Story: Checkmate
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Admitting he was concerned, Jed asked for Leo's advice about his campaign; Liz considered working as a candy striper over the summer; Abbey helped Liz understand her position
Summary: Abbey organizes a panel discussion about medicinal marijuana; Jed and Leo show up at the discussion where Jed is cornered by an inexperienced reporter interviewing Abbey; Abbey confronts Jed when she finds out about the deal he made with his colleagues; Jed reaches out to a hurt Abbey
"You ready?"
"Definitely!"
She walked with such confidence. Her head held high, she swaggered down the stairs and with the first click of her stiletto heels, Jed and Leo deserted their chess game and turned their eyes towards her. She was a vision, from head to toe.
Her straight and shiny brunette tresses fell to the very top of the tailored red knit suit that tightly hugged her waist just as well as it gripped the curve of her hips. Golden buttons accented the bodice below the teasing neckline that revealed only a hint of cleavage, and the long sleeves were trimmed with matching cuffs that subtly scraped the bannister.
Delighted to steal her husband's attention, Abbey continued to saunter down the steps, her hourglass figure dancing provocatively in the formfitting suit. Jenny, Mallory, Lizzie, and Ellie followed her down.
"Hey." Abbey addressed the two men when she reached the bottom.
"Hi." Jed stood to examine her new look. "You changed your hair."
"Yeah. Jenny and the girls helped me dye it. You like it?"
"It's brown."
"Well, it's always been somewhat brown."
"Yeah, but it was reddish-brown. I kind of liked the auburn."
She ran her nails through a few strands to straighten any tangles. "So you don't like it?"
"I didn't say that. I just have to get used to it."
"I think she looks hot!" Liz said, standing behind Abbey.
"Me too!" Ellie added.
"Me three!" Mallory echoed.
"She always looks hot," Jed replied. "All I'm saying is...it's different."
"In a good way," Leo finished.
"You're gorgeous," Jed assured her. "I'm just surprised. I mean, new hair, new suit - which I love by the way. What's up? Where are you going?"
"I'm participating in a panel discussion about the beneficial affects of medicinal marijuana."
"Where?"
"The rec center."
"Our rec center? Why would they hold something like that there? Why not some place more formal, more professional?" Her coy smile answered his question. "You set it up."
"I did," Abbey admitted. "We'll be taking questions from the audience, which I expect will be filled with quite a few constituents from Manchester."
"You're taking petitions?"
"I am. And I sent out a press release, so I'm hoping for some media coverage."
"How many signatures do you have already?" Leo asked.
"One-fourth of what I need for this district, but I just started."
"Abbey's really making progress," Jenny told her husband. "The girls and I are going to go down to the rec center to help her out. You don't mind, do you, Jed?"
"No, of course not. I'll keep an eye on Zoey."
"She's taking her nap," Abbey responded. "When she wakes up, do me a favor and make sure she eats something. She didn't have much breakfast."
"She didn't have much dinner last night either. Is she feeling okay?"
"She's fine. She's just giving us a hard time. She's so picky about what she eats these days. Ellie was the same way at this age."
"So was Mallory. Thank God my mother was around to help me because I don't think I would have ever gotten Mallory through the terrible twos by myself." Jenny laughed as she said it, a lighthearted comment not meant to hurt any feelings or ruffle any feathers.
But that wasn't how Leo took it. His sensitivity was a direct result of his guilty conscious, the pestering doubts that overwhelmed him with the knowledge that, at times, he was an absentee parent. "By yourself? It's not like you were a single parent."
"I didn't mean to imply I was."
"You just did." The tone of Leo's defensive reply wasn't lost on Jed and Abbey, nor was the pained glance that Jenny shot him from across the room before she breezed past him.
To the McGarrys, this wasn't unusual. To the other spectators, it seemed to come out of nowhere. The snappy exchange silenced everyone, sparked by such tension between husband and wife that no one dared to question it. Eight-year-old Mallory had grown accustomed to the awkward interaction between her parents and after she instinctively glared at them to stop, she lowered her head to leave the room.
