Ten Years Later...
Snow whips around D.C like a Disney snow-globe around the holidays. The wind bustles in off Chesapeake bay and the tidewater breeze kicks up from Southern Virginia. The gang was all returning to the Rabb house in Great Falls for one final Christmas celebration. The wind carried with it the sound of holiday songs coming in from the highway. Seventeen year-old Matthew Rabb and his father were carrying in the Christmas tree around 3pm.
"Damn it, Matt, why did you have to pick the biggest one?" The elder Rabb grunted as they hauled the tree up the steps to the front door.
"Getting a little soft in your old age, dad?" Matt chuckled as he pried open the door and draped the massive Coast Douglas fir into the house. They carried it into the living room and propped it upright on its sawed off trunk.
"Harm!" Mac's voice could be heard from downstairs. "Don't let that thing get sap on the carpet or walls!"
"Yes, dear." Harm groaned while trying to prop up the tree. "Go help your mother find that tree stand." Harm nodded to his son who dashed off down the stairs leaving his dad alone to try and keep the tree propped up. Now, Harm was still a pretty strong guy for his age but he was clearly overmatched by the massive Christmas tree and it was slowly knocking him off balance as he tried to keep it propped up. "Matt?" Harm called as he strained under the seemingly growing weight of the tree. "Matt!"
Just then Harm felt the weight of the tree lessen and it began to get pulled upright again. "Still an accident waiting to happen, huh Harm?" A familiar voice rang from the other side of the tree and Nate Ross' head poked out from the other side.
"Hey, Nate when did you get here, I didn't hear you come in." Harm smiled as the two men stood the tree upright on its trunk again.
"You and Matt were out getting the tree when Nicole and I got here." Nate smiled. "So, your third Senate term off to any better a start than the first two?"
"Well, having seniority is certainly making things easier. Having a Republican President helps too." Harm relaxed a little bit. "So, do I refer to you as Mr. President or Mr. Commissioner now?"
"Even at MLB headquarters they refer to me as 'Mr. President', I don't think anyone in this country will ever think of me as anything else." Nate watched as Matt came running up the stairs waving the tree stand. "Anyone else here yet?"
"Not to my knowledge. Bax will probably be by with Jen and Katie in an hour or so, then once the five o'clock hour hits, my house should start filling up with kids." Harm and Nate lifted the tree and placed it in the tree stand. Then the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs bolted the tree into place so that it stood up straight. "Nate, can I get ya a glass of egg nog?"
"It's not like some kind of special, Rabb low-cholesterol, low fat, diet egg nog is it?" Nate questioned as the two of them headed toward the kitchen.
"No, it's just plain old ordinary egg nog." Harm laughed and poured a couple of snifters and handed one to his old friend. "So, what's it like being the Commissioner of Major League Baseball?"
"A lot like being President actually. I get to do a lot of really cool stuff, I have a huge staff that follows my every order and a bad day is one where I have to appear in front of Congress." Nate headed back into the living room with Harm. "Besides, I get to go to any game in the league, any night of the week at any park in the country. What's better than that?"
"Good point." Harm picked up the remote from the coffee table and sank down into the couch to watch the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game being aired on NBC. The two men sat and talked amiably for almost an hour while their wives did much the same as they strung Christmas decorations throughout the house. No one seemed to know where Matthew Rabb and Hannah Ross had gone in the house. These two actually were best friends, and not in the way that Sasha and Brad had been at their age.
The doorbell rang at about four-thirty and Harm jogged out of the living room and into the entry hall to answer the door. "Bax!" Harm cheered as he welcomed his friend into the house with a hug. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you too, buddy." Bax smiled and handed Harm another carton of egg nog. "Figured there was a pretty good chance that we'd burn through this stuff tonight."
"Wise man." Harm smiled and took the carton.
"Uncle Harm, do you know where Matt is?" Katie Baxter questioned in her very chirpy soprano.
"I don't actually, but you should be able to find him and Hannah if you search the house." Harm smiled and watched Katie run off to find her friends. In her way, Katie Baxter looked every bit like her mother Jennifer but those who knew her knew that she had a lot of her father in her personality. Harm trusted Matt with Hannah Ross, she was a lot like her mother and Harm could tell that his son wasn't attracted to her so much as he just genuinely respected her. Katie was different because it was very easy for a father to tell when his son really wanted a girl and Matt really wanted Katie.
"Sir, where's the Chief Justice?" Jennifer looked to Harm.
"Jen, all these years later and you still can't refer to me and Mac by name?" Harm crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"No, sir." The former Petty Officer shook her head.
"I think her and Nicole are downstairs trying to find the decorations for the tree." Harm smiled and watched as Jen shrugged off her shoes and coat and headed for the stairwell.
"Pour you a drink?" Harm lifted the egg nog carton.
"Sure." Bax nodded and the two headed into the living room. He saw the familiar visage of his former Commander-in-Chief and a warm smile came to his face. "Boss!" Bax cheered yet again.
"Ethan." Nate extended his arm and shook Bax's hand. "Good to see you again."
"You too, boss. How's life up in New York as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball?" Bax gave his old boss a pat on the shoulder.
"Less busy in the winter, thank the good Lord." Nate smiled. "How about you, you're about to be forced into retirement after eleven years as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that's very impressive."
"Survived four Commandants of the Marine Corps, six Army Chiefs of Staff, six Air Force Chiefs of Staff and five Chiefs of Naval Operations." Bax grinned and shook his head. "And at the end of it all, I got a call from the Democratic National Committee this week and they have this crazy idea about me running for the open California Senate seat next year."
"Oh good Lord, I might have to work with you in the Senate." Harm walked back into the room with a glass for Bax.
"I doubt it, Hammer. Can you actually see me surviving a Senate campaign?" Bax laughed.
