Liz, Ellie and Zoey looked at him curiously as Jed went on, "Something happened this last week that has changed my whole life – and although it doesn't concern you as directly as it concerns me, it is something that you need to know about."
Their faces changed from curious to concerned.
"Is it bad?" Zoey asked anxiously.
"Are you okay with it?" Liz said.
"Dad, you don't have to–" started Ellie.
Jed smiled at their different reactions. "No, Zoey, it's not bad – yes Liz, I'm totally okay with it, and yes, Ellie, I really do have to tell you." He glanced round at Abbey as she squeezed his hand and gave her his quick smile. Then he turned back to his daughters. "This will come as quite a surprise to you all – but last – what day was it?" he asked Abbey.
"Saturday," she prompted.
"Right – so last Saturday when we first went to Ballykane, I discovered quite by chance that–" he drew in a deep breath to steady himself "–that John Bartlet – the man you always thought of as your grandfather – was not my real father."
There was a stunned silence. Liz was the first to react. "But – but you've – you've always been so proud of your – your Bartlet ancestry–" she stuttered in dismay.
Jed smiled. "Yes, and I still am. I'm still a Bartlet, and so are you all, we still have that heritage in our blood. But not from John. My real father was John's older brother Edward – Eddy Bartlet."
He looked around at their different expressions. Zoey's face had puckered into a frown, Liz was still wide-eyed and stunned, and Ellie – Ellie's own thoughts were hidden because it was him she was studying, for once her head up so that her long hair didn't hide her face.
It was Ellie who finally broke the silence. "Grandpa Bartlet wasn't your real father," she breathed and Jed knew in that instant that Ellie totally understood all the significance of that short statement.
He wanted to hug her but knew that wouldn't be fair to the other two who were still struggling to comprehend. Instead his eyes met hers and held them in a silent 'thank you'. To his relief, Ellie understood. She drew in her breath and gave him a soft smile that came from her heart. Then she looked down, but not before Jed had seen her eyes brimming. He had to blink a few times before he could look across at Liz who was saying, "Dad, how on earth did you find out about this?"
Jed explained about the old man in the pub, about the submarine in the bay and how he had realised that the dates matched up with his own birth date. He also told them the few small facts that he had known about Eddy at that point.
"So that's all you know?" Zoey asked. "Just that he was on a submarine that went down in 1946?"
Jed glanced at Abbey. "It's all I might have known if it hadn't been for your Mom. I think you should continue the story now, honey."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Abbey looked across at the girls. "Well, I met a young man outside the church and–" She went on to tell them what Rory had said about his grandmother and how she had been determined to go back to Ballykane to find out more about Annie Egan and Eddy Bartlet.
"So she schemed and plotted!" Jed said with a laugh. "Never underestimate your mother when she is determined to do something!"
The three girls exchanged glances. "We know, Daddy," Zoey said. "We know when she gets that look in her eyes."
"I guess you need to give me some lessons on what your Mom is thinking when she gets that look in her eyes then!" He laughed as Abbey shot him one of her looks. "Okay, maybe I don't need any lessons – I'm now getting the look that says 'Will you please stop interrupting?'"
The laughter broke what could have become a tense and over-emotional atmosphere and Jed was relieved.
"So can I continue?" Abbey asked and when Jed held up his hands in acquiescence, she laughed and then went on, "I went to see Mary Cavanagh – and my instincts – intuition–?" she paused to give Jed a quick smile "–were right. Mary had been Annie's best friend and had been with her when she actually met Eddy for the first time – so she told me all she knew about him. And then the next day I persuaded your Dad to go back to Ballykane to hear it from her too."
"So where did they meet – Eddy and Annie?" Liz asked.
"Connolly's," Abbey replied. "Remember? The pub we mentioned earlier, where we first met Kate? It's about half way between Galway and Ballykane – Mary and Annie were both working there when a group of officers from the sub came in one evening."
"And it was love at first sight?" Zoey asked. "That's really romantic."
