A/N: Hello again, everyone! I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! 2023 is about to come to an end in a matter of weeks. I still hope to have a little bit of my mojo back, but still, writer's block, laziness, semi-depression, and occasional worries can totally suck; I think I picked up some weight as well—I've said this before, and I'm totally not afraid to repeat it. Plus, my life offscreen can be a lot. Again, I'm still taking one day at a time, hoping—and praying—for the better of things as time passes.
The chapter starts on Saturday night, December 6th.
Spencer and Élise, side-by-side, made their way to the Corcoran Ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel in D.C. Rapid camera flashing and sizable media coverage made it an absolute news-worthy event.
The immediate change of venue was due to the large number of approved invites Kevin and Cassandra received. But it was definitely worth it. The newly renovated capacious and pillarless warn gold and taupe-hued ballroom features richly decorated Mineheart silk wall paneled covering, coffered waffled ceilings, and breathtaking and glittering crystal chandeliers that pay tributes to all celebrated holidays, from the majestic Christmas trees with the fake snow and wrapped presents under them to the ornaments; from the gold menorahs to the kinaras; from the hung wreaths and garlands to the scented candles and floral arrangements.
Spencer and Élise approached a bar where a tall young man in his early twenties worked and asked for sparkling apple cider.
"Thank you…" Spencer gently took the two clear cups from him and passed one to Élise.
"Cheers!" Élise expressed her appreciation with a small smile. "And Merry Christmas." The two rattled their drinks to a toast mid-air and sipped.
"Spence! Lise!" Their heads swiveled, and they saw Maeve and Bobby, who waved back to them. "You made it!" Hugs were given, and smiles lit everyone's faces. "Ooh, and don't you two look nice…"
Spencer was clothed in a simple dark navy suit, matching color tie with a white dress shirt and monk strap dress shoes. Élise was attired in a stunning Oscar de la Renta—may he rest in peace—sleeveless silk cocktail dress with gorgeous silk floral-crystal beaded-embroidered establishments from his latest Fall/Winter Collection, glass crystal chandelier earrings, link bracelets, black pumps and clutch and her blown-out hair hung to her chin.
"Thanks; so do you two…" As promised, Maeve wore the dress she bought at Macy's with black three-and-a-half inch heels, minimal but refined gold jewelry, a clutch with a gold chain, and her brunette hair in a side-swept chignon and Bobby in a black bowtie suit.
"Everything here looks so pretty…" Maeve glazed around the ballroom, and then her blue eyes widened when a few away from her and Bobby was a sophisticated European woman and a distinguished black man, presumably in their late seventies, being photographed with Kevin and Cassandra. "No way! That's Dr. Eva Mertens, one of the founders of Universal Field, which is dedicated to fighting all diseases and finding cures for them."
"And that's Dr. Stanley Avain, multi-award-winning journalist and foreign affairs correspondent," Élise added. "I read some of his work while I was at Harvard Law and he even guest lectured a couple of times, so..."
"Hey!" a voice caused Spencer, Élise, Maeve, and Bobby to turn their heads to find out where that was coming from until Bobby cocked his head at Harold and Patricia, waving at them as the two approached. "How've you been?"
"We're good…" Harold answered before politely picking up a champagne glass for himself and a water goblet for Patricia.
"You have a bit of a glow going on with you…" Élise side-eyed the Levingston-Winthrops. Usually, Patricia would have a champagne glass as well. This could be the inter-profiler in her that rubbed off on her from the years of being with Spencer, but she couldn't help it. Her mouth half-opened, "Are you…?"
"Surprise!" Patricia rested her hand on her belly.
"Kudos, you two!"
Maeve and Élise embraced Patricia while Spencer and Bobby fist-bumped Harold. Patricia held her head up and inhaled the air. "Mmm…now I want some roast beef. And Camembert." She followed the smell while Harold trailed behind her.
Soon, the guests of honor stepped away to meet some of the board members and mingle with a few more guests before catching sight of Spencer, Élise, Maeve, and Bobby. "Hello, everyone!" The hosts acknowledged the small four-person group. Kevin was in a tailored black suit with a Kwanzaa-themed tie. Cassandra stunned in a sleeveless paisley Jacquard sheath dress showcasing a floral lace overlay, a square neckline, a scalloped hem, and Roger Vivier buckle pumps. She had her hair up in an elegant French twist, expertly applied makeup, and was surrounded by an aroma of Guerlain.
"We're so glad you all made it," Kevin shook their hands. "And really, whatever donation, no matter how big or small, is worth it."
"Well, you'll be getting a good one from me, Kev-…"
As Élise toasted to that, she was inadvertently interrupted when her and mostly everyone else's attention heard haughty giggling and laughter.
"Fabulous!" the four women group hung around in the middle of the room at one of the reception tables while their husbands were near the bar on the other side of the ballroom.