Not single word was spoken between Leo and Jenny that afternoon. Jed wasn't sure that was a bad thing, for he was certain any further conversation would have ended in a fight.
It would have been easy to dismiss it as a simple disagreement, but he and Abbey were too smart for that. Abbey remembered the problems Jenny and Leo were having the year before and the suspicions she had shared with Jed - suspicions of Leo's drinking. Jed remembered them too. He battled those memories, and all the others that came rushing back.
His desire to avoid interference lost the war with his curiosity once he and Leo were left alone. Before long, as the two men sat across an antique chess table, Jed finally asked, "Everything okay between you and Jenn?"
Leo looked up and with a raised brow, he dismissed the concern. "Yeah."
"You sure?"
"Are we going to talk about this or are we going to play chess?" Many things were open for discussion between the two men, but any time Jed tried to talk to him about his troubled marriage, Leo quickly shut down.
Jed accepted this about his friend without complaint. He moved his pawn towards Leo's side of the board. "We're playing."
"How many signatures is Abbey going to get today?" A little abrupt, but he was eager to change the subject.
"Probably a few," Jed answered without looking up.
"Maybe more?"
"Possibly."
"You gonna ask her?"
"No. I don't really talk to her about her campaign. I find it's better to find out how she's doing on my own instead of prying."
"Better for whom?"
"For her. For our marriage. And for my own sanity. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that she's succeeding, but I'm also surprised at the attention she's already getting inside the district."
Leo studied the board more carefully as he prepared to move his rook. "We could go down there."
"For what?"
"Just to see what's happening. Wouldn't you want to know how much interest there really is?"
"I'm afraid to find out. I was sure the majority would be against this proposal."
"Maybe they are. The only way to be certain is to go down there and see how many showed up. At least then you'll know those people are keeping an open mind about what she's suggesting." Leo's concentration faltered slightly, unintentionally giving Jed an opening.
"Maybe."
"What do you say?"
Jed trapped Leo's king. "First, I say 'checkmate.'" He set down his piece and looked at his opponent. "Now, I say let's go."
They showed up with low expectations. A large crowd gathering to hear a medical panel on a Saturday afternoon wasn't out of the question, but it certainly was unlikely. As they walked through the double glass doors of the recreation center, Jed drew in a sigh.
The discussion had ended and the panelists were mingling with the guests. Beyond the sea of four dozen residents swarming the tables for information pamphlets while signing their names to Abbey's petition, was a party table where Lizzie, Mallory, and Ellie helped to serve punch and finger foods. Each armed with issue cards designed to answer questions, it was obvious they had become Abbey's co-conspirators.
In the corner adjacent to the girls, Abbey stood beside Jenny, talking to a reporter who furiously scribbled notes onto a yellow legal pad. She looked so comfortable, Jed thought to himself. She was confident, energetic, and from what little he could hear, wonderfully articulate. It was a side to Abbey he very much enjoyed seeing.
He stood back, waiting to ensure they were finished before he put Zoey down in her stroller and made his presence known.
The reporter was fairly new to the field of professional journalism. A young man in his early 20s who had been with the Manchester Bee for only two years. He looked up and immediately recognized Jed. "Representative Bartlet. It's so nice to see you again."
Jed extended his hand towards him. "Tom Phillips, right?"
"You guys know each other?" Abbey asked.
"Tom's the one who interviewed me right after I won in 1980."
"Yes, I did. I was an intern back then. Things have certainly changed, for both of us. Now I have to ask you how it feels to disagree with your constituents - as well as your wife - on an issue like this?"
Always the politician, Jed didn't even hesitate. "My wife and I are coping just fine and as for my constituents, they elected me to be their voice in the State House and I believe the majority of them don't agree with this petition."
"Well, quite a few of them signed it this afternoon," Abbey stated politely.
