Series: Snapshots of the Past
Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: The Nobel Laureate
Chapter 28
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: Abbey teased Jed about his missing lecture notes; during a shopping trip in Stockholm's Gamla Stan, Abbey agreed to talk to Jed about inviting Liz's crush, Sven, to the theater with them; Jed tweaked Yosh outside a formal reception for the Nobel Laureates; Jed was courted by the majority leader to run for the U.S. House of Representatives (chapter 16)
Summary: It's breakfast with the Bartlets as they plan out their day in Stockholm; Leo, Jenny, and Mallory arrive; Jed confides in Leo
"Mom bought me the coolest theater dress yesterday! It's bubblegum pink and it's knit so it clings to my figure! It makes me look super thin."
"You don't need something to make you look thin, dear. You already are."
"Yeah, but still. This makes me look so much better."
"The dress sounds lovely. You'll have to try it on for me after breakfast."
"I will! I can't wait till you see it!"
At one end of the table, Lizzie described her theater attire to her Grandma Mary. At the other end, Ellie made notes in the margins of a glossy brochure while Zoey climbed onto her knees in her chair and hunched over the literature to look on in awe.
"And they have real life carriages that they used to transport the royal family in!" Ellie's eyes, a sparkling blue-green, suddenly grew to twice their normal size. Her enthusiasm delighted Zoey.
"Can I ride them?" the toddler asked.
"I don't think so. They're just there for us to look at."
"But why can't I ride them?"
"Because they're old. They're just on display, Zo. Like the horses."
"Can I ride the horses?"
"Zoey, sit down in your chair. You're going to hurt yourself." Abbey helped her youngest daughter settle back into her seat, then buttered a piece of toast for her as she chatted with her father and brother-in-law. "Millie will be here bright and early tomorrow."
"What about Mrs. Landingham?" Jack asked.
"Her doctor said she's too sick to travel. She's got a really bad case of the flu."
"That's a shame."
"Jed's pretty disappointed."
"Is Kate still coming?"
"As far as I know."
"Her flight was delayed because of weather," James informed them.
"And Leo and Jenny will be here this afternoon. Sometime after we visit the stables and before dinner probably."
That caught Liz's attention. She interrupted her conversation with Mary to remind her mother, "That's when we were supposed to go shopping for shoes."
"We may have to put that off until tomorrow, Lizzie."
"You said we could do it today."
"I shouldn't have said that until we had a chance to go over the schedule."
The Bartlet clan had gathered around the large oak table in the breakfast dining room of the Grand Hotel every morning in Sweden. This was command central, the place where the family would meet, armed with maps of Stockholm, so they could carefully plot their adventures for the day.
On this morning, it was Ellie and Zoey's turn to be in charge of the itinerary and it wasn't just Lizzie who wouldn't get what she wanted. Much to their cousin Brad's disappointment, the girls had orchestrated a day he knew he'd live to despise.
"I don't care about stupid horses!" the ten-year-old complained.
"Then don't come," Ellie replied.
Shocked that anyone could be less than excited about a visit to the Royal Stables, Zoey pushed her elbows to the middle of the table. With furrowed brows, she asked the little boy, "Why don't you like horses?"
"Because they're boring! We don't even get to ride them. It's just a silly museum where they show them to us and we can't touch them or anything. And anyway, horses are dumb!"
"That's enough, Brad," Kellie warned.
"She asked me."
"And you answered. Now that's enough."
"Horses are NOT dumb!" Zoey's emerald eyes flashed with indignation.
Meanwhile, in typical teenage fashion, Lizzie had tuned out the rest of her family and continued her discussion with Mary. "So I wanted to get a pair of the clear, colorless pumps like my mom has."
"I'll take you shopping if you want."
"You will?"
"As long as it's okay with your parents."
"Thanks!"
"It's my pleasure. Now tell me more about this boy."
"Sven? You're gonna love him! He's got the bluest eyes in the whole world."
"Bluer than yours?" Mary asked.
"Yep! They're much bluer than mine and my dad's."
"Speaking of your father, how does he feel about Sven?"
"He's totally cool. Mom even got him to agree to take Sven with us to the theater on Thursday."
