Series: Snapshots of the Past
Series: Snapshots of the Past
Story: The Nobel Laureate
Chapter 30
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Previously: The Bartlets and McGarrys enjoyed an afternoon at a storybook museum; Lizzie and Abbey had a long talk about her less-than-honest behavior of the past; Abbey convinced Jed to let Liz bring Sven with them to the theater (chapter 27); Jed and Abbey discuss the possibility of Jed running for congress (chapter 19); Jed tells Leo he was approached to run (chapter 28)
Summary: Jed is surprised by Sven; Jed and Abbey enjoy a quiet dinner where they make a decision about him running for congress; Jed teases Abbey with the possibility of another surprise
"Finally! A production of The Nutcracker the way Tchaikovsky intended!" Jed led the way as the Bartlets walked down the marble grand staircase towards the beautiful gold foyer of the Royal Opera House. "That was great, wasn't it?"
"It was a brilliant show," Abbey agreed.
"That's because it hadn't been tampered with. So many producers think they know more than one of the greatest Romantic composers in the world."
"I agree with you, if I may, Dr. Bartlet."
Jed glanced at the 16-year-old boy who was clutching Elizabeth's hand down to the foot of the stairs. "You do?" he asked.
"I do. I've been to many productions of The Nutcracker as well. Just last year, my parents and I saw it in London and it was almost unrecognizable. The arrangement was out of order and they left out part of the Mother Ginger dance."
"Part of it?"
"Yes, sir. In symphony orchestras, they never take out part of the music. They leave it as the composer intended it, yet in ballets, they feel free to adjust at will."
"You're right," Jed replied. "They do that to fit the requirements of the dance, as if THAT were the point. They should dance to the music, not play to the dance."
"I agree. I believe the problem is inexperienced choreographers. They think they can stage it better than Tchaikovsky intended it. That's why I prefer the symphony myself. No one ever suggests dropping a movement of Beethoven's Third Symphony."
"You really like classical music?" Jed wasn't sure if the young man actually was a fan or if Elizabeth had coached him to say the right things.
"A great deal. I learned to enjoy it as a young boy. My parents and I used to travel a lot and my mother, she was always taking me to the concert hall and the theater in every country we visited. I learned right away that music, especially classical music, was the one thing that never changed no matter what country we were in or what language we were speaking." Sven grew nervous as Jed eyed him quizzically. "Did I say something wrong, sir?"
"No, no. It's just that I'm accustomed to people your age concerned more with the latest rock band craze than with the intricacies and themes of classical music."
"I'm not like most people my age. Contemporary music, it...well...it..."
"It sucks!" Jed concluded.
Sven chuckled. "Yes, sir, it does."
Liz and Abbey shared a smile as Jed nodded approvingly. Sven wasn't the person Jed expected to meet. When Abbey persuaded him to let Liz invite him to tag along to the show, Jed assumed he was just another teenage boy who lusted after his daughter, but the sixteen-year-old quickly shattered that myth. Cultured and smart, studious and polite, Sven proved he was much more mature from the moment he met the Bartlets at their suite at the Grand Hotel.
He showed up with two bouquets of flowers - one for Liz and another for Abbey. He gave Ellie a porcelain Scandinavian doll and he even bought a Swedish horse figurine for Zoey. He addressed Jed as Dr. Bartlet and handed him a copy he bought of the older man's Nobel-winning articles, asking him if he wouldn't mind autographing the first page of the bound text.
Jed paid careful attention to the way Sven held the car door open for Elizabeth, the way he offered her his jacket when she seemed to be cold, the way he complimented her not just on her beauty, but on her intellect and bantered with her respectfully when she argued his claim that it was the Swedes who invented the hot tub.
And as if his behavior so far wasn't enough to win Jed over, when the family turned the corner on the way to the Café Opera, the upscale Swedish eatery next to the Opera House, Jed was captivated by the way Sven just stared at his daughter, adoringly, after he followed her inside and pulled out her chair.
To Jed, it was important for anyone who spent time with his girls to take care of them just as he would. He wanted them to be addressed with respect and honor, the way he always addressed Abbey. He wasn't crazy about Lizzie spending time with any boy, not because he didn't trust her, but because he wasn't sure that boys her age were up for the challenge of treating his little girl the way she deserved to be treated. Tonight though, he realized that Sven might be an exception.
