Story: The Nobel Laureate
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: It was election day and while Abbey took Ellie with her to vote, Jed prepared to take Liz to the polls
Summary: It's still election day and both Jed and Abbey have something on the line; Jed lets Liz look over a sample ballot while he waited to vote; Abbey is confronted by her nemesis; Jed surprises Abbey
Author's Note: Thanks to Sharon for her input on the hospital scene and thanks to the folks at for inspiration
Election day was a much bigger deal for the Bartlets than it was for most families. From the time Jed and Abbey moved back to the United States with three-year-old Elizabeth, they had never missed a single vote. Whether it was a general election or a primary, a presidential election or the midterms, a March election or a December run-off, they took pride in casting a ballot, not just for the candidates, but for the issues as well.
And when Jed decided to run for office, election day forged a new perspective.
Liz looked back fondly on Jed's first state legislature campaign. She was only eight at the time, but she would never forget the excitement of that day. She spent most of the evening playing Barrel of Monkeys on the floor with two-year-old Ellie, looking up at the television every few minutes to see her father's name scrolling across the screen during live election cut-ins.
There really shouldn't have been much suspense. Jed ran unopposed that year. But it didn't matter. From the way her Grandma Mary kept a tight grip on Abbey's arm to the way her Grandpa James held his breath every time the newscasters flashed his son-in-law's name on the screen, it was obvious the entire family was operating as one big bundle of nerves.
It was six years later now and, surprisingly to Liz, that feeling still hadn't gone away. In fact, this year, it was more pronounced than it ever had been before.
As Jed and Lizzie pulled up to the precinct, Abbey and Ellie were just leaving. They walked through the stained-glass doors of the First Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Ellie holding Abbey's hand as they approached the parking lot.
"Hey, you decided to get it done before work."
"Yeah, well, Lizzie talked me into it."
Noticing right away that father and daughter were no longer upset about the Halloween disagreement, Abbey replied with a smile, "Well, you better get in there. The lines are pretty long."
"Is there going to be time?" Jed glanced at his watch.
"If I'm late for first period, no one will care," Liz assured him. "It's just Algebra."
"Just Algebra?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, so you'll care and because of that, I should too. Let's go vote!"
Liz tugged on Jed's arm, just as excited to get to the ballot box as she had been the first time her parents took her to the polls. She knew she wouldn't get a chance to officially vote until she turned 18, but she took pride in having a say through Jed and Abbey.
He expected this reaction from her. Thanks to the tradition of current event discussions at the dinnertable each night, Lizzie was more informed about the issues than most kids her age. Her intuitive nature gave her an edge and her impatience forced him to pick up a sample ballot.
"Which one?" Jed asked her, giving her a choice between three city council candidates.
"Him." She pointed to the only name she was familiar with.
"Wrong answer."
"What? He's the guy in office now."
"Doesn't mean he's the right guy. Frankly, I don't think he's doing that great a job, so I'm thinking this one." He pointed to someone else. "You know why?"
"Why?"
"Because he's preparing a bid to lure the Patriots to town for training camp. Pretty good offer too. Even with all the renovations, we're talking major economic impact. Manchester would still come out ahead."
"You said that would never happen."
"It won't. We don't have a decent field. But I like the guy's assertiveness. I like that he's not sitting on the sidelines doing nothing. It's the ones with ideas who get my vote."
Liz scanned the ballot, pausing briefly when she saw Jed's name for state representative. Her eyes continued the journey moments later, stopping again almost immediately. This time, she pointed to the public policy initiative proposed by her mother. It had been a long, uphill battle, but Abbey had managed to prove the naysayers wrong and take her stand on medicinal marijuana to the voters.
"Look, there it is," she said with no small amount of pride.
"That's the result of months of hard work and determination, Lizzie."
"Will it get enough votes?"
"I don't think so," Jed answered sadly. "I'll tell you what, though. I'd be thrilled if I was wrong this one time. If people realize this initiative isn't for passing the bill, but simply a suggestion that the state legislature debate the issue in February, it may have a chance."
"It doesn't say you have to pass it?"
"No. It's just a debate, that's all. The question is did the voters listen when your mom and her colleagues tried to make that clear because I would bet half of them won't read it on the ballot."
"You still don't agree with her that it should be available for doctors to use on their patients, do you?"
"No, I don't."
"But you're still going to vote for it, right?"
"Absolutely. I have no problem with hearing the other side. I doubt it'll change my mind, but the least I can do is listen, right?"
"Well, I hope she wins on the ballot at least."
The thought of Abbey losing the vote upset Jed more than he showed. It was hard on him when he and Abbey disagreed, but he sincerely wanted to meet her halfway, not just for the sake of harmony, but because he knew how much it meant to her, how much it would mean to publicize an issue that had long since been buried because of layers of bureaucratic controversy.