Careful to make sure Abbey was distracted, Zoey climbed back up on her knees. "Ellie, how come we can't ride the horses?"
"We just can't, Zoey. Don't worry about it though. We'll still have fun."
"Not all of us. I don't wanna go," Brad whined to Kellie once again. "Do I have to go?"
"Yes. Ellie and Zoey weren't crazy about visiting the glass blowing factory yesterday, but they went because it's where you wanted to go. Now we're going to do what they want to do."
Unsatisfied with that answer, Brad turned his attention to Jack. "Dad, do I have to go see the horses?"
"You heard what your mother said."
"How come Lizzie didn't have to go to the glass blowing factory?"
"Duh," Ellie sniped. "Because she's older."
"Ellie, be nice," Abbey warned her middle daughter.
"She's never nice." Brad narrowed his eyes at his eight-year-old cousin.
"Bradley," Jack admonished his son.
"I hate horses! They're all dumb!" Brad grumbled as he fell back against his chair.
"STOP IT!" An angry Zoey stood up in her chair with her hands on her hips.
"Zoey! This is the last time I'm going to tell you! Sit down and behave or I'm going to strap you in to a booster seat!" Abbey sat her back down before returning her attention to James. "She's definitely got Jed's temper."
"I don't know." James grinned at his daughter. "I seem to remember you just as vociferous and animated as a child."
"Yes, but I'm a much calmer adult."
"We'll ask Jed about that. Something tells me he might disagree."
"Only if it'll win him points with you," Abbey quipped with good-natured sarcasm. "Anyway, as I was saying, several of Jed's colleagues at Dartmouth along with Dean Callaway will be here Sunday morning. Jed's trying to arrange cars to meet them at the airport."
"I wouldn't think that would be a problem."
"Yeah except it's his dime because, technically, each laureate is only allowed 16 guests."
"And how many is Jed bringing?" James braced himself for the answer.
"Thirty-eight," Abbey said without reservation. "Are you surprised?"
James laughed as he recalled previous birthday parties for the girls when Jed had to rent tables and chairs to transform the farm into a miniature carnival because he had invited every stranger with a child, previous anniversary celebrations overflowing with couples, some of whom Abbey had never even met before. This was typical Jed, a man who loved to celebrate with a crowd, so it was only fitting that he'd invite so many to share in this special moment.
"The only thing that surprises me, Abigail, is that he stopped at 38."
"Reluctantly." Abbey shook her head at her husband's stubbornness. "I told him if he invited one more person, the prize committee would revoke his award."
Zoey, who wasn't the least bit fazed by Abbey's scolding a few seconds earlier, tried again to reach out to her cousin. "But why don't you like horses?"
"I just don't." Brad calmly shrugged.
The three-year-old took a breath and replied, "I like horses! My daddy's gonna buy me one when I'm big!"
"Yes, he is!" Jed rounded the corner to join his family at the table. "As soon as you're old enough to ride by yourself, Zo, we'll get you your very own horse."
"It's about time. I was about to send up a search party." Abbey handed him his silverware. "I ordered your breakfast."
"Sorry. The media won't get off my back."
"The price you pay for being a celebrity. Every day is another stroke of the ego. I'm worried about how I'm going to handle you when we leave this place."
"You've dealt with my illusions of grandeur quite well over the past fifteen years. I don't see why this would be any different."
"They're not illusions anymore."
"Were they ever?" He grinned.
"Up until the time the Swedes got a hold of you." She gave him a wink as she handed him his juice in a crystal goblet garnished with a fresh orange wedge.
"Speaking of which, did you order this in Swedish or English?"
"What difference does it make?"
"I just want to know if I actually got what you ordered," he teased.
"She started to order in Swedish, but then got her words mixed up and finished in English instead of looking it up." Liz returned Abbey's steely glare. "What? He asked."
"You can forget about those shoes, young lady." Abbey tweaked her.
"That's okay. Grandma said she'd take me after breakfast." Liz smiled triumphantly at her mother.
Jed chuckled at the exchange as he unfolded his napkin and placed it on his lap. "So, why are we talking about horses?"