"She's right," Tom agreed, his eyes still focused on Jed. "Many of them in attendance today have relatives suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, and other brain and neurological disorders. Do you think you might be out of touch with the voters?"
"No, I don't," Jed replied flatly. "I've represented this district for two years and before that, I represented the people of Hanover for four. In all my years as a legislator, I have given my constituents and their opinions the utmost respect on every single issue."
"Then why have you not even considered this one?" Tom's own bias dictated his questions, but Jed didn't allow it to faze him.
"Just because I don't agree with it doesn't mean I haven't considered it. Before I formed my opinion, I read up on it and I even talked to a doctor who's in favor of it. It all came down to the fact that legalizing marijuana, even for medicinal purposes, presents a danger to the patients, as well as the public at large, and until there is scientific evidence that the good outweighs the bad, I won't change my mind on that."
Perhaps Abbey would have given credence to his point if one word hadn't caused her to tune out the rest of his answer. Doctor. He had talked to one before he made up his mind. That was the first time she had heard of Jed's consultation with a doctor.
If not for his own admission, she never would have believed that the man who tried so desperately to avoid the debate with her would have gone to another doctor, that he would have argued the drawbacks of medicinal marijuana with someone else in the field when he was so adamantly against involving his her.
She edged past him slightly as she tucked her hair behind her ears and said softly, "I didn't know you spoke to a doctor."
"I did, early on. But it didn't change my mind."
"Nothing will change your mind?" Tom repeated Jed's comments from moments earlier for confirmation. "Even if it's what the voters want?"
"I guess we'll find out what they want IF the measure shows up on the ballot. I don't think it will."
"You'd be surprised how popular it is," Abbey said, biting her tongue before she continued. She turned to Tom. "Tom, it's important that you realize that while my husband doesn't agree with this particular issue, he still shares the vision of most of the voters in this district. He's the best representative they could ever ask for."
"Don't you consider this to be an important issue, Dr. Bartlet?"
"Of course I do, but it shouldn't overshadow what Jed has accomplished and how he feels about the people who put him in office. He's done wonderful things for small businesses in and around Manchester, he's worked with his colleagues from neighboring districts on economic development projects, he's represented the city council and helped them ensure the funds they need for the downtown revitalization project..."
He never doubted Abbey's support, but it was comforting the way she always stood up for him, even if they were at odds. Jed tenderly wrapped an arm around her. "I didn't come here to make this about me. This is Abbey's cause, Tom. I'm sure she can answer all your questions."
"What I'm interested in is how this affects the two of you, being on opposite sides and all. It's for a sidebar I'm doing called Bedroom Politics."
Abbey chuckled as she reached for her waist and slipped her hand in Jed's. "It really hasn't affected us that much. I know where Jed stands, he knows where I stand, and we respect one another enough to leave it at that. We don't fight about it if that's what you're looking for."
"There's got to be some sense of competition in the house. Even if your campaign doesn't affect your husband's election, he does disagree with you and what you're doing, essentially, is recruiting his constituents to give him an order."
"It's not an order. When they sign the petition, they're saying they'd like the issue on the ballot. All we want is a debate with qualified scientists weighing in."
When she finished talking, Jed began. "And I have to point out that Abbey's running a statewide campaign, reaching out to every voter in every district. It isn't something personal between me and her and neither one of us has treated it as such. In fact, I'm thrilled that we both have something on the line this election cycle. Makes it more interesting."
And just like that, they derailed Tom's line of questioning. Enraptured in the way Jed looked at Abbey when he lifted their hands slightly to squeeze hers a little tighter and the smile she gave him when he did, Tom jotted down a few more notes, turned off his tape recorder, and left with the image of an affectionate and loving couple planted firmly in his mind. So in love with one another that no political aspiration was worth manipulating the harmony of marriage.
It was a true reflection of the passionate relationship between Jed and Abbey. Above all else, they were loyal to each other - both in public and alone - and that loyalty had given birth to such a deep level of trust that it could never be fractured. Their love thrived on the unspoken promise of fidelity to the support and devotion that had been the cornerstone of their union.