"Jed?" It took a few seconds to bring him back from his thoughts, but Abbey managed.
"Huh?"
"You didn't tell me everyone was meeting us here."
From across the room where he and Abbey were standing, Jed looked out to see Leo, Jenny, and Millie and her husband, Richard, all waiting for them. "Oh. I didn't mention it?"
"No, you didn't."
"I guess that's because we're not staying."
"What?"
"We're just here to drop off the kids."
A confused Abbey trailed behind her husband as they made their way to the table. She greeted their friends curiously when they didn't seem surprised that she and Jed came over to say goodbye to their girls. Jenny and Millie swore their lips were sealed and Abbey got no help from Jed, who grabbed her arm and whisked her away before she could badger little Zoey into telling her what Daddy had planned.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded as they walked out the door and strolled towards Kungsträdgården Park.
"Let me ask you something. When someone says they have a surprise planned, why can't you just relax and enjoy the ride? Why do you insist on knowing everything about it?"
"Because I hate surprises."
"You do not. You just hate the fact that, at this moment, I know something you don't."
"That isn't true." Jed threw her a stare, his brow arched skeptically. "All right, fine. I do hate that you know where we're going and I don't but that's only because I have no idea if I'm prepared for what's coming."
"Believe me, sweetheart, you're prepared. Trust me, okay?" He took her hand to guide her down a path to the right. "We're here."
Across from the large ice skating rink in the center of Kungsträdgården Park, the dark waters of the Baltic Sea shined under the moonlight. And at the ocean's edge was a trail of antique street lamps that lit a path to an elegant French restaurant. Here, on the cozy heated veranda on the skirts of an oval dance floor, Jed and Abbey sat across from one another and enjoyed a candlelight dinner for two.
"So when are you going to admit you were wrong about Sven?" Abbey asked.
"Who says I was wrong?" Jed returned, a twinkle in his sapphire eyes.
"Come on, he's not the punk you thought he was and you know it. He's a charming young man."
"Yeah, but that was tonight and one night isn't enough to truly form an opinion."
"That's fine. I'll invite him over tomorrow night too," she teased.
"Don't you dare," he warned. "I'll be happy to talk with Sven again, but tomorrow is Friday and I told you that Friday belonged to us."
"Mmm hmm, so we're doing something tomorrow too?"
"That's right and I don't want to hear another word about it. I'm not telling you what it is."
Her elbows gently balanced at the edge of the table, Abbey clasped her hands together and rested her chin on top. She had been the recipient of quite a few of Jed's surprises over the years, but what never ceased to amaze her was how good he was at knowing exactly what she wanted. He catered to her likes and dislikes, always putting them above his own and though she couldn't imagine what he had planned for tomorrow, she knew it would be just as romantic as the private dinner he had arranged tonight.
"This place is so beautiful," she said, gazing out at the water behind him. "You were right. This was a great surprise."
"I confess. I have an ulterior motive for wanting to get you alone tonight."
Abbey slipped her foot out of her stiletto heel and rubbed her toe under the hem of his pants. "You think I didn't know that?"
He couldn't help but respond when she winked at him, her eyes brimming with passion. "Hmm, well, I am hoping for a little of that later..."
"But?" Hypnotized by how she twirled a tendril of auburn hair around her finger, he lost his train of thought. "Jed?"
"Hmm?"
"You were saying..."
"Oh...um...yeah. I do have a real reason for bringing you here. I want to talk to you."
"What's wrong?"
"I know we said we'd wait until we got back from Sweden to discuss this, but..."
"Running for congress. That's what you want to talk about." It was on her mind too.
"I told Leo." He watched her expression change subtly.
She straightened her posture and put on a serious face as they both paused while the waiter poured them their wine. As soon as he walked away, Abbey asked, "What did Leo say?"
"He thinks I should do it."
"I said the same thing."
"I know."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
"Nothing."
"What do you want, Jed?"
Jed anticipated that question and he prepared a response after his conversation with Leo, but sitting here with Abbey, he was afraid to say it. It made him sound selfish, he thought. What kind of husband leaves his wife so he can vote on national policy? What kind of father abandons his own children so he can serve the children of strangers? In his head, it was a benign idea, one that he could fantasize about, but somehow, saying it out loud soured the whole concept.