"Because we're going to the Royal Stables today!" Ellie gleefully told him. "And Brad doesn't want to come, but Uncle Jack and Aunt Kellie said he has to."
"Aw, come on, Bud. You know what they've got there?" Whether they were boys or girls, Jed always knew the way to a child's heart.
"What?" Brad looked unengaged, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm.
"This is just a rumor, but I hear they have displays of jousting knights."
"REALLY?"
"Really!"
"Okay, I'll go, but only if we can see the knights. Can we, Uncle Jed?"
"I'm sure you all can fit that in. Unfortunately, I won't be there. I've got a lecture this morning followed by a few more press interviews."
"Daddy always has stuff to do in the mornings." Back in New Hampshire, Jed and Abbey had told Ellie that this would be somewhat of a working vacation for Jed, but it still disappointed her that his mornings were packed.
"Sorry, Ellie. I'll get out as soon I can and I'll catch up with you guys this afternoon, okay?" Ellie nodded. Had Jed been watching her closely, he would have seen the hesitation in the gesture. Instead, his focus shifted the second he fumbled with his glass and sprayed his unzipped briefcase with orange juice. "Damn it!"
"I'll clean it up," Abbey offered, taking several soiled notecards from his hand.
"No, it's okay. They're gonna be sticky. I have a copy of everything upstairs. I'm gonna go grab them."
"Why don't you ask Alexander if he wouldn't mind..."
"I still feel weird about that."
"That's why they gave you a personal attaché, Jed."
"I can do it myself."
"Your breakfast is going to get cold. Eat first."
"I was up half the night polishing these up, Abbey. I can't concentrate on anything until I find the other set. Excuse me." He pushed his chair out from the table.
"Get a different tie while you're at it!" she called out to him when he started to walk away.
Jed stopped midstride. He turned to his wife and held out the bottom of his tie. "What's wrong with my tie?"
"It's canary yellow."
"I didn't ask you to identify it. I asked what's wrong with it. I think it looks fine."
"Nothing's wrong with the tie. It's a perfectly nice tie. But yellow doesn't look so hot on camera."
"Yellow looks great on camera. Just wait and see."
"Okay, but I think you're going to be disappointed."
"I'll live with the shame," he muttered under his breath as he left the dining room.
Upstairs, Jed headed straight to the suite. He left the front door ajar when he arrived and scanned the room in search of his lecture notes. Vaguely remembering that Abbey had lured him off the coach and into bed when she saw him slumped over and sleeping on the sofa, he retraced his steps, swaggering into the bedroom to find another set of notes sitting undisturbed on the old mahogany chest in the corner.
As he picked them up, he caught sight of the ties hanging in the closet. He looked down at the one he was wearing, Abbey's words replaying in his mind. He liked this tie. Lizzie had bought it for him with her own money as a Father's Day present when she was just six years old, and though he rarely wore it because of the color, he always kept it tucked away on his rack and called it his lucky tie.
He put it on only for special occasions and delivering a lecture on international economic reform to an audience of Swedish scientists certainly qualified. Still, he was unsure. He held up a traditional blue and silver striped tie to his neck as he looked in the mirror.
"You really should keep that front door closed. You never know what kind of riffraff might wander in."
Jed heard that familiar voice bellowing behind him. Before he even turned around, he called out for his old friend. "LEO!"
"How's it goin'?"
"A lot better now that you're here." Throwing the tie on the bed, he gave Leo a giant bear hug. "What are you doing here so early? We didn't expect you for a few more hours."
"The flight from Chicago made good time so we caught the earlier flight out of Zurich."
"Zurich, eh? Nothing like booking direct."
"I've been here seconds and you're already mocking me?"
"It's just how I am."
"Where is everyone?"
"At breakfast."
Leo noticed the abandoned blue tie. "Are you thinking about changing your tie?"
"Abbey thinks I should. What do you think?"
"She's right."
"Why?"
"Yellow doesn't look good on camera."
"Am I the only one who doesn't know this rule?" Jed draped the blue tie over his shoulder to get a side-by-side comparison of the two.
"Apparently."
"Lizzie gave me this tie."
"When she was too young to know better."
