I've lost count of how many V.P. debates I've watched over the years. I must have been about eight when I started watching them with my father. I can still remember the feel and the smell of the big brown leather chairs in the den. My father would watch and every so often call 'here, here' to the flickering black and white screen. My mom would be sewing, sitting on the armless chair at the side of the fireplace and she'd look up and say 'Calm down Noah, he can't hear you'. If she could have heard me the last few years! The second or maybe the third time I met Leo was the night of the V.P debate sometime in the late seventies…
"Joshua"
"Yes Ma"
"Joshua"
"Yes Ma"
"Are you listening to me?"
"Yes Ma"
"Go upstairs and wash up, supper is in ten minutes and we're expecting company"
"Yes Ma"
"Now Josh"
"Yes Ma"
"Joshua Lyman, move your feet up those stairs and wash up"
"I'm watching this Ma"
"Go Josh, I will not have a son of mine sitting at supper with his shirt sleeves rolled up and looking like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards."
"I'm going Ma"
"And comb your hair, if you keep putting your fingers through it, it will fall out my the time you're thirty"
"I'm going"
Ding Dong
"I'll get it"
"Good Evening Josh"
"Hello Mrs McGarry, Mr McGarry"
"Your Dad's not home yet?"
"No Sir but he called to say he'd only be a few minutes, Mom's in the dining room"
"You're watching the V.P. debate"
"Yes Sir"
"So who's your money on?"
"Not that guy?"
"Why?"
"He's making no sense – he's saying they're going to cut taxes but not spending and the tax cut will only effect about 10 of top earners anyway – his numbers don't add up"
"Taking Poli Sci this year kid?"
"Finished, I'm taking the A.P. class from next semester"
"And then?"
"Harvard, then law school like Dad"
"You want to practice?"
"I don't know maybe…"
"Or maybe you'll be standing up there in a few years"
"You first Mr McGarry, you first"
28 years later and I spent this evening watching an old friend of my fathers taking the stage as the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President. My apartment is cold and dark, I flick the television on to MSNBC and they're rerunning post debate analysis. I flick on the light at the side of the couch. Donna bought that seven years ago, she didn't want the main light to disturb me if I was sleeping and she was reading. I walk into the kitchen and flick on the coffee maker - it's seven years old too, maybe I should replace it but I've never wanted to – hey it makes coffee doesn't it? Donna bought it when I was allowed to drink coffee again, to replace the one she ruled had to be thrown out to stop me making it when I wasn't supposed to. When I say Donna bought it, I think she may still have my credit card. It's still cold in here, I'm sure I had a comforter blanket thing – no I threw it out last fall…
I hit the play button on the answer machine:
You have four new messages, and twenty-two saved messages
"Joshua, Call your mother" Message Saved
"Hey man, he did a good job. Get some sleep at some stage, you know, if you remember what that is…" Message Saved
"Hey J, what the hell was that response on the right to…" Message Deleted
"Hey, it's me, just checking in…" Returning the Call
"Hey"
"Hey"
"How are you doing?"
"Good"
"How's Houston?"
"Chilly"
"Helen's pissed?"
"You could say that"
"Yeah, well you know all about it"
"Just one of the many bonuses that came with working for you Josh"
"Three times if I remember correctly, a state dinner, after an Ambassador's reception and both of those pictures followed the Karen.."
"Yes Thank you Josh"
"Hey the Lyman…"
"Ho's"
"... fan club were always interested in my date's attire and when anything… you know… slipped"
"I wasn't your date Josh"
"No…"
"… and I wasn't the wife of a presidential candidate"
"Yes but Helen didn't… you know… make a pass at a leading D.C. journalist by throwing her little bits at her feet"
"You're funny Josh, sometimes you're really funny"
"That tone would indicate that this isn't one of those times"
"You read me so well"
"Donna?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you still have your name sewn…"
"I'm going now…"
"Sorry… Did you catch C.J.?"
"Yes, for a few minutes"
"That sounds more enthusiastic"
"It didn't before?"
"You're avoiding things with a question again"
"Does that irritate you?"
"Does Stanley let you do it?"
"Is your name Stanley?"
"Donna!"
"Yeah sorry, Leo did well"
"Yeah, I wanted to kiss someone!"
"I bet that pleased Lou"
"Why Lou?"
"My superior intuition"
"Why not Annabeth?"
"Sultry burnette politico types are more your style"
"You think?"
"I do"
"She gave me a death glare"
"Well you can't go to Tahiti we're only five weeks from the general"
"Hawaii's a state we could go there"
"I'm sure Lou will be delighted"
"You know I'm kidding right?"
"I guess"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing"
"Donna?"
"I said nothing Josh"
"My mom called"
"Tell her I said hi"
"and Sam"
"Sam Sam?"
"Yeah"
"He should come join us"
"Otto needs a Toby"
"Sam should be Toby to Otto's Sam"
"I am more than slightly disturbed I followed that piece of Moss logic"
"You're tuned to me Josh"
"That concerns me"
"You don't want to be tuned?"
"I… ah… where's next?"
"Austin, then meeting you guys in Tampa"
"You sleeping?"
"Is it cold in DC?"
"Did you avoid that intentionally?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Donna!"
"It's happened a couple of times over the last few nights. A Suicide bomb in Jerusalem in the news cycle and the footage caught me off guard."
"Why didn't you call?"
"It was 4:00 a.m., you had enough on with Montgomery, Stackhouse and Goodwin"
"Next time call"
"'Kay"
"Is it still the same?"
"More or Less"
"More or Less?"
"The President told me they prayed for me – Ellie, Zoë, Mrs Bartlet…"
"Yeah"
"He told me Ellie had a cat"
"Did it pray too?"
"Can you not be you for just one second?"
"O.K."
"It died and Ellie ran away…"
"Yeah"
"…but she couldn't run away from it"
"No"
"She had to face it"
"Yeah"
"I shouldn't have ran away"
"Sometimes it's the easy option"
"You're giving me an out?"
"Not intentionally"
"I shouldn't have ran away"
"No"
"I should have stayed and talked to you"
"I wasn't listening"
"I could have made you listen"
"How?"
"I had ways Josh"
"Really?"
"Yes"
"Do any of those ways involve your equipment or your old catholic school uniform?"
"You're sick, you're a sick sick sick man Josh"
"Donna, your mistake wasn't running"
"No?"
"No"
"What was it?"
"It was running in the wrong direction"
"I didn't think I had anywhere else to run"
"You did you know…"