Wild Nights - Wild Nights!
Summary: One-shot. Josh & Donna walk & talk. The conversation turns to Emily Dickinson.
Disclaimer: West Wing Not Mine. Emily Dickinson & her poetry Not Mine.
(Spawned from poetry paper research being mixed with my Josh and Dona obsession.)
Set sometime after The Cold.
"What did the Congressman mean when he said 'so much for my education plan'?" The clack-clack-clack of Donna's heels moved in perfect rhythm with Josh's swift, pounding stride, making their own unique form of music.
"He meant Kazakhstan. It's going to blow the budget to smithereens."
Donna became indignant. "So we're going to sacrifice our children's education-"
"-For peace in an oil-rich country?" Josh ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, we are."
Donna made her "you hamster-killer" face: simultaneously achingly sad and more than a little angry. Josh hated to see that face. It meant she was really upset.
"Don't let it bother you too much," he made a token attempt at levity, "What should we care? It's not like you or I have kids."
Donna's voice was quiet. "We will someday."
Josh came close to tripping over his own feet as he cast her a fleeting glance, eyebrows raised slightly. Donna didn't seem to notice, however, and the music of their walk and talk missed nary a beat.
"Our education system is in desperate need of an overhaul, Josh-"
"I know that!" For Josh, the most frustrating part about disagreeing with Donna was the fact that he rarely did. "There just won't be any money for it."
Donna grabbed Josh's arm to stop him, pulling him slightly to face her. "We can't make even one of our changes?" She had the Serious Donna face. The one where her blue eyes grew larger and gazed right into Josh's brown ones.
His mouth opened and then closed again as Josh tried to focus on education and not the blueness of Donna's eyes. What to pick? Increased teacher pay, better qualified teachers, repairing broken-down schools? All that would be well beyond their capabilities. He knew none of his answers could be good enough for her.
Josh decided to aim for levity once again, "We could ban Emily Dickinson." With that, he began to walk again at his swiftest pace, forcing Donna to chase after him.
Clackclackclackclackclack. "Josh!" Donna was unamused.
"Seriously, Donna. It's one of the best things we could do for American students, in my opinion."
"I like Emily Dickinson." Good. Then she'd be agitated enough to at least leave the education subject alone.
"It's all weird punctuation and random capitals." Whatever Josh might have said about the debates he got into with Donna, distracting her with banter meant Josh had a short time without having to feel guilty over Santos' education plan, or tense about the campaign's problems, or having to feel...Anything else he might want to avoid feeling.
"Her poetry is not-" Donna was getting riled.
"It's also about nothing but flowers and sunshine and birds. Emily Dickinson is full of sentimental crap."
"Wild Nights-Wild Nights!
Were I with thee
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!"
Josh did trip over his feet this time; he had stopped so suddenly in his tracks. He had that "your-sense-humor-is-a-bit-of-a-highwire-act" look on his face: so unsure, his eyebrows as high on his forehead as they got.
"I'm sorry?" Donna couldn't hold back a satisfied smirk at the squeak in Josh's voice.
"Emily Dickinson, Josh. I'd recite the rest for you, but it's time for my meeting." One bright smile and a series of clack-clack-clacks later, and she was gone.
One day, Josh was going to make a list of all the times Donna Moss had walked off after getting the last word in, leaving him stunned and thoughtful in her wake.
"Wild nights should be our luxury," Josh murmured, and the dimpled grin just would not come off his face.