I wrap one arm around Donna and we zip off in our little cart. The weather this weekend is just perfect. I love it up here. I really am an outdoorsman.
Most of Matt's family was scheduled to arrive this morning. Donna helped with the transportation details as well. Even though they aren't dignitaries, the secret service still prefers to use it's own people to transport them here, they don't want random cab drivers gaining access to the facility.
I can see some activity over at Birch, so I head there first. Even though I want Donna to eat, I also do want to check in with Matt and Helen. We may be on vacation but these jobs never really end. I know Matt and Helen don't want to be staffed this weekend but it just feels weird to be here and not making sure they have everything they need.
"Josh! Donna!" Matt bellows from the doorway as we pull up in front of the cabin. "Come meet my familia!"
Donna grins at me as I park. Okay, she sort of won this one, but I don't want her to wait too long before she eats. "If you need to eat right now, I'll tell him we'll come back. You know he'll understand."
"I'm fine, Josh. We'll meet everyone then head over to Laurel. Maybe some of them will want to join us."
As we walk into the cabin, Matt hollers out, "Hey everybody! This is Josh and Donna Lyman. They are good friends and our Chiefs of Staff. Josh is the reason you are all standing here today! He's the one who convinced me to run for President!"
A small, round woman walks up to me, grabs my face and plants a large kiss directly on my mouth. I'm stunned. The room bursts into cheers. What the hell just happened?
"Ma!" Matt admonishes in a laughing tone. "Josh isn't Latino! He's not used to strange women kissing him."
"Looks like the Lemon-Lyman fan club has a new president." Donna mutters under her breath.
Now that she's done with me,Matt's mother turns toward Donna and gives her a big hug. "¿Estás embarazada?"
"Am I embarrassed?" Confused, Donna looks to me for help, but Matt jumps in.
"She's asking if you're pregnant. Latino women aren't shy about that sort of thing." He looks back at his mother. "Sí, mamá, está embarazada."
Mrs. Santos gets a huge smile on her face. Beaming she pats Donna's belly. "Mamacita"
Donna smiles. Pretty mama. She doesn't need translation for that. It really means something closer to sexy lady, but either way, I don't disagree!
Matt starts running through introductions. I'm glad Donna made the face book or there is no way I'd remember any of these people. I'm sure not all of them are here but without my cheat sheet, I don't know who is missing. It seems like there are significantly less children than there are supposed to be.
"Donna and I are going to head over for lunch. Do you need anything?"
"Josh, you're on vacation. You aren't here to look after me. That's what my Mama is for!" He wraps an arm around her somehow even though she's quite a bit shorter than he is. "You two go on ahead. Enjoy some lunch in peace because once we get the children all rounded up we'll be descending on the place too."
Lunch is being served cafeteria style from noon until 2pm, so they've got plenty of time. Donna is grinning as we go through the line with trays.
"This is just like camp!" She nods yes to a serving of macaroni and cheese, and chicken strips, and then french fries and also some pears. She pops a french fry in her mouth as she puts her tray down at the table, then she goes over to the salad bar and makes a salad too.
I like seeing her eat like this. She used to deny she was hungry, then steal half my food. I actually didn't mind that either, as long as she was eating.
"You should eat a salad too." She says as she sits down across from me.
"I will, I'm just going to have this Tuna Salad sandwich first. They are really good up here."
"Oh." she says softly, and I know what's coming in three, two, one . . . "can I have a bite?"
I grin as I hand her half. She blushes a little. "The baby is hungry."
"No explanation necessary." I run a hand down the side of her face. "Besides, I can just go get another. I'll get a salad while I'm at it."
As we are leaving the lodge, the Santos horde is on it's way in. I think we timed that just right. If we hurry and get changed we should have some alone time in the pool too.
I wonder if this is what heaven is like. Floating. Looking up at blue sky and fluffy clouds. My arms wrapped around Donna's bare waist. My hand cradling our baby.
We're laying together on an inflatable raft but our combined weight has it sinking down in the water, which is perfect.
"mmmmmm. This is nice." Donna purrs. I love the little sounds she makes when she's content. I don't think I'll ever get enough of them.
"Maybe we should name the baby some sort of water related name?" She suggests.
"Marina?" I offer.
"Oh no! Toby's assistant that you made me spy on! I don't think so, bub."
