How I Spent My Summer Vacation
CJ/Danny, Josh/Donna, Jed/Abbey, Charlie/Zoey, Will/Kate, Toby/Andi, Margaret/Hoynes, and just about everyone else in TWW (and my) universe
Rating—older teen (some sex); warning – death of author-created characters
Spoilers through end of series
Not mine, never were, never will be, but they consume my soul
I've tried to be accurate about the places in this chapter, but times for sunrises, sunsets, tides, and phases of the moon are mere conjecture
Feedback and criticism always welcomed
June 4, 2011; outside Livermore CA
Danny passed the semi-trailer truck and eased back into the right-hand lane of I-5. He glanced over at CJ, saw her weepy eyes, and reached over to clasp her hand.
She turned to face him and smiled weakly. "Do you want me to take over for a while?"
They had been on the road for almost four hours, having left their new northern California "getaway" at Albion at 7:30 this morning. They still had another five hours of travel time left.
"Let's break for lunch in an hour. If you feel up to it, you can take over for a bit after that. The trip should be pretty uneventful through Bakersfield." He wanted to do the heavy driving at the end of the trip; CJ was rather upset.
Not that he was that much better. Late yesterday afternoon, they had been enjoying the deck with its hot tub when his cell rang. It was Frank Muñoz with the terrible news that Dick and Angela Jenkins, on their way back from taking Heather to a Girl Scout sleep-away camp, had been hit by a runaway truck and had been killed. So they were headed back to Santa Monica a few days earlier than they had planned.
Now Jimmy and Timmy, who lost their mother 7 years ago, would have to bury their father and their stepmother, and assume responsibility for their young half-sister. The twins had graduated from the University of California's San Francisco Medical center and were in their residency programs, Jimmy at UCLA and Timmy down in Long Beach.
It was a little before 7:00 PM when Danny pulled into their drive at Santa Monica. Steve and Hank were sitting on their front porch, so Danny went over to talk with them to find out the latest. He took his son with him. The two year old had been confined to his car seat for most of the day and needed to run off some of his stored up energy. Luckily, the men had a fenced in front lawn, with only a couple of tasteful sculptures and fountains; there were no ponds into which Cyclone Paddy could fall.
Hank went into the house to get Danny a beer.
"So do we know any more about – CJ, I'll take care of bringing in the suitcases!" Danny began to question Steve about the tragedy and then shouted at his wife when he saw her with a satchel over one shoulder, pulling a large rolling duffel bag with the opposite hand.
"Apparently the truck driver had a heart attack and died at the wheel. He was on a downgrade, which is why it sped up and took out Dick's Ultima. The highway patrol said it was a miracle that it didn't cause any more fatalities. Not that it was much of a miracle for Dick and Angela," Steve added ruefully.
"It's just so unfair." Hank set Danny's bottle next to the man's right hand and then went to grab Paddy, who was starting to climb into one of the fountains. "The boys are beginning the most hectic part of their training and now they have the responsibility of raising Heather. Of course, we'll all be here for them. Clara's staying with them right now, and Angela's brother and his wife will be here tomorrow."
"Have they made any plans for – CJ! I said I'd do it!" Danny stood up and took his son from Hank's arms. "I'd better get going. You know, I would never want to go back to the nineteenth century or the Middle Ages, but I sure wish they had left 'obey' in the woman's marriage vows." Danny laughed and headed to the Concannon residence.
June 9, 2011; Santa Monica, CA
"CJ, is there any more roast beef?" Laura Robbins came into the Jenkins kitchen carrying a picked-over platter of meat.
"Some. There's just a bit more ham, too. Should we go out for more? There's still lots of turkey."
Aviva Hammash looked up from the sink where she was emptying glasses and putting them in the dishwasher. "When I was out there, no one looked as if they were in danger of starving to death. It's been five hours and I think the crowd will begin to thin out. To my knowledge, turkey is not on many restricted foods lists, either religious or dietary." She wiped her hands and started the dishwasher.
Diana Muñoz was filling in the empty spaces on a veggie tray. "I'll take this out and I'll tell our husbands and kids to lay off the beef and ham and eat the turkey. It's better for them, anyway."
CJ unlatched the lock on the side of the spring form pan she was holding and set the herbal cheesecake on the plate. She surrounded it with some dried tomato flavored crackers.
"I remember that Halloween party Danny and I had three years ago this fall, when Dick brought one of these and we tasted it for the first time. Danny told me to sleep with Dick if I had to in order to get the recipe." She wiped a tear from her eye.
Aviva came over to the island where CJ and Laura were working and put an arm around each of them. "Come on, let's take out those platters and mingle."
The double funeral for Dick and Angela had taken place this morning and the wake/reception had been going on since a little after 1:00 PM. There were the plates of meat and cheese, as well as lettuce, onion, and tomato for sandwiches, the vegetable tray, spinach dip in a bread bowl, the ubiquitous array of chips, salsa, and queso, and more cakes, cookies, and pies than would you find in a Sara Lee factory. The neighborhood was not the only source of the food – the Jenkins' church sent over most of the sweet stuff and the homeroom moms for Heather's class at school provided the chips and dip – but the block took care of organizing everything.
CJ felt Danny's eyes on her and she looked up to see him asking the silent question: are you okay? She said something to Aviva and walked up to her husband as he joined a group that consisted of Hank and Steve, Frank and Diana, Sally and Billy Rogers, and Joel and Hannah Feldman.
Danny slipped his arm around her waist. "You off KP duty for a while?"
"Yeah." She laid her head briefly against his shoulder. "Have you been staying out of trouble?"
"Just finished a shift at the bar," he replied, glancing over at the table where Ken Robbins and his son Drew were now pouring out shots, glasses of wine, and building pints of Guinness from the keg. He looked at the group. "Has anyone talked with the kids lately?"
Everyone looked over to where Timmy, Jimmy, and Heather sat, accepting the wishes of their parents' friends, coworkers, and distant relatives. They knew that "kids" referred to the three of them and not to the younger children of the neighborhood, who were being watched by Jessica, Yan and Li Wei, and high school seniors to be Jill Robbins and Becky Feldman over at CJ and Danny's place.
"I spent a few minutes with them about an hour ago," Frank answered. They're still running on adrenaline. They meet tomorrow with Dick and Angela's lawyer, a woman in Ken's firm. I understand that some of the relatives want to horn in on that meeting, but since it isn't a formal reading of the will, she is insisting that for now, it just be with the kids."