"No, but then I would have said the same thing about myself thirteen years ago." Harm laughed and sipped at his drink. There was a few seconds worth of silence before the doorbell rang again. Harm peaked an eyebrow, curious at who might be at the door before he trotted over to answer it. "Well, we weren't expecting you guys for about a half hour yet." Harm greeted the Turners at the door.
"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" Sturgis chortled loudly as he brushed the snow off his coat.
"No, I suppose not." Harm wrapped Sturgis' hand in a firm grip and gave it a shake. "How are you Bobbi?"
"About as happy as you are that Congress is in recess, I imagine." Bobbi replied with a smile.
"Hey Izzy; Matt, Hannah and Katie are all somewhere around here, feel free to go search for them." Harm turned to his son's best friend who went off in search of his friends. Izzy Turner was turning out to be quite a bit like his stoic father. He was a tall boy, just north of about six-foot-five and he was lanky. But Isaiah Turner always greeted everyone he spoke to with a warm smile and quick nod before he went on his way.
"Looks, like the house is already starting to fill with kids, Harm." Mac, Nicole and Jennifer made their way up into the main hallway from downstairs. "It's nice to see you guys." Mac greeted her newest guests. Sturgis Turner had just finished up his stint as the country's longest-serving Vice President, serving one term under Nate Ross before serving two under Danny Proper. Sturgis headed into the living room to join Harm, Nate and Bax while Bobbi walked into the dining room with Mac, Jen and Nicole.
"Mr. Vice President." Nate shook Sturgis' hand.
"Mr. President." Sturgis replied. "You know the last two terms just weren't the same without you, boss."
"I'm sure." Nate chuckled. "Did I hear right? Is Random House giving you a six figure advance to right your memoirs?"
"Yup." Sturgis nodded somewhat embarrassed. "Decided to call it 'The Devils You Know', figured those with a sense of humour would get a good laugh."
"Well, that eliminates most of official Washington." Harm joked and the four men had a good laugh. Of course, just as everyone was starting to settle in that damn doorbell rang again. Harm jogged into the entry hall once again only to find that Mac had beaten him to the door. It was opened to find the Roberts clan standing there in the cold with the whirling snow falling on them. Bud and Harriet were the first through the door. Bud took off his cover and tossed it on the hat rack before giving Mac a hug. Harriet was next to wrap her old friend in an embrace. "Madam Chief Justice and Sir, Merry Christmas." Harriet smiled.
"Harriet, not you too, we just had to tell Jennifer about that kind of thing." Harm groaned and wrapped the little blonde in a hug.
"Any off my old buddies here yet?" Jimmy Roberts stepped in.
"No, uh, Tommy, Sasha, Brad and Jack are all probably at Dulles right now, or just landing at Dulles or just driving to the house from Dulles." Mac searched her brain for answers. "Arleigh and Beverly will probably show up any time soon and Tim is probably buried under a mound of paperwork in his office."
"A.J and Lauren, come in out of the cold, you two." Mac pulled the older Roberts son and his new bride into the house.
"Hi, Mrs. Rabb, I wasn't sure what we should bring so I made an apple pie." Lauren handed Mac the tin and smiled nervously.
"A Naval officer and a good cook, I'd hold on to this one tight, A.J." Mac advised her godson.
"I'm trying to, Aunt Mac." A.J shouted after his godmother who was taking the pie into the kitchen.
"I think that's the end of the doorbells for now." Harm stated thankfully as the groups of people split up and then congregated in their various rooms of the house.
"Harm, before we go any further," Bax interjected in a whisper, "you aren't letting Mac cook are you?"
"No, I figured we'd want to limit the number of food poisoning cases, so I did most of the work in the kitchen." Harm joked.
POV SHIFT
Wind whips snow around D.C at Christmas like some kind of Disney snowglobe. The first wind blows off the Chesapeake and uses the Potomac like a wind corridor. The second comes up from the Virginia Tidewater and creates a kind of crosscurrent right around D.C. Sasha and I just flew in from Boston with the baby. I love living in Boston and I simply just love my life right now. Sasha and I got married just over two years ago and the baby was born nineteen months ago. The last few years have been truly excellent all things considered. Sasha graduated from Medical School last year and is now working at Boston Mercy Hospital. I signed a seven year, 71 million dollar contract with Boston about five and a half seasons ago and in that time I've won two scoring titles, led the league in goal scoring four times and been the league's Most Valuable Player twice. Add to that the fact that I've won a World Championship gold medal and an Olympic silver medal in that time and I think I've had a pretty good few years professionally.
Sasha and I dated for three years before I proposed to her and we were engaged for three and a half years before we got married. She wanted to do as much as we could during the parts of the years when she wasn't in school. Which is why we got married in late June, and I'm starting to think also the reason that our son was born in late May. I get a rental car and head out the door where Sasha is standing with little Nolan Francis Ross at her side, wrapped around his mother's leg. I attach the car-seat in the back and buckle in little Nolan good and tight.
It's worth giving a little background detail on the newest addition I suppose. Nolan Francis Ross was born on May 24th and was one massive baby. He measured 22 ΒΌ inches and nine pounds-six ounces. This led to a year's worth of jokes from Jack who would make genetics jokes about all of us being tall and the kids two grandfathers both being over six-foot-three. He was named for his godfather, and the three-time reigning champion of the award for the NHL's best defenseman, Nolan White. He was also named for his late great-grandfather Frank Burnett, to whom his mother was quite close when she was a child. It also worked out pretty well because when the Cardinal of the Boston archdiocese baptized him, we didn't have to give him an extra Catholic middle name since Francis is also a Saint.
"Think you can still remember the way to my parents' house?" My wife teases we with a quick wink and a smile.
