CHAPTER 55
As the door closed behind his son, Nathaniel wandered over to the sliding glass doors leading out to the back portion of the veranda and then to the yard beyond. He gestured for Fitz to join him. They stood there just watching the scenery outside. More people were arriving, many with children of all ages, though most of them were young. He thought that he recognized Susan Ross and her daughter holding hands and it made him smile.
It also made Fitz think of his own kids; Karen would have probably loved being here spending time with him, but with Gerry, he wasn't so sure. Maybe that's exactly why he should have sent for them - but the trip had been so last-minute that he hadn't thought about it at first and when he had, the idea of dealing with Mellie and an unplanned request for visitation would have sucked the joy right out of the whole situation.
His smile drew Nathaniel's attention; in return, he smiled a brief smile at Fitz and then followed his gaze to Susan. "She's a part of the future. Still a little bit of a diamond in the rough, but I have no doubt that her time will come."
"She is and I agree with you, her time will come." Fitz agreed. Susan had taken some getting used to - was still taking some getting used to - but the potential for her to do great things was definitely there. "And Olivia Pope made sure of that she will be."
"I apologize for what I said earlier about Ms. Pope, it came out a lot differently from how I meant it."
"Maybe we should just stick to the subject at hand." Fitz said. He didn't want any other mistakes to interfere with his day. After all, when this conversation was done, the first thing he intended to do was find Olivia and enjoy some time in her company, knowing that no one would find it unusual if they did.
"Perhaps you're right." Nathaniel said with a nod. "I'm very much encouraged by what I see in Susan."
This time it was Fitz who was drawn by the expression that came across Nathaniel's face. "What is it you see?"
"Many possibilities. And it's not just her - she has a child, and that child is a part of the future. What Susan accomplishes - or doesn't - and how she handles it, will make a difference in her daughter's life."
The other man paused for a moment, and Fitz watches as his thoughts shifted gears. Nathaniel continued. "I've always said that having an only child could do strange things to a man's mind. It makes him hyper-focused on his own mortality - that child is more than just a child in his eyes. That child becomes his own legacy, and that's dangerous because it can blind him to everything else."
His words struck Fitz like a hammer blow. Nathaniel could have been describing his father and he suspected the other man knew it.
"I say that because I don't think that women are like that." Nathaniel continued. "At least not most of them - there's always the exceptions to the rule, of course. But the majority of women that I've come into contact with over the years, they all seem to have the ability to see every child as their own in a way. And seeing Susan with her daughter - seeing all these children - all of this reminds me of what's really important. It's one of the reasons why I've started this tradition, to bring together younger minds - at least younger than my own - with differing ideas to help them find common ground away from DC."
"If we let this country fracture along party lines and ideologies, we will go down just as surely as if we're to come under physical attack - a mental Pearl Harbor with a Hiroshima finale. That much is the truth - at least that's what I've come to believe." Nathaniel said.
Fitz thought about his words and couldn't say that the other man was wrong. "There are enemies who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of such divisions, so I can appreciate your thoughts."
Nathaniel nodded as if he'd read Fitz's mind. "No matter what else happens going forward, I wanted you to know that. It's one of the reasons I thought you might want to see that in action, and maybe act as a mentor of sorts if the mood strikes you - without the shadow of partisanship."
He meant it; Fitz knew the truth when he heard it, and knew the older man was telling it as he saw it. "But…?"
"But, indeed…" Nathaniel sighed. "… I am an ambitious man, Mr. President. I always have been and I suppose I always will be. I was - trained up that way. Certain superiors saw the ambition in me, steered me down certain paths… ensuring that certain unique skills were honed razor sharp. But I never gave up my love of serving the republic."
It sounded as if Nathaniel was musing over past life choices, just like the comment regarding only children, instead of speaking of the here and now. Fitz has heard these words before, or something very close to them and this time something from his memory made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He turned his head to look at Nathaniel again, but this time the other man kept his gaze straight ahead, refusing to meet Fitz's gaze and this time, his expression giving nothing about his feelings away.
Fitz still didn't know what the Caldwells wanted, so he gambled on a hunch. "There's a rumor going around that there may be an opening for a new SCOTUS before the year is out. Is that why I'm here?"
Nathaniel allowed his lips to twist into a sardonic smile that suddenly reminded Fitz of his son. "Would I like to be considered for a nomination? Of course. Is that why I invited you here? No. If that was my purpose, I could have had either of my sons make the proposition for me.
"I told you that I've grown wiser in my old age and that I'm looking beyond myself and to the future. I wanted to talk to you about this summit of yours - that's a part of the future. And if you let me, I'd like to help."
Before Fitz could answer, there was another knock on the door.
After parting from Fitz, Olivia stayed on the deep porch, watching people as they arrived. She didn't feel the need to go looking for Harrison right away - after all part of the plan was him getting the chance to work his charms and see what he could learn.
It was a refreshing change of pace from being in DC, Olivia thought as she breathed in the crisp fresh air, the smell of so many different and delicious foods scenting the air - she purposefully took the time to take it all in.
She smiled to herself; Olivia knew that she was without a doubt a city girl, loving her fine wines and her high heels, her designer clothes and accessories, but she could appreciate this trip for many reasons, the main one being that once their business with the Caldwells was handled, she and Fitz would be able to take some time to enjoy one another's company. And then there was the night to come…
Olivia couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. She savored the warm wave of emotion, of love and desire and anticipation, that welled up inside her. And laughed to herself at the way it made her smile.