He weighed his options, then flung the blue tie over the chair. "Screw it! I'm wearing the yellow."
"If that's the impression you want to give off..."
"It is and you're not going to talk me out of it. Now, where are Jenny and Mallory?"
"Getting settled in the room. Mal can't believe the size of the suite."
"Let's go. I want to see them." Jed led the way out the front door. "Tired?"
Leo shook his head. "I slept on the plane."
"Hungry?"
"I'm always hungry."
"There's a terrific restaurant downstairs. You'll love it!"
After breakfast, everyone filtered through the revolving glass door in the lobby and went their separate ways. James and Mary spent the rest of the morning shopping and sightseeing with Elizabeth. At the Royal Stables, Jack and Kellie followed as Brad led the way to the display of knights and suits of armor while Abbey and Jenny took their daughters to visit the horse barn and see the old fashioned carriages out front.
And somewhere along the narrow streets of downtown Stockholm, Leo and Jed rode in the back of the shiny black sedan that would take them to Jed's lecture and press appointments.
"This is nice." Leo adjusted his seat.
"You should have seen the limo they put me and Abbey in last night."
"They really are treating you like royalty."
"This is how it's been everywhere I've gone the past two days. This whole week is going to be incredible. Did you know that the awards ceremony is carried live on national television?"
"No, I didn't."
"What do you think it means?"
"In what sense?"
"Well, think about it. The Swedes claim a literacy rate of nearly 100 percent. More than half the country speaks English. One-third of the citizens are trilingual. The drop-out rate is only four percent. Four percent, Leo. Can you imagine? Dropping out of school is a foreign concept to almost all Swedish kids. It seems every person I meet on the street is cultured and well-read. "
"That doesn't surprise me."
"Once a year, the entire country tunes in to watch a global celebration of science and literature, a gathering of the world's best and brightest contributors to humanity. This is what they do red carpet specials about. This is what the press talks about for weeks. And from the moment a Swedish child can talk, they're told that this is the height of success."
"It's a big deal."
"It is. Back home, our big deal is the Oscars."
"Not exactly the same thing, is it?"
"Not exactly."
"You think if American children were more enamored with the lives of the academic elite rather than Hollywood starlets, we'd have a better state of affairs?"
"It couldn't hurt."
"Would you feel better if Americans watched the Nobel Prizes being handed out instead of the Academy Awards?"
Jed immediately dismissed the notion. "They'd never watch. For one, in order for it to be live, which is what the networks would want, it would have to be broadcast early in the morning U.S. time. Second, no one would understand the countless speeches delivered in Swedish. And those who did would be bored anyway."
"Aren't you selling the American people short?"
"Leo, I've been here three days and even I'm bored by some of the presentations I've heard so far. Half the Swedes who show up to these events are fidgety by the end and these are nothing compared the 90 minutes of speeches we'll all have to endure during the actual awards ceremony."
"Then what's your point?"
"I'm just saying there are obvious differences in the culture."
"I won't dispute that." Leo watched as Jed pulled out a small baggie of pills from his briefcase. "Pills?"
"Abbey's been on my case to take them for my back. I'll forget unless I put them in my pocket."
"What's wrong with your back?"
"Herniated disc."
"How'd you do that?"
"Just...you know...Abbey and I got a little carried away one night..."
Leo caught on quickly. "Say no more." He rolled his eyes and smiled. "What have you got there anyway?"
"I don't know really. Anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants."
"Valium?"
"No, why Valium?"
"It's what they gave me when I got back from Vietnam."
"Yeah, but for stress, right?"
"No. I hurt my neck. I mean, it did a great job of treating the psychological aftermath of the war, but it's also an ordinary muscle relaxant."
"You still take it?"
"I haven't taken it in years." Though he really had stopped filling his Valium prescriptions, Leo didn't bother to mention that his neck pain had vanished soon after Vietnam and that it was the psychological affects of the drug that kept him loyal to his doctor's appointments.
"Years, huh? I'm hoping for a shorter recovery time." Jed slipped the baggie into his pocket. "Anyway, I asked you to come with me this morning because I want to talk to you about something."
"Okay. Let's talk."
