168. (Sorry for the update delay! Election has been all consuming! I'm still writing if you're still reading. And, even if you're not reading, I'm probably still writing for it is one of the greatest escapes!)
The Tuckers landed in Dublin mid-morning eager to stretch and move around even though they'd had more space than they expected on the airplane. Perhaps due to lingering pandemic fears, flights were still not full, and, except for a middle-aged couple, the family had the first class cabin to themselves. This allowed Noah to drift among the six seats, and, three hours into the flight, he climbed into Olivia's lap and promptly fell asleep. Neither she nor Ed were surprised. He'd been so excited the night before and conked out after midnight. Olivia made sure to wake him up before they landed, for she didn't want him to miss his first glimpses of the country from the airplane window. Noah perked up quickly and shouted, "It's super green, Gramma! Jus' like you said!"
The flight attendants smiled. Caroline nodded, waved him over, and gazed at her ancestral homeland out of her own window with Noah now in her lap. Along with landing in New York, the sight of the sea and the lush fields glimmering in the sunlight was one of her favorite views in the world.
During the ride into the city, Noah sat on his knees and took in the streetscape.
"Kinda like New York," he reported, "But also kinda older." The observation was spot on. Interspersed among historic low-rise brick and stone buildings were modern office highrises and condominiums.
The group was divided between two suites. Ed, Olivia, and Noah in one and the girls and Caroline in the other. The windows overlooked the street below and it teemed with activity. There were many bars, restaurants, and shops in the neighborhood and Noah was eager to get out and join the crowd.
"C'we go look around?" He asked.
"Sure, honey," Olivia replied, "Let's get changed and call Maggie and Wyatt and we'll see what everyone else wants to do. Are you hungry? We'll probably get something to eat, see some sights, and maybe go to the pool later." No one had reported jet lag quite yet, but Olivia was certain they would all want to crash early and try to get on a normal sleep schedule as quickly as possible.
"Little early to call?" Ed remarked.
Olivia did the quick calculation in her head. "You're right. Justin probably would not appreciate this early of a wake up. I'm going to call the Center and make sure our plan works and we can call from wherever we end up." She quickly dialed the Benson Center's main line and smiled when she heard the ring and ensuing voicemail message. "Good to go!"
"Good." Happy to see her content and not missing the twins too much, Ed smirked and gave her a kiss.
He and Olivia were still in close proximity when Caroline, Sarah, and Brooke entered their room. They had exchanged keys to be safe and Ed grumbled something about reconsidering the plan.
"No, no," Caroline said, "No time for hanky panky. Let's get dinner."
"Gramma!" Noah said, "It's morning! We had dinner on da plane!"
"We're probably all going to be confused about meals for a little while longer," Brooke said. "I bet we can find some place to eat that has everything. Or, maybe not. I'm thinking like an American."
"You are an American, Brookey," Sarah said. "Can we walk? Gawd, I need to move. My legs are still asleep."
"There's St. Stephen's Green nearby," Olivia said. "We can walk through there and it looks like there are all kinds of restaurants around."
Everyone nodded.
"Are we gonna see da castle today?" Noah asked.
"It's nearby," Caroline said. "We can walk there."
Sarah and Brooke adjusted their cross-body totes. Caroline zipped her jacket and reached for Noah's hand. She'd given her phone and wallet to Brooke to carry. Ed and Olivia made sure they had everything they needed for a few hours. Olivia patted Ed's chest before they let the door close behind them.
"Don't let me forget to call the twins."
Ed kissed her again. "I won't."
"I'm happy to be here in Ireland with you."
Ed grinned. "Same here. It's like a dream come true."
…..
The Face Time with Maggie and Wyatt went well in the sense the twins weren't all that interested in talking to their parents or even their brother. Justin had made them chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and they were way more interested in making designs with the whipped cream and strawberries than waving to Mommy and Daddy. Justin reported they had slept well the night before but abashedly admitted he hadn't been a stickler for bedtime.
"That's okay," Olivia said.
"We had a Paw Patrol marathon going on," he said with a grin.
"Hard to compete with that," Ed chimed in.
Sarah wedged her head between Ed's and Olivia's and asked her husband what they had on the agenda for the day.
"My mom's coming over. Thought we'd go to the playground."
"Fun! Are you taking Pearl?"
"No," Just replied with a slight snicker, "I'll take her for a walk before we go. Two kids and a lab...I dunno about that. She slept on the bed with them last night though. Wouldn't get down until they woke up."
"Omigod, omigod, omigod."
"Oh, shit-"
Ed groaned at Sarah's profanity but everyone else took it in stride.
