Chapter Four

Kaitlyn Lyman watched in certain disgust as her twin sister walked up to Ms. Lewis's desk and handed her the letter she had bullshitted last night after her little temper tantrum with her mother's forged signature. Audrey had a knack for sweet-talking her way out of trouble with people who didn't know her and her ways. Luckily, Ms. Lewis seemed to be a no-nonsense woman, but Audrey had a way with words. She was already a master politician, her father said, at far too tender of an age. No doubt, she had rambled on in her letter about her poor choice and how it was disrespectful and how she was glad that she had Ms. Lewis as a teacher this year. Hopefully, this teacher wouldn't be blind-sighted like so many others had been.

"Thank you, Audrey." She told the smiling student as she accepted the letter. "I hope we can start over today on the right foot."

"Yes, Ms. Lewis. I'm sure we can. And I apologize for my rudeness yesterday. I guess my mind was still on summer vacation." Audrey fibbed. Katie roller her eyes and started flipping through her science textbook.

"I appreciate your apology. You may sit down."

Kiss-ass, Katie thought to herself. Her sister was so incredibly insincere it made her sick. She just wanted to get through this last period of the day and go home and lock herself in her room again.

After her parents had left to go find Audrey at her usual hiding place the night before, her best friend, Molly Ziegler, had finally called her back after softball practice. Molly always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better, like a big sister. She'd been crying for about ten minutes when she heard the phone ring, like a call that saved her. Molly's relationship with her brother had never turned as bad as the Lymans' was currently, but she could definitely understand where she was coming from. Being a twin was a difficult thing – you were always one half of a set. She knew what it was like to love someone so much but sometimes hate them at the same time. Their twins were their best friends, but they also caused each other the most hurt.

Finally, the school day was over at 3:00. The bell was music to everyone's ears, especially Katie's. She saw many of her peers still happily greeting each other in the hallway, thrilled to see each other after a long summer vacation. Katie didn't really have many close friends at school. She kept to herself most of the time. Audrey had always been her best friend and that's all she ever needed, but now it was just different.

Their mother picked them up once again after school. She was in a good mood and surprised them by saying that she wouldn't just be dropping them off at home and then returning to work today.

"We're treating ourselves today, girls." Donna announced as she put her sunglasses back down over her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked.

"We're going to Vigo's."

"Vigo's? Really!" Audrey exclaimed. "Yes!"

Katie smiled and giggled a little to herself. Vigo's was their favorite place to go, just the three of them. It was a spa where they always went to relax after a really stressful day, week, or even month. They called it their "girly girl" time – a time only for the three females of the household, not that Josh would ever want to go along with them.

"A girl's gotta take care of herself." Donna told them. She thought going to Vigo's would be a great idea with all the stress going on in the house since yesterday. Audrey and Katie were both still upset about her decision to run for the House. Maybe this would distract them and put them in a more forgiving mood. Donna knew this would be really hard on them, but Josh had convinced her she needed to do this for herself. She needed to do this for her girls. They needed to know that females were just as capable as males, something they had tried to drill into them since conception.

Both Audrey and Katie were secretly really excited to be spending time with their mother alone. Donna could tell they were happy, but the girls rarely got to have a girl's afternoon out with their mom and knew that soon that time would become even more scarce.

As they entered Vigo's spa, Vigo himself greeted them from the front counter. He was the owner and he was French and he was bubbly.

"Ah! Ze Lyman vwomen are back!" He exclaimed in his French accent as he stood up and walked around the counter. As Donna approached, they gave each other air kisses on both cheeks.

"Good afternoon, Vigo. It's so great to see you again." She smiled.

"It has been too long, yes?" He put his hand to his mouth like the mentioned act was forbidden. His attention then turned to the two girls standing just behind Donna. "Zese are not your twins, are zey? Zey are much too grown up!"

That earned a smile from both girls. They'd been coming here with their mother since they were about ten years old and knew Vigo well. He stepped around Donna and kissed each girl on the hand.

"Hello, Vigo." They both said.

"Vwat will it be today? Full body massage? Pedicure?"

Donna looked at her girls.

"I think we'll all get a massage and get our nails done. Is that okay, girls?"

"Yeah." They both agreed.

"Right zis way, Lymans!" He signaled towards a hallway flamboyantly, accenting the second syllable of Lyman instead of the first. "Surrender to the feel of a French massage, yes?" He joked.

Donna giggled and looked back at her daughters who were following close behind. Vigo was such a riot and he was just what they needed right now. He led them into a room with three massage tables, the room they were normally lead to during their girly girl outings to Vigo's Spa.

"Go ahead and get comfortable and vwe vwill be right with you, yes?" He told them, or asked them, or whatever.

"Thank you, Vigo." Donna told him as she took off her jacket.