"I swear, they're like the Ashleys from that '90s Recess show," Bobby commented. "Or the Heathers."
Maeve shook her head and scratched her temple in complete disbelief at Belinda Sinclair wearing a ridiculously short pink all-sequin embroidered strap dress. "How is she not cold in a dress like that?" And all that ostentatious pink diamond jewelry bejeweled from her ears to her neck and from her wrists to her fingers? It seemed show-offy.
"She modeled for a bunch of diamond campaigns back in her day, but sometimes I wonder if she was Barbie in a past life." Cassandra licked her thin pink lipsticked mouth after sipping her sparkling water from her glass goblet. "Mmm…you should have seen her in the matching custom pink coat before she and Jonathan came in."
Élise helped herself to a vegetarian canapé. "Models are used to working in the ridiculously cold and hot conditions." After finishing chewing, Élise replied, "Now Calista Tan's dress is something, alright." She had a slight cringe when viewing the latter's body-con ice blue sheer illusion dress with cutout detailing, especially the décolletage and insanity tight-high slits. The Asian beauty caught sight of her, and the two waved.
"But we'll definitely get some big donations from her and the rest of the Sex and the City crew, for sure." Kevin supped some champagne. "If they can spend that much on what they're wearing, they can definitely donate big money."
"I hope so…"
It was arts and crafts time for Ms. Ortiz and Ms. Torres' class. The two teachers laid out the supplies and allowed their students to pick out what they wanted to do. Séraphine sat at her desk with her friends, BJ, Blair, Aaliyah, Ronnie, and Victor, and she began cutting up a bunch of red and green construction paper. Aaliyah glued some glitter onto her glued Christmas tree and ran what remained onto the paper plate; Victor pasted red, black, and green color paper onto his giant white sheet; Ronnie colored a picture of a menorah; the same with BJ with a gingerbread house; and Blair finished cutting her handprints for he popsicle stick angels.
"How are you kids doing?" Ms. Ortiz appeared at their desks. "Working hard?"
Séraphine smiled, "We're fine; thank you for asking."
"Working hard, alright…" BJ flexed his tiny arms.
"How about some milk and cookies for you kids for working so hard?" Ms. Torres gently positioned a clean white plate of a dozen chocolate chip cookies.
Knowing of the rising concerns of food allergies and intolerances, especially at school, Ms. Torres and Ms. Ortiz had the parents/guardians of their students provide a list of allergies. The cookies they brought in were free of the top eight to ten most common food allergies, including gluten, and they're vegan. The milk was pea milk, made by isolating protein from peas and blending it with water and emulsifiers.
"Thank you!"
It was that monthly time for Spencer and Élise to meet the biological mother of their potential adoptive child. Sadia patiently sat in her leather seat while Spencer overlapped his fingers together.
"Élise should be here by now…" Sadia placed her cell phone in the outside side pocket of her Coach tote bag.
Spencer kept a relaxed mind. "Yeah, she has to return to Chicago and Memphis this weekend…" He paused when the double walnut doors opened hastily—Élise finally arrived.
"Sorry…" Élise bolted in, speed-walking to her seat. "I swear, this weekend's gonna be crazy…" She gave Spencer a quick cheek kiss and Sadia air kisses before taking a seat. "So…how was the wedding?"
"It really was a magical day," Sadia beamed. "I'll send you the pictures and videos later."
Now, the room's mood got serious when Mr. Birger came in and held one of the doors for Neveah and Dr. Payen. The doctor helped Neveah out of her purple puffer coat and ushered her into her seat before wriggling out of her trench coat and hanging it behind her chair before she took hers.
"So, how is everyone?" Mr. Birger tried to enlighten the mood and semi-awkward silence with a simple introduction. "Are you all excited for the upcoming holiday season?"
"We are. Thank you for asking," Sadia said, pushing a tendril of her bobbed hair behind her ear. "How is it with you, Neveah?"
Dr. Payen petted the young pregnant girl's knees and gave her a motherly look. "She's been applying for a bunch of universities and scholarships around the country."
"Oh, really?" Élise's face brightened up. "Where have you been applying?"
"About a dozen: Stanford, Fordham, UCLA, Chicago, USC, Vanderbilt, Madison, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Berkeley, Dartmouth, CalTech."
"Oh, so you're into science, math, engineering…?" asked Spencer. Neveah responded with a timid head nod. "Any early decisions yet?" Neveah answered with a silent head shake.
"Nothing yet, but we're hoping for the best."
"Yeah, okay, then…" Sadia spoke up again. "So…how is the pregnancy coming along?"
"We went to the OBGYN this weekend, and everything's going along," Dr. Payen passed the sonograms to Mr. Birger, who then passed them over to Spencer and Élise.