"Yeah, I think so, I might even toss a pebble at your old bedroom window for old time's sake." I grin and slide in behind the wheel. I adjust the seat and the radio so I can hear a few quality Elvis Christmas songs leak in over the radio. I've got four days before I've got to fly back to Boston to play our first post-Christmas game against my old friend Nick Bay and his Toronto Maple Leafs. Last summer, my dad found every excuse he could to fly up from New York to Boston and spend time at Fenway with me and Nolan. Sasha's parents came up about four times last summer and Nate's mom came home from helping the current President broker a peace deal in the caucasus in order to see Nolan three times.
You might want to hear about a few of the rest of the gang, I'll give you what updates I can and I'll try not to get into too much detail. Jack was basically, Jack. He was a two-time all-American Quarterback for Boston College and he's since moved on to being the back-up and now the starting Quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Harry, in spite of being without a doubt the smartest Ross boy, didn't follow Dad to Princeton or Tim to Yale, he went to Annapolis. Of all of us, people would have picked Jack or picked me to go to Annapolis but Tim went and he just got his first assignment to Quantico at the end of term last summer. Tommy Rabb went to Annapolis to became a Naval Aviator just like his old man. He was on a deployment off the Lincoln last summer but he's at Pax River right now. Arleigh Chegwidden did play four years worth of football for Navy and he went on to be a United States Navy SEAL.
As for Tim, well Tim's another case.
POV SHIFT
I've spent the last five years living in Northern Virginia. I was lucky enough and driven enough to make it through Harvard law school in a year and a half. After that I became an attorney working for the U.S. Attorney for D.C. About ten months later, I became the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and then after my boss was the subject of a major Congressional investigation, the Chief Justice of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals appointed me as the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. When the next midterms came around, I stepped down from my post and went to work for my mom's Senate office as her Chief Political Advisor.
This must seem like a meteoric rise to you all but you have to remember one thing, I was raised in politics. You might not think that a kid in his early teens would have much comprehension of the political intricacies of his father's White House but the White House accelerates your wisdom cycle. knew what a news-cycle was when I was eleven years old. I was acquainted with message calendars and policy briefings by thirteen. I had uncles and family friends who were some of the brightest political minds in the Democratic Party. I was the Chairman of the Young Democrats at Yale when I was a Sophomore and I have a JD from Harvard. Both of those degrees mean less on Capitol Hill because generally you can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone with a similar resume. What makes me different, what gets my foot in the door is my last name. I'm a Ross. My dad was the most respected President since Harry Truman and my mother is the most respected Democratic foreign policy mind in the Senate. My family is the political equivalent of the Mafia. Harmon Rabb is one of our in-laws and he's the ranking Republican on the Armed Service Committee. Trust me when I tell you that I had no problem getting the Speaker of the House or the Secretary of State to return my phone calls when I was my mother's Chief of Staff.
That was only my day job though, by nights and weekends I was making the rubber chicken dinner circuit in the Virginia 11th Congressional District trying to set up my campaign for the seat the next year. Well, being a Ross, being a centrist Democrat and living in the district for the previous few years all really aided my campaign. I won by six and a half points in my district and for the last ten months I've been Congressman Tim Ross of the Virginia 11th. The one thing that my dad's Democrats did is learn to cushion their rising stars. Upon election, I was in seemingly constant communication with the Speaker and the Majority leader, as well as other prominent Congressional Democrats. They gave me an office suite in the Canon House office building and when they sent me to the steering committee that dealt me good assignments to the House Appropriations, Armed Services and Judiciary committees. I was also selected to sit on the Permanent Select committee on Intelligence.
Most days I go into the office around 7am with a copy of the Washington Post tucked under my arm. My good mood is usually shot to hell by 7:30 and I spend most of the rest of the morning trying to get it back. In the afternoon, it's on to committee and subcommittee hearings, where seniority usually means I'm the last guy who gets to ask questions but I'm the guy a lot of my fellow Democratic freshmen are looking to for leadership. I've never dominated meetings with my personality, my presence or my charisma, those are traits of my father's that have been passed down to Brad and Jack. I'm like my mom, I gain a following in committee rooms because I'm one of the smartest, most well-prepared guys there and I try to intimidate by being smart. Something which is effective more often then not.
Most nights I'm in the office until 9:30 pm, which is usually when I can't tolerate staring at one more letter of twelve point Times New Roman font. I drive back into Virginia, climb the steps to my third floor walk-up loft in Fairfax and I watch CNN for an hour before flopping down into my bed. Yes, I'm still single and I'm not sure at twenty-eight years-old whether that's voluntary or not. I've never made real money since I've been in government service since I got out of law school. Which is odd because I've got two brothers who could jointly fund the space program for the next two fiscal years. I'm not sure if that's jealousy or not, they've got money and I've got power.
I'm currently buried in the latest appropriation rounds before the budget comes out trying to find anything I could justifiably object to when the committee reconvenes in January. I pinch the bridge of my nose and stare at the clock. It's a mercifully short drive from Fairfax to Great Falls so I'm not in any rush to get to the Christmas Party. I yawn and curse the numbers I see on the page in front of me for the fiftieth time this hour. I'm not sure what kind of girl I'm supposed to date. My brothers have had it easy. Brad's had Sasha since he was seventeen. Jack dates models, Jack dates actresses and Jack pretty much dates who Jack wants for the same reason that a dog licks his...well you know...because he can. It's a common sense dating equation: the media gives Jack power, the Philadelphia Eagles give Jack money and so do most of his major endorsement deals. With Brad, the equation is similar, but he doesn't care as much. Brad seems to simply disappear into his own little world.
POV SHIFT
I loved flying up to Boston this past summer to visit my new grandson and thank God for Brad's job because he was able to spend enough time at home to be with Sasha while she was pregnant. Just like her mother though, Sasha tried to stay at work as long as she could. With the way the snow is whipping around out there, I hope they're okay driving in from Dulles. Looking back on it, I don't think my daughter could have fallen in love with a better guy. Though admittedly, I haven't always felt this way.