Sarah continued, "I have a flash drive in my briefcase and my boss needs it. If I tell him or his assistant to swing by after work, like seven or so, can you give it to him?"
"Sure. There's only one flash drive in your bag?"
"Yep."
"Are you sure?"
Sarah grinned and cooed, "Yessss, honey."
Everyone heard a crash and Justin whipped his head around.
"Everything alright?" Ed asked.
"Yeah," he replied, "Dropped fork. Hey, Wyatt, let Pearl have it. I'll get ya another one."
"We should let you go," Olivia said. "Maggie! Wyatt! Bye sweethearts! We'll call later!"
"Bye, Mama!" Justin held the phone in front of the twins and they smiled gooey, chocolatey smiles.
"Those babies are gonna be hyper," Noah warned.
Sarah shrugged and quipped. "That's Justin's problem."
…..
Olivia clawed at her lower eyelids so that they stretched to the top of her cheekbones. No stranger to long nights, she accepted the familiar exhaustion but the sense of doom and dread brought on by the election results was reminiscent of her worst nightmares. Next to her Ed sat back against the sofa, his arms resting on his thighs, fingers curled around his knees, and an expression of utter shock on his face. It was a terrible night and the next four years were certain to pose unimaginable challenges, but at least he was here. They'd made it through scandal, apprehension, doubt, sideways glances, a brief split, but now they were on the verge of something serious and lasting. Olivia finally let herself be okay with falling in love, with allowing someone to care for her and Ed, though he did his best not to show it, practically oozed with relief. They were looking forward to the holidays, maybe another vacation, and then...this.
"I feel like a fucking door just slammed in my face," Ed grumbled.
Olivia raised her eyebrows not at the profanity but at the general sentiment. As the now-President-elect rose in the polls, he'd been the first one to say the campaign was a fluke. He claimed there was no way people would fall for this clown, as he called him. Until an hour or so ago, he remained optimistic. Then the returns came in. Now, here they were, staring at the flat screen, completely flabbergasted.
"I don't even want to think about January," Olivia said. "What's he going to do first? Who's he going to go after first? And the Court? Four years? He'll get to nominate at least two justices. Ed. This is bad. Like, bad of historic proportions."
"We gotta trust the system I guess," Ed muttered not even sounding convinced of his own words, "Checks and balances...all of that."
"The system gave us this!"
He turned to her, eyelids drooping, and replied, "It's all we've got. Maybe it won't be so bad."
"You hate politicians," Olivia managed a tiny smile. She rested her elbow on the back of the couch and rested her head on her fist, "Tell me why you think we're not headed for the end of our republic."
"I dunno. I...I'm stunned. But I don't feel it in my gut. Don't get me wrong, there's gonna be some insane, unbelievable ridiculousness ahead, Liv, but we're gonna come out okay. We always come out okay. Maybe we'll be even better-"
"-Are you talking about the country or us?"
"Am I recycling previous remarks, Lieutenant?"
"I believe you are, Captain."
"I'm a cop," he started to smirk, "We don't come with speechwriters."
"I'm not sure you need one."
He reached over and twirled a lock of her hair, "Ya know, this night doesn't have to be completely terrible."
Olivia played along. "We really should try and look on the bright side."
Ed kept the section of hair in his hand but cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply. When she wrapped her arms around him he slid his free hand under her loose t-shirt and grinned ever so slightly when he remembered she wasn't wearing a bra. He'd noticed earlier, but their eyes became glued to the TV.
The TV.
The anchors' voices rattled off numbers and names of states and projected times of victory speeches and concession phone calls. Olivia ripped her lips from his and grabbed the remote.
"Yeah," Ed rasped, "Turn that fucking thing off."
"Really kills the mood." She said.
"Sure as hell does." Olivia's hands were on him and Ed was breathing harder and harder. He gulped and asked, "Are we staying out here?"
"A little while longer," she said, "We need to change the energy in this room."
Ed gently laid her on her back. "I think we can do that."
…..
On their third and last night in the Dublin hotel, Sarah led the effort to give Ed and Olivia a night on their own. The rest of their time would be spent in a cottage in the town where Caroline was born. It was to be the most poignant part of the trip and everyone, Noah especially, was filled with anticipation. Sightseeing in the city was one thing, but the Irish small towns and countryside were sure to be enchanting.
After a morning museum visit, lunch, and a trip to the zoo, the Tuckers returned to the hotel for some down time. They relaxed by the pool, watched Noah do cannonballs, and wished out loud that they had his vast reserves of energy. When the topic of dinner arose, Sarah offered their collective child care services.
