How did people function before the age of instantaneous communication? C.J. typed that question into the rough draft of the missive she was composing for Danny. She'd decided one huge narrative instead of dozens of daily reports made more sense.
Carol interrupted the typing with mail delivery. The pile was quickly rifled for plain white envelopes. C.J. needed to see if there were any postcards. It was Wednesday and he's been gone a week.
But every day there was mail delivery there was some kind of update from him. Today was no different. There was a postcard from the campground. This one showed a lake with small buildings ringing it. Two Xs were inscribed on the picture. One covered a cabin and the other was on the water.
She eagerly turned it over to see the message. "X marks the spots. One is our temporary abode, the other shows where we tipped the canoe. (But no Tyler too. Don't you love political humor.) Dinner - hot dogs and beans cooked over an open fire. I miss my phone and laptop but miss you more."
C.J. burst into tears and had to set the card down to hunt for a tissue. She shook her head in disbelief over the outburst. It has been an emotional week - no Danny and Josh finally out of the hospital this morning.
The Josh news reminded her to turn back to her computer. She dried her eyes and went back to tapping out details to Danny.
She focused on that and on the fact that in about 48 hours, Danny would nearly be home.
That prompted the mental admission that she had it bad for the red head.
The country air felt different. The country sky looked different. Danny recognized a difference in his son too. P.J. had gone to bed without a protest tonight. He was worn out physically and emotionally.
After supper they'd been studying constellations hanging over the nearby hills when P.J. blurted out that he didn't want his father to go back to D.C.
Before Danny could patiently explain to the little boy that he had to go back, the child continued talking. Patrick cried and hugged his father as he said he knew Danny would go back. and P.J. told Danny he understood why it was important to do it. "You have to tell people that the President is better and on the job. He's not gonna be scared off."
It was a moment of immense paternal pride and incredible relief for Danny. He'd draped an arm over his son's shoulders and hauled him in close.
He thanked P.J. for working his way to acceptance and promised to be as careful as he could. Then Danny extracted a promise from Patrick that he'd come visit soon especially when Josh was up for company.
Father and son talked about the things they'd do that visit and what they'd done on this trip. No complaints on either side except for Danny teasing P.J. about pulling his weight when it came to driving. The little boy collapsed in giggles.
When he settled down there was another secret revealed. P.J. had been invited to a swim party. But he'd turned it down because they were still scheduled to be on their trip.
It killed Danny to cut short his precious time with the boy. However, Danny could see how much it meant to his son. That settled it in Danny's mind. He asked P.J. if he'd like to head home a day early and make the party. The child's eyes widened in delight even though he tried to hide it.
Danny reassured his son, "It's not a problem and I'm not mad. We'll call your Mom in the morning and make sure she has supper ready."
"You'll stay for supper?"
"I'm planning to throw you out of your bed and sleep over to have Mom's apple pancakes."
The exuberant, "Thanks Dad, you're the best." followed by a bone crushing hug ended the discussion and not long after that P.J. went off to bed.
Danny glanced at the sky again and realized he could be flying into it sooner if he could book an earlier flight on Friday. Since it was iffy, he'd hold off on notifying C.J. A surprise was always fun and he smiled while he thought of various unusual ways to greet her at his place.
(TBC)