Eight Years Earlier -
"Mac are you sure this is where Sasha lives? This building looks way too nice for a student budget." I looked around. "We passed a doorman on the way in, how many students live in buildings with doormen?"
"Harm, listen, I'm just heading to the address I was given, okay?" Mac tosses me a piercing glare that causes me to instantly fasten my lips shut. We walk down a long hallway once we get to the fourth floor and Mac is carefully scanning the numbers on the doors for the right one. "Here, this is it, this is 404."
"Mac, I'm telling you, this place is too nice, we're pretty much right down the street from Fenway Park." I protest again only to watch Mac shake her head, roll her eyes and ring the doorbell anyway.
"Coming!" I hear shouted from the other side of the door and I definitely recognize that voice as my little girl's. After a few seconds, the door is flung open and Sasha is standing there still in her pyjamas.
"It's 10 in the morning, isn't that a little late to still be sleeping?" Mac questions with a smile on her face.
"Not if you don't have class until 1." Sasha replies as she welcomes us into the apartment. When I walk in, I know something's up. This isn't an apartment, it's a condo and no twenty-year old college student can afford a condo. This place is much nicer than my place was when I worked at JAG. There's two levels to this place, the television is bigger than Sasha is and the furniture...well, my daughter has great taste but once again the quality is well above her budget level. "So what brings you guys to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?"
"I'm presiding over a moot court competition at Harvard this afternoon and your father just got done an inspection tour at the Naval base in New London over the weekend." Mac explains as we take a seat in the living room.
"Can I get you guys some coffee?" Sasha looked a little uncomfortable as she stood in the living room. I watched as my daughter cast noticeable glances at the front door and then at the archway to the kitchen.
"Sure, that would be great." Mac nodded and Sasha disappeared for a few seconds to make coffee in the kitchen."Okay. Harm, I'm finally with you on this one, this place is way too nice for 20 college students to afford." Mac whispers to me. "Something is definitely up."
Of course, it would be then that I would hear the lock on the door click and the door made a loud creaking sound as it swung open. "Honey, I'm ho-oh shit!" Brad Ross walked right into the living room and saw me and Mac sitting on the couch. "Mr and Mrs. Rabb, nice to see you again."
"See, now it all makes sense." I remark to Mac. Sasha pads into the living room with her head hung and her eyes staring right at her feet. Judging by the state of dress of Bradley Ross, he likely just got back from his morning skate with the Bruins. Once again, it seems worth stating that my daughter seems to have put her personal stamp on everything in this apartment as Brad is dressed in a suit that he can obviously afford but is way too stylish for him to have picked it out without some serious help. He assumes the typical protective role as he walks over and puts his arm over Sasha's shoulders.
"I suppose you guys were going to find out eventually anyway." Sasha clears her throat.
"You didn't think it was a good idea to maybe tell us before you moved in?" Mac launches herself up off the couch and moved toward the two of them.
"Well, Mom, you got married when you were still a teenager." Sasha rebutted and Brad was in obvious disagreement with Sasha on how to proceed here because I forced back a laugh when I saw him pinch the bridge of his nose and shake his head.
"Yeah, and if you want to talk about the spectacular failures in my life, that's at the top of the list." Mac retorted harshly. I could sense that Brad wanted to step in but I knew that the time was quite there yet.
"Mom, it's not like we're married, I mean living together, sure. I can't see why you're so upset." Sasha comes back.
"Listen, this wasn't some sinister plot to cut you guys out of the loop, it's her junior year, she spent a lot of nights here last year when the team wasn't out of town on road trips and..." Brad notices that everyone in the room's eyes have just gone wide and are glaring right at him. "And I should shut up now, shouldn't I?"
"Yes!" Mac, Sasha and I all say at the same time. Brad nods and steps back from the situation. I feel a little bad for him so I step in. "Brad, perhaps it's best if you and I step out on to the balcony and talk as men do."
"Talk as men do? What the hell, Harm?" Mac turns on me but by that time, Brad and I have already headed on to the balcony.
"Listen, Mr. Rabb, I'm realy sorry for not telling you before..." I cut the young man off mid sentence.
"I just said what I said because I know what my wife is like when she's angry." I explain. "I've just given her something else to be pissed at. Now, her and my daughter will talk and laugh for a few minutes about my saying something chauvinistic, and I'll get chewed out a little on the way home. That will make yours and Sasha's lives much easier once we leave."
"That was very kind of you, sir." Brad gives me an appreciative nod.
"Not really, I was gonna get an earful on the way home anyway, figured I might as well earn it." I laugh and give him a pat on the shoulder. "Now, I believe we had a gentleman's agreement that before any major liberties were taken with regard to my daughter, my permission would be sought first."
"Sir, when we made that agreement, I was only talking about asking her to marry me and trust me, before I do that, I will be very old fashioned and ask for permission first." Brad assured me as he leaned back agains the door to the balcony. "The whole moving thing was really convenience. She's close to campus, close to book stores and the markets here. The building's quiet because there aren't a lot of university tennants and a lot of the time I'm not even here to distract her since the team does play 41 road games every year. Besides like I said, she was here so often last year it just made more sense to..."
I cut him off again. "Brad, remember who you're talking to before you finish that sentence." I warn him. "What would you think if, in a few years, the boyfriend of your little sister tried to peddle that line off on you?"
"I'm lucky, I don't have to worry about that, sir." Brad replies assertively.
"Why not?" I sound a little confused.
"Sir, my dad was the President of the United States. My guess is that any guy who wants to date Hannah is gonna keep himself so clean he could enter an OR without scrubbing up first." Brad and I share a laugh and head back into the apartment.