"Whoa…" It'll never stop excellent Spencer or Élise about the development of their possible child. "Really growing, huh?"
Élise blew a light sigh. "The second trimester is supposedly easy-going, despite the gas and bloating, back pains, so…" she gave her a nervous smile, and the young girl and the doctor responded with silent nodding. "So, uh…what about the gender? Any news on the gender?"
Neveah released a shaky breath as Dr. Payen replied, "Uh…we decided to wait until the 20th week if that's alright with you two…"
Élise pushed her bottom lip forward and moved her shoulders up, "That's cool with me."
"Okay with me…" Spencer coolly replied.
As scheduled, Élise, along with the US President, flew back to Memphis, Tennessee, to join in convening The Knowledge Summit, a public-private partnership promoting underprivileged and low-income students for a better chance for college development and opportunities, academic support, education, as well as form strong networking connection. But first, she, along with Secretary Davies, the state's congresspeople, and the Nashville mayor, attended a speech by the President at Casa Azafrán, the city's global community center that opened its doors back in 2012 to help bring resources and communities to better serve new Americans.
As expected, she gave a speech at the summit's closing session, accompanied by the Memphis mayor. It was also great, not to mention fascinating, to be in cities such as Nashville and Memphis; the latter city is known to be the home of many historic sites from the Civil Rights Era, including the Mason Temple, where Martin Luther King famously declared in his last speech: "I've Been to the Mountaintop" before his assassination the following day outside his room at the Lorraine Motel.
Ironically enough, it was now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum—Élise held the roundtable discussion in honor of the President's plan to improve the relationship between regaining the community's trust in law enforcement and the justice system.
Saturday mid-morning going on the afternoon, it was a partly sunny day. The weather was crisp and cool, with a little chill in the air. Spencer opted to take Séraphine and Isaac to the Dumbarton Oaks Garden, the residence and garden of an affluent diplomat, art collector, and philanthropist Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, fellow art collector, and philanthropist Mildred Barnes Bliss—now owned by Harvard University.
The gardens of this grand Federal-style historic house museum had a dozen of these formal and elegant stepped terraces in the near locality of the house. Nothing but ten acres of such landscaped finery, each other in a different sophisticated style after the next.
"Hey-hey-hey!" Spencer tugged lightly on Isaac's leash when he tried to make a run towards the single jetted fountain in the Ellipse Garden. "Slow down there, cowboy…" He didn't want what happened to Séraphine to happen to his son.
"Sorry, daddy…"
"Daddy, when's Mommy coming home?" Séraphine held onto his hand.
Spencer answered as honestly as he could, "Hopefully, by the end of this weekend."
"Will she have to leave again?"
Spencer played with a clasp of his daughter's hair. "Not during the holiday seasons; she knows how much family means to her and how much you mean to her…" his mind alerted when he felt his son's leash pulling against him, and his eyes alerted him. Isaac tried to run off again. "Isaac…"
"Sorry…"
Now, Élise is back in Chicago. She met up with the city's mayor and police superintendent, as well as the state's U.S. Attorney for the Northern District, for another regional roundtable meeting for the DOJ's "Building Community Trust" Initiative. She did what she could to do for the President and the Justice Department, as well as buying some souvenirs for the children.
And until the family trip to St. Croix, Élise and Spencer were officially done with work-related traveling for the year.
About an hour after getting the children ready for bed and tucking them in, Élise relaxed in her bed under the tender quilts of the king-sized bed. The only lighting source was the dark mode lighting coming from her new iPad Air 2 tablet, and a lavender-chamomile perfume filled the room.
Saturday afternoon, she got a message from Maeve, Spencer, and even her parents and brother in New Jersey, a link to Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People and was currently watching the live stream on her tablet—the legendary broadcaster and journalist named her the most fascinating person of the year. However, for personal and privacy reasons, she declined an interview politely. However, she was utterly honored and was happy that Barbara got the short-form biographical profile about her with complete accuracy.
Spencer came in, already in his lounge sweats, after he returned from the kitchen with one last cup of mint tea. He joined his wife by hopping under the duvets and sloped his head to watch the unique program.
"Well-well-well, look at you…" Spencer pecked on Élise's right temple. "Look at you, Ms. Most Fascinating Person of the Year. As well as one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in the world of this year and Forbes magazine's top ten most powerful women in the world."
Élise made a humble face and meekly smirked. "Thanks, babe… it's been a year." She switched her tablet off and set it on the bedside. "What do you want for next year?"
"As long as I have you, the kids, my career, family, I have everything I need to be happy…"
Élise moved her head on his shoulder. "Same here…now, Fee, on the other hand, wants some new accessories and playsets for her American Girl doll."
