Conversations of Dinner

Ever since Josh had walked into the office this morning he had had a plan brewing in the back of his mind. All morning, Josh was piecing together his strategy. During senior staff, he had tried to pay attention and look involved, but his mind had been preoccupied trying to think of ways to make his plan sound conceivable. By mid-morning, Josh garnered enough courage to put his plan into action. Rummaging through the things on his desk, Josh found his cell phone and snapped it open. Josh felt a certain amount of anxiety as he dialed. Not knowing the exact outcome of something, especially something personal, was new territory for Josh and made him jumpy.

"Juliana Wexler's office." Josh heard over the phone. It was a man's voice, and Josh assumed that it must be her assistant.

"Juliana Wexler please. It's Josh Lyman." Josh tried to keep his voice from cracking, and as he was put on hold he was left wondering why he was so anxious.

"Hello." Juliana's voice snapped Josh's attention back to his phone call.

"Uh, hi. This is Josh. Josh Lyman…"

"Yes, Josh. My assistant told me who was on the phone." Josh could hear a quiet laugh accompany Juliana's remark.

"Oh, well, good." Josh started kicking his desk in frustration. Why couldn't he piece together a decent sentence?

"What can I do for you Josh?" Juliana asked casually.

"I wanted to say congratulations on your Capitol Beat performance yesterday. You were really good."

"You were watching?"

"Yeah. Sam and I camped out on CJ's couch and watched your segment. You gave a first rate argument."

"And here I thought you'd be fuming that your guy wasn't as good." Juliana joked.

"Well, that thought did cross my mind, but you were so impressive that Sam and I kind of forgot who we were supporting." Josh said honestly.

"Wow! I should do Capitol Beat more often. If I keep it up, I could have half the Democratic party brainwashed before Valentine's Day." Jules continued to kid. "Seriously, Josh. Did you need to talk about something, or are you simply to call to tell me how wonderful I am?"

"Don't get carried away." Josh laughed as he talked. He was feeling much more relaxed and felt confident with his plan. "Actually…" Josh paused, gauging the situation before proceeding. "I was wondering if you'd like to grab dinner sometime. I know you're new to DC, and I know some great restaurants. I was just thinking that if you were free, we could…" Josh's voice trailed off. He couldn't tell what Juliana's reaction was.

"I'd love to." Jules said, before Josh could finish. "I happen to be free tonight. What about you?"

"Tonight would be great." Josh admitted. "I'll see you around 7?"

"See you then, Josh." Juliana replied.

Josh couldn't tell for sure, but to him it sounded like Jules was smiling on the other end of the phone. Mission accomplished!

"Donna!" Josh's voice called out from his office. Donna didn't even have time to spring up from her desk and walk in, when Josh practically skipped through his doorway and ran into her.

"Donna, good lady," Josh began with a thundering, regal sounding, playful voice. "The day is fading fast and we have accomplished great things!"

"Josh, how much coffee have you had today?"

"Great things Donna!"

Josh was practically skipping around the bullpen, his gleeful mood seemed strange as Donna stared at him.

"Okay. Now you're scaring me. Who are you and where is Josh?"

"Can't I be in a good mood, Donna?"

"No." A smiled started to spread across Donna's face. "Is this all because your schedule is clear for the rest of the day and you have your hot date tonight?"

"Hot date? How do you know I have a date?"

"Josh! You've only mentioned it about 20 times today. Never in normal conversation, no, but always dropping it in, in the middle of something. 'Donna do you have those foreign aid numbers for SAFA? Oh, I've got a date tonight.'"

"Okay! I get the idea." Josh was smiling while he and Donna talked in the bullpen. "Hey, I'm going home. We're done here. You should go home too."

"Thanks, I…" Donna was interrupted by Sam.

"Josh."

Josh turned to walk into his office and Sam followed. Sam continued talking as Josh shoved files and folders into his backpack and put his coat on.

"Hey I was thinking that we should go out and have some fun tonight. There's a good band playing at Ritchie's and we could grab some drinks. What do you think? We can ask the others too."

"Can't. I've got plans tonight."

"Plans? With who?"

"It's whom. Do we pay you to use proper grammar too?"

Josh had his coat on and his things slung over his back. As Sam stood silently, Josh waltzed past him out his office door and flicked off the light. Josh turned to both Donna and Sam.

"Yes, Sam I have dinner plans…well more of a date really. Donna, you should go home. I'll see you Monday, unless something else comes up this weekend. Sam, I'll call you tomorrow. Check with CJ, though, I think she wanted to go out tonight."

Josh turned and walked out of the bullpen leaving Sam and Donna in his wake. Donna rose, walked to the filing cabinet and then turned to Sam.

"A date?" Sam questioned quizzically.

"I'm surprised you hadn't heard." Donna quipped. "He hasn't stopped referring to it all day today. He's one step away from taking out a billboard on the beltway."

"A date." Sam said again as he began to walk back to his office.