"No one but Abbey knows this yet."
"Sounds serious."
"What would you say if I told you I'm considering running for the House?"
"I'd say you just won an election for state legislature, so something tells me you're not talking about the New Hampshire House."
Jed nodded. "You'd be correct. I'm talking about the U.S. House. When we were in Washington, I met with the majority leader." He stopped when he caught Leo grinning. "What?"
"Nothing. It's just that I'm remembering all those hot summer days when we were canvassing for the Kennedy campaign. We were what...15 years old then?"
"Yeah. We were young...high school interns, complaining because there were so many of us that we were one rung under the adult volunteers who were one rung under the college interns."
"I'll never forget those days."
They were sketchy and fractured, but Jed's memories of those days were still roaming around in his mind as well. There was one memory in particular he new he'd never forget - the day he and Leo made a sacred pact for the future. "You said back then, when I ran for office, you'd run my campaign and you vowed no way would the interns be treated like servants."
"I knew I'd get a chance to prove it," Leo said proudly. "I knew you'd eventually run."
"Maybe not." Jed's demeanor changed in an instant. He was subdued now, suddenly serious and a bit sad. "What if I told you I'm not sure I will?"
"Why wouldn't you?"
"There's a lot to think about."
"What's there to think about?"
"Abbey. She's not wild about the idea of moving to Washington."
"Most congressmen don't move their families. Why would she think..." Jed's expression gave away his thoughts. "You want her to move?"
"I don't think I can do this without her, without the girls. I need them with me."
"Jed, you'll see them."
"When? Weekends? Holidays? Congressional recesses? I'm used to being with them all the time, Leo. I don't want my kids to grow up without their father." Jed paused before he asked the question that always teetered at the edge of his tongue. "How do you do it?"
"What?"
"How do you go to work for hours upon hours and come home after Jenny and Mallory are asleep, knowing you'll be leaving before they wake up in the morning?"
"The same way Abbey does," Leo answered flatly. "We do it because we have to."
"Abbey does work a lot, you're right. But she's almost done. Finally, my wife can pull back a little and stop working 100-hour weeks. And then what? Am I supposed to take over where she left off?"
"It's not like you're abandoning your family."
"Explain that to Zoey. She's a baby, Leo. I don't want to miss one minute of her growing up."
"You'd be amazed how much free time you're going to have as a congressman. Congress takes so many breaks. Most representatives take three-day, four-day weekends whenever they want. They don't show up for every vote."
"That may be true, but if I'm going to do this, I'm not going to do it half-assed. If I run...if I win, I am going to show up for every vote. I am going to be at every roll call. If I'm chosen to represent the people of my district, then damn it, I'm going to do the job they sent me there to do."
"I don't think there's an if, Jed. You and Abbey should talk about it some more because I'm fairly certain you'll both make the right decision."
"What is the right decision?"
"What do you think? You can do great things in Washington."
"Is it worth living so far away from Abbey and my girls, missing out on the little everyday things that happen in their lives?"
"That depends on what you want."
"At this moment, I'm not entirely sure what that is."
"I don't believe that. You engineered a conversation just a few minutes ago on the literacy rate in Sweden. It's nearly 100 percent. The drop-out rate is five times less than ours."
"You think that has something to do with this?"
"I think the reason you brought it up is because you want to help the average American compete with those numbers."
"In a perfect world, they could."
"And in an imperfect world, they need you to make them try. Do you want the kids who live in your district to achieve success despite the dismal statistics? Do you want the government to reach out to those whose parents don't have what it takes to motivate them to study and get good grades so they can go to college? Because if that is what you want, Jed...if you want to make that kind of difference, you're not gonna do it from the New Hampshire State House. And you're certainly not gonna do it from a lecture hall at Dartmouth."
Leo's statement echoed a truth Jed couldn't deny. As a state legislator, he had already battled for education reform, he had beaten down Head Start cuts, and he fought to ensure mandatory sentences for perpetrators of crimes against women. He did what he went to Concord to do. It was time to do more. The state house had given him a podium. But he was now ready for a microphone.
He turned his head to stare out the window as he pondered Leo's words.
TBC