"Donna! This is fantastic! This needs to be part of our Thanksgiving tradition from now on."
I can't help but feel my chest puff up as Jed praises Donna. I know I had nothing to do with it but she's my wife. I married well.
Donna is blushing prettily too. I love that she still hasn't completely outgrown this. While I think she finally has an idea about how valuable she is, she's still turns a little pink when people she admires remind her of the fact.
"Good job using your fork, Lulu." Abbey smiles at her.
"Me too, Grandma!" Tori waves her fork in the air.
"Yes, you too, Tori. You've been using your fork for awhile. I'm glad you are setting a good example for Lulu."
Tori beams at Abbey, and Ellie gives her a little proud smile.
"I get down now." Tori tells Ellie.
Ellie wrinkles her nose a little, and glances at her parents. Then she chides Tori a little over her manners. It must be a Mom-thing.
"Tori, is that how we ask?"
"Peas! I get down now!" Tori states a even more emphatically.
"Down Da-dee, peas." Lulu copies her new friend. But she said please and that's good enough for me.
"Sure, baby girl."
I grab a wash cloth from the sink and clean her up. "You want this?" I show Vic the washcloth. He nods and hold his hand up, so I toss it to him. He catches it and starts in on Tori as I'm pulling Lulu out of the high chair.
"So girls, should we go watch some Football?"
Vic looks to Ellie uncertainly, but at her nod he agrees, and follows me out of the room. I suspect he's not really into sports. But it's Thanksgiving day. We have to watch football. It's like a rule or something. Besides, if we play with the kids in the den, the women folk will clean up and eventually make us more yummy food.
We settle down on the floor with some toys and I aim the remote at the television.
"What game are we watching?"
"Detroit v. Tennessee is on now."
"Is it going to be a good game?"
"I doubt it. The Lions haven't won at all this season. They're 0 and 11."
"You're a Detroit fan?" Vic asks in disbelief.
"God no!" Why would he think that? "Their fans are masochists."
Vic chuckles. "So are you a Tennessee fan?"
"Not really."
"Why are we watching this game?"
"It's Thanksgiving."
Vic nods his head in confused agreement. But he stops asking questions, so I let it go. If he doesn't understand why we watch football on Thanksgiving, I don't think I can explain it to him. It's just what you do.
We spend most of our time playing with the girls, just barely keeping an eye on the game.
Lulu is dropping blocks into a shape sorter, while Tori is stacking little plastic cups into a tower. When they fall down she laughs. Lulu giggles and crawls over and hands Tori one of the cups. Tori starts stacking them again and Lulu watches her for a minute, then knocks the tower down. I wonder if I should scold her, but Tori laughs again and I feel relieved. I know Lulu wasn't trying to be mean.
Tori loses interest in the cups and runs over to the basket of toys to see what else is in it. Lulu crawls over to Tori and then pushes herself up and stands next to her. A moment later, Tori reaches down into the basket, pulls out a doll, and trots over to Vic. Lulu reaches down,grabs a stuffed dog, then turns and toddles over to me.
Three steps in, it occurs to me that she's walking. And Donna's missing it!
"DONNA!"
As soon as I bellow, Lulu stops, startled, and plops down on her bottom.
"I'm sorry, sweetie!" I tell her. "You're walking! You have to do that again for Mama!"
"Joshua." Donna admonishes me. "Why are you yelling for me?"
"Lulu just took her first steps."
"No, she didn't."
"Yes, really. Vic saw it. Didn't you Vic?"
"She took about three steps." Vic reports.
"Darn it! I wanted to see her first steps!" Donna whines. I feel bad for her, but I'm really glad I was here.
"Come on, Lulu. You need to show Mama." I stand Lulu up facing Donna. "Go on, take the doggie to Mama."
"Come here, baby. Bring me the doggie." Donna holds out her arms, but Lulu stands in place.
Suddenly, Vic has an idea. "Tori, take the baby to Miss Donna." Tori gets up and runs to Donna with the doll.
And that's all it takes. Lulu follows after her with the little doggie clutched in her hands. Everyone holds their breath and eight steps later, Donna is scooping Lulu up into a gigantic hug.
"You did it, baby girl! You're a walker. Go back to Daddy."
I hold out my arms. "C'mere, Lulu." Lulu walks back to me grinning the whole time. I scoop her up and plaster her face with kisses. "What a good girl you are!"