Juliana was cleaning off her desk and packing up for the afternoon when her cell phone began chirping away. Juliana sighed as she dug through her bag to find the ringing phone. She was praying it wasn't work related, it had been a busy day already and she was eager to get out of her office.

"Juliana Wexler." Juliana answered

"Hi, Jules." Sam sang into the phone.

"Hey there. What's up?"

"Ya know, just keep'n it real, yo."

"Sam, someone has to break it to you so it might as well be me. When you try to sound hip to the younger generation, you really just end up sounding, well, stupid."

Sam chuckled into the phone, "So, you're saying that I shouldn't use that phrase again?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying." After a pause, Juliana continued. "Sam, did you want something? I'm sorry to come right to the point, but it's been a long day, and I really just want to get out of my office and go home to take a hot shower, preferably accompanied by something citrus scented."

"Hey, sorry you're having a rough day. I was calling because, for once, I'm finished up here early on a Saturday and I'm bored."

"Sam Seaborn? Bored? I thought that was a physical impossibility."

"Laugh all you want Jules. But I can't think of anything else to do tonight….Hey! Why don't we grab dinner? I'll have something to do and you have a consolation for your long day!"

"I'd love to Sam, but I can't. After that long, citrus infused shower which I'm about to take, I've got dinner plans. But are you free for brunch tomorrow? We could grab coffee and muffins."

"You disappoint me. Little sisters are supposed to come through for their older brothers. They're supposed to be there in times of boredom. You'll just have to consider yourself disowned!" Sam's voice was playful and dripping with sarcasm. "I'll have to call you tomorrow morning about brunch, it depends on if I have to go in to meet with Toby or not."

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm breaching my little sister contract by not being there for you, but call me about brunch."

Juliana was expecting for Sam to hang up, but he continued to talk. She decided that she could start trekking home and talk at the same time. Sam and Juliana chatted about their weeks, but Sam's next question stopped her in her tracks.

"So, who do you have dinner plans with? A hunky athlete or some dashing Republican?"

A knot formed in the bottom of Juliana's stomach. Juliana had been weighing whether or not to tell Sam about her dinner plans. It wasn't that she thought Sam would disapprove of her companion, she just didn't know how he would interpret it. Juliana took a deep breath and told her brother about her plans for the evening.

"Actually he is neither an athlete nor a Republican."

"So, he's a wimpy Democrat? This should be good." Sam shot back jokingly.

"I'm having dinner with Josh tonight." Juliana announced. She had said it calmly, neither too loud nor too soft. She waited for Sam's response. Juliana didn't have a problem having dinner with Josh. She wasn't worried about what her constituents or employers would think, she had never cared about personal spin and the media. But she was worried about how Sam would react when he took all of those other things into account. There was still a deafening silence coming from the other end of the line. Juliana couldn't tell if Sam had hung up, or suddenly become mute.

"Sam?"

"Josh Lyman?" It was all Sam said.

"Are there many other Josh's out there that we both know by first name only? Of course Josh Lyman." Juliana began walking towards home again now that she had gauged Sam's mood on the subject.

"Jules, I don't think this is a good idea." Sam warned.

"We're just going to grab something to eat. Don't worry Sam; I won't coerce him into disclosing any secret plans you all have for ruling the world."

"That's not what I mean." Sam's voice had changed. He was no longer happy and joking, his tone had changed to disquieted concern. Sam couldn't begin to articulate what was going on in his mind. He knew that if he did, it would all come out as one long ramble.

"Sam." Juliana said, cutting off Sam's rambling thoughts. "I'm a big girl. I can make my own decisions, and I can take care of myself. Call me tomorrow, we'll grab a muffin, I'll tell you about dinner and prove to you that it wasn't such a bad idea. But now, if you'll excuse me, I'm on my doorstep and I'm going to go inside to relax and take a shower. Call me tomorrow!"

Juliana flipped her cell phone closed without giving Sam a chance to reply. Sam sank into his chair behind his desk, took off his glasses and tilted his head back. Lost, deep in thought, Sam barely heard his name.

"Sam."

Sam looked up towards his office door. Donna was standing there. As Donna realized that she had Sam's attention, she walked in.

"Here." She said as she handed him two blue folders. "Josh said you needed these for Monday's meeting on the hill."

"Hey, Donna…Is Josh still here?" Sam asked trying to keep a nonchalant tone to his voice.

"Nope. He skipped out of here about 20 minutes ago. He's got that date."

"Date?" Sam asked. He thought he could hear his voice squeak at the end of his question. "Are you sure it wasn't a dinner meeting of some kind?"

"No. He was very clear that it was a date. He made a point of telling me about it many times. He even told me that I could leave early. It's all very strange if you ask me." Donna paused for a moment, changed her focus and said, "Hey, CJ and I were thinking about going out and getting some drinks tonight. Wanna come?"

Sam looked at Donna. "Sure. I could use a drink." He laid his head down on his desk, making a plunking sound as his head connected with the wood.

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