Present Day -
Now, my conversations with my son-in-law haven't always been that collegial. We have had a few rows over the years. When it came time to pay for the wedding, he and I fought over who should. And there were some real fun ones just before Nolan was born because Boston was in the playoffs and Brad was going to be in Montreal for a few days, which meant that Mac and I had to head up to Boston to keep an eye on Sasha while Brad was out of town. Of course, if the baby actually was on its way, he would have hopped on a plane from Mirabel to Logan even if we called him in the middle of the game.
The doorbell rings again and I rush over to open the door. Sure enough, there's Lieutenant j.g. Tommy Rabb standing there. My son steps through the door and wraps me in a big hug. "Merry Christmas, Dad." He tells me as he gives me a pat on the back. Mac walks into the entry way and Tommy moves away from me to give his mom a hug. He lifts Mac up off the ground causing her to laugh boisterously.
"Tommy, put me down!" Mac insists and sure enough, Tommy lowers his mother back to the ground. My son looks pretty much exactly like I did at twenty-five. Something which only adds to my grey hair, since I can vividly remember what I was like at twenty-five.
A few moments after Tommy arrives, Helene Ross-Cloutier arrives with her family. Nate's daughter has developed into an almost mirror image personality of Nicole. After four years at Boston College, she spent three at Columbia Law and has since followed a career path that took her through the Justice Department, to the Democratic National Committee and now she's the Attorney General for the State of Maryland. She arrives with her two girls and her husband Pierre who's a mid-level diplomat at the Canadian embassy.
I remember being at that wedding, I've never seen a young man so intimidated in his life than young Pierre was that afternoon. Anna and Sergei arrived here just about a half-hour ago with their daughter, and let me say that I'm incredibly amused watching my brother get more and more protective as little Maria nears her teenage years. The doorbell rings again and I'm forced to trot out of the living room and back into the entry way. There's gonna be between thirty and forty people at this little Christmas Party and I'm amazed there's enough room in this house.
"Mr. Rabb." Jack Ross grins at me and shakes my hand as I let him and his girlfriend into the house. "It's really coming down out there, they closed Philly International this morning."
"They did? Any news on Logan or Dulles?" I question quickly, wondering if the Sasha and Brad have been caught in the storm somewhere on the East Coast.
"Nah." Brad brushes some of the snow off his jacket as he takes it off. "Don't worry though, Mr. Rabb. If they'd closed Logan, Brad and Sasha would have called and if they'd closed Dulles, they might have diverted the plane to National."
"Jack, if they closed Philly International, how did you get here exactly?" Nate pops his head into the entry way.
"Amtrak, Dad." Jack answers with a grin. "The tracks hadn't frozen by the time we got in this morning but the journey over here from Union Station was fun with all the traffic on the bridge." Jack and his girlfriend walk in to the living room to join the other guests. "Dad, Mom, this is..."
"Jack, we do own a TV, ya know. We know this is Kelly Carter." Nicole steps between her husband and son. "Nice to meet you, dear."
"And you too, Mr and Mrs. Rabb." The young girl smiles at her boyfriend's parents. For me, it's interesting to watch the kind of men the young Ross boys grew into. Brad kind of became a normal guy. He settled down to raise a family and be a working joe, just one that earns a lot more than the average working joe. Jack decided to become the family playboy, the guy who hangs out with rock stars and dates models, popstars and starlets. The one on his arm right now, is a Victoria's Secret Model named Kelly Carter. Another ring of the doorbell and I take two steps from the archway to the living room back to the door.
I open the door only to find a freezing public official shivering on my front step. "Damn, it's cold out here." Tim Ross shakes the snow out of his cropped black hair as he steps into the house.
"Nice to see you, Congressman." I shake the hand of my fellow legislator and member of the Virginia Congressional delegation.
"And you too, Senator." Tim grins as he shakes my hand. "And a Merry Christmas, sir." I take Tim's jacket. Ever the workaholic, Tim's still in his suit, which tells me that he likely just came from his office.
"Tim, don't you ever take that thing off?"I hear Jack cajole from inside the living room as Tim walks inside.
POV SHIFT
We walk up to a door that I can vividly remember so well from so much of my time growing up. I look up at my husband who's holding our son in his arms. Little Nolan is getting really big, even for a kid who's only 19 months old. I brush a little snow off the hood of his snowsuit before I ring the doorbell. It takes me a little to let it all sink in. I cast a quick glance up at my husband who smiles at me with his inquiring eyes. "What?" He asks innocently.
"Just hoping I get caught under the mistletoe with you, Cap." I smile back at him and lean up and rub my chilled nose against his.
"Mama!" I hear little Nolan cheer exuberantly and I can't help but smile a little wider. The door opens and there's the image of my Dad standing there in the doorway. He looks a little older than my memories will allow me to think of him as. Those lines on his face are more age than stress now. That grey in his hair makes him look very distinguished. He's every bit my dad though. Suddenly I'm overtaken by a powerful memory.
Three and a Half Years earlier...
"Oh damn, where's your father?" My mother searches the bridal suite in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
"Mom, he'll be waiting for me just where he should be when the time comes, he's probably just imparting some last minute threats on to Brad." I joke as I adjust this strapless dress for the third time.
"Yeah, well that's probably true but we went through this three times at rehearsal yesterday just to be sure that your dad would be in the right place at the right time." Mom isstill wringing her hands with anticipation.
"Mom, everything will be okay." I walk over and put my hand on her shoulder. "It's never taken dad more than five minutes to threaten Brad in the past, I don't know why now would be any different." I joke again and my mom finally laughs.
"I can't believe you're getting married." My mother cups my cheek.
"Well, it's one of those hazards of letting your children grow up." I smile at her.
"I'll know better with Tommy and Matt." Mom jokes back. She's starting to choke up. She looks up at the clock one last time and leads me out of the bridal suite. We get to the bottom of the stairs from the bridal suite and sure enough, there's my father standing at the bottom waiting for me. Mom hands me off to dad and goes to take her seat at the front of the church.
