thing as bad sex when it comes to my wife. With Mara, I get incredible food and mind blowing sex. I'm a lucky, lucky man."
"Damn straight Skippy." Mara replied without thinking.
Sam laughed as the camera swung over to find Mara, who quickly put on her best innocent face and moved an imaginary hair behind her ear, pretending she had no idea the camera was on her. When the camera panned back to Sam and the host, they were both still chuckling.
"No offense Senator, but damn she's hot!"
"Yes, she certainly is."
"What was your reaction to the New York Post picture?"
"I saw the picture and it put a huge smile on my face because I was missing her at that moment. The headline made me sick to my stomach. Mara is more brilliant than she is beautiful and I thought it was a petty degrading comment."
"How did you meet your wife?"
"She overheard me say something stupid that sounded like I was belittling Canada so she gave me the heights of hell. I was enchanted by her. After I apologized, we instantly clicked. That evening the White House was hosting a State dinner for the PM of Canada. We sat beside each other and danced the night away. I was hooked right there and then."
"So, it was love at first sight?"
"Yes, love at first sarcastic jab." Sam replied with a smile.
There were a few more questions from the audience and then the host sprung a surprise at Sam.
"We've heard from reliable source that you are a pretty good at karioke. We have it set up over there. Will you indulge us ?"
Sam looked over at Jenna and mouthed you are so dead. Jenna responded by making the brushing teeth motion and gave him a take that look.
"So what do you say Senator?"
"Fine."
"Great, we will set you up and be back after this commercial message."
Jenna waltzed over to Sam, left a kiss on his cheek and whispered, "Pay back is a bitch, Dad."
Sam's first thought was to choose Arms Wide Open but he didn't want to expose a private song, so he ended up picking U2's, With or Without You. Mara knew he'd be nervous so she moved out onto the floor so he could sing to her. The audience was impressed and the host said that you had to really respect a presidential candidate who not only appeared on the show, but was gracious when put on the spot. After the show wrapped, Sam, shook everyone's hand and was pleased to hear most people state they would be voting for him come November.
September 13 2020
Mara couldn't believe how quickly time was passing. Matty had been back to school for three days and she missed him. Most people were back from summer vacations and her work days were filling up. The election was 55 days away and Sam was getting impatient about setting the dates for the two debates that President Davis finally agreed to. Sam was also getting very sick of traveling across the country, living out of a suitcase and rarely sleeping in the same bed two nights in a row. He was tired of eating restaurant food and he longed for Mara's home cooked meals. Toby had been calling him Senator Grumpy lately and Sam didn't care. On the plane ride home, no one wanted to sit near Sam, not even Josh. The campaign staff hoped three days at home would lift him out of his funk.
When he walked in the door of the mansion he found Mara reclining on the couch and he heard the blender going in the kitchen.
"Hi honey, I'm home."
"Hey Sweetie you've got perfect timing since Matty is making you a special drink. So I have you home for three whole days."
"I swear, I've never been happier to come home in my life. I don't know if I'll make it another 50 plus days. I'm sick of my own voice!"
"Well I'm not sick of it! I thought you might enjoy whispering sweet nothings into my ear tonight. Sit down and relax."
"Hi Dad, this is a chocolate cherry smoothie."
Matty handed the rich drink displayed in tall glasses to each of his parents and waited for their reaction. Sam took one sip then continue drinking until it was gone while Mara savoured each sip.
He was pleased with the praise he received and thrilled when Sam called him a beverage master. He collected the glasses, put them in the dish washer and brought the rest of the smoothie over to Ainsley.
"Matty won't be back until bed time, what would you like to do?"
Sam picked up her foot to give it a rub when he noticed a red sore on the back of her right foot.
"What the heck happened to your foot?"
"Both feet actually, the left one stings more. You know the shoes you call the only sensible pair I own? Well they decided to skin me alive yesterday. In the time it took me to walk over to Canada Place, grab something at Roots and get a Beaver Tail, I noticed my right foot had been skinned. So I walked back just stepping down on the ball of my left foot so that it wouldn't rub against the shoe anymore. It wasn't until I got back and took off both shoes that I noticed the right foot had been skinned too. I walked around for the rest of the day in bare feet."
"It looks so red and raw, I think you should put some of that gel you always use on me, on."
"I will eventually."
"I'm going to go change into shorts, I'll be back . Are we eating in or out?"
"In, I figured you'd love a home cooked meal."
"You read my mind, beautiful."