"I'll be there, too," Steve added. "I helped Dick with his accounts and we just want to make sure that everything is flowing smoothly until it all gets settled. As the boys said last night, unless Dick has filed a new will in the last three months, they have shared custody of Heather and they are determined to make it work."
"But they're so young!" Sally exclaimed. "They're only twenty-six; that's too young for anyone to be handling a little girl on the verge of adolescence, let alone being a second-year resident."
"Well, at least they should have no trouble giving her 'the talk', if Angela hadn't already done so," Diana laughed. "I remember how hard it was for me with Carmen, and I consider myself a thoroughly modern woman."
"It's not just the facts, it's getting the first bra, when to start shaving legs and pits, that sort of thing," CJ opined. "It was before Dad married my first stepmother and I remember being embarrassed to ask my father and him being somewhat embarrassed when I finally got up the courage."
"We have to make sure that they know that the women are all here for them, to help with bras and periods and zits and boys, when to allow heels, and makeup, what fashion crazes are okay and what aren't, " Sally said.
"Well, when it comes to clothes and makeup - ," Hank laughed.
"You will be so busy with that little bundle that the stork is about to bring the two of you, you won't have time to worry about your own clothes, let alone someone else's," CJ answered.
"They'll need our help, too, especially with discipline." Frank looked over at Joel. "The first time they have to tell her 'no', or ground her, it'll be rough."
Joel nodded in agreement; Danny, Billy, Hank, and Steve looked thoughtful. They weren't yet at that stage of fatherhood, but they knew their day would arrive all too soon.
"From what I understand, Jimmy was able to get out of his lease, after explaining the situation, and he'll stay here. Timmy is keeping a room closer to Long Beach, but will be here whenever he can. Clara's offered to stay in the house for the summer. The best thing, long-term, would be to find an older female graduate student to be something like au pair. She'd have to be mature enough to realize that she is there for Heather and not be looking at Jimmy, or Timmy, for that matter, as husband material."
"But they're young men. They can't be expected to give up their social life. What about dating, or, you know?" Billy asked.
"Once again, we need to let them know that they have all of us to fall back on, if necessary. Now, who needs another drink?" Danny looked around at everyone else.
June 19, 2011; San Luis Obispo, CA
CJ, Bonnie, and Sarita Hollis sat around the Hollis kitchen table, trying to console a weeping Nancy. She and Jesse Muñoz had just had a huge fight, with Jesse throwing his things into his car and taking off for Los Angeles, leaving Nancy and CJ behind.
A few days after the Jenkins' funeral, CJ convinced Danny to take Paddy back to Albion; this was supposed to be his return to his fourteenth summer. She would drive to San Luis Obispo for the Hollis Foundation board meeting a few days later with Nancy and Jesse. ("Sure, we'll keep special watch," Hank and Steve told Danny.) Then the three of them would drive up the coast and the Concannons would have their first houseguests. The only thing Danny insisted on is that he not be around when CJ told Mr. Estevez that there were separate sleeping arrangements available, with Nancy in the loft room over the first floor bedrooms and Jesse in the loft area over the living room. "It's my version of 'Don't ask, don't tell', such as it is," he said. "I don't want to be put in the position of saying I'll enforce something over which I may have no control."
But the course of true love often runs into roadblocks.
"Don't worry about it, sweetie. All couples have disagreements." CJ stroked the long blonde hair of the distraught girl. "Right before the end of the administration, Danny and I had one so bad I thought everything was lost forever, and look at us now. And it hasn't been all beer and skittles since then, either."
"He'll come around," Sarita added. "My brothers are just like him – can't totally shake that Latin macho thing."
"He might. But in the meantime, I'm going to have to go home by myself and try to explain to my parents. My father was bad enough about him and me taking this trip in the first place, and now - ," she left the sentence unfinished as she sniffled again and blew her nose.
"Who says you have to go home?" Bonnie asked as she cut the Sara Lee cheesecake into four pieces, put them on plates, and handed out the comfort food. "Why don't you borrow my car, and you and CJ can drive up to her place, you can stay a few days, and then come back. And you can stay with us for a while if you like. It might do Jesse some good to not have you trailing back to LA after him right away."
CJ swallowed the bite in her mouth. "The only problem with that is my Victorian husband. He'd have a shit fit over Nancy and me driving up the coast alone and an even bigger one about her coming back by herself."
"Then we'll have the Foundation fly the two of you up there. You know Frank, he'd insist on it himself even if Danny didn't. The airfield at Mendocino is close, right?
"How'd I get home?" Nancy wondered, half to herself.
"If you don't want to stay until the 26th, when we go back to Santa Monica before taking off for the East coast, I think someone flies commercial out of Santa Rosa, it's only two hours from the house," CJ answered. "Now, let's figure out what you need to do, or not do, when he comes crawling back to you."
A few hours later, when Frank had arranged for the plane, CJ called Danny to let him know what had transpired and what would be happening.
"So Nancy and I will be - ".
"Not driving up here by yourselves, CJ," Danny said sharply.
"God damn it, Danny, after four years, don't you think I know that," she answered just as sharply. "We'll be flying into the airport at Mendocino tomorrow. You'll need to meet us at 12:30."
She could hear the forced exhale. "I'm sorry, babe," Danny said. "It's been a frustrating day. The new beds were delivered yesterday and I was trying to move stuff around, a bit at a time. But keeping up with a two year-old – where does he get the energy? – and keeping him out of trouble is impossible."
"Well, I remember reading somewhere that they had some football player mimic a toddler and the guy was exhausted. Nancy and I will be there tomorrow to help."
"I was kind of counting on Jesse. The mattresses are really guy jobs. The other stuff, I figured out how to use ropes and stuff to get the head boards and frames from one floor to the next."
When CJ and Danny had closed on the place in Albion, they talked about how to furnish the sleeping areas other than their own. They would have a portable crib for Paddy, moving it from the second bedroom on the main floor to their room when necessary.
"But do we want to put in two twins or one queen down here and upstairs? Our guests will vary. " Danny had posed the question.
CJ had suggested that in the downstairs bedroom and the big loft room, they put in one double bed and one twin bed. "That way, we can accommodate couples, if they don't mind snuggling a bit closer than usual, and singles both. Especially since we've decided to close off the big loft and make a private room out of it. But in the little loft, let's do two twins. That will be bachelor quarters."
