C.J. woke more refreshed than she'd been since Danny's departure. She wasn't sure if it was pure exhaustion or him making his presence known via his shirt and his phone calls.
She capitalized on the burst of energy working out and stopping not just for coffee but for an assortment of diet busting pastries. In a gesture of self preservation, C.J. also brought coffee for Carol and put off attacking the bakery until Carol made her first choice.
It was too hard to choose between a cherry and cheese Danish, a chocolate croissant, an apple fritter and an apricot log. After nearly reaching for each one, Carol Fitzpatrick sighed and announced, "Let's split them and share."
"Brilliant, oh perfect assistant." C.J. laughed and touched her coffee cup to Carol's in a silent toast.
"Um, C.J. - how much coffee have you already had?"
"This is only my second cup, why?"
"You seem more chipper than your caffeine intake would indicate."
"Is that a problem?"
"No, just a surprise with things here still up in the air and . . ."
C.J. looked up from deciding on her next pastry choice. ". . . and what Carol?"
Her assistant breathed a silent prayer for mercy. "And with Danny gone."
Carol watched C.J.'s face relax at the mention of Danny's name. "Carol, he'll be back soon and he's with his son. I can't and I won't fight that bond, it's part of what makes him the man he is when he's here."
She immediately regretted venturing into such personal territory. C.J. began sweeping crumbs off her desk. She thrust the rest of the pastries back into the bag and tossed them to Carol. "Hide these from me."
"I was about to ask you to do the same thing for me." Carol laughed, "Maybe we should hand it off to the NSA aide."
"Or a Secret Service agent." C.J.'s voice took on an arch tone.
Carol blushed, "Touché, too personal to be comfortable for either of us." She started toward the door but hesitated at the threshold and turned back. "You know, boss, I consider these rare moments of down time when we can kick back to count as girlfriend time. That means whatever is said or inferred is a sacred confidence."
The two women exchanged nods and smiles before slipping back into business mode. "I'll take the summaries, Carol."
"On the way."
C.J. opted to for one more moment of personal indulgence. She logged onto her computer and checked the tracking number on a package. The information indicated left a smile on her face.
Danny marveled again at his son's energy. They'd just finished going back and forth about P.J.'s request to hit the hotel pool.
The boy kept insisting he'd "die" if he didn't refresh his amphibian traits like his gills. While Danny silently applauded the lively imagination, he ended up playing the ultimate parental card to justify nixing that plan. "Because I said so, Patrick Joseph."
To forestall a full scale tantrum Danny reminded his one son that he'd be on the water for most of the week while they camped. He also suggested that a shower or bath would suffice for amphibian boy.
Before the discussion could start anew there was a knock on their hotel room door. P.J. scrambled to answer it. Danny called out, "Peephole."
He struggled not to laugh when his son jumped up and down to reach it. P.J. swung open the door after announcing, "It's some hotel guy in a uniform."
"Dad, we got a package." The seven year old beamed when he was told it needed a signature. "I'll do that."
Danny reached for his wallet to extract a tip while P.J. carefully wrote his entire name out in large script. "Give him this, champ."
The exchange complete and the door closed led P.J. to begin dancing around in excitement. "What is it?"
"How about we open it and find out?"
"Maybe Mom sent it."
"She didn't say anything when you talked to her?"
"No, 'cuz then it wouldn't be a surprise."
The father beamed at his son's logical thought process. "If we use our x-ray vision, we'll solve the mystery."
"Cool." P.J. loved that his Dad played along.
A glance at the package registered shock on Danny's face. It had been sent from D.C. and he recognized C.J.'s address. "It's from someone I know in Washington."
"The President? Libby?"
"No, a special friend."
Before Danny could figure out how much and what to say Patrick started crawling all over the box. "It's addressed to both of us, please, can we open it?"
"May we open it, I think is correct. But you bet." Danny dug out his pocket knife and cut the packing tape around the box. "Okay, your turn."
P.J. threw back the lid and roared, "Outstanding." He hauled out a package of disposable cameras, sunglasses, comic books, magazines, paperback books and puzzle magazines.
Danny settled back and watched him dig deeper. The boy found a large envelope, "Dad, it's got your name on it. Here."
He took it and before he could open it P.J. squealed, "Sweet. There's food - you know good stuff like M&M's, cracker jack and oh, trail mix. And gum."
