Day One

JASON McCord groaned and put his pillow over his head in a fruitless attempt to drown out the sound of his parents laughter.

"It's Saturday!" He complained. "Let a guy sleep!"

Light flooded his room as his father pushed the door open.

"Aw, we wake you, buddy?" He teased. "Sorry, Mom was just explaining how she managed to burn yogurt."

Surrendering to the inevitable, Jason sat up. "Yogurt?" He looked up at his father. "Why would she. . . But you don't cook yogurt!"

"See!" His father said over his shoulder. "Elizabeth, Jason just said the same thing!"

"Henry! I already explained it!"

Jason could hear the exasperation in his mother's voice but he could hear the laughter too. His parents were always laughing. He fell asleep to the sound of it and woke up to the sound of it. It was annoying. Her mother found her father unbelievably hilarious, which only seemed to encourage his father's corny jokes.

Of course lately, they hadn't been laughing much. They hadn't been in the house at the same time much. His mother's job was relentless. It seemed that the second she sat down on the couch, her phone would ring and she would be gone, leaving them all trying not show their disappointment. There was nothing more depressing than his father pretending not to be depressed that his mom was gone again.

"Is there any breakfast that isn't burned?" He asked his father.

"Breakfast? Jas, it's nearly eleven!"

"Dad! It's 10:15." He said glancing at the clock.

"I said nearly. C'mon, Mom'll burn you some lunch."

***MS***

It was the first normal Saturday in ages. Elizabeth puttered around the house in an old pair of sweats and one of Henry's old boot camp t-shirts. She slept late, had breakfast with Henry and Ali, and spent half the morning watching a movie with Stevie and Alison. She had a million things she ought to be doing but it felt so good to sit on the couch with an entire day stretched out in front of her that she decided to neglect all of them. Around noon, she decided she ought to actually do something. The clean house always left her with a strangely restless feeling - she hadn't adjusted to having someone come and clean each week. It was just another strange necessity of life in politics - along with having a driver and a stylist. She felt an obligation to clean from time to time - just so the house felt like it was actually hers.

She was in the master bath clad in rubber gloves and scrubbing out the tub when Henry came looking for her.

"Well, I could watch this all day." He grinned leaning against the counter.

"There's something wrong with you, you know that, right?"

"I can't admire you? You missed a spot." He pointed low, laughing. "So this is your big plan for your day off?"

"You know me, I dream big - and scrubbing out this tub is my dream come true."

"Dad!" Alison's voice cut through their laughter.

Henry sighed and turning called out, "In here, honey."

"You know," Elizabeth told him. "You could help me."

"I'd rather watch."

"Did you ask her?" Alison asked, stepping into the doorway. Seeing her mother, she rolled her eyes and said, "What are you doing? Jackie just cleaned the tub Thursday. Honestly!"

"Mom, wants to be hands on. She's not comfortable with being the Lady of the Manor."

"Henry, you are so stuck up! Ali, ignore him. He's still bitter he had more chores as a child than me, as a child."

"More! And just what chores did you have Princess Elizabeth?"

"Mucking out the stables, for one, which is how it is so easy for me to recognize a pile of . . ."

"Uh, I think Ali wanted to ask you something." He interrupted.

"We are going to the movies? Do you wanna come?"

"When?" Her mother asked. "Now? I'm not really dressed for it." She climbed out of the tub. "What are you going to see? Is it that new love story thing because I cannot take another pair of crazed vampires falling in love."

"No, Jason refused. He said absolutely no sappy love stories."

"I agree with him on this." Elizabeth leaned against the tub. "Which one then - something animated?"

"No." Ali laughed. "He wanted to go to that new war movie. You know, the one with all the explosions. You always complain about the commercial because it is so loud and . . ." Alison's face grew pink as she heard what she said. "I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking! How stupid! You wouldn't want . . ."

Elizabeth dropped the sponge, peeling off the gloves she'd been wearing, and pulled Alison close to her.

"It wasn't dumb." She said, kissing her daughter's forehead. "It's no big deal."