But on that night, Abbey's trust was tested.
Still raw from the revelation that Jed had sought expert medical advice from someone else while he ignored her opinion, she sheltered herself behind the four walls of the study. A short while later, the already open wound was aggravated further by a phone call she didn't clearly understand. She sat behind the desk, her mind racing with possibilities until Jed opened the door.
"There you are," he said.
She looked up briefly, then glanced back at her book. "Hi. Everyone in bed?"
"Yeah. Ellie and Mallory conned Lizzie into camping out with them, if you can believe it. What are you doing?"
"Studying for the boards."
"I wanted to thank you again for the way you handled that reporter today."
"We did it together. It was no big deal."
He heard the shrill pitch of her voice, the dismissive nature of her stare, and knew instantly that something was wrong. "Okay, spill it. What's wrong?"
Abbey set down her book and slapped the answering machine. It was a message from Brandon Kelley, the Democratic Whip. He spoke fast, yet clearly, and with each syllable that echoed through the room, Jed's jaw tightened just a little more.
"We need stats regarding Abbey's campaign. How many votes she's got, how many people she's talked to, how she's doing out in the field. I've got canvassers ready to handle damage control, so let me know."
A long beep signaled the end of the message and that was the moment that Abbey dropped her pencil and pulled away from the desk. "You might want to call him back and tell him I got close to 40 signatures today."
Jed collapsed into the leather chair across from his wife, leaning forward far enough so that his forearms rested on his thighs. "It's not what it sounds like."
"I can't imagine how it could be different than it sounds. It's pretty obvious he wants the information you were supposed to have, so I guess that's what you've been doing - tracking my progress. That's why you showed up today."
"No, it isn't. I showed up today because I was curious, not because I was going to report back to Kelley. Okay, yes, I did agree to keep an eye on things. Only in the DISTRICT, Abbey. He wanted me to gauge constituent reaction. I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
"He's got people ready for damage control! Every step I make is being watched by you so the state democrats can disrupt what I'm doing?"
He desperately leapt to his feet. "I don't know what Kelley meant by that, but all I agreed to do is gauge interest."
"So how have you been doing that? Have you been following me when I'm out canvassing?" Her tone was dominated by anger, accusatory and laced with sarcasm.
"You know me better than that."
"How are you doing it, Jed? Tell me."
"I haven't done anything yet. Next week, I'm going to start canvassing myself. I'm going to talk to people, just like I planned all along. We've already talked about this."
"I didn't realize why you were doing it."
"This isn't why."
"Isn't it?"
"No, it isn't," he barked, turning away from her. "I'm doing it because it's important. I'm running in this election, too, in case you've forgotten."
"Yeah, Jed, that's it. I forgot. I forgot you were running. That's why I defended your commitment to this district to Tom Phillips today."
"I'm going to go ahead and tell you again that I have NO idea why Kelley said he had canvassers ready for damage control. I'm not a part of that. I'm not keeping tabs on you, but as a candidate, it's important for me to monitor what's happening. If you drum up enough support, that leaves me weak to opposition."
"There's an opponent already?"
"No, but there will be any day now and if he - or she - is smart, he's going to wedge himself between you and me. It's a great way to win this thing."
That was something Abbey hadn't yet considered. Presumably, any opponent of Jed's would be against her proposal, reluctant to embrace it for fear of criticism. But for the first time, she saw a hint of vulnerability in Jed. He wasn't as confident as she thought. In fact, he was quite worried.
"You think that's going to happen?"
"I think it's a really good possibility and I'll be honest - I'm not looking forward to that. It's not going to be easy to speak out against something that's so important to you."
"This isn't easy for me either. It kills me that we don't agree on this because I don't want to give reporters like Tom Phillips an opening to criticize you."
"I know."
"I want you to win. I always wanted that, even when I considered running against you, I wanted YOU to win. I meant what I said to Tom. None of us could ask for a better representative."