"I get you best masseuses!" He promised them as he disappeared to leave them to change. The three Lymans looked at each other and giggled at Vigo's ability to lighten up any situation. They all disappeared behind separate curtains to change into generously big towels and all finally layed down on their respective beds, ready to be spoiled. Soon, there was a knock at the door and three female masseuses came in. They quickly got to work and soon the silent room was replaced with sounds only produced during total relaxation as stress left their minds and muscles.

"Momma?" Katie finally said as her masseuse kneaded her lower back.

"Yeah, honey?" Donna's eyes opened at her daughter's voice.

"What did daddy say when you told him you wanted to run?"

Donna thought back to the night not even a week ago when she'd first brought it up to her husband. After his initial shock, he had been nothing but supportive. Her big teddy bear.

"Well, he was a little surprised, but he was right there with me from the beginning. He's been so supportive."

Katie lay silent for a few moments, taking the information in. Her dad was easily freaked out and he handled it fine. Why didn't she? Dumbass.

"Katie, don't think he wasn't just as surprised as you were." Donna told her, as if she'd just read her daughter's mind. "It's okay to be a little scared. He's flipping out, though of course he'd never admit it. You know dad."

"How does he expect us not to flip out then?" Audrey jumped in. Donna turned her head around to look at Audrey to her right.

"Audrey, you know how protective he is of all of us. He just doesn't want me to get hurt. It's okay to express your feelings, but in a polite way." Donna was speaking more to her other daughter than she was to Audrey. Donna wanted Katie to know that she could express her feelings without being as blunt as her twin. After growing up around Audrey, Donna worried that Katie thought expressing her feelings meant blowing up or being bratty like her sister. It didn't have to be that way. Sharing feelings should an easier and open cause.

After a few more moments of silence, Audrey spoke again.

"I'm sorry I was such an ass yesterday, mom." She confessed quietly. That caused Katie to lift her head up a little, trying to read her sister's sincerity. She couldn't tell if she was being honest or just trying to get on mom's good side so she'd convince dad not to be too hard on her. Donna was apparently doing the same thing, as she lay quietly, pondering her child's apology.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Donna finally said, though she still hadn't totally let her off the hook. She'd been pretty mean yesterday, and she was pretty sure Josh wouldn't let her off so easily.

Their massages continued until their thirty minutes each was up. Next, they got their nails done together in another room. They each felt thoroughly rejuvenated after their time at the spa. Donna hoped Josh wouldn't get too mad at the bill, but they didn't do this very often. Audrey and Katie both in a good mood should be convincing enough for him that it was money well spent. He was waiting at the kitchen bar reading a political magazine when the three most important women in his life walked in. Josh immediately pushed the magazine aside as they walked into the kitchen.

"Hello, my lovely ladies. How are we today?" He asked them cheerfully. Josh had heard them chatting happily as they entered the house, so he assumed their moods had improved dramatically since yesterday.

Donna walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his neck, kissing him rather passionately but shortly, then dropping her workbag to the floor.

"Well, hello to you too." He remarked. His attention then turned to his two girls, both smiling at the same time uncharacteristically. "And how are my little devils?" He joked, eyeing them both.

Katie followed her mother's lead and hugged her father warmly, his arms going around her also, patting her on the back.

"Feeling better?" He whispered.

Katie simply nodded into his shoulder and squeezed him tight one last time before pulling away. Josh gave her a wink as she looked at him after releasing from the embrace. Audrey hung back on the other side of the bar, not knowing exactly how to act. The last time she'd seen her dad, she'd acted like a total brat and he'd snapped at her. Audrey knew she'd gone overboard and was sorry for it, but wouldn't admit it to him. Josh wasn't sure how to act, either, but he took a stab in the dark.

"How was your day, Audrey?"

"Fine. Yours?"

"Not too bad." He said. He watched her for a moment, seeing that she was uncomfortable. She always acted like that when she was sorry or ashamed and didn't want to admit it. Audrey was just as stubborn as he was. The one trait she had to inherit…

Josh decided not to bring last night up just yet. They all seemed to be in a relatively good mood and he wasn't going to be the big bad guy ruining their "girly girl" good day.

"Well, I was about to start dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs sound okay?" Josh asked, not really caring if they didn't like the sound of it. He was cooking and that was that.

Donna made a funny face, as if to say, 'well, I guess that'll have to do'.

"What was that, Donna?" he asked, getting up and immediately placing his hands in 'tickle position', as they had come to refer to it. He moved his fingers in the air and made her squeal.

"Your meatballs suck, Josh." She said boldly, still smiling, but stepping back in defense mode.

"Hey, that's slander." Josh warned her. "I could have you sued."

"You'd sue your own wife? Jackass. Where did you go to school again?"

"Alright, that's it." Josh announced as he lurched forward and started to tickle his wife. She didn't put up much of a fight as he'd suspected and soon they were a pile on the floor.