My dad just stands there looking at me. "You look absolutely stunning, Sasha-bear." He looks like he's about to cry too.
"Thanks, Daddy." I blush a little bit. He still looks like his mind has drifted off into the distance. "Daddy?"
"I'm sorry, bear, I just got caught remembering this one time I went Christmas shopping with you when you were four years old." I was looking at the toy cars for Tommy for just a second and you slipped off my arm and away you went. I panicked when I couldn't find you and I ran through the store shouting your name at the top of my lungs. Sure enough, there you were two aisles over, looking into a mirror with a white sheet over your face hugging a little bear that was dressed up as a groom. You were looking into this little Fisher-Price mirror and I asked what you were doing. You told me "Dad, I'm gonna get married soon, I'm just practising."
Dad laughs and shakes his head. "Dad, you need to learn to enjoy this a little more. Just think, the only other person than the Cardinal that gets to address a room with as many members of Congress in it as that one, is the President." I joke again and my Dad is forced to chuckle a little.
"I'm losing my little girl." He shakes his head.
"You could look at it this way dad, you're gaining a son." I tell him and he rolls his eyes.
Present Day...
"Gampa Humm!" I hear Nolan cheer from inside Brad's arms.
"He still can't say 'Harm'." Brad lifts little Nolan into my Dad's arms.
"He is getting big though." My dad grunts as he lifts his grandson. My mom comes into the entry way.
"How's my daughter?" She questions as she hauls me into an embrace.
"Overworked and over-travelled." I fake exasperation. "The shuttle from Logan to Dulles was delayed on the ground in Boston, then we got delayed with the headwind coming into D.C."
"Then we had a problem getting the rental car and finally the traffic crossing the bridge into Virginia from the District was enough to make a Scandinavian off himself." Brad took my coat and his.
"I guess that answers the question of how my son-in-law is." Mom smiles as Brad gives her a hug.
"Hey, Mom." He smiles as he gives her a quick hug. "Where do I put the coats?"
"Just give them to Harm, he's been running coat-check all evening." Mom laughs as dad rolls his eyes. Dad takes his grandson and the two jackets over to the walk-in closet just off the entry-hall. Bradley and I make our way into the living room where most of our known relatives and family friends seem to have gathered.
"Hey, it's the Congressman!" Brad jeers as he walks up to Tim who's standing with Jack, Tommy, Jimmy, A.J and Arleigh over by the punch bowl. Brad bounds over and wraps his slightly younger (54 minutes) brother in a headlock. "How have you been, you son of a bitch?"
"Not bad, Congress isn't a like falling off a log, ya know?" Tim responds somewhat blandly.
"I've heard, that's why smart Congressmen make for the Senate as fast as possible." Brad jokes and both of us hear a throat clearing behind us.
"What was that, Bradley Frederick?" My mother-in-law asks, with her hands placed sternly on her hips.
"Nothin', ma." Brad responds, realizing that he nearly knocked his teeth out by shoving his foot in his mouth at that speed.
"Good, now give your mother a hug." She demands and Brad makes a big show of reluctantly leaning down and hugging his mother before giving her a kiss on the cheek and hoisting her up on to his shoulder. "Bradley! Put me down!" She demands and Brad laughs heartily. "I'm not a young woman any more."
"Is that true, Dad?" Brad looks to his father who's chuckling boisterously.
"Alright, sport, return your mother to the ground." Nate points to the carpet and Brad sets his mother back down on her feet.
"So, how's Major League Baseball treating you, dad?" Brad looks to his dad.
"Can't complain, your mother hits me if I do." Mr. Ross says in his usual good humour.
"Nathan!" Mrs. Ross protests before playfully whacking him across the arms.
"Now, where's my grandson?" My father-in-law demands.
"Right here." My dad enters the room and hands little Nolan off to his other grandfather.
"Gampa Nay." Nolan says excitedly.
"Well, that's closer than Humm." Brad jokes and my Dad shakes his head at him, causing Brad to laugh a little louder. "Well, I've said hello to these two monsters." Brad wraps an arm around Jack and Tim's shoulders. "Where's my little brother? And my sisters?"
"Well, Harry's around here somewhere." Nicole looks over her shoulders searching for her youngest son. "So's Helene. As for Hannah, her and her friends are upstairs somewhere I believe."
"Well, since we know where she is, I'll go say hello to her first then." Brad takes my hand and we bound up the stairs searching for both his little sister Hannah and my little brother Matty. We look into all the open doors trying to find them. I can understand why teenagers would rather be separate from the adults, hell when it was me and Brad we used to stay apart just because it was more fun and then later it was so we could make-out.
Brad pushes open the door to my old room which is a little open and he hears a scream from inside. I step in and am welcomed by the sight of Hannah Ross and Izzy Turner making out on by old bedroom floor. "Brad!" Hannah protests. "What the heck, can't you knock?"
"The door was open." Brad retorts weakly. "Mom and Dad didn't tell me you were dating Izzy."
"That's because they don't know." Hannah answers. "Outside of me and Izzy, you two are now the only two who do know." She gets up off the floor and walks over to us. "And Brad, you gotta promise me that you're going to keep it that way, okay? You can't tell dad."
"Well, I don't know..." Brad hesitates. "I don't like lying to dad."
"Since when? You used to do it all the time when we were teenagers?" I look up at my husband in disbelief.
"Okay, I'll rephrase. Since I became a father, I don't like lying to Dad." He says. I reach up and put my hand over his mouth.
"Hannah, don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't say anything." I assure my sister-in-law.
"You're the best, Sash." She smiles at me.
"I know." I tell her. "But Izzy, Hannah's a nice girl, you don't sneak around with nice girls. You should have a conversation of your own with Mr. Ross at some point, okay?" I adopt my best maternal tone.