All the laughter and excitement draws the attention of the rest of the Bartlets, and pretty soon Lulu is making the rounds between Jed and Abbey, Zoey and Charlie, and even Ellie and Vic.
None of us notice when the Westin family arrives.
"What's all the excitement in here?" Liz Bartlet looks into the room in apparent shock at the chaos.
"Lulu just learned to walk!" Abbey calls out delightedly.
"Well, she is a year old." Liz responds in a slightly frosty tone. I see Donna recoil a little and pull Lulu a little closer.
Liz and I will never be best friends, but I thought things had improved to at least civility between us since she donated to Santos' campaign two years ago. Everything seemed fine last Thanksgiving. I don't know what's ruffled her feathers today, but she'd better watch herself. I'm not going to tolerate any hostility towards my family.
Annie comes rushing into the room. "Lulu! That's fantastic! Let me see!" Her enthusiasm makes up for Liz's cold shoulder, so I let it go.
"Come give your Grandpa a kiss, Annie." She walks over to Jed and places a kiss on his cheek.
"Hi, Grandpa."
"Now, what's this about you bringing a young man with you? Well, where is he?"
"He's helping Dad bring some things in from the car. You're going to be nice, aren't you?"
"When am I ever not nice?" Jed responds with a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, you threatened me with the 82nd Airborne." Charlie pipes up.
"Me too." I add.
"Well, the 82nd Airborne doesn't work for him anymore." Abbey intercedes. "So there'll be no threats this time. Right, Jed?"
Jed looks over to me. "Hey Josh, doesn't the FBI work for you?"
"Why yes, Mr. President. I believe they do." I respond with a grin. Annie might not be my niece, but she's only a little older than Anna. I'd be happy to run a background check on her boyfriend.
"Josh! The Secret Service already checked him out!" Abbey admonishes. "He's a perfectly nice young man."
"Thank you, Grandma." Annie gives Abbey a big grin. And then when she hears the door open, she bounces out into the hallway.
Abbey follows behind her and we hear her directing Doug, Gus and Neil where to put the groceries.
"C'mere, Lulu." I hold my arms open again, and Donna turns Lulu towards me. She toddles my way with a grin that I can't help returning. This is really fun.
When she gets to me, she plops down into my lap. "Story, Da-dee?" She asks with a yawn.
Donna glances at her watch. "Maybe she could use another nap."
"Good idea. Come on, Lulu. I'll read you a story upstairs."
I get up from the floor with Lulu tucked into my side. I may grumble about salads, but eating better and working out more is really paying off.
"Donna? You want to join us for story time?" She stood me up earlier, but maybe we can try again for some alone time, after Lulu falls asleep.
"Sure." Donna responds with a smirk. Charlie just rolls his eyes. He's probably jealous that he doesn't have a kid to give him some cover to get Zoey into bed in the middle of the day.
As we are passing the kitchen, we hear Liz's sharp voice. "I don't know why we are eating so early today anyway!"
"Because Tori and Lulu go to bed at 8. I want to have dinner early enough to accommodate their schedules."
"You never accommodated Annie or Gus!"
Donna stiffens, but I keep my hand on the small of her back and urge her along. We don't really need to witness the family squabbling.
When we get into our room, Donna lets out a ragged breath. "Oh, I hope we haven't messed everything up."
"We didn't Donna. Abbey has her own ideas about family holidays. She and Liz bickering is really nothing new. They'll be over it by dinner."
"Still, I think I should go back down there and help in the kitchen. I'll have to take a raincheck on that nap. Is that okay?"
"Of course. If you want to help with dinner, that's fine. I've got Lulu."
"Thanks, babe." She gives me a quick kiss and heads back out the door.
"Well, Miss Lulu. It's you and me for story time. What should we read?"
"Farm, Da-dee."
"Good choice, baby."
Lulu and I settle into the rocking chair. I start with First Farm Words. Lulu points at the pictures with me, and repeats words for a little bit, before she goes quiet. After a few minutes, I switch to The Year at Maple Hill Farm. She leans back against me and listens, her eyes drooping to half mast before long. By the end of the story, I'm pretty sure she's asleep. But I hold her close, and rock her a few more minutes before I get up and lay her down.
When I come back downstairs, all the men are gathered in the den. Vic still looks uninterested in the game, but Charlie, Gus, and Doug are watching.
"What's the score?"
"Rob Bironas just kicked a 49 yard field goal. Titans are up 38 to 10."