"Do not get into any of that."
"A comic book? And there's a baseball magazine."
"Okay, that's fine." Danny turned his attention back to the envelope and savored being connected to C.J. by running his fingers over her bold scrawl of his name.
"Geez, didn't you open that yet? What did you get?"
"Cool your jets. I don't want a paper cut."
"Not to worry, we got bandages in here too and they're neon."
"Doesn't mean it still wouldn't hurt."
"I'll do it Dad if you're scared."
He leaned over to ruffle the boy's red hair. How could he explain that anticipating what C.J. enclosed in the envelope was as good as actually opening it? Danny couldn't. Instead, he just ripped it open.
There were a couple of sheets of paper clipped to a gift card. That held a post-it reading, "Spend this for ballpark food and stuff at the team shop."
Danny handed it to P.J. and looked at the sheets. They were confirmation sheets for tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the next door Great Lakes Science Center.
C.J. had written, "Have fun and go wild. Also sent something for safety in the wild. Miss you and love you."
He called out to his son. "There should be another package in the box."
P.J. happily dug back in. "It's a bag. Oh, it's nothing good just useful stuff like sunscreen, bug spray and a couple flashlights. Don't we have this stuff?"
"Yeah but extras won't hurt." He wished C.J. were there to share the bounty and to enjoy P.J.'s exuberance. "You've got twenty minutes to clean up and get dressed."
"Where we going?"
"Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum."
"Geezers and other old folks?"
"Sacrilege." Danny grinned, "If you endure it with a minimum of sighs and eye rolling, we'll head next door to the Great Lakes Science Center. They're both right on the lake, amphibian boy."
"I don't want to miss the game, Dad."
"Not to worry. We can ride the rapid and walk to the game from here tonight after we come back."
"Promise?" P.J. crossed his heart.
Danny solemnly mirrored the gesture as he proclaimed, "Absolutely."
C.J. returned from visiting the President in the Residence and switched her wireless phone back on as she walked into her office. She automatically glanced at the screen before returning it to her waist band.
There were two missed messages. One was from Danny and one from Josh. She put duty over desire for a moment. Josh's voice sounded stronger every time she heard it. He'd been given limited Internet access and was giving C.J. blurbs to include in her next Briefing. She laughed at his attempts to make it sound casual. It was obvious he was anxious to be working once more.
She deleted Josh's call and turned to Danny's message with relish. It didn't disappoint.
"Hey, Babe. You have two happy guys here. Thank you for thinking of us to quote P.J. 'with all this cool stuff'. It's no surprise to see you went practical and frivolous sums up both sides of your personality perfectly. We're off to the Rock Hall and the Science Center. The desk gave me the name of a restaurant nearby. We're set except I'd love to have you along. It's a night game and if not before I'll call tonight for post game analysis. I know it's still an off night for you. Love you and miss you."
In a now familiar ritual, C.J. cradled the phone against her cheek envisioning it was Danny's face. The morning mail brought more postcards from his road trip. It couldn't quite capture Danny's exuberance but came close.
She called for Carol and more work to stay occupied. With a little luck it would make this Saturday pass faster.
C.J. tucked the postcards away knowing it would be the last until Monday. Or maybe he'd mailed one to her at home. Her bright smile lit up the room as she took the files from Carol.
Danny booted up the laptop to tap out a quick e-mail to C.J.: "Great time, great game with great fireworks for a an all around great day and you added to it.
"The boy is still bouncing around and on my phone talking to his mom. He more than tolerated the Rock Hall and went nuts at the Science Center with the exhibits and I-max movie. After a late afternoon snack at restaurant made out of a barge, we pit stopped here and then walked to the game.
"He preferred riding the rapid transit train which is how we traveled to the lakeside attractions. Used your gift card at the team shop. I held him off until the last third of the game to keep us from being weighted down with stuff.
"You'll be pleased as I was, P.J. wanted to make sure we remembered Josh. He'll have a new Rock Hall key chain and an Indians key lanyard. His keys are secure easing the minds of the NSA and the Secret Service.
"That's the business of the day. Now, on to your night. Hope you once again find my t-shirt to be your preferred sleeping garment. Makes me feel closer to you. I'll want them back when I return and look forward to taking them off of you.