Sam came down five minutes later with the tube of Baciguent and a few band aids. He took care of her feet leaving a kiss on each knee as he finished. They curled up on the couch together until Sam's stomach started to rumble. Mara made the lemon chicken he liked and a huge grin was her reward when she put a plate of caramel brownies in front of him. After dinner they sat out in the yard reading until it became too dark.
"I thought I'd make us a picnic for lunch. What would you like for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Are you taking the day off ?"
"Yes. So what will it be?"
"Would lobster ravioli be too much to ask for?"
"No, I have everything to make the pasta and I just need to pick up a few lobsters. I might give CJ a call, she loves my ravioli."
"I haven't talked to her in a few weeks so that would be good. I never expected you to cater to me but I love the attention."
"Everyone needs a little pampering. I've been able to tell from your voice how fed up you are getting. Why don't you go tuck Matty in while I lock up and I'll bring up some bedtime snacks."
Sam had breakfast with Matty the next morning and decided to ride to school with him. Matty teased him about the strange way his parents drove him to school. Sam got his revenge by getting out of the car and going inside to meet his teacher. On the way back home he stopped and bought 5 lobsters so that Mara wouldn't have to go out. He also stopped to pick up the berry meringue cake she liked so much for dessert. By the time Sam got back to the house Mara had just made her way downstairs for some orange juice.
"Where were you? "
"I went to school with Matty, then I stopped and got the lobster and dessert."
"Cool , now I just have to give Ceeg a call. You know Ainsley won't be home until 2:30 ish and it's still really nice out..."
"Sure I'd love you to go skinny dipping!"
"You have a one track mind Samuel. I'm going to make myself a bagel, you want one?"
"Sure, I'm going to go put my bathing suit on."
When Sam returned he grabbed the bagel and headed over to the pool that was technically in Ainsley's backyard. He heard the gate open and pouted when he saw Mara was wearing her black bikini. She dove into the water, swam a few laps and surfaced in front of Sam to give him a kiss. They goofed around in the pool for a few hours until Mara left to get their picnic lunch ready. Sam reluctantly got out of the water, dried himself off and wandered back home to see if he could be of any help. After a lunch that included his beloved brownies they went back to the pool.
Ainsley heard Mara threatening Sam's life as she got out of her car. She went inside and opened the poor to the patio.
"I'm home and on my way out!" She yelled.
Once she got to the pool she only saw Mara in the water.
"Where's Sam?"
"I'm drowning him." She replied nonchalantly.
"What did he do this time? I heard you telling him he was a dead man."
"He pulled me into the pool once I was dry."
"Ah, I suggest you let him up or the Secret Service will be after you."
She removed her hands and Sam popped up to the surface sputtering. He gave Mara a dirty look and smiled at Ainsley who told him to stop asking for trouble.
"Mara, I got a strange phone call from Ron Butterfield. He wanted to set up a meeting with me here, next week. When I gave him my availability he said he'd talk to you and confirm the time. What the hell is going on?"
"My guess is that with 54 days to the election, Ron needs to be ready to protect the house especially...Ainsley after I tell you this you need to forget it."
"My lips are sealed, what's going on?"
Sam continued, "Obviously any residence of the President elect has to be very secure but once I take the oath our principle residence is not going to change."
"You aren't moving into the White House?" Ainsley asked in shock.
"We'll stay there occasionally or if it looks like I'll need to be in the Sit room but 2/3 of the time will be spent here."
"So only the three of us and Ron know this?"
"Yes, Ron is taking care of the transition because he's the only one who won't turn to a life of crime or outright kill Mara. She likes Ron so he's the man."
"So that's how you managed to have so few agents protecting you Mara."
"Yeah, I told Ron I'd defer to his judgment for Sam but to avoid trouble I better have the bare minimum of agents and I wanted them out of sight. "
"You do realize that the minimum will raise once I'm elected."
"Yes, Sam. Well dinner isn't going to make itself. I'll talk to you later Ains."
"See you Mar. Sam are you staying?"
"I'll just do a few laps then you can have your backyard back."
"Kay, see ya later."
October 5, 2020
"Toby, I swear if you ask me one more damn debate question I'm going to shove this binder up your ass!"
"Kay, take ten everyone." Toby sighed.
"There will be no more debate prep today folks." Sam corrected.
"How about a few two minute drills?" Josh suggested.
"What was that Josh? Yes I am hungry and I'm going to eat lunch now." Sam snarled and walked out of the room.
"When is Mara getting here? She'll be able to pry that stick out of his ass." Josh muttered.
Toby glanced at his watch, "She's probably still at work. Don't expect her to rescue you for about five hours."
"To think we thought President Bartlet was difficult to deal with."