Katie and Audrey had been watching with worried grins on their faces the entire time and exchanged disgusted glances as they hit the floor.

"Get a room!" Audrey told them, and she turned to leave.

A little later on, Donna had gone to Katie's room and Josh was busy preparing the meatballs. Audrey came out of her room once she'd heard that her parents' banter was over. She walked into the kitchen and went over to one of the cupboards.

Josh glanced back from what he was doing to see what she was doing.

"I hope you're not getting a snack, because these meatballs are the best in town, despite what your mother says."

"I'm just getting a drink, dad." Audrey told him as she began to pour herself some orange juice. When she was done, she hopped up on the counter next to wear her dad was preparing the meatballs and brought her legs up into a pretzel-style position.

"Great, now we'll have all your foot germs mixed in with the food and your mom will never let me hear the end of it." Josh joked.

Audrey smacked him on the side of the head and took a sip of her drink.

"So, dad." Audrey started. "Do you really think that mom could win?" She asked. This was the first time she'd spoken of her mom and the election sounding civil, so Josh glanced over to check her expression. She seemed serious enough.

"I think she's a great candidate, Audrey. I definitely think she has a great chance at winning. There's not going to be an incumbent, so she won't have to worry about beating someone who's already been there, done that."

Audrey nodded and took a sip out of her cup again, but didn't say anything. She was still debating in her mind whether this was a good idea or not. Josh began to chop the onions that his was going to add next.

"But dad, I really am upset about having to ride the bus." She said. "It's not even a school bus. It would be the D.C. public busses. Do you know what kind of creeps ride those things?"

There was Audrey back again, concerned about the little things. Josh could see she was making an effort to be supportive, though, so he'd joke around with her about it. The fumes from the onions were starting to get to his eyes.

Josh put his thumb and pointer finger at the bridge of his nose, as if he were really upset. Audrey thought she'd hit a nerve and started to back up.

"Dad, I don't mean to sound…"

"Audrey, I've been losing sleep over that, too…" He started with a mock-upset voice. Josh finally looked over at his daughter with tears in his eyes, caused by the onion fumes. Audrey smiled and watched him continue.

"I mean, a whole fifteen-minute ride with semi-questionable people after a grueling seven hour school day, it's just….It's just cruel, Audrey, I know." He wiped his eyes and acted as if he was bawling.

Audrey finally laughed and put a hand to her forehead, realizing how silly she'd sounded moments ago.

"Dad, you don't understand how creepy they are!" She laughed. "And they smell funny too."

"Oh, the humanity!" He cried.

"Fine, dad. I'll shut up. I see I'm not getting any pity."

"You're darn right, you're not." He said, wiping the remaining moisture from his eyes. He sighed out, "If it bothers you that much, I'm sure we could work something out with one of your classmates or someone else. Or just hitchhike. I hear that's the new fad these days."

"Thanks, dad." She said at the suggestion.

"Now, let's talk about last night." He let the conversation turn serious. "Why did you feel it necessary to sneak out and go to Ella's house?" Josh looked at her questioningly.

Audrey sighed, knowing all along this conversation was coming, but still dreading it.

"I don't know. I just needed to get away. I get really mad sometimes and I just need out."

"I told you to stay in your room, Audrey, so you would cool down. Is that not alone enough, because that was the point."

"No." She simply stated, examining a small scar on her leg intently.

Josh could see she was being serious and sought to dig up more.

"Why is it not enough?" He was still working at the ground beef in a bowl, keeping himself busy.

Audrey looked away, as if to ask the refrigerator what her answer would be.

"I don't know, dad." She said honestly. "I really don't know. I just needed to leave."

"Audrey, you know that's not acceptable. It's dangerous, sweetheart." He said, stopping what he was doing and turning in her direction.

"I know." She confessed. She didn't bring up the fact that they always knew exactly where she was going when she'd disappeared from her room.

"Can you not come talk to us? If something is bothering you that much?" Josh put his hand on his hip. He was really concerned that they be able to talk to him and Donna at this age. They'd both of course heard of the horrors of the teen years from friends, family, and strangers, and had been anticipating problems, especially with Audrey. Being open and honest with each other was something they'd always prided themselves on. They needed to be able to talk about it.

"I guess I could." Audrey mumbled, sounding insincere. Josh looked down, knowing she was just saying that to make him happy.

"Audrey, I know you're not going to want to come to us with a lot of your problems during this stage of your life, but you really need to talk to us. I don't mean yelling at us and using profanity, but I mean real talking. Calmly, like adults. Can you do that?"

Audrey nodded, and she seemed to be really trying.

"Okay." Josh acknowledged.

"Now, you really need to call or go visit the Parkers to apologize for last night. That was really rude."

"I will."

"Good. Let's not let this happen again, okay?" He pleaded and patted her on the knee.