"Sedna? Inuit goddess of the sea."
"Um, no."
"Moselle? Its Hebrew, it means from the water."
"No, a little too unsual for my taste."
"Cordelia? It means daugther of the sea."
"Ooooh, that's pretty. And not too unusual."
"AND not too common. Does it make the list?" It's not my favorite but I do really like it. It's got some nickname possibilities too- Corrie, Corky, Delia, Lia. Of course, I could always still jus call her Lulu. But I'm going to keep that to myself. Donna's actually considering this one and I don't want to blow it.
"Okay, yes. Cordelia makes the list."
I grin to myself.
"How come you only suggest girls names?"
"Huh. I didn't realize I do that."
I stop for a minute considering it. I do tend to lean toward girl. I don't think I have any sort of sixth sense. Maybe it's because I can still remember one day at the White House theater President Bartlet said "Josh, if you ever have a daughter . . ." and for the rest of the movie I sat next to Donna imagining a blonde little girl and hoping that some day it could be true. But since then I've seen Donna snuggling with Marco and his mop of curly brown hair, and now having a little boy sounds equally as amazing. I can see us playing catch, teaching him to hit, watching the Mets. Well, I guess that could happen with a girl too.
"Do we need to talk about boy names? I kind of thought you were pretty set."
"Well, I am. Noah, Jacob and Leo are still at the top of my list. But you haven't told me how you feel about Noah and I'm trying not to push you."
Without flipping us off the raft, Donna somehow manages to turn over so that she's laying on top of me and can look up at me. Little things like this still leave me in awe of her. She wiggles a little, getting comfortable and I let out a small groan. Then she grins wickedly.
"Although, now might be a good time to push you a bit, huh. Bet I could get you to agree to any name I wanted right now."
She runs her hands lightly across my pecs. Um, yeah. Of course she could. But I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to be able to deny her anything she wants after she has my baby anyway.
"I didn't talk to my Mom about using Noah yet. It's sort of part of that Jewish superstition thing. Plus, truthfully, I think she'd really like the idea and I don't want to get her hopes up in case we don't use it."
"Can you talk to me about it? What has you hesitant about using Noah?"
"If my Dad was still alive, we wouldn't use Noah. We don't name our children after people who are still alive. So it's kind of sad that it's available. I do like the idea of honoring him. And I like how the name sounds, but there already was a Noah Lyman. I don't want my kid to feel like he's got to fill someone else's shoes."
"Okay." She says softly. I hope I haven't disappointed her. I don't absolutely hate the idea of using Noah, but I'm definitely not ready to commit to it.
"I like Jacob and Leo because neither of them were Lymans. I'm open to other names too, but I haven't really come across one that I like better than either of those."
Between all of Donna's gomers and all the congressmen I've known, the list of acceptable boy names is pretty short.
Since she's laying on top of me face-down, her ass is in the perfect position for my hand to caress it while we talk. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it, but now that we are quiet for a moment, I'm hearing the little sighs she's been giving me to let me know she likes what I'm doing. I get a little bolder and work my hand inside her bikini.
"TIO JOSH! We're here!" Miranda's announcement startles me, and as I frantically try to remove my hand, I tip us over.
I hear laughter as I resurface. Donna comes up sputtering. "Smooth move, Lyman."
She's pushing the hair out of her face and she looks adorable, so I grab her around the legs and dunk her again. The boys hoot in appreciation and egg me on. "Get her!" one of them yells.
"JOSH! You are in so much trouble!" But she's laughing so I know I'm really not. Although, I would happily accept whatever punishment she wants to dole out.
"Oh yeah? Tough love tonight? You bring your equipment?" I keep my voice low enough that no one else can hear, but Donna still blushes.
Her response is to splash water in my face. I advance on her and she can tell I fully plan to dunk her again. She trys to get away, but I snag her wrist and pull her to me. She struggles a little as I pick her up, then suddenly stops struggling and softly says "please, that's enough." So I just hold her to me. She sighs again and places a light kiss on my shoulder.
Around us the boys are cannonballing into the pool and the girls are shrieking. Several adults have settled into the hot tub, but that's not really the place for us. I carry Donna carefully towards the end of the pool.
"You done? Want to head back to the cabin for a nap?"