"Anyway," he said, "I guess I can wait until August until Robin and Erin and the girls get here."
"Don't forget, Fee's guy might be coming also."
"Right. The man who tamed Fiona MacDonald. Can't wait to meet him, especially after what she put us through last fall. On another subject, I met the family that's three houses down from us, Phil and Jennifer Amberson. They have a little boy Paddy's age and a daughter who's six. They seem really nice, even offered to take Paddy for a bit. But I decided I'd rather have you meet them first, make sure we're both reading them as okay. They both teach at the local elementary school. He does carpentry on the side and you should see what he did with their pool; it's about the size of the one that was here. He built a wooden shell around the sides and fashioned a folding top that can lock over it the way the one on our hot tub does. So maybe we can get a pool and get him to make one for us?"
"We-ell-ll," CJ knew how much Danny wanted some sort of a pool at the place, "since I haven't gotten around to getting you a birthday present, with the funeral and all, and you did apologize for jumping to conclusions and yelling at me- "
"CJ, love, you know I am sorry about that and I promise to make it up – Paddy! No!".
CJ heard the sound of running feet (her husband's) and a giggle (her son's). When Danny got back on the phone, she told him she had best let him tend to their son and reminded him of her ETA on the next day. She would call if they were delayed; heck, she would call if they got in early, just in case.
"'Kay. Love you."
"Love you back."
July 5, 2011; Santa Monica, CA
"Steve, I think she has your eyes. She's gorgeous!" Danny looked at the tiny little girl in his arms. Hank and Steve's surrogate had given birth on June 30 and the men brought their daughter home earlier today.
"Hank is already designing her prom dresses and her wedding gown. I know they grow up fast, but I told him he's pushing it a bit." The proud new father couldn't take his eyes from his newborn daughter. "Make sure you've got her head."
"Steve, I'm an old hand at this," Danny reassured the man. Then, remembering his first few weeks with Paddy two years ago, he handed little Pamela Lauren to the man. "Here you go, sweetie. Go to Daddy."
Hank came into the living room with a pitcher of iced tea and glasses full of ice, which he set on the table. "How's my princess?" He looked over Steve's shoulder at the baby. "Aqua is your color, Pammy love. Gotta make you lots and lots of things in aqua. Yes, I do."
"Hank," CJ laughed. "Remember what we told you at the shower. For the first year or so, you don't want anything fancy! She'll be outgrowing things every time you turn around, not to mention spitting up on them. And the poop stains! That's why Diana, Sally, and I are lending you our things." She looked up to see the look in Hank's eyes. "Well, maybe just a couple of nice things for pictures, for meeting the grandparents."
"I know you're right, CJ. Steve and I are going to be really counting on you, Diana, and the others for lots of advice. Hey," his eyes brightened, "I'll redo the nursery in aqua!"
Danny looked at both men. Their clothes were wrinkled, their hair askew. They looked tired and worn. And their eyes were glowing.
"Guys, I can't begin to tell you how happy we all are for you. After everything that happened last month with Dick and Angela, it feels good to be celebrating new life on the block."
"Thank you, Danny. Hank and I feel so bad to be feeling so good when just across the street, Jimmy, Timmy, and Heather are trying to deal with their loss. They're going to need a lot of help."
"Well, that's what this block is good at," CJ added as she took the little girl from Steve. "Danny and I have talked about changing our plans. This is not the time for us to be away for almost two months." She looked at her husband, who nodded in agreement.
"No! You guys go on your coast to coast to coast odyssey. You've plotted and planned for this. You can pick up in the fall when Clara goes to Greece and the Wei's are in Taiwan."
"Ut-oh. Somebody needs a diaper change." CJ stood up and headed toward the nursery, telling the two men, who had stood and held out hands for their daughter, to sit down. "You guys will have more than enough of this in the months to come."
July 15, 2011; Widewater Beach, VA
Danny pulled off the beach road and onto the graveled driveway, so much like his own in northern California.
"You're here!"
Donna came out of the weatherworn house, carrying one of the triplets in her left arm. With the right, she hugged CJ as CJ climbed out from the passenger side. CJ returned the hug, then opened the back door of the car, and removed Paddy from his car seat as Danny came around and hugged Donna.
"Well, this is obviously Joannie," he said, looking at the baby in the pink romper.
"Leo, Noah, and Micah are in the house with Mom and Melanie. Melanie's one of the three girls are helping out when we're down here," Donna explained. "So, what do you think of the place? Let's go sit on the porch." She led the way up the path to the big wrap-around porch and headed toward the side of the house.
Danny looked out over the Potomac toward the other shore. "So that's Maryland over there?"
"Actually, Maryland officially starts a few feet off the river bank," Donna answered. "Josh can give you nerdy details tomorrow if you like. Oh, thanks, Mom. You remember CJ and Danny, and this is their Paddy, just a few weeks older than Noah."
Josh's mother came onto the porch with a huge pitcher of lemonade, glasses, and a pile of sandwiches.
"Of course I remember," she said, hugging the couple. "So, how was the drive across country? I remember driving from Connecticut to Florida once with Josh and Joannie when they were toddlers. At times, I thought Noah and I were crazy to attempt it."
"At this age, Paddy travels pretty well, but I think that if we were to do this again when he's older, it would be better in an SUV or a mini-van with DVD player, refrigerator, and other conveniences. We took five days, stopped and saw a few places", CJ answered.
"We'll be taking the northern route on the way back. After we leave New Hampshire, we're going to stop in Michigan to see some of my extended family," Danny added. "We'll end up in Albion at the new place for about ten days. My sister and her family will come in for a week. Our neighbors say that if they blink, they miss our forays into town. By the way, here's Hank and Steve with their little girl." He handed Donna his cell phone.
CJ smiled. Danny was indeed having the summer vacation he wanted. He had talked with Frank Hollis in private, and CJ was told to take off most of July as well as half of August, other than to check in by phone and email. When he told her that he wanted to drive across country and back for their trip to the East coast, she had been hesitant at first, but his boyish enthusiasm convinced her that it might be fun.
And it was. They left before dawn on the first day and drove to the Grand Canyon, where they spent most of the afternoon and part of the next morning. The second day was a short trip to Albuquerque. On the third day, they spent the night in Oklahoma City and then left at dawn again in order to spend the afternoon, evening, and next morning in Memphis. Their last night on the road was in a little bread and breakfast in the Great Smokies right by the Tennessee-Virginia border.