Besides, of all his constituents, he respected her ideas the most.
"I hope she wins on the ballot too. But, hey, even if it doesn't get enough votes, I promised her I'd propose it at the start of the session next year."
"To keep her happy?"
"Not to keep her happy."
"Then why?"
"Because your mother's the most intelligent person I've ever known and when she's this passionate about something, I think it deserves it second thought, just in case my first thought was wrong."
Liz smiled sweetly at the sentiment. If there was one thing her parents had taught her, it was the art of compromise. Over the years, she had witnessed many of their fights. She had heard loud, angry voices booming from their bedroom occasionally, had felt the tension in the house when they were at odds. She noticed the deflated postures and somber expressions that always followed one of their arguments.
Then, as if she was watching the end of a familiar play each and every time, she'd see one of them make a move towards the other and, eventually, they would sit and talk openly, attentively until whatever problem had been wedged between them disappeared or, at the very least, been pushed to the backburner where it would fade over time.
"She'll be happy to hear you're giving it another thought," she said.
"What makes you think I haven't told her already?" Jed countered with a wink.
Liz smiled back until her stare landed on a copy of that morning's paper. "Dad, have you looked at the Union Leader today?"
"I haven't had time yet. I was too busy quizzing Ellie on her math this morning."
She picked up the newspaper from one of the tables. It was opened to page three, where a picture of Jed caught her attention. "Check it out!"
Jed ran his fingers along the Nobel Prize caption. "That's the third time they've mentioned me since the announcement two weeks ago."
"You're like a celebrity!"
Word was spreading fast, not just in New Hampshire, but throughout the country. Though he had received a great deal of attention in the days following the press release from the Nobel Prize Committee, Jed was somewhat oblivious to the large number of local admirers coming out of the woodwork for a glimpse of New Hampshire's most accomplished professor.
Nowhere was it more apparent than on the campus of Dartmouth College. For weeks, he had been greeted by students and faculty he barely knew, giving them a friendly wave or a nod of the head, assuming that the hype would die down as time went on. But it didn't die down. It had been less than a month since the news broke and the spotlight seemed to get brighter with every day that passed.
As his popularity continued to climb, his personal and professional credentials were scrutinized like never before. Several articles had appeared in the student paper, photo shoots and interviews had been granted for alumni newsletters. But that was nothing compared to what he found when he showed up to work that morning.
Someone had shoved a paper-clipped stack of clippings under his office door and as he picked them up, he saw a column he didn't even know existed.
"Rate my professors?"
It was a survey published in the campus paper every semester to help in the registration process. Students were asked to judge their teachers on a scale of one to five, rating them on their helpfulness, clarity, structure of the class, and relative difficulty of the subject. Jed scored well on all the main objectives, but there was one other criteria that instantly caught his eye. On the right hand side of the shaded box that boasted the results was a column overflowing with colorful pictures of hot peppers.
He laughed when he read what was posted underneath. Perhaps it really was an important factor when choosing a professor, though it was a consideration he had never truly entertained. Yet, there it was in black and white - The Hotness Factor.
On a scale of one to five, with a total of 280 votes tallied, Professor Bartlet scored a perfect 5.0 from the ladies on campus. A rosy blush colored his cheeks as he folded the paper, grabbed his bag, and headed to class.
A month ago, the only interaction Jed had was with his own students. Now, kids from every department seemed to know exactly who he was. Eager to meet him and anxious to learn what he had to teach, many of them filled the seats of the lecture hall that afternoon. By the time Jed arrived, the aisles were crowded with strangers, some even spilling out of the room and lingering in the hall.
"Well," he said, looking around at the unfamiliar faces. "This is Econ 101. Everyone know that?"
The students nodded and a young woman in the front row assured him. "We know."
"But you're not all in my Econ 101 class, so..."
"Most of us are with Dr. Williams. Some are here from Dr. Johnson's section too."
"Why?"
A student just behind the young woman answered, "Our professors know we're here. We just wanted to find out how a Nobel Prize-winning economist teaches this class."
He did his best to hide the grin that tried to dominate his features and with a deep breath, he replied, "Okay, then. If you'll turn in your books to page 117, we'll continue where we left off last week."
That evening, Jed and the girls returned home to prepare for the neighborhood get-together and a night of watching election returns on television. As the first small-town precinct returns came in, it was obvious Jed was distracted, his thoughts focused on Abbey's whereabouts. It was close to 8:30 p.m. and she hadn't showed up. Concerned, he picked up the phone to call the hospital.
"Hey!" Abbey yelled over the rotary dial.
"Abbey? Where are you? I was just calling the hospital."
"I just called you. I wanted to let you know I'm on my way."