"You're never far from my thoughts and always in my heart. I'll track you down tomorrow because I need to hear your voice before we head into the wild. I love you."
Danny hit send, closed the computer and turned back to his son.
C.J. cursed herself for falling asleep the night before and missing Danny's e-mail. She would have replied immediately or called the room. She glanced at the bedside clock and realized they'd already be on the road.
She didn't have a lot of time before heading to the White House. Officially she wasn't on duty but the President wasn't cleared to go to Mass. He'd have a private service in the Residence and receive communion there.
Protocol demanded her presence. She kicked back the covers and closed her laptop. She put off pulling off the white t-shirt by puttering around her apartment and plotting how she'd reach Danny at least a couple of times during the day.
When she found his e-mail she dashed off an apologetic reply even though he probably wouldn't see it for days.
He and his son were driving to Cincinnati for the afternoon game. Afterward they'd go directly to the West Virginia campground for most of the week. She'd pulled up the place's web site. They would have one of the cabins on the lake and a canoe was included.
But TV, telephone and internet access weren't offered. It was out of wireless range too. There was a phone at the camp store for emergencies and one at the campground office. Danny had left her the numbers just in case.
Daydreaming time was over. C.J. pulled the shirt over head and tucked it under the pillow for her next night at home. She was humming the Notre Dame fight song on her way to the shower.
P.J. was asleep in the back seat with his new baseball cap shading his eyes. Danny glanced in the rear view mirror and grinned at the face that was nearly identical to his.
They were nearing Cincinnati and the last ballpark on this edition of the All American Baseball tour. Once the afternoon game ended, they'd be crossing into West Virginia for several days of rustic life in a cabin with plans for canoeing and hiking.
Danny figured he had about a half hour before P.J. would wake up wanting food. They'd had a big breakfast plus the leftover ballpark peanuts and cracker jack. His boy seemed to be a bottomless pit. Danny wondered if he was giving Trish enough money for food.
It would be a challenge to keep him fed over the week without the benefit of fast food and a microwave. They'd probably be regulars at the camp store. That would work for checking in with Trish and mailing postcards to C.J.
Maybe it was time he talked to Patrick about C.J. Or would it be better to mention it to Trish and then tell their son? Danny sighed and wondered if his life ever would be as simple as P.J.'s No, Danny amended, it wasn't even simple for his young son with divorced parents, a long distance dad and the world's usual pressures.
He needed to shake off the bleak thoughts. Danny toyed with rousing Patrick up. Instead, the phone found its way to his fingers and he punched in #16 for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It rang half a tone before he heard a delighted, "Danny?"
"Don't you love caller ID."
"I do when I see your number."
"Already at work?"
""Uh-huh. Already on the road?"
"Yeah, about a half hour from Cincinnati."
"You made good time."
"Got P.J. up early. His payback is to be snoring the in the back seal while I drive."
"Are you sorry you put all this driving on the itinerary?"
"Not really. When he's awake, P.J. is a good companion and we are catching up. You can cover a lot of ground after you've belched the alphabet and discussed what places you can scratch without grossing people out.
"Charming." C.J. acid tone suddenly softened with a laugh.
"This is important father-son stuff."
"It's nice to know Danny that when P.J. attends his first State Dinner he'll be fine." She realized their time was growing short. "I miss you."
"Back at you. I probably won't call once we're in the woods unless. . ."
"Everything will be fine here. The timetable for Josh's release hasn't changed."
"We'll send him a postcard or two at his place."
"I'll probably flood your inbox with updates and silly comments."
"I can afford flood insurance."
"Okay, that so called sense of humor I haven't missed."
"C.J. if I stay away long enough - you'll look back on that remark as clever."
"You're right and I hate to admit that."
They were both momentarily distracted by the cruel outside world. Danny saw the Cincinnati skyline looming and C.J. saw Carol gesturing to her.
With matching sighs, the separated lovers murmured, "I have to go."
C.J. whispered, "Have fun, be safe." She turned away from her door for privacy. "I love you."
"Don't work too long. Tell Josh we said hi and I promise to check in later." Danny glanced in this rearview mirror, "I've got to wake P.J. up to see the city. I love you, C.J."
They severed the phone connection but C.J. and Danny kept the lines to their hearts open.
(TBC)
