Part 7: The Brother
Washington, D.C.
"What I'd like to do," Dr. Adams begins. "is have you describe to me, to the best of your abilities, a day in the life of your marriage at a given point in time. I've found that it's a helpful tool in noting the progression of things, how things have changed and which things may have, in the long run, contributed to the state your marriage is in now"
The President hesitates a moment, considering this proposal. It isn't so much that he doubts his memory, but having to describe something so personal will be a challenge. He had become much more comfortable being honest with his therapist in recent weeks, but he still had quite a long road to travel before reaching his destination.
"Okay," Jed agrees. "I'll do my best"
"Good. Why don't you start by describing a day in the life of your marriage after one month"
"When we'd been married a month"
"Yes," Dr. Adams answers.
"Well. We got married in the summer, after my college graduation. We were planning on moving to London, so I could go to the London School of Economics in the fall. So in the meantime, we lived with her parents in Massachusetts"
"You lived with her parents"
Jed laughs at the expression of disbelief that is plastered in his psychiatrist's face.
"Yeah. We didn't see the point in renting an apartment for such a short time. So we stayed in the room above the garage, which, in away, was like an apartment in itself, except we didn't have to pay rent"
"What did you do during that time"
"Abbey was taking summer classes, because she was supposed to be going into her senior year at Amherst, and she wanted to get her degree before we went to London. So she essentially completed eight months of college in four months. Needless to say, she was completely swamped the entire time and could barely fit eating into her schedule. While she was doing that, I was commuting back and forth from Boston every day. Abbey's stepmom, Joanne Bennett, worked for Random House's Boston division, and she got me a job working with her," Jed explains.
"So you were an editor"
"Yeah, more like a fact checker. Joanne said she could put my useless knowledge to good use, and she did. It was a great experience, and it provided me with the funds I needed to get us started in London"
"Were you able to spend a lot of time together?" Dr. Adams asks.
"Not much, to be honest. Most nights, I'd help her study. But then there were some nights when I was more of a distraction, so she'd kick me out and I'd spend the evening having philosophical discussions with her brother Michael, talking about politics with her sister, Julia, or watching tv with her little sister, Michelle. And I didn't mind really, because it gave me a chance to get very close to her family, and that important to both of us. I think that during that summer, I was able to establish firm bonds with her family that have lasted up to this day"
"Have you been in touch with your wife's family since the separation"
"A little, yeah. Julia has taken to calling me at least once a week to see how I'm doing, and Michelle's sent me about a hundred fruit baskets in the last month," Jed says.
"What about her brother"
"Oh." He glances down at his shoes, clearly avoiding Dr. Adams' gaze. "He died about thirty years ago"
"How did he die"
London, England "He…killed himself," Abbey admits, quietly.
"Your brother?" Dr. Hewson questions.
"Yeah"
"When"
"June 6th, 1973"
Dr. Hewson nods, jotting down some notes.
"How old was he"
"He'd just turned thirty-one"
"How old were you?" He asks.
"Twenty-seven. Barely"
"I see. How did he kill himself"
Abbey sits up straight, crosses one shapely leg over the other and folds her hands in her lap.
"Why are we talking about this"
"Because it looks like your brother's suicide had a very profound affect on you. And I'm getting a strong feeling that his death may be indirectly related to the situation you're in now," Dr. Hewson observes.
She locks her gaze with his for a moment, her eyes burning into his. It surprises her enormously, but she trusts him.
"He cut his wrists," Abbey states, calmly. "And it made him sick, so he swallowed half a bottle of sleeping"
"Wait, wait, please. How do you know it made him sick?" Dr. Hewson asks, out of genuine curiosity.
"Michael couldn't stand the sight of blood. That was the reason he went into physics instead of medicine"
"I see. Go on"
"Well, the pills were taking too long so"
"How do you know that?" He interrupts her yet again.
"Michael was always terribly impatient"
"Hmm." Dr. Hewson is not convinced, but not exactly suspicious either. "Okay"
"So then he shot himself. Quick and painless, unlike the other two"
He studies her carefully, noticing the sudden change in her body language and mannerisms. She is a bit restless now, to the point where she appears to be nervous about something. He makes good note of this on his legal pad.