Eventually Olivia did turn her attention to finding Harrison - after questioning a few of the extremely helpful staff, she was directed to the main kitchen. She wasn't surprised to find him in the middle what appeared to a very appreciative group of mostly women, who were all giggly and flushed from the consumption of not a few early afternoon cocktails.
She leaned against the doorway, a smile on her face as she watched Harrison, his well-tailored charcoal-hued sweater fitting him admirably, sleeves rolled up to show off his finely muscled forearms as he guided the group in the art of putting together the perfect chocolate martini, complete with all the commentary that Olivia would expect from him.
Harrison looked up and saw Olivia, flashing her a quick grin before he went back to his instructions, handling an over-sized martini shaker as he continued. Two fortunate assistants were helping him with shakers of their own.
"Depending on what level of decadence you're going for, Godiva liquor may be added to this recipe - but I refuse to be held accountable for any results."
"But would you allow yourself to be held, period? Inquiring minds want to know." An anonymous female voice in the group asked.
Harrison answered over the wave of laughter that followed. "Ladies - I refuse to answer that on the grounds that being in the company of so many beautiful women might incriminate me."
"We won't hold it against you…" someone called out.
"… not when we'd rather just hold you…" another woman added.
Olivia couldn't help but join in the laughter that rose up again. Harrison didn't skip a beat as he continued to entertain his audience, commenting that mimosas were fine for your average afternoon cocktail beverages, but "…ladies, it's my goal to show you all that sometimes you need a little something extra… something a little bit smoother… richer… darker."
The comments that followed that statement were very appreciative of that fact.
"And now it's time for a pop quiz," Harrison said smoothly, " - as I've already explained, what's the one ingredient that's essential to this particular cocktail?"
They answered in a chorus of mixed giggles. "Chocolate kisses!"
"Very good." Harrison praised them. "And again, the choice of regular or dark chocolate is entirely up to you."
He turned his attention to the countertop in front of him where there were several trays of martini glasses on the counter before him, along with crystal bowls filled with the familiar foil-wrapped chocolates. When everyone present had unwrapped their kisses and dropped them into their glasses, Harrison and his assistants began pouring their drinks.
Olivia watched as Harrison snatched two filled glasses from the crowd and walked over to offer her a glass.
"Chocolate martinis?" Olivia said as she accepted the drink. "Really?"
Harrison grinned at her, obviously and unashamedly pleased with himself. "They seems to have been well received well."
"And it appears we can say the same about you." Olivia said. "So, have you learned anything useful?"
"That southern belles - bless their hearts - obviously have an enormous capacity for alcohol in its more fruity forms so early in the day?"
"Besides that?" Olivia said with a laugh.
"Colleen Cassidy is here, along with her father." Harrison said.
"I saw them." She'd noted them in the crowd surrounding Harrison. "I wonder what the Caldwells want from them."
"Anna Caldwell is here, of course." Harrison continued. "But she is not on her best behavior. When I saw her, she looked like she'd been on the hard stuff for awhile already. No mimosas or sangrias for her - she went straight to the hard stuff - brown liquor. Neat - no ice."
"So early in the day? I doubt if that's going to turn out well." Olivia said. Part of OPA's work for the Caldwells had included keeping Anna's more extreme behaviors downplayed as much as they were able and at the very least, keeping her from being disbarred.
Unfortunately, Olivia turned out to be right. A little while later, she and Harrison had wandered back outside and while there, they saw Will and Gayle attempting to escort Anna Caldwell from the back yard into the house. They watched as Anna's protests came very close to becoming a full blown rant before they managed to get her inside.
Olivia wondered aloud what had set her off; Harrison was of the opinion that Anna didn't need any reason at all - people with dependency issues rarely did. Olivia couldn't argue with that, but still, with two brothers who were so successful in comparison, it was sad to see and she said so.
Harrison pointed out that her brothers had each had their own demons to deal with and it hadn't sent them to the bottle.
He was right; Olivia raised her hands in a gesture of resignation. "No one ever knows what anyone's breaking point is, but there's nothing we can do about it."
"But you wish that you could." Harrison gave her a knowing look.
"Of course I do, but I can't. We may still do occasional work for the Caldwells, but my first priority is the president and the White House."
"Of course, Madame Deputy Chief of Staff -" Harrison served up her title with a laugh. " - and I'm sure the Caldwells know it. If they don't - well, they're about to learn, aren't they?"
Harrison was being deliberately light-hearted and Olivia knew why. Once again, here he was coming to her rescue, and while she felt a part of her instinctively react against it, to protect herself - she also had to admit to herself that it felt good to know that he had her back so thoroughly. It's a part of the life lessons that she's coming to learn, that it was okay to let people past her natural guard, that there were people who actually had her back and she could trust that.
Thank you. Olivia didn't say the words aloud, but it showed in her eyes as she met his. "I don't mean to sound callous or hard-hearted, but we're not here under the Caldwells' retainer. Her family is going to have to handle her themselves."
"So, I see that I'm not the only person here on the clock. Somehow that makes me feel a little better."Surprised, Olivia and Harrison both turned as a new voice entered uninvited into their conversation.
She felt Harrison's surprise and it matched hers.
"Jake." She said. "What are you doing here?"