"Don't forget who was doing the opposition. Trust me if there is one thing Sam excels at it's debating. I'm going for lunch too." Jenna added with a smirk.
Jenna ran into her Dad at the front door and invited herself to lunch. She let Sam blow off some steam and told him that she reminded Josh and Toby how skilled he was at debating.
"How many more days till this madness is over?"
"33 days Dad, then the real fun starts. Did Matty change his mind?"
"No, he's staying with Ainsley and Tom. I still wonder where we got him from."
Jenna laughed, "Not a political fiber in his being. You lucked out with me though."
"I certainly did. Sweetie, I know you have your heart set on a senior international policy advisor post but I'd like you to consider something else."
"What?"
Sam could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't too happy. "You've proven yourself to be very skilled when dealing with the press. You also are a gifted writer. Toby is going to need a strong deputy who isn't afraid of him."
"You want me to be the Deputy Communications Director?"
"Yes."
"On two conditions, first I'm still a senior international advisor and second, I get your old office."
"That went easier than I thought."
"Dad, you'll have to make sure that Toby understands that I'm an advisor first."
"I'll make sure he understands and thank you, Bambi."
Jenna glared at Sam, "You are on my list again and don't forget payback is a bitch."
Sam simply started laughing, "Hmm too bad I didn't bring a toothbrush with me."
Jenna got up and went to talk to one of the agents who sat down in her place.
"Senator, your daughter warned me that she may kill you at any moment. I suggest you stop annoying her."
"Fine, I'll behave for the moment James."
"I'd appreciate that Sir. Are you ready to go?"
Sam paid the bill with a generous tip and left with James. Jenna was already in the car with her MP3 player in and ignored him until they arrived back at the hotel. Her first stop was Toby's corner of the ballroom where she told him that Sam agreed to an hour of rapid fire debate prep.
"Are you sure about this Jenna?" Toby asked skeptically.
"If he starts to protest, tell him that he's just become Bambi's bitch."
Toby didn't want to know what was going on between father and daughter but he was curious to see Sam's face when he was informed he was Bambi's bitch.
Mara was on her way to the mansion to grab her luggage and head to Andrew's to meet Sam in Chicago when her cell phone rang.
"Hello."
"Mara, I've got your Dad on the line, I'll patch him through."
"My Dad? Thanks Leslie. Hey Dad, you caught me on my way out of town, what's up?"
"Your mother was killed in a car crash this morning."
"What? Are you O.K.?"
"I'm fine, I wasn't in the car. It happened at 7 this morning, she went through a red light and into a cube van. Her heart stopped in the ambulance and they couldn't get it back."
"Wow, have you told Dani?"
"Yes, your sister is on her way here."
"Sam's first debate is tomorrow so he won't be able to come. I'll go get Matty and we'll fly up tonight. I'll come straight to the house when we land."
"I'll see you then, bye."
"Bye Dad, I love you."
Mara called Sam's cell and it rang three times before Josh picked it up.
"Josh, I need Sam right away."
"He's in the middle of debate prep."
"I don't give a crap what he is doing, put him on now!"
"Hey honey, our daughter is pure evil. Are you on your way?"
"No, Sam I'm not going to be able to make it. My Dad just called, my mother was killed in a car accident she created this morning."
"Sweetie, I'm sorry. You have the plane so I'll take the next commercial flight out. Jenna is here do you want me to tell her?"
"Yeah and Sam thank you for the offer but the debate is tomorrow, you can't leave."
Sam told Jenna the news then got back on the phone.
"Mara, I'm going end of story. Also, as Toby just pointed out, it is the right political move. What kind of husband doesn't support his wife through her mother's death?"
"Sam, it's not like I liked her. What about the debate?"
"Don't worry about the debate. So what are your travel plans?"
"Well since I can't talk you out of this, I'll have to pack for a funeral, get Matty and we'll fly to Midway to get you and Jenna. I'm sure you have appropriate clothes but ask Jenna if she needs anything?"
"She says she is fine. I'll let my detail know what's going on. I take it we'll stay at the Ritz?"
"Yes, I'll call and let them know the Secret Service will be calling. I'll call once we are in the air with our ETA."
"I love you."
"I love you too, see ya."
Jacob called just as Mara was arriving at the mansion and asked if he could join her. She hadn't given a thought to Jenna being back in a funeral parlour and was grateful that Jacob was always thinking. She had to smile when Matty told her he was sorry but his grandmother never paid any attention to him so he wouldn't miss her. She refrained from saying that was exactly how she felt too. She was happy to see Sam, who refused to talk about the debate. Jenna was touched to see Jacob and notified her family that she was going to stay in her house while they were there.