"Well, if not at first sight, then certainly within a few days," Abbey said, and then went on to tell them everything that Mary had said about the first night at Connolly's and then about the days which followed. "The sub was in the bay for about two weeks and before it left Eddy had asked Annie to marry him. And when she found out she was pregnant, Eddy sent her the fare to go to America."
Jed stood up and went to retrieve his jacket from the back of the couch. From the inside pocket he pulled out the small photograph of Eddy and Annie. Before returning to the table, he also opened his briefcase and extracted a brown envelope.
He handed the photo to Liz who was sitting between her two sisters, and they both leaned over to look at it.
"They do look happy together," Zoey said with a smile.
"And that's our real grandfather," Liz said slowly.
Ellie looked across at her father. "Why did Annie marry Eddy's brother then? Was that before or after you were born?"
Jed smiled. "I kinda guessed you would ask that – so here's the answer that Mary was able to give us." He drew some sheets of paper from the envelope and handed a set to each of his daughters. "That's a copy of a letter that my mother wrote to Mary a couple of months before I was born."
For a few minutes there was silence as Liz, Ellie and Zoey each read their own copies of the letter.
Jed's eyes met Abbey's. "I had it photo-copied down in the conference room," he explained to her.
Abbey nodded and their eyes stayed locked, both of them waiting, until Liz finally broke the silence. "That is the most beautiful letter I have ever read," she breathed.
Zoey too lifted her head from the letter and they saw that her eyes were suspiciously bright. "She loved him so much, didn't she?"
Jed nodded, and had to swallow hard. Ellie's head was still bent over the letter, her long hair shielding her face and Jed could see her hand shaking as she held the paper. "Ellie?" he said gently.
Eventually Ellie looked up, tears trickling down her face. Liz instinctively leant across and put her arm round Ellie's shoulders. "Don't cry, Ell."
Ellie looked across at her father. "This explains everything, doesn't it, Dad?" she said, a sob catching her throat.
Jed felt suddenly choked. "Yes – yes, it does." He tried to say some more, but couldn't. Quickly he stood up and went through to the sitting room, across to the window where he stared out unseeingly, struggling to control his emotions.
In the dining area, Abbey looked across at her daughters. "Let him be," she said softly. "He's had a very emotional week – and it's not been easy for him. But you remember what you said earlier, Liz, about inherited traits?"
Liz nodded. "This is what you were talking about?"
"Yes. Eddy told Annie that he wanted to make his career in the Navy and then one day to be part of the government. He said 'I want to be able to have some influence in what my country does and to try and make the world a better place.'"
"And that was passed on to Dad," Liz said slowly. "So he knows now just where he inherited that part of himself from."
"Yes – I think when he heard that, Eddy became real to him, instead of a total stranger. He also remembered something he had overheard his Mom once say to John Bartlet – that he had the same determination, the same passion, the same idealism as Eddy had had."
Zoey frowned. "But why did they never tell him? Surely he had the right to know who his father was?"
Abbey gave a small shrug. "John Bartlet didn't want any reminders of Eddy – and Annie thought that there was more chance of your dad and John building up a better relationship if he didn't know anything about Eddy."
The shrill ring of the phone made them all turn, and they heard Jed's voice from the sitting room.
"Okay, Sam – yes, we've finished eating – yes, any time – okay – right, let me have a copy, will you?"
Then Jed came back into the dining area. "Sam's on his way up here – he's done a draft of my speech for tomorrow – and he also wants to know if you're ready to hit the town?"
Liz and Zoey glanced at each other and then at Ellie. "You okay about this, Ell?" Liz asked.
Ellie nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine. Just don't wake me up when you come back!"
Jed hesitated for a moment, then looked at them all. "Are you all okay? I know it's come as a shock to you."
"Dad, so long as you're okay with it, then we are too," Liz said.
Zoey stood up and crossed the room to put her arms round him. "I'm glad, Daddy," she said with a smile. "I'm glad you've found your real father."
TBC