After a dinner of grilled chicken, steamed corn, tomato-cucumber-onion salad, and cantaloupe, Donna, Mrs. Lyman, CJ, and Danny sat on the porch watching the moon rise over the Potomac as it meandered its way toward the Chesapeake. The birds that were swirling around at sunset were replaced by a few bats as night settled on the cozy beach house. The sounds of five sleeping children, all breathing on a different rhythm, came through the baby monitor on the coffee table. A whimper turned into a full-fledged cry.
"I'll go; you visit." Mrs. Lyman left the porch.
Danny looked at Donna. She was wearing no makeup; her hair was pulled back into some sort of two-tiered pigtail. There was a big grease stain on the back of her shorts where she had sat on the peanut butter cracker that Paddy left on her chair and her tank top had crusty spots that smelled of stale milk.
But her face was glowing as it had that late September afternoon in the White House rose garden. It was the same glow he often saw on CJ's face; it was the same glow he had seen on Hank and Steve's faces earlier in the month. Only God knew what next year or future years might bring for Donnatella Moss Lyman; right now, she was as happy as Danny had ever seen her.
"Do you miss it, Donna?"
"Miss it isn't the right word, CJ. I know that I eventually want to be back in the mix, as it were, but right now, these children are my life, along with Josh, of course. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but I wake up most of the time anticipating what new things the kids will do. Noah seems to learn a new word a day, seems to find a new bug every day. And the babies are moving along, each in their own way."
"Well, I'm sure that Mrs. Santos will be glad when you return next year."
"Actually, and this is wa-a-ay off the record," Donna looked at Danny, "I probably won't be going back to Helen's office."
CJ raised her eyebrows and Danny shrugged his shoulders. He suspected that there was something else in Donna's future. He also accepted the fact that he would always be a reporter, at least in the backs of his friends' minds, and no longer minded the "off the record" comments.
"So?" CJ used her hand to indicate that Donna should continue.
"The President and Nancy want me in State; the Democratic Governors will need a new managing executive for their conference and the President thinks I would be good for that also. Josh doesn't know yet," she looked at them anxiously. "I want to be sure in my own mind before I discuss it with him. I'm not sure if he's ready for me to take on something more stressful now that we have four kids. For that matter, I'm not sure if I'm ready. All I know is that Liz is doing a great job and that I want something else."
July 16, 2011; Widewater Beach, VA
Josh, Donna, CJ, and Danny were finishing their coffee in the little seaside restaurant. The Lymans had refused after-dinner drinks, even though CJ and Danny tried to convince them to order some.
"Just because we're teetotalers until I knock up my wife or die trying doesn't mean that you can't enjoy."
"That's okay, Danny. You're going to strike out with us just like you did with Mom."
Although Danny repeatedly asked her to join them, Mrs. Lyman insisted on staying home with the children and Leslie, who was the au pair du jour. "The four of you go, enjoy yourselves."
"I really want to thank the two of you for coming in early and staying with us," Josh said. "If I had to stay in DC with the President for another weekend of waiting for the First Lady's water to break, I'd be tearing out what little hair I have left." Helen Santos was four days' overdue with the First Couple's third child and the tension in both wings of the White House was mounting every second.
"It's strange to think that we're back here and won't be spending any real time in the city, just Tuesday afternoon and evening," Danny said. The plan was for the Concannons to caravan with Donna, Mrs. Lyman, and the Lyman brood to DC on Tuesday morning, and then to drive to Cape May on Wednesday. Josh would be going back before daybreak on Monday and would join them in New Jersey on Friday morning.
"Well, we'll be seeing everyone at Rick and Ginger's," CJ answered. "Mark and your reporter friends are at Rehoboth and Paul is in Columbus. There's no one to visit and we've done all the monuments."
"It's funny how we both have purchased places far from the center of things. This town is really lovely. CJ and I walked all around the peninsula this morning and remarked about the peacefulness. You all have to make plans to come out to see our place soon. We're further away from Santa Monica than you are from DC, but with my newfound full-time student status, we'll be able to do three and four-day weekends periodically. My classes will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I have two seminars on Wednesday."
"There is one difference, Danny." Donna set down her cup. "After '14, this will be our permanent residence. We'll be living here year 'round and our kids will go to school here. At least until '18, when Sam - ".
"No! No! No!" Josh put his fingers in his ears. "Go over there, turn around three times and spit! And curse! I mean it, Donna!" he added as his wife laughed at him.
July 22, 2011; Cape May, NJ
The shadow fell across the page of her book at the same time that she recognized the distinctive blend of aftershave and sweat that defined her husband.
CJ closed the volume, looked up and smiled.
Danny sat down at her feet and, taking her right hand in his, began to kiss her palm. Over and over again, he placed little kisses on the little pads at the base of her fingers, on the larger fleshy mass at the base of the thumb, and in the center of her hand.
"Danny?"
He stopped the kissing, but kept his lips close to the hand, not raising his eyes.
"You know, CJ, most of those years, when you kept saying 'no', I had some sense, maybe this Celtic DNA thing, that eventually, you would be my wife. It made it possible for me to be cool about it, to not make you feel pressured, or stalked.
"But today it really hit me how lucky I am to be in your life, how lucky I am that you are in my heart, my soul, my bed; how lucky I am that you've given me a son, that you want to give me another child. I could have lost you to Simon or to Ben. You could have stayed with Paul and I might never have even known you. And then there's always Toby.
"I love you, CJ, and I can't imagine life without you anymore. When I think of all that we've had these past four years, all the new things we've learned, the new friends we've made, the old friends with whom we've grown, even the tragedies we've faced together, well, I just have so much hope for the future. With any luck, I'll have my doctorate in two years and I'll still be writing. With God's grace, we'll have another child soon. And it goes without saying that there are only more wonderful things for you. And when I realize that there was so much chance involved." He stopped, the emotion overcoming his thoughts as much as his voice.
CJ moved her hand along his jaw until her fingers touched his left ear. She raised his head and lowered her lips to his.
"And what of you? If Hugh Stewart hadn't come into the picture, I can easily see you having married Brianna and living out your days in Scotland. There are so many other what if's, Danny. If we spend all our time thinking about them, we won't have time to enjoy what we have, what we will have. I love you, Danny Concannon, and I thank God every day for you, but I want to do more than quake in my shoes over that fact.