Throughout December, Spencer and Élise did their traditional rituals: go to a Christmas tree farm to buy one, weekend activities around the D.C. metropolitan area—just recently, the family took the kids to both the Tysons Corner Center and Galleria for photos with Santa and the annual Christmas and end of the year photos to send out to family's members.
Plus, there was something that Séraphine did that really made her two parents proud. And part of the reason why was something she learned at school.
"Véase, clase," Ms. Ortiz clapped her hands twice and cupped them together for the personal, social, economic, and emotional development lesson plans for the day. "There are those who don't have it as good as you do, which is why it is always important to do what you can to help them."
Ms. Torres pulled out some paper photos; one of them was a green sign with the word DONATE in bold black lettering with a pink heart above it. "One of the things you can do is donate. You can donate anything: toys, clothes, food, money."
Élise and Séraphine had just walked out of the Nordstrom Wing on the Lower Level—Spencer and Isaac had their own father-son bonding time—when Séraphine heaved Élise in the direction of the Santa set on the Lower Level of the Tysons Corner.
"Whoa, Fee!" Élise didn't want to twist her ankle, even if she was wearing low-inch chocolate brown booties. "Hoo…!"
They stopped when they got to a youngish female in a red apron and Santa hat ringing the bell. "Hello there! Can I help you today?"
Séraphine dug into the pocket of her ballet pink down coat—she made a little face with her squinty eyes and tongue stuck out of the right side of her mouth—and pulled out a small plastic baggie filled with coins. "Ooh!" She handed it to the lovely lady.
"Aww!" the Salvation Army Christmas volunteer smiled at the warm gesture. "Enjoy your holidays, little one!"
Élise placed her donation—a twenty-dollar bill—in the little hole in the dangling bucket. "Enjoy your holidays, too!"
"Bye!" Séraphine waved as she and Élise walked away; the latter snuggled the former with her head on top of hers.
"I'm so proud of you, baby girl…"
Spencer and Isaac strolled around the Tysons I for bonding time and to find extra Christmas presents to send out of state. Spencer already got a couple of things for himself and Élise.
"Daddy-daddy, look!" Isaac jerked on the sleeve of Spencer's dark navy peacoat, lifted his arm, and targeted his finger at the glass windows displaying a black grandbaby piano. "I want-I want! Please-please!" He bounced back and forth. "Huh-huh-huh…"
Spencer wielded his free hand in an attempt to calm down his semi-hyperactive son and took an obvious guess. "You want to learn how to play the piano?"
"Uh-huh…"
"Mmm…" Spencer made a face when curling his mouth and tilting his head to the side. It would be beneficial for Isaac to play an instrument. There were the advantages of brain and sensory development: increased abilities in motor, time, language, team, organizational, and comprehension skills; confidence and persistence, as Spencer didn't want him to be as shy or awkward as he was when he was younger and to take every opportunity when given a chance. "Maybe if you're an extra good boy for the next couple of days, Santa will grant you your wish, okay, buddy?"
"Yay…"
Throughout the month, Séraphine and her class learned about all holidays, from Christmas to Hannukah to Kwanzaa, its traditions and customs during the month's festivals, and ate latkes and candy canes. It was the last day of classes before winter break at the Washington International School, and Séraphine's class was having the time of their young lives with their All Around the World Holiday Party.
"Wanna dance with me, Fee?" BJ held his hand out, hoping his longtime friend would dance together.
"Yeah!" Soon, the two friends began dancing to Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You.
Spencer, Élise, Séraphine, Isaac, and Opal bonded by the large and beautiful Christmas tree in the living room, eating the freshly baked gingerbread cookies and drinking the hot chocolate Spencer and Élise made with the children half an hour ago. Opening at least one present on Christmas Eve has been a tradition for the past five years.
"My turn! My turn!" a red gingham sleep shirt cladded Séraphine sprang up from the carpeted floor and skipped to the tree. Situating her index finger over her mouth, she eyed the three presents before picking out a big one—a long rectangular one with purple wrapping paper that had gold squiggly designs and a fluffy bow. She carefully sliced the wrapping paper at the seams so it wouldn't be ripped with her finger. She finally got to her present and gasped.
It was the clothing and accessories for her American Girl doll.
"Thank you, Mommy and Daddy!" Séraphine embraced her parents by hugging them each around their necks.
"Merry Christmas, honey!" Spencer planted a kiss on top of her head.
Uncrossing her legs, she got up steadily and pulled out a medium-sized present with blue and black wrapping paper. Unlike Séraphine, Isaac tore the paper apart rambunctiously and cheered when he opened what he got: a xylophone.
"Thank you!" Isaac dived into his parents' open arms. "Merry Christmas!"
"Ah…! Merry Christmas to you!"
Séraphine wanted in on the hug and joined in again; the same with Opal, and she began licking everyone's cheeks. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!"
My next chapter will possibly be the last chapter I post in 2023.