"That's a loaded question," he replied instead.
"You're the guy with all the answers."
"Not this time."
Abbey knew he was holding back. "Tell me the truth. You brought me here because you wanted to talk to me, so talk to me. Tell me what you want."
"What do I want? I want you and the girls to always be happy...and healthy. I want to meet every boy Lizzie has a crush on. I want to take Ellie stargazing again and teach her more about astronomy. I want to hold on to Zoey's seat when she's ready to ride a bike." His head lowered slightly, he gazed up at her through his lashes. "I want to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life."
She reveled in fact that despite all the attention and the opportunities, her husband was still a family man at heart. "I want all those things too."
"Then we're on the same page."
She shook her head. "Not exactly. What aren't you telling me?"
As he took a sip of his wine, his eyes confirmed her doubts. He couldn't hide anything from her anyway. He wasn't even sure why he tried. "Do you still think we can have it all?"
"No."
It shocked and saddened him to hear her answer so flatly. "You used to."
"Not anymore. Having it all sounds great in theory, but it's unrealistic in practice."
"I don't believe that."
"How can you not? Too many sacrifices, too many missed holidays, late nights at the hospital, early morning rounds. I've sacrificed time with the girls...with you. I've learned that I can't be supermom and superdoc all at the same time."
"You were gone a lot, Abbey, but when it came down to it, when we really needed you, you were there." He was perplexed by her coy little grin. "What?"
"This is just typical you. You romanticize everything, Jed. Instead of remembering all the times I wasn't there, you focus on the times I was."
"I'm remembering it how it was."
"You're remembering it how you wish it was. The truth is, I was gone a lot and you were mad a lot."
That dose of reality stung hard. "Fine. For the sake of argument, let's say I'm remembering it how I wish it was. What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing...except you're rewriting our history. And you don't have to, not with me. Not to justify wanting to run for office."
It sometimes terrified him how she could read his mind. "That's not what I'm doing."
"This me, Jed. I know what's really going on here. I know your heart. And I know that right now, you're saying to yourself that you don't want to be an absent husband and parent..."
"No, I don't."
"Don't you think I felt the same way every grueling second of medical school and residency? It killed me to be away from my family. But you guys survived without me and in some ways, that killed me too. It was like you didn't really need me."
"Of course we needed you. I wouldn't have spent so many hours brooding about your work schedule if we didn't need you."
"I know that." She smiled. "We made it through my residency. We'll make it through congress."
"You're sure about that?"
His reaction was her confirmation. "I was right. You wanna run."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement, one that Jed could no longer deny. "I do wanna run."
"And since you've given up trying to convince me to move with you, you now want me to tell you that it's okay to go to Washington without me and the girls."
"Abbey..."
She didn't let him finish. "You feel like you're abandoning us, like we're going to end up resenting you someday. And you think that even though I'm sitting here telling you that that will never happen, I'm not being truthful about my feelings."
Jed raised his hand to interrupt her. "You know, I really do love that you know me better than anyone else, but this is getting a little scary. Get out of my head."
Abbey allowed for a soft laugh, then leaned forward to monopolize his attention. "Listen to me. I'm being perfectly honest, Jed. I want you to do this."
"Why are you so willing to get rid of me?" Had it not been for the lighthearted way he asked that question, Abbey would have assumed he misunderstood her encouragement.
"It isn't getting rid of you that I'm so willing to do. It's knowing that you're going to be out there working to make our district a better place for our girls to grow up that's getting me through this."
"You think they'll be all right with it...the girls?"
"We'll have to sit them down and talk to them about it. I like the idea you had before...giving them a vote. I think that might help smooth things over."
"Until they vote no," he joked. "If they do, are we going to have to honor that?"
"They're not going to vote no. Liz is going to offer to run your campaign and Zoey...all she needs is to hear the word Washington and she'll be thrilled. Ellie might be a problem, but I think she'll be okay."
"And what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Are you ready for a real political campaign?"
Without hesitation, Abbey answered. "Yes."
"Are you sure? Because this won't be like running for the state house or like any other election we've been involved in before. There are going to be lots of media interviews, articles about me...you too. We'll both be in the spotlight. They may say some unkind things. They may make up rumors or help spread them. They may try to get our friends and neighbors to say bad things about us. They may..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. You sound like someone's targeting us."