"It's okay, Noodle." Henry said to her.

"We just forgot that she wouldn't . . ."

"You forgetting is a good thing, baby. It means we've settled back into a kind of normal." Elizabeth told her.

"Mom's just got a few endearing quirks now." Henry said winking at Elizabeth.

"I'll skip the movie, though. I'd probably just fall asleep, anyway. You know how I feel about weak writing and insipid plot lines."

"Mom's a movie snob." Henry said.

"That's true." Alison agreed. "You want us to bring back dinner?"

"Yes!" Elizabeth said squeezing Ali before releasing her. "Surprise us."

"Tell Stevie to use the card for dinner." Henry told her.

"Okay! We'll see you later." Ali kissed her mother's cheek and left. Elizabeth sagged sitting down on the steps near the tub.

"Well, I'm trying to convince myself that wasn't a depressing situation." She said looking up at Henry.

He studied her thoughtfully for a brief moment, and then moved to sit beside her.

"Well, you could've pretended it wasn't going to bother you, gone with them to the movies, and then spent the rest of your day off underneath a sticky theater seat, breathing into a paper bag."

"You've got a real knack for cheering me up." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Although, I see your point."

"See, it's working already."

"'Endearing quirks?'" She shook her head. "You've got a unique perspective."

"Babe, I love you." He said wrapping an arm around her and kissing her cheek. "I'm just so content to have you here and home. And you are doing great. It's just a small part of you."

She relaxed against him, considering his words. Henry was right, of course, most days she didn't even think about her PTSD. The small remnants of those bleak days really were quirks - aversion to loud noises, an almost obsessive need to understand every aspect of her surroundings and, as they had all learned the hard way, never to have anyone ask her for help with math.

"You know," Henry interrupted her thoughts. "The kids are gonna be gone for a couple of hours . . ."

She began to laugh at his steadfast predictability.

"And?" She asked coyly.

"Well, I thought maybe you'd want a nap." He squeezed her shoulder and rose, holding a hand out to her.

"A nap?" She asked taking his hand and following him to the bedroom.

"Sure, Babe. I'll just read you a bedtime story."

"Uh huh." She laughed and pulled him close to her. "I got a better idea."

***MS***

Elizabeth settled back on the couch, a magazine on her lap, decidedly content. Her stomach was tight with a ridiculously good dinner. The kids had brought home Thai food - and she never could seem to control herself when it came to anything with coconut curry. They ate dinner, and then went for a family hike at a nearby park. Thankfully, no press had followed them, and felt like the most normal evening they had experienced since coming to DC. As they settled in for the night, she kept waiting for her phone to ring, but it never did. They sat up together watching tv, until the news came on, and then everyone drifted up to bed. They locked up the house, and as she crawled in bed next to Henry, who was surrounded by books and papers, she felt a peace settle over her. It had been so long that she had felt this comfortable and this secure. Things had been very difficult lately, as she and Henry struggled to find a way to live with all the things they couldn't talk about and all the ways their jobs conflicted. She hated more than anything, feeling cut off from him, and knew he felt the same way. It had not been easy, but it seemed they had somehow found a precarious balance.

"Today was nice." He said putting his books and papers away, and setting his glasses on the nightstand.

"Today was perfect." She responded drowsily.

"I can't believe your phone didn't ring once." He scooted down under the covers, wrapping his arms around her. "Is it broken?"

"No." She laughed. "I checked."

"Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays silent until dawn at least."

"Me too." She told him. "But I'm hoping past dawn. I'd like to sleep a little later than that."

"Who said anything about sleep?" He grinned and leaning close kissed her.

Later, she lay awake, watching him sleep. She generally left the praying to him, but somehow, her heart was so filled with gratitude that she couldn't help but lift a brief prayer of thanksgiving for this one day - a tiny island in the storm of the demands of their increasingly complicated lives.

It was only after everything was over that she thought back to that night, and wished she had offered up a different prayer; a prayer that their peace and happiness would never be shattered.