"However," she smiled, "you do have a way of making a girl feel cherished." She kissed him again, stood up, and pulled him to his feet. "I'm suddenly in need of a nap."
"It hasn't been thirty-six hours, babe," Danny reminded her.
"So, this once, we'll forget about the window," she whispered into his ear. "Let's go inside."
"I have a better idea."
Back at the pool, Rick looked up from his Scrabble game with John, Josh, and Sam. His eye was caught by the tall auburn-haired woman and the redheaded man walking into the woods and smiled. Danny had been only one of several men who had come up to him and quietly asked if the little cabin to the right of the third birch tree on the left was stocked with bed linen, even though the wing that had been damaged by the hurricane last year had been rebuilt and there were plenty of bedrooms for everyone.
The crowd was about the same size as last year, but some of the participants were different. The Bartlets weren't able to come this year and Liz Westin was too involved with Helen Santos' projects and impending confinement to take part. Vic and Ellie were visiting with his family, attending a cousin's wedding, but Zoey and Charlie were in attendance this year. However, with Sam, Morgan and little Gemma, there was still a small security force. Toby was there with the twins, but Andi was in Switzerland as part of a United Nations conference on child labor. According to Ginger, things between Toby and Andi had hit another rough patch. Nancy and Jesse were still on the outs and weren't here. Larry's wife's grandfather had passed away so he and his family were in Iowa. Will was here but Kate was at the same conference as Andi. With that couple, however, the sparks were still in evidence, according to Ginger. Debbie Fiderer was in Alaska ("I told her to look up Ben," CJ mentioned). Ed and his wife were coming this evening, without the kids. Her folks were taking them to King's Island and Ed said that he and Eva were "looking forward to the mini-honeymoon". Matt Skinner and his partner were a new addition to the group.
Except for his three and the Zeigler twins, there weren't any kids older than three. Huck was in with Bryce and Molly with Chantelle. With all the babies and toddlers – his Celia and Matty, Noah and the triplets, Sam and Morgan's Gemma, Carol and David's Clarissa, Bonnie and Jean-Luc's little Giselle, and CJ and Danny's Paddy – they had turned one room into a nursery. At his mother's suggestion, they had hired two private duty nurses as well as the lifeguards and au pairs.
Several of the men had also talked with Rick about helping to cover part of the expense of the long weekend, especially since this was the second time he and Ginger had hosted the group. He fended off their wads of bills, telling them that he, Ginger, and his mother were more than glad to share their good fortune with their friends, especially considering how wonderful everyone had been last November when Arnie died at Camden Yards.
"Margaret, be careful!" At the sound of Donna's semi-panicked voice, John jumped up from the table, upsetting the game board in the process.
Donna and Zoey managed to keep the tall pregnant redhead on her feet as she recovered from the slide her left foot took on the side of the pool. Then her husband reached her and escorted her to one of the metal side chairs by one of the tables.
"Not there, John! I'd get stuck between the arms."
"Sit here, Margaret." Ginger got up from the glider she was sharing with Carol, pulled over the chair Margaret refused, and sat in it.
"Maggie-mine, were you dizzy, are you okay, did you just slip?" The former vice-president was in full expectant father mode.
"Your son kicked me and took me by surprise."
"Well, let me go and get your book." Her husband took long strides to the French doors that led into the cross hallway.
"But John, I'm - " she sighed. "You know, if I knew men got like that, I don't know if I would have agreed to have another child. Bruno was away most of the time and we were on the outs by this point." She stood up and took off her wrap-around skirt. "I better get in the pool before he gets back. Earlier today, he said he wasn't sure he would permit, and that's the word he used, me to swim in my quote, unquote, condition. Permit!"
"Well, hold onto the rail," Carol suggested. "I'll go in with you."
"Me, too." Zoey slipped in first, ready to help Margaret if necessary.
Later that evening.
"Am I really being too overbearing, too controlling?" John Hoynes shifted the glass of seltzer from one hand to the other and looked at the men with whom he was sitting. Earlier in the day, he had questioned Margaret's being in the pool, and only the reluctance to air differences in public kept him from getting more agitated over the situation. Then her cell rang. It was Bruno and a little boy who wanted to tell his mother all about the fish he caught with his daddy and his grandpa. As he helped her from the pool, she quietly told him to stop being such a dictator.
"Don't look at me; I have no experience and we not planning on being in that state for another two years or so." Charlie Young looked at John and then glanced over to the table where Zoey was playing bridge with Ed, his wife Eva, and Will. Zoey must have felt his gaze, because she looked up and smiled. Had it already been a year? He felt as if they were still on their honeymoon.
"It's only natural," Josh replied. "Donna was always reminding me that women have been doing this since the beginning of time. I told her that men have been worrying about said women since the beginning of time."
"You have to trust her, to know that she would do nothing to harm your child," Jean-Luc added. "It also helps to go with her to the doctor, to hear for yourself what he, or she, tells her about activities."
"The most important thing is keeping her happy. A happy mom means a happy baby." David contributed his advice to the mix.
"Well," Danny finally managed to get into the conversation, "I'm not sure you can just sit by. There are hormonal fluxes and she might not always be as rational as she should be. There are times when you need to put your foot down. What's so funny?" Danny looked at Sam, who was laughing, shaking his head from side to side.
"Just the thought of CJ letting you put your foot down with her," the governor of California answered. "Who'd a thunk it? By the way, where is she? I haven't seen her in a while." Sam looked over the rest of the room. Rick, Ginger, Morgan, and Bonnie were playing Monopoly. Maragaret, Donna, Carol, Matt Skinner and Matt's partner were working on a puzzle.
"She told me that she and Toby were going to take a walk on the beach," Danny answered Sam, making sure that no apprehension came through in his voice. It had been over four months since he had experienced any of the angst that had tortured him last year, but even with Aisling's reassurances, there was still some unease when he thought about Toby and his wife.
Down on the beach, Toby was shuffling through the dry sand. CJ had taken off her shoes and was walking on the hard, wet sand that had covered by water fifteen minutes earlier; the tide was going out.
"I wish I knew what it was, this time, CJ. If I knew, I would apologize. I love her; no one, not even Huck and Molly, is more important to me than she is. I told her I would do whatever she wanted, wait as long as she wanted. She's going to run for the Senate next year and - "
"Is she afraid that you would be a liability? The leak to Greg Brock?"