"Go out for some romance!" She said. "And Noey can stay in our room tonight."
Ed and Olivia glanced at one another and tried to conceal how much they appreciated the gesture. They were beyond the point of being embarrassed about Sarah gifting them alone time, and a quiet meal in one of the cozy restaurants they'd passed on their outings sounded like the perfect addition to the Dublin part of the trip. Olivia immediately started looking at the map for options, but Ed gently took the phone from her hands and placed it down beside her.
"I know where we're going," he said softly.
Olivia smiled sweetly, bit her lip, and nodded. She loved take-charge Ed Tucker and the fact he already had a place in mind gave her chills. She kept staring at him in profile, how his face contorted in various ways in reaction to Noah's pool antics. Ed had been fully prepared and willing to swim with Noah, but there were other kids around and he quickly made friends. The elegant pool area was filled with the echoey voices of the kids who were all using different versions of accented English. At a pause for a sip of water, Noah said his new pals were from Switzerland, Spain, and the UK, and then, realizing he knew a bit of Spanish, ran off to practice the language with the young Spaniard.
Ed and Olivia left the hotel a couple of hours later after kissing Noah goodnight and calling the twins. Olivia liked to call closer to bedtime, but the time difference proved to be a challenge and Maggie and Wyatt were still perfectly content in Justin's and, occasionally, Carmen's care. Other than joking about how the twins would demand a dog of their own like Pearl, whatever lingering qualms Ed and Olivia had about being separated from their babies had disappeared.
They walked a short distance to a part of the city that retained its 19th Century charm. The restaurant was located in what looked to be a former townhouse and Ed and Olivia were seated in front of the main plate glass window.
"This place is...exquisite," Olivia murmured. She admired the antique crown molding and impressively hand-carved mahogany bar. The view of the street outside reminded her of something that would appear in a Dickens scene.
Ed folded his hands in front of him and smirked. Shadows from their table's candlelight flickered across his Olivia's face. For what had to be the millionth time in his life, his chest puffed out with pride and gratitude. He glanced at the rings on her left hand. Yes. She really had married him. She really was his wife.
"You look enamored," Olivia said.
"I am."
"It's been such a wonderful trip."
"It's not only that," he replied, "Trips are trips. But bein' here with you. Nothin' like it. I love you."
"I love you." Olivia reached across the table for his hands. "You are the best man, Ed Tucker. You make me laugh. You make me feel safe. You help me not take everything so seriously-" she interrupted herself with soft laughter, knowing the last compliment was not easily attained. Her eyes began filling with tears. "Thank you for being you," she managed to croak.
Ed took over the grip she had on his hands. He kissed both sets of her knuckles without taking his eyes off of her.
"Can I getcha something to drink?" The waiter interrupted the tender, silent moment in a deep Irish brogue.
Ed looked up at him without releasing Olivia's hands, "We haven't had a chance to look at the menu."
"Can I interest you in a whisky flight?"
"We'd love one," Olivia answered. She raised her eyebrows and asked Ed if that was okay even though the waiter had already scurried off.
"It's exactly what I wanted," Ed replied, his voice oozing with flirtatious energy.
Olivia blushed.
"Somethin' wrong?" He asked.
"No," Olivia replied, "Nothing's wrong at all."
"You warm? You're a little red."
Olivia chuckled. "No one makes me blush like you do, honey."
Ed smirked again. He wouldn't have it any other way.
….
Cameras of all sizes and types lined the perimeter of the room and two gigantic rolling versions were positioned in front of a small makeshift stage. In an adjacent smaller room, Noah and a select group of friends and family waited for the election results to begin trickling in. The young mayoral candidate's campaign began as a long shot. Actually, it started late one night when he was out with his friends and complaining in long, detailed sentences about the corruption of the entire mayor's office. One of his closest work buddies, in off-the-cuff fashion suggested he run for mayor and clean house. Noah set his jaw and said he would.
And he did.
With the help of longtime family friends, he organized a grassroots campaign with all donations coming in small amounts from New York's citizens. Their all-volunteer staff grew. And soon, Noah was staring down the face of the incumbent on the debate stage. Viewership soared and New Yorkers seemed positioned to take a chance on this kid who was well-traveled, well-educated, and intelligent yet could connect with the most disinterested constituent. Noah Benson Tucker, since preschool, always found common ground with others. He could talk to anyone. And though he was not an experienced policy wonk, he managed to convince a lot of citizens that he truly cared about their interests and it was blatantly obvious he deeply loved the city. Nevertheless, the race was close and polling indicated he and his opponent were in a dead heat as election day approached. Now, here they were, playing the agonizing waiting game.