"Understood, ." Izzy nods emphatically.
"Good, now Bradley, come along." I take him by the hand and lead him out of the room. "Oh, and Hannah, where's my brother Matty?"
"Trying to make out with Katie Baxter about two doors down." Hannah answers.
"Trying?" I ask curiously.
"Been trying for a whole year, he'd have more success defying gravity." Hannah answers with a quick giggle.
"And Izzy, my wife was serious about that talk with my dad." Brad emphasizes and Izzy adopts a look of instant terror.
POV SHIFT
I stand out on the veranda behind the house with a glass of hot apple cider cupped in my hands to keep them warm. I like a party as well as anyone, but sometimes amidst all the ruckus, it's tough to hear oneself think. I look through the doors into the house and see my son and his wife there with their young son and it takes me back to a time in my life when I was young and the world was laid out in front of me. I like to think that men like me and Harm have left good footprints for them to follow, that we followed that unwritten commandment that said "We will give our children better than we ourselves had".
"Observing the crowd, Mr. Ross?" Izzy Turner joins me on the balcony.
"Just trying to collect my thoughts, young Master Turner. It's tough to do with all the chatter." I smile at the young man. He looks hesitant, almost like he wants to ask me a question but he's absolutely terrified that I've got the power to exile him to a radar station in Antarctica. "Something on your mind, Mister Turner?"
"Kind of, sir." The young man replies weakly. "There's just, uh.... this one thing, sir...it's nothing really." He shakes his head.
"Mr. Turner, my powers to punish you have been greatly exaggerated." I laugh. "Now speak, young man. For your life is too brief to waste time on meaningless words, give priority to meaning."
"Yes, sir." He nods tepidly. "Mr. President, I'm dating your daughter."
I nearly spit my hot apple cider all over the front of my coat. "Well, that certainly was meaningful." I wipe my lips with my glove. "How long has this been going on?"
"About two months." He answers with a terrified look in his eye.
"You've been sneaking around with my daughter for two months?"I toss him a piercing glare.
"Ease up on the boy, dad." Brad cheers from behind Izzy as he comes walking out on to the porch.
"Who else knows?" I inquire with a no-nonsense expression.
"Just Brad and Sasha, sir." He assures me. "This was not a massive conspiracy to keep you out of the loop, sir."
"Good to hear." I try to slowly comprehend the information. "You know that she's going to William and Mary next year, right?"
"I do." Izzy nods slowly.
"What are your plans for the future?" I look him over slowly.
"Well, I got a ride to Georgetown next year as a 6'3" point guard, sir." Young Master Turner assures me.
"So, you wanna take a few runs to the Final Four before heading up to the NBA?" I ask, still trying to fish out some information about this young man whom I know so little about.
"A few runs to the Final Four would be nice, sir, but for me it's a ride to law school. I watched my dad serve as Vice President for twelve years, my mom is one of the most respected Democrats in the Senate, I think I might like to get into public service." He explains, like he's finally starting to feel comfortable around me.
"Well, you help take Georgetown to a couple Final Fours and you'll have no trouble getting elected in Maryland." Brad gives him a pat on the back. "Just remember one thing. She has four older brothers, two are pro athletes, one's a Marine infantry officer and the other is a Congressman, there literally is no group of four people more able to cause you eight kinds of pain."
"Yes, sir." Izzy was back to frightened. "And I'll remember what Sasha told me earlier, sir, you don't sneak around with nice girls."
"Good boy." Brad smiles and Izzy sprints back into the house. "So, what's with the grilling, dad?"
" Just typical, I did it with Helene's boyfriend's." I answer shrugging my shoulders.
"Never that bad." Brad stands next to me up against the railing. "You got a racial problem?" He asks quietly.
"Racial? No, I don't have a racial problem." I spurt out trying not to sound indignant. "I don't."
"I wouldn't fault you, you're from a different generation." He tries to explain. "It wasn't that common for you growing up."
"I'm also the one who raised you not to believed bullshit excuses like that." I rebut. "My problem is not that he's black and she's white, my problem is that she's a girl and he's not."
"You'd prefer if Hannah was a lesbian, Dad?" Brad questions curiously.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." I deadpan my son. "It's just proof that the last of my children has reached that stage of life. Your mother did this when you started dating."
"Yeah, that was fun." Brad chuckles and we both let out a sigh. "What's up with you."
"Still trying to get my hands around a few things lately." I answer cryptically. "Your brother's rise through the halls of power on Capitol Hill among them."
"That was a hell of a thing." Brad nods slowly and crooks his head. "He wants to be you, ya know?"
"He's his own man." I rebut.
"He'll never be." Brad asks. "Not until it's put on him to be. He goes from Harvard Law to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Climbs the ladder there very quickly, moves over to mom's office and fast shows the DNC that he's one of the best political minds that the party has seen since Rahm Emanuel. So, what do they do? They look at his name, they look at his looks and his resume and they clear the field in the primary so he can challenge a Republican congressman in the Virginia 11th." Brad takes a breath. "All the while, he's left asking: would I have gotten into Yale without my dad? How about Harvard? Or the U.S. Attorney's office?"
"Your point?" I ask.
"Can you imagine what it's like never knowing if your accomplishments are your own?" Brad presses. "Especially with Tim because you two are gifted intellectuals. For me and Jack it was easy, you suck at what we do for a living. Tim will never be satisfied until he runs a pen across his own page in history, at this point, the only way he thinks that is ever going to happen is to sit in the Oval Office."
"It's a fabulous prison that marble palace on Pennsylvania Avenue. There was a time in our history that needed leadership, though I suppose all times in our history are times for great leaders with big ideas. I didn't run because I thought I could be Harry Truman or Franklin Roosevelt, I ran because I thought I would be better than the other guys who were running." I watch my breath fog the night as I exhale. "You have to have an ego to sit behind that desk. You have to know that you're alone when you make decisions in that room. You have to be humble but confident, strong but compassionate and mature but passionate."