"You were supposed to be here by now. I've got a house full of people, food, party supplies, television and radio stations all tuned in to election results, and no you."
She could hear him struggling to talk over the laughter and music in the background. "I know. I had a last minute emergency patient, but I promise, I'm on my way. Give me forty-five minutes, tops."
"Make it faster. Susan brought Mexican food."
"You hate Mexican food."
"Yeah, so I think you owe me an apology for giving me a hard time this morning when I told you she wouldn't bring something edible."
"It's edible. It's just that you don't like it."
"No, I don't like it. I've been snacking on chips and hot dogs."
"You want me to pick something up on the way?"
"No, I just want you here."
"I have to stop and get dessert."
"Hurry up, will you? She's been looking at me funny all night. First it was the Indian food, now the Mexican. One of these days, she's going to think I'm just xenophobic or something."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," she said with a chuckle. "Any results yet?"
"Only one percent of the precincts here are reporting. Plenty of other results coming in though."
Suddenly, Jed's head snapped to the side at the sound of Lizzie shouting. "Dad, you're already leading! Look! You're 12 points ahead!"
He paused to look at the television screen, then spoke into the receiver. "Make that six percent."
Excited, Abbey quickly stuffed her papers into her bag. "All right, I've gotta get out here! Don't win until I get there!"
She hung up the phone and grabbed her car keys, practically sprinting towards the elevator. As the doors opened, she stopped, surprised by the person standing in front of her - Kyle Nelson.
"Good evening, Dr. Bartlet. Do you have a minute?"
"Dr. Nelson." She looked at her watch. "My shift's over. I have to go."
"I just need a minute. I'm curious about what happened with Bill Niederlander."
"These things aren't top secret, Dr. Nelson. You can read my report."
"I will, but in the meantime, I'm wondering if you could tell me why you forced him back into surgery?" His voice was laced with an unforgiving twinge of contempt, in hopes of intimidating her, she assumed.
"I didn't force him back in. He was too sick to make a decision."
"Which means his wife, Mrs. Niederlander, should have been the one to make it."
"And she did." Abbey tried to leave, but Kyle stepped in front of her.
"Look, I don't want to undermine you here, but this man was my patient for years and when his wife comes to me, telling me that you manipulated her into giving you her consent, I feel it's my responsibility..."
"Manipulated her? That's not true. Her husband was very sick."
"Yes and why is that? What went wrong during the first operation?" Abbey avoided his accusatory gaze, so he persisted. "Dr. Bartlet?"
"I don't know yet."
"You don't know? You take a patient into the O.R. and he comes out with a post-op infection and you don't know why that happened?"
"It was just a few days ago. We don't always know right away."
"Well we should. I intend to find out exactly what happened and if you're in any way responsible for what that man and his wife went through, or if I find out that her allegations are correct, you better be prepared to defend yourself."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No. I'm telling you that you're a surgical fellow and a mistake like this could dramatically affect your future as a surgeon. If this happened because of your negligence, you'll be lucky to be doing sutures for the rest of the year. For your sake, you better hope you were in the right on this one."
She looked around, then lowered her voice to avoid being heard by others. "You do your whatever you want. Investigate the matter, bring in your own team of doctors if you want to, but you won't prove negligence. I did everything by the book and I'm confident enough in my decision that I won't cower to you or your oversized, overinflated ego."
Though she challenged him without hesitation, Abbey had been living with her own doubts for the past four days. Those doubts were private, though, hidden from the outside world by her refusal to allow herself to surrender to Kyle's taunting words. She simply walked around him, masking her uncertainty with an unwavering glare that forced him to look away. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he rattled her, nor would she succumb to a big public scene that could potentially spur harmful rumors through the hospital grapevine.
She continued her facade as she neared the farmhouse. The trip had taken her longer than expected because of a delay at the bakery. As she pulled into the driveway, she expected Jed and the girls to run out towards her, questioning her tardiness or surprising her with news of his early win.
When they didn't, she opened the door to ask, "Did you win?"
No one answered. Instead, as soon as she made her entrance, everyone in the room began to applaud, including Jed, who rapidly approached her. "No, I didn't. Not yet anyway."
"What's going on?" She set the cheesecake on the table.
He took her hands in his, caressing her fingers while he explained. "Your initiative passed in four districts."
"Are you serious?"
"I wouldn't joke about this."
"Jed." Abbey wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed herself into his warm embrace. "Four districts?"
"And those are just the smaller ones. The rest haven't finished counting the votes yet."
"I didn't think it would pass."
"I'm happy to say you were wrong. It did pass, thanks to your hard work. This is going to be a great night, Abbey. I know it is!"
Later, when they were alone, she'd tell him about Kyle and the Niederlanders, but for now, she let her worries subside and leaned in to kiss her husband's face.
TBC