"I asked her, told her I would drop out of sight if that's what she wanted. She said that it had nothing to do with it. She said it was because I'm slipping back into my sad state, as she calls it."
"Are you?"
"Well, I am getting a bit melancholy. In three more years, I'll be sixty."
"So? I hear that sixty is the new forty. I turned fifty last year."
"Somehow, the thought of sixty is so much older than fifty plus ten. Maybe it's because I'm just a junior faculty member, untenured, all these young kids with their PhD's ahead of me."
They turned around and started walking back down the beach.
"So get your doctorate."
"I'm old."
"Danny's doing it. I've thought about it. Toby, if you want it, you can do it. You know, I am your friend - " .
"My best friend. Sometimes I wished you had been more than a friend."
"But if I had been in love with you the way Andi is, I think I would feel the way she does. I don't think I could have dealt with your sad state, as you call it, any more than she can."
"But it's never bothered you."
"And I've never surrendered my soul to you the way she has, the way I have to Danny. We never had that kind of relationship, no matter what everyone else thought, or wondered about. And it's not just the being sad, I mean, we all have our down periods. What happens with you is you won't let anyone help you out of the abyss. I think that's what bothers Andi the most. Toby, you have to let her into your deepest self. Hopefully, she won't give up on you; Danny didn't give up on me and I thank God for that every day."
They started up toward the house.
"And if I hadn't steered you back to him that night." Toby laughed at the irony.
"I'm sure that he would have found some way to get to me. Or at least I hope so."
They reached the house and entered the room. Toby saw CJ's face light up and he followed her glance. Danny's face was equally lit. She walked over to her husband, stroked his hair, and kissed his forehead. He whispered something to her. Her response didn't make sense. "Then let's neck for the next thirty hours."
July 25, 2011; outside Manchester, NH
"More cider?" Abbey Bartlet held up the pitcher toward CJ and Danny. At Danny's "yes" and CJ's "no", she filled Danny's glass and her own, then set down the beverage.
'Mr. President, this is excellent salmon." CJ set down her fork and wiped the sides of her mouth. "I always have a hard time with fish on the grill, keeping it moist enough. Will you tell me your secret? And this glaze?"
Jed Bartlet sighed. He had given up on getting his former staffers to call him by his first name. On one hand, he supposed it was a sign of respect, not just for his former position, but because of his de facto role as pater of the extended familias. However, it also made him feel that he always had to be the role model and couldn't let down his hair with the group.
"Well, Claudia Jean," he figured that if CJ was going to treat him as a father figure, he could play the role with gusto, "I cook the fish in foil until it is heated through and almost done. That keeps it from drying out. Then, I remove it from the foil, and, this is important, allow it to air-dry for a minute or two, then spray with olive oil, brush with the glaze, and set it on a very hot grill, not on the section where I cooked it in the foil. You turn it after a minute, brush again, and set it on another part of the grill. As for the glaze, torture cannot drag it out of me."
"Maple syrup and Dijon mustard," Zoey told them.
"Traitor!" Jed threw his napkin at his daughter.
CJ, Danny, Charley, and Zoey filled in the former First Couple with all the news from the group that had gathered in Cape May.
CJ's phone rang. The caller ID said "Donna".
Helen Santos had just given birth to another daughter. Mother and baby were fine and President Dad was handling it much better than Josh did (both times).
"Well, the Republicans can't complain about our family values," Abbey joked as they toasted the new arrival. "Jed and I have so many honorary grandchildren and more on the way."
"Only honorary ones for now, Mom," Zoey said, "unless Ellie and Vic have changed their mind in the past month."
"Zoey Patricia, when have I ever nagged you and Charlie? You'll be ready when you're ready."
"I know, but I still think I have CJ, Donna, Bonnie, Ginger, Carol, Margaret, and Helen Santos to thank for that as much as your holding back."
Meanwhile, Danny was telling the President and Charlie about his potential next book subject. "My guys are still in negotiation with the Vatican. Yes, it's the chance of a lifetime, but I refuse to surrender any part of my artistic integrity."
July 27, 2011; Niagara Falls, NY/Canadian border
"You know, my parents honeymooned here," CJ told Danny, as they looked at (and felt the mist of) Bridal View falls.
"Really? Well, we can consider it a second honeymoon." He reached across the stroller that held their sleeping son and kissed her mouth.
"Second? It's the third." She kissed him back.
"Oh?"
"That first trip down the coast. I considered that a second honeymoon."
They both stood in silence remembering that trip, the two of them so overjoyed with the coming of the twins.
July 30, 2011; Mackinac City, MI
"Well, Danny, now that you've remembered the way back here, don't be such a stranger!"
"Well, the next trip is yours to make. We'd love to have you come to California this winter when you're iced over."
His second cousin Siobhan and her husband Liam were seven years younger than Danny. He remembered spending summers with Siobhan's family as a youngster. The O'Reiley's had a rooming house on the island (which Siobhan and Liam had retooled into a bed and breakfast) and had a small farm in the center of the island. Danny had enjoyed their trips here and never understood what happened between his father and Siobhan's grandfather that caused the families to cut off all contact when Danny was eight and Siobhan was just a baby.
Last March, Siobhan had emailed him. She had been researching the family history and came upon the connection. Danny and Siobhan had emailed back and forth and exchanged invitations to come visit. When Danny and CJ decided to drive back and forth to the East this year, they made the plans to stop by for a few days on the way back.
Since no cars were allowed on the island, Siobhan and Liam came over on the ferry to help them with their luggage, and then took them by horse and buggy to their B and B. They spent their days enjoying the Victorian atmosphere of the island and their nights looking over old pictures and diaries. Danny told Siobhan that Erin seemed to think that it was a disagreement over Irish politics that had caused the rift, but she wasn't sure.
In any event, a connection had been established again. After their visit with CJ and Danny in August, the MacDonald's would be stopping by for a night or two with Siobhan and Liam. There was talk of meeting other members of the family in the fall for an extended family reunion and perhaps another one in a year or two in Ireland.
Now they were back on the mainland and loading up the car, which had been parked at the ferry lot. CJ and Danny would take the bridge to the Upper Peninsula and drive for a few hours. Tomorrow, they would cut over to Minneapolis-St. Paul, then drive to Fargo and to Billings on their way to Yellowstone.