"You don't think he can do it?" Brad searches for an explanation.
"I raised all of you to believe that you can do anything and you can." I crack my knuckles. "You're an Olympian, Jack's the starting Quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Tim's a Congressman, Harry's an officer in the Marine Corps, Helene is the Attorney General for Maryland and Hannah is headed to William & Mary next year, obviously you kid took my advice and your mother's to heart."
"Tim thinks he can be President." Brad theorizes. "And he may yet be. But..."
"But what?" I look to my eldest son who appears to have prematurely gained the wisdom that comes with your firstborn.
"It just seems to me, because I read from time to time. That the great Presidents, they have two parts. They have the cold intellect and the warm person. They marry intelligence and compassion so that they celebrate the nation's triumphs but they also bear the nation's scars. I read about Lincoln and I just can't believe how marvellous that man was, and then the same thing with FDR. There's an intergrity about them, a nobility, a sense that our enjoyment of them is not meant for great lengths of time." Brad stares off. "God knows, Tim has the intellect. He's brilliant and determined and more capable than the next ten men who would line up behind him. But then there's you."
"Me?" I question.
"You got there. I did something I've never done before, and I read a biography of your time as President. You got there. When the nation was in trouble, you were at your best and when it looked like the world might beat you, you refused to let it." Brad lets out a shifty exhale. "Tim is willing to spend his life chasing ghosts and that's fine. Each man should have the power to excise as many ghosts as he wishes but unless he can best you, unless he can develop that compassion where he bleeds for every man who bleeds and cries with every mother who cries and fights alongside every soldier who fights, he'll never fully excise your ghost."
"You're making me out to be more than I was let me assure you." I pat my son on the shoulder. "Being President is a joint exercise, I never ever would have been the man you read about without your mother. I'm not sure that I am that man anyway, it seems to me we do a disservice to the men of that office by putting them on mountaintops, it makes us forget that they walk as mere mortals. The humanity of that job is what makes Presidents good or bad."
"It's not just that though, you were right earlier. It's a moment in time that gets frozen so that the whole nation can enjoy it." Brad shakes his head. "I was in downtown Boston, out by the Common just walking around with my earphones in looking for Sasha's Christmas present one night last week. When Fairytale of New York, that old song by The Pogues started pounding in my ears. There it was, the falling snow and the cold and the ancient houses of Old Boston around me and the lamentation in that song, I swear that I teared up a little bit. It's those moments that make life in America what it is. Do you know when you had that moment, Dad?"
"I've had a few, marrying your mother was one." I reply quietly.
"I mean when you were President." He presses again.
"Yeah, yeah one moment stands out." I nod. "It was my second inaugural, right after we stopped the Russians and Chinese from going to war and I got to stand there and say that America stood at the forefront of a world of peace, prosperity and partnership and that in credence to our own better angels we had endured the hell of war to save a world that we all share and to pass on a brighter star to our children."
"And that was the name of that biography; A Brighter Star." Brad smiles sombrely. "He needs to know he can do it without you." Brad points through the glass window to where Tim is standing with Jack, Arleigh the Roberts boys.
"He'll know. There are moments in our lives when destiny calls us to be people of greater purpose." I nod knowingly. "When it happens to him, he'll know. But you already know."
"I do." Brad nods and looks lovingly in at his young wife and son. I swear I see a tear well in my son's eye.
"You were born older, Brad." I give him a pat on the back as we head back into the house.
"Merry Christmas, Dad." My son wraps me in a quick hug as we move back through the door into the house.
POV SHIFT
My husband comes back into the house and walks right over to me. He wraps one of those big tree-trunk arms around my shoulders and presses his lips into the top of my head with an urgent tenderness. He lovingly strokes the top of little Nolan's head and I swear I can see the soft glistening of a tear running down his cheek. I smile for a quick second before leaning up and kissing his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Honey." I whisper to him.
"Merry Christmas, beautiful." He chokes back.
"Alright everyone, now if I may have your attention." My dad calls for the attention of the room and we all look at him. "It's good to have so many close friends and family here tonight. It's also rare that I get to embarrass the Chief Justice like this so I figured I might as well take advantage of it." Mom tosses dad a glare and there's some hooting from the boys on the other side of the piano.
"You're in for it now, Harm." Uncle Sturgis calls over.
"I happen to know that Mac does one hell of a rendition of I'll Be Home for Christmas and I'd like to call your attention to her." Dad points toward Mom who shakes her head. Lauren, A.J Roberts' wife steps in next to her and sits down at the piano.
"Go on, Mrs. Rabb, I'll accompany you." She encourages.
"Harm, I'll get you for this." Mom threatens as she clears her throat
I'm dreaming tonight of a place I know
Even more than I usually do
And although I know
It's a long road back
I promise you
I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree
I look around and see all these people I love. I see Dad lovingly gazing at mom; I see Mrs. Ross tucked against Mr. Ross' chest. I see Jack and Kelly nose to nose staring into each other's eyes. I even see Izzy Turner hesitantly reach for Hannah Ross' hand and she willingly reaches back. I smile and lean back to kiss my husband's cheek again. These are the little moments I love living for.
Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Merry Christmas everyone!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR MEN AND WOMEN OF OUR ARMED FORCES SERVING OVERSEAS. MAY THE NEW YEAR SEE THEM SAFELY RETURNED HOME TO THOSE WHO LOVE THEM. MAY HE GUIDE THE NEW PRESIDENT-ELECT IN ALL HIS DECISIONS AND LET HIM RISE TO THAT MOMENT WHICH HAS CALLED HIM TO BE A MAN OF HIGHER PURPOSE