"No. But there will be things in the press about what we do, our backgrounds, our education, financial situation. Everything."
"We have nothing to hide."
"We fight sometimes."
"All couples fight."
"Yeah, but you're bit a temperamental." Just as he predicted, her eyes flashed with indignation.
"Excuse me?"
He smiled. "Seriously, we've had big fights, the knock-down, drag-out kind, the kind that would sell a lot of papers if it ever happened in front of the wrong person."
"Then I guess we'll just have to stop fighting."
"Easier said than done."
"Not really. If you just stop annoying me..."
He chuckled. "I just want to make sure you're aware of what you're getting into."
Abbey reached across the table to take his hand. "I'm perfectly aware and I'm ready. We're gonna do this together."
"Together, huh?"
"Like always."
"We could lose."
"We won't."
"We might."
"If we lose, then we lose. But we won't."
She said it with such certainty that, for a second, it stirred Jed's confidence. No matter what, Abbey always believed in him. She was the one whispering in his ear that he could do anything he wanted to do and whenever he teetered on the brink of self-doubt, all it took was a few words from her to pull him off that edge.
He stared at her, sitting across from him, tracing imaginary circles over her wine glass. She was the love of his life and it had nothing to do with how she looked or how she felt in his arms. It was because he knew he was safe with Abbey, the one person who could help him when he's struggling, comfort him when he's upset, cheer him up when he's sad, and share in his joy when he's not.
He stood up then and extended his hand to her. When Abbey graciously accepted, husband and wife walked onto the dance floor. Jed held her right hand in his left and wrapped his other hand around her waist as Abbey laid her head on his shoulder and they swayed to the classical French love ballad, Plaisir d'amour.
"Why is it that you always know what I'm thinking?"
Abbey remained in this position, her head still on his shoulder and the palm of her hand touching his chest. "Like I said, I know your heart. It beats for all the right reasons."
"I love you so much."
"I love you too, Jed."
With his fingers gently pushing the small of her back, Jed led Abbey around the corner to where their driver, Felix, was waiting. Abbey climbed into the backseat of the limo, then helped Jed get settled as Felix handed him two big white boxes before he closed the door.
"What are those?"
"These are for you." Jed gave Abbey the first box. "Sorry I didn't have time to wrap it."
"What for?"
"You'll need some things for tomorrow."
Abbey flipped the lid to find a pair of tall brown leather boots. "Oh, Jed. They're lovely."
"I'm glad you like them."
"I love them!" She accepted the second box. "I can't believe there's more." She gasped as she opened this one, for inside lay a full-length burgundy-brown mink coat.
"Is it all right?"
"Are you kidding? It's wonderful!" Abbey pulled the coat out of the box and draped it around her shoulders. "You are the sweetest man in the world!" She yanked on his tie until she had his face close enough to kiss. "When did you have time?"
"After my lecture on Monday, I did a little shopping."
"Why didn't you give them to me then?"
"Because I wanted it all to be a surprise."
"So why didn't you wait until we got back to the hotel?"
"Because we're not going back to the hotel."
"We're not?" He shook his head, catching her off-guard. "What about the girls?"
"Last I heard, Millie and Richard were taking Zoey, Ellie was going to camp out with Mallory in Leo and Jenny's suite, and Lizzie was planning to stay up all night and rent some movies from downstairs to watch with her Aunt Kellie."
"So they know?"
"They've known for days. The only person who wasn't in on this secret, Sweet Knees, is you." He got special joy out of telling her that.
"You know how I hate that."
"Yeah, I know," he said with a smirk she couldn't miss. "It'll be worth it in the end. You'll forgive me when we get there."
"Get where?" Jed pursed his lips together, frustrating her even more. "You're unbelievable."
"Only when I'm trying to be."
"Which is always. Anyway, I can't go. I didn't bring anything with me."
Jed leaned forward to pick up the small bag he packed. "No excuses."
"Did you bring everything I need?"
He smiled devilishly. "There's a chance I might have forgotten your nightgown. Guess we'll just have to sleep in the nude."
"That depends on where we're sleeping," she mumbled, visibly annoyed that he wouldn't tell her their destination.
"Abbey?"
"What?"
"Relax and enjoy the ride."
TBC