Despite a knee that had been giving her trouble, Olivia paced the room. Her flats, which she'd purchased thinking they would be more comfortable than shoes she usually wore, had been tossed aside, the heels dug at her skin and she was too stressed to care what anyone thought about her walking around in her stocking feet. She'd been bouncing one of their new grandbabies while she made laps, but not even holding the sleeping infant could soothe her nerves. He was now snoozing in a corner of the room with his cousins.
Ed sat at one of the tables and mostly listened to Maggie and Wyatt analyze the early numbers. Wyatt had recently gotten married and his wife, who was even more studious than Wyatt, had served as Noah's chief adviser. The three of them would spend late nights poring over strategy while Maggie and Mia supplied food, drink, and honest opinions. The three Tucker kids had scattered across the country for college and for much of their early twenties, but they were all back in the city now and as tight-knit as ever.
"What the fuck is taking so long," Sarah muttered.
She, too, was restless and impatient. Nobody responded to her so she grimaced at the room and stalked to the hallway to grab a drink. Justin, Brooke, and Sonny were there too, casually mingling with Noah's friends, many of whom he'd met in D.C. during his internship.
"They're gonna push out the final numbers any second!" Someone yelled from the opposite side of the room.
Olivia rushed to Noah's side. Ed followed. Noah held Mia's hand and Ed and Olivia huddled around them. They stared at the screen. Ed kissed Olivia's cheek and asked if she was okay. The year of campaigning had been hard mostly because she couldn't ignore the news. She read everything, even the smear attacks on her son, and the lies and innuendo infuriated her. She had even lashed out in an essay but Noah politely asked her to keep it to herself. Olivia abided by his wishes, but there was still a draft email to the New York Times sitting in her account.
"I'm good," she replied in a whisper, "I want this to be over."
"Almost there."
"HOLY SHIT!"
There were three screens in the room. One showed rolling scrolls of results intended only for the campaign staff. The other two were tuned to local news stations. The local tickers projected Noah Benson Tucker as the winner. The raw data backed it up. Tears poured from Olivia's eyes and she and Ed bear-hugged their son, the next Mayor of the City of New York.
"Sweetheart, I…"
Overcome with emotion, Olivia had to pause. Ed and Mia gave her space and she took Noah's face in her hands. He, too, was tearing up, but otherwise looked regal. Somehow at the end of this long, grueling day his clothes weren't rumpled and every lock of hair was still in place. Staffers rocked on their heels nearby, beaming. There was a speech to give. The mayor was about to concede. But everyone respected the moment between mother and son.
"I am so proud of you," she continued in a hush voice. "You have always made me so happy and so proud and now the whole city gets to find out what a wonderful person you are. Congratulations, honey. I love you." She gave him another fierce embrace then playfully pushed him away. "Go. You have work to do."
Noah grinned and eyed the stage which was now ablaze with lights. Balloons had appeared from somewhere and his campaign poster was affixed to the dais. He took a deep breath and said, "Wish me luck."
Olivia smiled. Noah had never been nervous about public speaking and he didn't look the least bit nervous now, only excited; nevertheless, she complied and squeezed his hand, "Good luck sweet boy."
"Noah! Phone!"
The concession call had arrived.
Noah grinned at his parents and darted to the phone. He drifted off to the side of the room during the call and didn't appear to say much. There was a lot of nodding, then a smile. The call ended and he handed over the phone. Wyatt's wife passed off a copy of his speech and he strode to the stage. Camera crew counted down the seconds to the live stream.
Ed held Olivia close.
Someone cued Noah.
He shot the camera, and the millions of viewers, his winning smile-the same smile Olivia and Ed remembered from the school awards ceremonies, the grade-school concerts, the valedictorian speech-the smile had never changed.
"My fellow New Yorkers…"
"Omigod," Sarah gasped.
Ed peered over his shoulder. The past few minutes had been so surreal he hadn't realized Maggie, Wyatt, and the rest of the family had surrounded them.
Olivia leaned into Ed and whispered, "I think we've done a good job."
"Yeah," he kissed the side of her head, "Yeah we did."
…..
Justin scratched his head and sized up his two pint-sized adversaries. After a morning spent in Paw Patrol pajamas and makeshift capes which were really bath towels fastened at the twins' necks with binder clips, he announced they were going out to grab some nuggets and eat them in the park. He'd packed the stroller, remembering to include a soccer ball and a large weatherproof mat to sit on, but Maggie and Wyatt opposed him in one tiny detail. They did not want to change their clothes.