"You knew your brother very well, didn't you"
"Yes," Abbey answers, quickly, before pondering her response. "I mean, I thought I did. But how much can you really know about another person"
Washington, D.C "You're zoning out"
Dr. Moran's inquisitive voice draws Millicent Griffith back in from her daydream.
"What?" Millie says. "I'm sorry"
"What are you thinking about"
She shakes her head, dismissively.
"I was ust looking at your bookshelf. You have 'Death in Venice"
Dr. Moran smiles.
"Yes. Have you read it"
"No, I want to. Michael was always trying to get me to read it"
Well, this is certainly a foreign name to Dr. Moran. Three years treating the Surgeon General and never once has such a name come up.
"Who's Michael"
"Michael Bennett," Millie replies. "Abbey's brother. We dated for awhile, before I married Scott"
"You never told me that"
Dr. Moran would never admit it, but she is hurt and slightly offended by the omission.
"It's not something I talk about very often"
"Why"
"I don't know," Millie says, honestly. "It's just not my favorite topic, I guess"
"When did you date Michael"
"Uh…'64 to '65, thereabouts. He was twenty-two, I was eighteen. We'd known each other since we were kids, but that's when we started dating"
"How did you start your relationship?" Dr. Moran inquires.
"Well, it was during EAR, that's what we called it. It means Era of Abbey's Rebellion. After her mom died, she went a little loco and started following Bob Dylan across America trying to get into his pants. I joined forces with Michael, their sister Julia, and Scott, who thought he was in love with her at the time. We met up with her at a Dylan concert in Jersey and dragged her home. That's when Michael and I really bonded. We got her home and I started dating Michael, and Abbey started dating Scott"
"Your best friend dated your ex-husband"
"Yeah. I told you, she was loco." Millie laughs. "We all scared boyfriends in those days. We had a little circle of friends. It was me, Abbey, Michael, Julia, Scott, Leo McGarry, Jenny Lowry- who later became Jenny McGarry- Ron Erlich, Steve Reeseman, and Becky Andrews- who later became Becky Reeseman. Everyone dated everyone at some point, except Leo. Leo only dated Becky, Julia, and finally Jenny. He never dated Abbey, and he never dated me, until now that is. Abbey dated Ron, Steve, and Scott. Her longest relationship was Ron, which lasted nine months, and ended when she met Jed. I dated Ron, Steve, Michael, and finally Scott. So on, and so forth. Not one of us ever dated anyone outside the circle until Abbey met Jed. Though I'm sure Jed would have been in the circle, as he was Leo's best friend, if he hadn't gone to Indiana for college. But it all worked out in the end, for the most part. Abbey married Jed, Leo married Jenny, Steve married Becky, and I married Scott. Though it's interesting that now we're all either divorced or separated. Go figure"
"What happened to your relationship with Michael"
"It ended," Millie answers, simply.
"How"
"Badly"
"Why"
"I cheated on him. I slept with Scott"
"Why did you do that?" Dr. Moran asks.
"Michael was a drag! He was so fixated on death and other depressing things. He never wanted to go anywhere or do anything"
"You were unfaithful to Scott as well, and it ended your marriage. I'm sensing a pattern"
"I was faithful to Scott for thirty-six years. I cheated on him because he cheated on me!" Millie exlclaims, protectively.
"You've never been able to prove that," Dr. Moran reminds her. "And Scott never admitted to it"
"Scott lies. He slept with Becky Reeseman and he's in denial. Not that I blame him. I'd be in denial too if I'd slept with Becky Reeseman"
"Is that why you slept with Becky's husband"
"You're making it sound like I'm Joan Crawford in 'The Women"
"Is that how you see yourself?" Dr. Moran wonders.
"No"
"All right. So you cheated on Michael. Is that why you don't like to talk about him"
"Why then"
"Because in his suicide note to Abbey, he listed me as one of the top ten reasons why he killed himself."