"Alright." She hopped down from the counter. "I'm gonna go start on my homework."

"Good girl." He kissed her head as he brought her into a rare hug. Josh was surprised she'd actually let him hug her, so he had a lot of hope that he'd actually gotten through to her.

Back in Katie's room, Donna was trying to rekindle the conversation she'd begun with her daughter last night before they were interrupted by the incident with Audrey. Donna hoped that their leisurely afternoon had helped with Katie's mood and that she would open up to her. They sat again on her bed, where she again had her nose stuck in a book. Katie read a lot, especially when something was bothering her. It was her escape from whatever problem she was facing.

"How was your day at school today?" Donna began as she gently removed the book from Katie's hands and placed it on the bedside table. Katie was laying down on her bed with her feet scooted up close to her bottom with Donna sitting right next to them. Donna brought a hand up and pushed gently on her knees to get her to straighten them so she could see her face. Katie reluctantly did so.

"It was school." Katie said, examining her fingernails. Her mom had told her last night that she needed to talk to her about something very important when she had to leave.

"Do you like your teachers?"

"They're okay." She didn't want to elaborate at all.

"Okay." Donna nodded, getting the hint that she wasn't in the mood to talk about school. "Katie, we were about to talk about something yesterday when we were interrupted, but I'd like to talk about it now if that's okay."

Katie nodded, even though she wasn't in the mood. She shouldn't ever say no to her mom when she wanted to talk.

"Good. I know you're a little uneasy about me running for office, and I hope that we can talk about whatever feelings you're having. Are you telling me everything?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seem upset, Katie, but you're not telling me about it." Donna looked down at her with concern. "Audrey always does, of course, but I want to make sure that you tell me what you're thinking."

"You want to know what I'm thinking?"

"Of course, honey." Katie's answer scared her. Did she really debate whether she and Josh wanted to hear what she had to say?

"Well…" She began, and paused for several seconds. "I guess it's just…I don't know. I just, it just upset me a little."

"Yeah?"

Katie nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"Why does it upset you?" Donna prompted her. Most of the time, Katie seemed to need a little coaxing to express herself.

"Because I think my life would change a lot. Dad isn't home a whole lot, you know? What will it be like with both of you gone?"

"Well, I'm concerned about that too." Donna told her, surprising her daughter. "That's one of the reasons I've waited this long to run. I've always wanted to run for office, but I want to be here for you and Audrey."

"Really?" Katie hadn't thought about this. She knew that her mom had been her father's assistant when they were both working at the White House years ago. Of course she'd want to run for office. But she and Audrey had been holding her back.

"Yep. But I think that you and Audrey, well, you at least, are responsible enough to be home by yourself. What do you think?"

"I guess we are. I am." She quickly corrected herself.

"And you don't always have to stay at home. You can be out with friends after school as long as you get your homework done. And you can invite one or two people over. But we'll have to keep our eye on Audrey, won't we?"

"Yeah. That's what I'm worried about."

"Dad and I will have a nice long talk with her." Donna reassured her daughter. "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"When will we spend time together?"

Donna was so happy that at least one of her daughters still wanted to be around her and liked doing so.

"Dad and I will try to work out of schedules so at least one of us is home by five every night. It may not always work out like that, but that's our plan."

"Okay." Katie finally said. Donna could tell by her facial expressions that she was okay now. Her face had opened up and she looked placid. "It's okay with me, then."

Donna almost wanted to cry.

"Thank you, sweetheart." She reached down to touch her cheek like she had last night, and this time Katie let her. Katie reached up and put her hand over her mother's, letting her know that it was really okay.

"I'll go check to see how dinner is coming." Donna told her daughter, patting her arm. She smiled at Katie as she got up, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now she had one of her daughters behind her at least. Audrey would be a totally different story. She'd deal with that later, but not now.

Donna joined her husband in the kitchen. Josh looked up with an evil glare from tending to his meatballs. He still hadn't forgiven her for the comments she made earlier.

"The shitty meatballs are still simmering." He announced. Josh knew it was safe to joke around with Donna based on the huge smile on her face as she emerged from Katie's room. Katie was the easy one to get to open up and talk. He'd gotten somewhere with Audrey, but she was a pistol and they never really knew what she was thinking.

"You have great balls, Josh." Donna told him.

Josh laughed out loud as he took her into his arms.

"Do I really?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, you do." Donna jabbed back.

"I've always known you've liked my balls."

They both were laughing with red faces now. Their laughter was soon interrupted by a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it." Donna tried to say over her giggling. Josh let her go and she walked to the front door. As she opened it, her eyes fell on Ella Parker, Audrey's best friend. She was crying.

"Ella, honey." Donna opened the door and her arms and Ella immediately fell into them. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" She asked into her hair.

Ella just sobbed for a few minutes, her body shaking.

"I don't want to go home. Dad's really mad."

TBC

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