August 5, 2011; Grant Village Lodge, Yellowstone National Park
"This really wasn't enough time here, was it?" Danny put his arm around CJ as they sat on the lodge porch and watched the sunset. Paddy was sleeping against his chest.
They had arrived the afternoon of the 3rd, spending that night at the lodge in Mammoth Hot Springs. After doing the "upper loop" yesterday, they spent the night at Canyon Village. Today they had seen Old Faithful and the lower loop. Tomorrow, they would head toward Boise, then the Oregon coast, and down to the Mendocino area. They wanted to be back at the new place in Albion by the 10th; Erin, Robin, and crew were coming on the 11th.
"There never is. Paul and I took several weekend trips to Yosemite and there was always something new to see. Maybe the President was right when he said we needed at least a week a piece to see all of them."
"Yeah, I can just see us, retired and driving our Winnebago from park to park. You'd divorce me within three months." He laughed into her hair.
"I don't know about that. I've really enjoyed this summer, the traveling with you and Paddy. And if you had told me five years ago that you and I would be doing the family vacation bit with a rugrat in tow - ".
She stopped to remember. Five years ago, she was feeling overwhelmed and deserted. Leo, Josh, and Donna had cast their lots with Matt Santos. Toby had followed a different, maybe higher, compass, and she couldn't seek comfort and friendship from him. She still had Carol, Margaret, Bonnie, Ginger, Ed, Larry, and, of course, Charlie at the White House but none of them could give her what she needed – they were supervisees, not peers or independent friends. Will and Kate were there, but they were relative strangers. And it would be a good two months before this man, this rock, this groundwire, would come back into her life and begin to hint at the possibilities.
She really had enjoyed the trip across the country and back. Maybe it was Paddy's age – he was old enough that he didn't demand constant attention but too young to be whining about how long it was taking, about needing to go to the bathroom ("that's what a diaper's for, Mama"), about being bored with the geysers or the buffalo or the waterfalls. The rhythm of the car caused him to sleep. (Of course, at night, after they got to their destination, he was a whirlwind in the room. She was glad she had followed Linda Tallchief's advice and was very careful of the foods she gave him – mostly grains and veggies, just a little fruit, and nothing with added sugar.) Also, there was just Paddy and the two of them. No one to complain about being looked at, or touched, or having sentences repeated, or whose turn it was to sit by the window, thank God.
Wait, did she really say that? She had been a little weepy two days ago when the dull ache and heaviness, followed by flow, indicated that they had not been successful with July's "window". Danny and hugged her, kissed her, and reminded her again to leave it in "God's hands and God's time", and she was trying to do so. Would it have been that bad if there had been three little boys in the back seat, and maybe someday a little girl?
In any event, the experience was as much fun, as relaxing as the time they had spent in February of '08 when she was carrying the twins. Danny had no problem with sharing the driving with her, especially on the open road (and west of the Mississippi, both routes had a lot of open road); it was only in the cities with their loops and spurs and eight lanes in each direction, or in really bad weather, that he got all macho about being the one at the wheel. (Even then, he was quick to praise her map-reading skills and suggestions about when to get in what lane.) Their tastes in music were similar and they sang along with the CDs and old tapes. They picked out two books on tape. And, of course, they talked. If she lived to the proverbial one hundred, she could never get enough of talking with this man.
The sun had finished setting and the stars were brightening against the darkening sky. She shivered slightly in response to the breeze off the lake and Danny handed Paddy to her and reached for the sweater in the bag at his feet. He draped the garment across Paddy and her shoulders, pulling her back against his chest and wrapping his arms around her. Satisfied that his family was protected by his body and the sweater, he lowered his face to her hair and breathed in the scent of her shampoo.
"Danny? Aren't you cold?"
"Jeanie, I'm fine. If I were any finer, I'd be in heaven with God."
August 11, 2011; Albion CA
CJ finished putting away the rest of the groceries she had bought earlier in the day and looked at the kitchen clock; it read 2:57. She could hear Danny humming as he woke up Paddy from his nap and smiled, thinking about the very nice beginning and ending of the one she and Danny had taken. In four days, her window would open again. The limitations of the window made the week before and the ten days after, when they could give in to frequency and frolicking positions, special in their own way.
It was good to be home, even this home. The trip from Yellowstone to Boise on the 6th was uneventful, as was the next leg to Portland on the 7th, although they did stop several times at scenic pullovers on the interstate just to look at the Columbia River and to gaze at Mount Hood. They spent most of the next day in Portland, then drove up to Astoria late that afternoon, and spent the night of the 8th there. In the morning, after seeing the mouth of the Columbia as it poured into the Pacific, they headed down the coast toward the California border and Crescent City, their last stop on the road. They had arrived at their second home early yesterday afternoon.
They had left the place in good shape six weeks ago and she had arranged with the realtor who sold them the property to have someone come in to dust and vacuum. Outside of this shopping trip, all they had to do was unpack and change the security code on the door locks.
"The kid's in the playpen!" C J heard the front door open and close and the sound of a hammer beginning its tattoo. She set a big jar of sun tea to brew on the window and went to the main room to play with her son.
"CJ, I think this is them coming up the road!"
Danny Concannon set down the hammer he was using to hang the planter support on the front of the house, stepped down from the ladder, and went to meet the car that was carrying his sister, his brother-in-law, his nieces, and Brendan Collins, the man who had managed to tame his older niece.
CJ came out of the house, Paddy toddling in front of her, just as the rental pulled into the gravel drive.
Amid the general hugs (and the introductions between CJ and Danny and Brendan), CJ noticed that Fee looked younger and Ash looked older than the last time she saw the girls.
Aisling had never been overweight, but her face had lost some of its fullness. Her cheekbones were more defined. Her hair was still the bright red of two years ago, but she had switched to a different style, the part off the side rather than down the middle.
Fiona's hair still reached down her back, but had been cut about two inches and had been shaped around her face. The skintight micro-mini and tank top she had worn last fall had been replaced by a mid-calf skirt with a "peasant" style blouse. A pair of espadrilles with 1-inch wedge heels replaced the spikes of ten months ago. Fee had never worn much make-up, but her face had never glowed the way it was glowing today.
Then CJ saw, on her left hand, a claddagh ring very much like the one CJ wore on her right.