"What I'd like to do," Dr. Adams begins. "is have you describe to me, to the best of your abilities, a day in the life of your marriage at a given point in time. I've found that it's a helpful tool in noting the progression of things, how things have changed and which things may have, in the long run, contributed to the state your marriage is in now"
The President hesitates a moment, considering this proposal. It isn't so much that he doubts his memory, but having to describe something so personal will be a challenge. He had become much more comfortable being honest with his therapist in recent weeks, but he still had quite a long road to travel before reaching his destination.
"Okay," Jed agrees. "I'll do my best"
"Good. Why don't you start by describing a day in the life of your marriage after one month"
"When we'd been married a month"
"Yes," Dr. Adams answers.
"Well. We got married in the summer, after my college graduation. We were planning on moving to London, so I could go to the London School of Economics in the fall. So in the meantime, we lived with her parents in Massachusetts"
"You lived with her parents"
Jed laughs at the expression of disbelief that is plastered in his psychiatrist's face.
"Yeah. We didn't see the point in renting an apartment for such a short time. So we stayed in the room above the garage, which, in away, was like an apartment in itself, except we didn't have to pay rent"
"What did you do during that time"
"Abbey was taking summer classes, because she was supposed to be going into her senior year at Amherst, and she wanted to get her degree before we went to London. So she essentially completed eight months of college in four months. Needless to say, she was completely swamped the entire time and could barely fit eating into her schedule. While she was doing that, I was commuting back and forth from Boston every day. Abbey's stepmom, Joanne Bennett, worked for Random House's Boston division, and she got me a job working with her," Jed explains.
"So you were an editor"
"Yeah, more like a fact checker. Joanne said she could put my useless knowledge to good use, and she did. It was a great experience, and it provided me with the funds I needed to get us started in London"
"Were you able to spend a lot of time together?" Dr. Adams asks.
"Not much, to be honest. Most nights, I'd help her study. But then there were some nights when I was more of a distraction, so she'd kick me out and I'd spend the evening having philosophical discussions with her brother Michael, talking about politics with her sister, Julia, or watching tv with her little sister, Michelle. And I didn't mind really, because it gave me a chance to get very close to her family, and that important to both of us. I think that during that summer, I was able to establish firm bonds with her family that have lasted up to this day"
"Have you been in touch with your wife's family since the separation"
"A little, yeah. Julia has taken to calling me at least once a week to see how I'm doing, and Michelle's sent me about a hundred fruit baskets in the last month," Jed says.
"What about her brother"
"Oh." He glances down at his shoes, clearly avoiding Dr. Adams' gaze. "He died about thirty years ago"
"How did he die"
London, England "He…killed himself," Abbey admits, quietly.
"Your brother?" Dr. Hewson questions.
"Yeah"
"When"
"June 6th, 1973"
Dr. Hewson nods, jotting down some notes.
"How old was he"
"He'd just turned thirty-one"
"How old were you?" He asks.
"Twenty-seven. Barely"
"I see. How did he kill himself"
Abbey sits up straight, crosses one shapely leg over the other and folds her hands in her lap.
"Why are we talking about this"
"Because it looks like your brother's suicide had a very profound affect on you. And I'm getting a strong feeling that his death may be indirectly related to the situation you're in now," Dr. Hewson observes.
She locks her gaze with his for a moment, her eyes burning into his. It surprises her enormously, but she trusts him.
"He cut his wrists," Abbey states, calmly. "And it made him sick, so he swallowed half a bottle of sleeping"
"Wait, wait, please. How do you know it made him sick?" Dr. Hewson asks, out of genuine curiosity.
"Michael couldn't stand the sight of blood. That was the reason he went into physics instead of medicine"
"I see. Go on"
"Well, the pills were taking too long so"
"How do you know that?" He interrupts her yet again.
"Michael was always terribly impatient"
"Hmm." Dr. Hewson is not convinced, but not exactly suspicious either. "Okay"
"So then he shot himself. Quick and painless, unlike the other two"
He studies her carefully, noticing the sudden change in her body language and mannerisms. She is a bit restless now, to the point where she appears to be nervous about something. He makes good note of this on his legal pad.