"Josh, come here." Jed calls from across the room. "Have you met Neil yet?"
A rather studious looking young man is sitting across from him. This must be Annie's boyfriend. He doesn't look dangerous. But when it comes to daughters, one can never be too cautious.
"I haven't." Neil stands up as I walk over. Well, that's polite. I stick out my hand. "Josh Lyman."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Lyman. Of course, I know who you are."
"You do? And please, call me Josh."
"I'm a Poli-sci major at Harvard."
"No kidding?"
"Really. And I'm on the Crimson."
"Well, Neil. You can sit next to me during dinner."
. . . . . .
"Okay, everyone. Dinner's ready." Abbey announces from the door. I pick Lulu up and carry her into the kitchen to wash her hands, then join the others in the dining room.
I stop in front of Donna. She looks me and Lulu over, then gives a little nod of approval. I've always loved it when she does that. Her little nod has given me just the right boost of confidence on many occasions.
There are little name cards at our places. Guess Neil's on his own. I guide Donna to our seats, then get Lulu strapped into the high chair.
As soon as we are all seated, Jed looks around the table at us fondly.
"I just want to say, that by anyone's standards, I am an exceedingly blessed man. But the measurement that matters to me, is sitting around this table right now. And for that, I am profoundly thankful. Let's pray."
He bows his head.
"Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts, which we are about to receive from your bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."
All of the Bartlets join him in the prayer and cross themselves when they are finished.
Charlie and Donna echo the Amen. I may not repeat the same prayer, but I whole heartedly agree with the sentiment. I am thankful.
As the food is being passed, I notice something.
"Is this table bigger than last year?"
"Nothing gets by you, Josh." Liz heckles me, but I don't take the bait.
"No, really. We all just fit last year, and we had 3 less seats. Did you get a new table?"
Donna rolls her eyes, while Abbey chuckles. "You're a smart man, Josh, and that's a stupid question."
Everyone laughs, but finally Jed takes pity on me. "We've got all four leaves in, Josh. The family is growing. But, you know, there's still room for more. We'll make space more grandchildren." He looks around the room at each couple, except for Annie and Neil.
Of course. It wouldn't be a holiday unless the folks suggested baby-making. Not that I'm opposed to baby-making. I'm really quite fond of it. And Donna and I are good at it. Just look at our results! We really could do it again. I'm ready.
While I'm thinking about more babies, Jed carves the turkey with a flourish, and I can't help but observe that Charlie watches him with a particular look of pride. There's an underlying current there, that I don't quite get. I'll have to ask him about it later.
The rest of dinner is a fun family affair. Dishes being passed. Everyone talking and laughing. And the food is outstanding.
Finally, when we are all stuffed and leaning away from the table, Abbey smirks and asks, "Who is going to do the dishes?"
I'm quick to shout out, "It's Liz's turn!"
She rolls her eyes. "You're like the obnoxious brother I never had or wanted."
"Love you too, Liz."
Charlie just shakes his head. "Come on, Josh. You and me."
. . . . . . .
Once I'm elbows deep in hot sudsy water, it occurs to me that I really do have to get Charlie back into politics when he's done with law school. His style is different than mine, but he has a way of getting things done.
"So, Charlie, I noticed this last year, and again this year. Something passes between you and Jed when he carves the turkey. An inside joke?"
"A few years ago, on Thanksgiving, he gave me a carving knife. The one that had been passed down from Father to Son in this family for over 200 years. I was stunned. Zoey and I weren't even really dating anymore right then. But he gave it to me, and called me his son. I never had a father, but the President of the United States thought of me as a son! And you know what, I owe it all to you. I can never thank you enough for hiring me."
"Hey Charlie, I'm lucky to know you. You're like the little brother, I never had. And I did always want one! The only thing you ever owed me was to make the most of the opportunity, and you did that. I'm so proud of you."
"Well, I'd still like to find a way to thank you. Do you think that asking you to being my best man, would cover it?"
"Hell, yeah! When did you pop the question?"
"I actually haven't yet."
"You know, it's traditional to ask your future bride to marry you before you start asking groomsmen."
"You worried she's gonna say no?"
"NO! You're not worried are you?"
"No, we've been talking about getting married. We picked out the ring together. But she wants me to surprise her with the actual proposal. She's probably thinking Christmas. But I could do it this weekend. The ring was finished ahead of schedule. She doesn't know that I have it."
"Excellent. We'd better get busy. What are your ideas?"