"Fee?" CJ's eyes asked the question.
The girl's smile was all the answer needed.
Now the hugs took on a new dimension.
"The wedding will be at Christmas. Please say you'll come, Uncle Danny," Fiona said. "I really want you and Aunt CJ with us."
Later that evening, Robin brought out two large flasks and two bottles. Not even the best customs inspector could tell that the seals on the bottles were not the original seals, that the bottles did not contain the scotch the labels indicated was inside them.
"Now this one," he said as he poured the contents of one bottle into the square flask, "is what you're used to having. But this one," he poured the contents of the second bottle into the round flask, "needs to sit and age another five years. However, taste now." He poured a small amount into a glass and gave it to Danny.
Danny slowly sipped, swirled the liquid in his mouth as Angus had taught him those many years ago. Yes, it was raw, but there was something there, something brilliant, something elusive, something that reminded him of smells and sounds.
"You're right. In five years, this will be truly something special. And in seven years, in ten - ".
Robin's eyes lit up as they reached the face of his younger daughter and he held out his hand to her. "To the future mistress of MacDonald Distilleries!"
"Aisling! You blended this?"
"She did. But enough of that; let's pour the good stuff."
Danny explained that he and CJ were on the wagon but told the others to indulge and enjoy. Then he poured two glasses of seltzer for CJ and himself and led the group in a toast to the memory of the cousin whose bequest had given them the house in the woods.
For the next week, the two families enjoyed the offerings of the area. They rented horses and rode the backwoods trails. They rented canoes and explored the Navarro River and took a kayaking tour of the coastline. (CJ decided that she would buy Danny a kayak for Christmas, then decided maybe she didn't want him out on the ocean by himself.) They took trips to Mendocino and to Ft. Bragg.
One day, Brendan and Fiona took the car and went off by themselves for the day. CJ was certain that if someone wanted to go looking, they would find the car parked at the Bide-a-Wee motel outside of Inglenook.
Erin told CJ that she felt so much better now that Robin was no longer flying regular routes and was home more often. She told CJ that she was so relieved that Fiona had found someone with whom she could settle down. Some women need an authoritative man in their life and if that's what it takes to keep her daughter happy, in bed and out, well, who was she to complain if the man was closer to her age than to Fiona's? And if she ended up with a seven-month grandchild, or the wedding was suddenly moved up a couple of months, the world wouldn't come to an end, now, would it?
Robin told Danny that he didn't miss the hustle and the hassle of flying all over Europe and North America, that he enjoyed training the younger men and women and conducting recertification flights. He told Danny that when Brendan had come to talk with him the day before he gave Fiona his family claddagh, to ask formally for her hand, that Brendan had been blunt about the nature of their relationship. Brendan said that he knew it took time to plan a wedding and that he wanted the pomp and ceremony, the presence of family and friends, as much as Fiona did, but, at one level, he considered himself married to Robin's daughter with the asking and the answering. There would be times that he would prefer to keep Fiona with him for the night, rather than bring her home on dark and wet roads and that he would prefer to be upfront and honest about it with Robin and Erin. Brendan and Fiona wanted to have children right away, he was almost 40, for God's sake, but they would be using contraception until the wedding. If God had other plans, he and Fiona would decide whether or not they wished to forego the planned Christmas wedding, but they would seriously weigh the family's input to such a decision. It may not be what Robin would have ideally wanted for his daughter, but the man was obviously good for her, was obviously what she needed.
CJ and Danny managed to make use of each optimal opportunity in the August window without being obvious to their houseguests (they thought), and, more importantly, to make use of those optimal opportunities in a way that was stress free and totally "relaxing" for both of them.
On one of their phone calls concerning "Road to a Better World", Bonnie told CJ that Jesse had taken Nancy to Ventana Inn for a few days. Mr. Estevez was concerned but resigned to his daughter's love life.
Donna called to say that Micah Daniel was the first of the triplets to start crawling on his hands and knees. Margaret 's stomach had blown up overnight, but was still determined to work until the first pains.
Ginger said that Toby and Andi had come to Cape May without the twins and spent a lot of time walking on the beach, holding hands.
Carol said that Will spent three days in New York right after Kate and Andi got back from Switzerland. And Paul said to say hi.
August 20, 2011
His breath still rasping, Danny slowly lowered himself until his upper torso was against CJ's back. He put his arms alongside hers and grasped her hands. For the next minute, he did nothing but gently kiss the side of her face and her neck. Then he spoke softly into her ear.
"Let me know when I get to be too much for you, darling."
She brought his left hand to her mouth. "I can stay like this with you forever; you know that."
And so they remained, like crabs, for the better part of a half hour, half dozing. It was their last night at Albion. Tomorrow they would pack and drive to Santa Monica, to the house and friends they hadn't seen for almost six weeks. According to Hank, Pamela Lauren had grown by leaps and bounds; they wouldn't recognize her. Frank told Danny that Jimmy Jenkins had come over yesterday. Instead of the PG-13 movie Heather said she and her friends would attend, they went to the NC-17 that was also showing at the six-plex; for how long should they ground her? The bon voyage party for Clara was the day after tomorrow. No, Diana didn't need CJ to make anything; CJ would have enough to do getting back into her "real life."
Danny had deflated to the point where he just slipped out from inside her. However, the tip of his penis was just touching her and she began to tease herself against him.
He lifted himself off her, to her murmured sound of disappointment and he turned her to face him, his upper hand holding her butt so that the feelings she had been experiencing became more and more pleasant for the both of them.
"Thank you, Jeannie." He kissed her eyes.
"For?"
"For giving me this summer. For allowing yourself to be away enough from the job to do all of this with me. For believing me when I say that God will make this" he touched her stomach under her navel "happen when it's right and for not making the windows a time of tension and worry."
He turned onto his back and pulled her on top of him. As she lowered herself onto his arousal, the moonlight gilded her, a reverse vermeil, silver on the gold of her skin, her hair, her eyes.
August 24, 2011; University of Southern California
The professor looked at the twenty men and women facing him.
"This concludes the first meeting of this graduate level class 'Teaching Creative Writing'. For your first assignment, I want to put you in the shoes of your future students. I've divided the class into four groups. Messrs. Adams and Concannon, Mdmes. Davis and Dickenson, and Mr. Farris, for our next class, please write at least 1000 words on 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation.' Thank you. Class dismissed."