"So I get a room to myself? Cool!" Matty exclaimed.
"I brought you a big can of macadamia nuts so don't go near the mini bar Mister." Mara warned.
"Mara?"
"Bambi gets nothing." Sam said quickly.
Mara ignored her husband, "I got you Pringles."
"Thanks."
"What about me?" Sam inquired.
"You have me, what more could you possibly want?"
Sam rolled his eyes and kissed his wife "You taste like licorice."
"Mommy has been main lining licorice lollipops since we left Andrews."
"I don't want to know how you learned that term Matthew and give me one Mara."
"Sometimes I wonder who the adults are in this family." Jacob whispered as he pointed out Mara and Sam both sucking on lollipops and having a thumb war.
"I've been the adult in this relationship since the very beginning."
Mara called Abbey to let her know what was going on. Listening to their conversation prompted Sam to call his own mother. The plane landed and twenty minutes later two black sedans were pulling into the Whitford driveway. Mara blew past the Secret Service muttering it was her Dad's house, no sweep needed to be done.
Matty was happy to see his Aunt Dani but he couldn't stand his two cousins Brie and Grace. He thought they were stuck up little prissy girls who seemed to hold him in contempt. Dani claimed that he didn't' relate well to girls but Mara quickly pointed out that Samantha was his best friend. Even Sam found the girls annoying and he rarely met a child he didn't like. They stayed at the house for a little over an hour and then headed to the Ritz.
"I just tucked in our nut muncher. Your Dad seems to be taking it well."
"Well they didn't spend much time together. I'm sure he must be upset but he'll get over it."
"You know it's sad, your mother managed to detach herself from everyone. She dies and her own daughters don't care, it is actually a nuisance to them to. Her husband is use to being alone so it won't take him long to get over her. My whole world would come crashing down and I'd never recover if you dared to die on me."
Mara hugged Sam and gave him a tender kiss. "That's one dare I wouldn't take. You should call Josh and let him know that the parlour is tomorrow and the mass Friday."
"Jenna said she was going to tell him before she went to bed. Matty asked if we were going to Marathon tomorrow."
"Our son has a one track mind when it comes to food."
"If I hadn't seen him come out of you, I'd swear he belonged to Ainsley."
"I'm sorry about all of this, I'm sure President Davis is going to claim he can't reschedule the debate."
"It's not your fault. Josh is looking in to extending the format for the second debate. I don't think he'll reschedule either, I think he's scared of facing me."
"He's undoubtedly heard that you are a master debater. Care to debate with me?"
"I thought you'd never ask " Sam replied and pushed his wife down on the bed.
Mara couldn't wait to leave the afternoon viewing at the funeral parlour. If one more over made up socialite told her how sorry they were for her tragic loss she was going to loose it and reveal her true feelings about her mother. The priest who was saying the mass came over to talk to her.
Sam thought it might be a good idea to join her, to keep her from speaking her mind.
"Father Sutton, my mother was a very cold woman. She didn't care about her children, she only cared about climbing the social ladder and playing bridge. My sister would say the same thing."
"I guess I'm a few seconds too late." Sam whispered in her ear.
Mara hit him in the arm and smiled. "Father Sutton this is my husband Sam Seaborn."
"Nice to meet you, good luck in the election."
"Thank you very much. I think my wife could use a drink, if you'll excuse us."
"I'll have a triple JD on the rocks."
"Cute, you can have Coke or water." Sam offered as he made himself a coffee.
"Where did our kids disappear to?"
"Look for your nieces and then the furthest possible point and you'll find them."
"We've been here for 3 hours, let's go for an early dinner."
"Fine, go get the kids while I finish my coffee."
After a long dinner at Marathon's, they returned to the parlour for two more hours. After the funeral mass, there was a small reception at the house. Sam had spoken to Josh who confirmed that the debate was not going to be rescheduled but they had expanded the format of the debate on October 15th. They had dinner at Marathon again before leaving to go back to Washington.
The plane had just cleared Montreal airspace when Mara looked at Sam, batted her eyelashes and sighed that she missed Abbey.
"I've got an idea, why don't we spend the weekend in Manchester instead of home."
"That's the best idea I've heard in ages. Why don't you go tell Steve we've changed our destination and I'll call Abbey."
Forty five minutes later the plane stopped on the tarmac in Manchester. The smile on his wife's face alone was worth not going home. He knew that she would spend more time with Abbey than him but it was a small sacrifice compared to Mara's. When he saw her run into Abbey's arms he knew it was all worth it.