"But it's not just about winning. It's about fighting for what I believe and I believe you're wrong. I'm sorry, Abbey, but I do. The harder you work to secure support, the weaker it makes me. So, yeah, I have to monitor your progress, not by spying on you or invading your privacy, but by talking to people in the community and figuring out where they stand."
Content with his explanation, Abbey backed down. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"You have to do what you have to do. We've both known that at some point you'd have to speak out against this, more than you did today. I'm prepared for that. I just want you to do what's best for your campaign."
"Really?"
"It's not like you're going to be attacking me. It's the issue."
"It is the issue. I'm...I wouldn't hurt you for anything, Abbey."
"I know that. It's a campaign, Jed. I don't know what got into me tonight. I heard the message and I overreacted. I thought you were trying to sabotage me, as silly as that sounds. I guess it was just my impulsive paranoia getting the best of me. I'm sorry."
Jed looked her squarely in the eye. "It didn't even occur to me to sabotage your efforts. I wouldn't spy on you and I would certainly never tell Kelley what you're up to. That wasn't our agreement. It was about the voters. That's all. You believe me, don't you?"
"Of course I believe you. I trust you."
"Thank God." Jed breathed a sigh of relief. "For a minute there, I was worried."
"Don't be." She smiled up at him for only a moment, then looked down to flip the page of her book. "I have to get back to studying."
"You want some company?"
"No thanks." There was still something troubling her. Her cool and detached voice gave her away.
"We're okay, right?"
Abbey nodded. "Yeah."
He knew her too well for that. He suspected what was bothering her, but he wanted validation. "Hey, I was going to bring this up earlier. I didn't know that medicinal marijuana could also be used for Alzheimer's and MS patients."
"You never asked." She stopped then and after a few seconds, she added, "Well, you didn't ask me anyway. I guess the other doctor didn't tell you everything."
Just as he assumed. "Listen, about that..."
"It's not a big deal, Jed."
"It's not?"
"No. I do think it's strange that you live with a doctor, you share a house and a bed with a doctor, and when you needed a medical opinion, you went to someone else."
This wasn't anger he was hearing. His head tilted regretfully as he detected a twinge of sadness in her voice. "Abbey."
"Usually when someone seeks an opinion from an expert, they find an expert they trust and that's what I'm assuming you did. You found an MD whose opinion you trusted."
"I trust your opinion."
"No, you don't. Not on this. And that's okay. I've only been out of med school a few years. I'm still not completely finished with my residency. I don't blame you for wanting to speak to someone more experienced, more knowledgeable."
"No, Abbey. I think you're great at what you do, you know that."
"Can we talk about this later? I really want to get through these questions before bed."
"Abbey..."
"Jed, I'm not mad. I'm not." Her bruised ego kept her temper under control. The only emotion Abbey was feeling was the hurt that came from misguided belief that she wasn't yet a competent physician - at least, not in her husband's mind.
"I don't like leaving things like this. You're still upset. "
"You said you didn't know that marijuana could be used to treat Alzheimer's and MS and all I'm saying is you didn't ask. If you had asked, I would have told you."
"I didn't ask. I know I should have."
Afraid her emotions would overwhelm her at the late hour, she silently took note of his remorse, then pushed her reading glasses to the top of her nose. "I really need to get back to this."
"Are you sure you don't want help? I could quiz you like I did when you were in med school."
"I'm sure. Thanks though." Jed put his hand on the knob, but Abbey stopped him before he left. "Jed? Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
He walked out slowly, shutting the door behind him with such deliberate ease that Abbey didn't even hear it close. As she returned to her book, she struggled to focus, her attention so obviously consumed by the stress of the day.
She always knew this would be difficult, but she never dreamed she'd be engulfed in a storm of doubts and second-thoughts this early in the campaign. Only a few weeks had passed and already she was drowning under the pressure.
It was never supposed to be easy. She just didn't expect that it was about to get a little bit harder.
TBC