"We SU'HEROES!" Wyatt said.
Maggie followed him in a lap around the living room. Her hair flew in her face and she slapped it away from her eyes. "SUHERRRRRRRROES!"
They were cute. Justin gave them that. And persuasive. And, for the most part, compliant, but their love of Paw Patrol combined with exposure to some of Justin's favorite Marvel films had created two very resolute little people. Justin glanced at the blue, sunny sky. He didn't suppose the allure of the gorgeous spring weather would cajole them outside. Maggie and Wyatt continued the laps. Their bare feet slapped against the floor in time with each other. They giggled and shrieked and then came to an abrupt halt when Justin playfully blocked their path.
"We have to go get superhero food to power up," he explained.
They peered up at him with curious eyes.
Good sign.
"But we can't go outside with our capes and our uniforms," he said, "Because people will know it's us, and superheroes have to be secret."
"Seeket," Wyatt whispered.
"Yup," Justin replied with a triumphant smile. "So, let's get our jeans and t-shirts on and then I'm gonna give you invisible capes. That way we still have the capes if we need to fly but people can't see them. Remember. It's secret!" Unsure of how much the twins understood, Justin carefully walked into the bedroom they were using and came back with a handful of fresh clothes. They smelled like Downy fabric softener and he smiled at the comforting scent. To his shock the towel-capes were on the floor and the twins objected no further. Justin made an elaborate show of fastening the invisible capes and he and the twins exchanged sly grins. "Okay," he said, "Let's go, superhero twins."
"SEEKET!" Maggie put a finger to her lips. "SHHHH!"
Justin clasped his hand to his mouth. "Sorry."
"Okay, Justy," Wyatt said. He walked slowly to the stroller adjusting his invisible superhero cape on the way. "C'mon, MAGG!"
Maggie ran to the stroller and practically dove into her normal seat. Before they left, Justin's phone rang. It was Sarah's boss wanting the forgotten flash drive. Justin grabbed the device and arranged to meet him in the park. He and the twins were staring their lunch when he finally approached looking out of place in a sleek black suit among the casual parkgoers. Justin had met the guy before and greeted him with his typical friendly smile and jumped up to shake his hand.
"They stuck you with kid duty, huh?" He asked.
"Yeah, well, it's not a great time for me to be away right now," Justin correctly sensed the guy was not interested in any further information, so he shrugged and grinned at Maggie and Wyatt, "So, yeah, the three of us are hanging out this week."
"Maybe Sarah'll fall in love with being across the pond after all."
Justin almost brushed off the comment as mundane small talk but then did a double take and asked, "What's that?"
"Talking about Frankfurt."
"Frankfurt?"
Sarah's boss was not the stereotypical typecast CFO. He was neither callous nor condescending and was also not much older than Sarah. He treated her as a professional equal and often found himself seeking her out for guidance on certain cases. The mutual trust between them was the major reason Sarah felt comfortable declining the position, and she'd made that clear when they met about the subject for the final time. Considering all of this, the blood drained from his face and his heart pounded as he came to realize Sarah had not told Justin about the Europe offer.
"I guess I need to talk to Sare," Justin said, effectively rescuing him from obvious panic.
"Yeah, you probably should." He offered the twins an awkward wave and walked off.
Justin sat back down across from the twins. Their mouths were ringed with pieces of nugget breading and dipping sauce. Breeze ruffled both heads of brown hair. He watched them munch on their last bites and contentedly observe the people filling the benches and strolling down the paved paths. Maybe Justin should have been more troubled by what he'd learned a moment ago, but it was difficult to be upset in the presence of the twins. The time to talk to Sarah would come. He could bury the question marks until she returned.
"BU'FLY!" Maggie shouted. She pointed straight ahead, behind Justin. "BU'FLY!"
"Ge'it, Justy!"
Justin didn't think there was any possible way he could catch the butterfly, but it swooped down and landed on their mat. Maggie and Wyatt leaned in. Their blue eyes sparkled with awe and curiosity. Justin whispered directions. Be quiet. Be still. Watch. The twins remained practically frozen. Justin wanted to take a picture but didn't want to ruin the moment. When the butterfly flew away, Maggie showed signs of becoming upset, but Wyatt bounced to his feet and yanked the soccer ball from the stroller's bottom compartment..
"Kick da ball guys!" He said, giving it a strong boot.
Easily assuaged, Maggie ran after the ball. Justin beat her to it and played keep away. The twins couldn't get enough of the game and played until the sun started to dip below the tree line. By the time they got home, the shock had worn off and Justin felt all was right with the world.
….
#Tuckson