"I'm not really tired. We might have to burn some more energy first."
Yeah, I can think of a few ways to do that. I let go of her legs so she can find her footing, then watch her climb the steps out of the pool. The way the sunlight hits her glistening body, she seems to glow. The black bikini isn't itsy bitsy like the red one, but it still leaves a lot of skin for me to admire. The curve of her abdomen takes my breath way.
Someone wolf whistles from the hot tub. One of Matt's brothers-in-law. Without thinking I turn and glare in that direction, which causes everyone to laugh. I do know that, culturally, that was a compliment, but I can't help but screaming "MINE!" in my head.
Donna just blushes and hurries to put on a cover-up. I wrap a towel around my waist and we walk over towards the group.
"Want to join us?" One of Matt's sisters, I think it's Benita, offers. It's pretty crowded but another sister, Dolores, maybe, moves up to the edge to just dangle her feet in for a few minutes.
I look towards Donna. It's up to her.
"No thanks," she says brightly, "I'm pretty tired, I'm going to go catch a nap. We'll see you at dinner and the campfire."
"I thought you weren't tired?" I say as soon as we are out of hearing.
"I'm counting on you to wear me out."
"Okay."
On the way to the campfire, my mind drifts to how great of a day this has been. Peeling that little black bikini off of Donna very slowly, then actually napping after we wore each other out. Waking up feeling refreshed and just holding each other for a while. Then dinner with the boisterous Santos Family. It was loud, but full of laughter and lots of love. There's something about big families . . . I squeeze Donna's hand a little tighter as we look at the stars.
When we arrive at the campfire, there's a chorus of greetings, mostly starting with "Tio Josh, Tia Donna!" Donna immediately grins. She's very comfortable in these large family gatherings. Somehow she manages to follow several conversations, observe several of the kids sneaking extra marshmallows, and sing along with the silly songs all while making me the perfect s'more.
As we walk back to the cabin, it's late, and it seems like there are even more stars. We don't see these in the city.
"Amazing, isn't it?"
Something from Hebrew school comes to mind-
"Abraham's descendants are more numerous than the stars."
"Can you imagine?" Donna asks in wonder.
"The thing is I kind of am. Imagining it. A big family. We haven't talked much about it, but I'm hoping for more than one, you know."
"I know. I am too. But probably not that half dozen you suggested on the honeymoon."
She makes me laugh. "No, probably not. But maybe two . . . or three."
She smiles that enigmatic smile of hers. The one that I never completely understand, but I adore. I think that's a yes.
Donna's been asleep for a while when I flip the light off and settle down. I'm almost asleep when I hear her whimper. I sit up, turning the light back on. A few seconds later, she twitches in her sleep, then she whimpers again. I don't have to guess what's happening. I reach over and gently rub her arm. The key is to get her out of this dream without freaking her out any worse.
"Donna, I'm right here." I keep my voice low and gentle but she's still out. She twitches again and tears start to roll down her cheeks. I feel my heart shattering.
"Baby, wake up. You're okay. I'm right here." I rub her arm a little more firmly hoping to pull her out of the nightmare.
Suddenly, she sits up. Her hand flies to her chest. I can see a vein in her neck wildly pulsating. Her heart must be hammering.
"Josh?" Her voice is higher than normal. Scared.
"I'm right here. C'mere."
She falls over into my arms. She's shaking and now I can feel how fast her heart is beating. I rub her back trying to calm her.
"You're okay. I'm right here. Everything is fine." I keep whispering reassurances.
"You're still here?" She asks in a daze. I know how hard it can be to come out of a really bad dream.
"I'm still here." As I soothe her, I feel her tears on my chest. All I can do is hold her tighter.
I wondered how this anniversary was going to be. I wasn't with her around this time the last year and she doesn't like to talk about it. As far as I know she's only had one other bad dream since we've been married. She turned down the suggestion of talking about it then, but maybe now she'd be willing. I know from experience you don't get over this kind of trauma, you just learn to cope. And talking to someone is a good idea.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I feel her shake her head. I don't want to push her. I'll try again tomorrow. I run a hand down her arm and stop at her wrist, subtly trying to take her pulse. It's still a little fast but not crazy.
"Go back to sleep. I've got you." I whisper. If she doesn't want to talk, I'll just hold her tight and hope it's enough.