"You knew your brother very well, didn't you"
"Yes," Abbey answers, quickly, before pondering her response. "I mean, I thought I did. But how much can you really know about another person"
Washington, D.C "You're zoning out"
Dr. Moran's inquisitive voice draws Millicent Griffith back in from her daydream.
"What?" Millie says. "I'm sorry"
"What are you thinking about"
She shakes her head, dismissively.
"I was ust looking at your bookshelf. You have 'Death in Venice"
Dr. Moran smiles.
"Yes. Have you read it"
"No, I want to. Michael was always trying to get me to read it"
Well, this is certainly a foreign name to Dr. Moran. Three years treating the Surgeon General and never once has such a name come up.
"Who's Michael"
"Michael Bennett," Millie replies. "Abbey's brother. We dated for awhile, before I married Scott"
"You never told me that"
Dr. Moran would never admit it, but she is hurt and slightly offended by the omission.
"It's not something I talk about very often"
"Why"
"I don't know," Millie says, honestly. "It's just not my favorite topic, I guess"
"When did you date Michael"
"Uh…'64 to '65, thereabouts. He was twenty-two, I was eighteen. We'd known each other since we were kids, but that's when we started dating"
"How did you start your relationship?" Dr. Moran inquires.
"Well, it was during EAR, that's what we called it. It means Era of Abbey's Rebellion. After her mom died, she went a little loco and started following Bob Dylan across America trying to get into his pants. I joined forces with Michael, their sister Julia, and Scott, who thought he was in love with her at the time. We met up with her at a Dylan concert in Jersey and dragged her home. That's when Michael and I really bonded. We got her home and I started dating Michael, and Abbey started dating Scott"
"Your best friend dated your ex-husband"
"Yeah. I told you, she was loco." Millie laughs. "We all scared boyfriends in those days. We had a little circle of friends. It was me, Abbey, Michael, Julia, Scott, Leo McGarry, Jenny Lowry- who later became Jenny McGarry- Ron Erlich, Steve Reeseman, and Becky Andrews- who later became Becky Reeseman. Everyone dated everyone at some point, except Leo. Leo only dated Becky, Julia, and finally Jenny. He never dated Abbey, and he never dated me, until now that is. Abbey dated Ron, Steve, and Scott. Her longest relationship was Ron, which lasted nine months, and ended when she met Jed. I dated Ron, Steve, Michael, and finally Scott. So on, and so forth. Not one of us ever dated anyone outside the circle until Abbey met Jed. Though I'm sure Jed would have been in the circle, as he was Leo's best friend, if he hadn't gone to Indiana for college. But it all worked out in the end, for the most part. Abbey married Jed, Leo married Jenny, Steve married Becky, and I married Scott. Though it's interesting that now we're all either divorced or separated. Go figure"
"What happened to your relationship with Michael"
"It ended," Millie answers, simply.
"How"
"Badly"
"Why"
"I cheated on him. I slept with Scott"
"Why did you do that?" Dr. Moran asks.
"Michael was a drag! He was so fixated on death and other depressing things. He never wanted to go anywhere or do anything"
"You were unfaithful to Scott as well, and it ended your marriage. I'm sensing a pattern"
"I was faithful to Scott for thirty-six years. I cheated on him because he cheated on me!" Millie exlclaims, protectively.
"You've never been able to prove that," Dr. Moran reminds her. "And Scott never admitted to it"
"Scott lies. He slept with Becky Reeseman and he's in denial. Not that I blame him. I'd be in denial too if I'd slept with Becky Reeseman"
"Is that why you slept with Becky's husband"
"You're making it sound like I'm Joan Crawford in 'The Women"
"Is that how you see yourself?" Dr. Moran wonders.
"No"
"All right. So you cheated on Michael. Is that why you don't like to talk about him"
"Why then"
"Because in his suicide note to Abbey, he listed me as one of the top ten reasons why he killed himself."