"Ginger"
"Yeah, Sam?"
"The speech for the correspondence dinner is done. Would you give it to the President for me."
"Sure. So, you're leaving for Anguilla right after the dinner?"
"Yeah, Mara is going to swing by to pick me up and we're going straight to Andrews to board the plane."
"I still can't believe she bought a plane."
"She's shopping for a helicopter right now. She's tired of the commute to the Bay."
"Mara really doesn't know what to do with her money does she?"
"Actually, she's very shrewd with her money. She's just totally into instant gratification. Truth be told, listening to her for an hour and a half on the way to the house makes me want a copter too."
"Wow! You know, I can't believe you've been married for four years, Sam."
"Well, in two months you'll be a married woman yourself, Ginger."
"I loved Mara for finding me a husband, but I still can't think about her insisting on paying for the entire wedding without crying."
"Ginger, Mara has more money than ten people need in a lifetime. She enjoys sharing her wealth and she knows how broke you both are. She's having so much fun helping you plan the wedding."
"I'm having a lot of fun with her. Sam, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Were you looking forward to the honeymoon more than the wedding? Cakes don't excite me, but the thoughts of the sugar white sands of Anguilla make me orgasmic."
"Then I suggest you don't think about it at work. Seriously, wait until you get there. You'll never want to leave. I think wedding excitement will kick in when it's less than a month away. Ginger Gauthier I can call you GG."
"Try it once, Sam, and it will be the last sound you make. Can I split early today? It's Ryan's birthday and I want to surprise him with dinner."
"I'm leaving early, so I don't see why you can't. You better get the speech to the Oval though."
"I'm on my way."
Sam looked at his watch and did the math in his head. In ten hours, he'd be arriving at the front door of the beach house. He hadn't set foot on the isle of Anguilla since his honeymoon four years ago. One day on the beach was all it took for him to officially declare it paradise. They had an entire mile of beach to themselves and total privacy. He still didn't feel comfortable shedding all his clothes as Mara did, but he certainly enjoyed her being naked all the time. He was looking forward to jogging in the sand again. On their honeymoon, it had only been five months since the accident that left him in a coma for a week and a titanium pin holding his ankle together. It had taken almost two years for him to be able to return to his normal running routine.
Somehow, they had managed to get married without the press finding out and the people who had noticed the platinum wedding band on his left ring finger respected their privacy and kept the information to themselves. Sam thought it was all over when a Republican Senator noticed the ring just after their first anniversary, but the Senator merely congratulated him and told Sam the information was forgotten. He'd had the funny feeling lately that they'd be outed so he was prepared. They'd sat down with Danny for an interview two years ago that was kept in CJ's office, giving Danny the exclusive when the time came.
Sam heard a knock on his door frame and didn't bother to look up. "Yeah?"
"Hi, Sam!"
A big smile spread across his face as he stood and looked up at the same time. "Ains! What are you doing.....you're pregnant! Congratulations!" He exclaimed as he gave her a big hug and a quick kiss.
"Thanks, Sam. You have a few minutes?"
"For you, I'll make the time. So what brings you back?"
"Tom accepted a job at the Smithsonian as curator at Space."
"Oh wow. You know, if you want your old job back, I'll fire Joe."
"Ah, yes. The S. Seaborn poison pen, no thanks. I'm actually going to see your wife to talk about an offer she made me when I left here. I'm looking for something on a part time basis."
"Ah, so when are you moving and where are you staying?"
"End of June and I'm at the D.C. Ritz."
"I actually meant where were you going to live, because the house next to us that Mara bought for it's pool is still empty. We use it as a guest house and we'd be happy to make you an offer you couldn't refuse."
"Really? I love that house and I could raid your fridge when I get cravings."
"Oh, God. I hear pregnant women cravings are scar, but with you, I don't even want to know," Sam teased.
"Ha. Ha. very funny. Speaking of pregnancy, I'm surprised you aren't a daddy yet."
"Mara had another very early miscarriage last year and she's forty now, so it's not looking too good."
"Did you guys ever try hormone shots or artificial insemination?"
"No. Mara doesn't believe in them for herself. She just keeps saying that if God wants us to have a child, we'll have one when and if it's meant to be."
"That sucks for you, Sam. I know how much you love kids."
"I love Mara more, though. Think about it, those hormone shots create mood swings. Mara and a mood swing are enough to set us on DefCon five."
Ainsley giggled, "Well, you'll just have to spoil my child rotten."
"That I can do no problem. Do you know the sex of the baby ?"
"Not yet. The baby was turned at my last ultra sound. We're still trying to decide if we want to know or not."
"I suggest you don't. It's fun to be surprised."
"Did you know last time?"
"No, it was too early. The first one was at about six weeks and the last one was at eight."
"I'm sorry, Sam."
"Thanks. Hey, I've got to go see Josh for a few minutes. Why don't you come with me and talk to Donna, then I'll take you to lunch."
"Can we go to Lick's and will you buy me licorice lollipops at Laura Secord?"
"I'll even throw in a Beaver Tail."
"You've got a date, Mr. Seaborn."
Sam went in and sat down in Josh's chair to wait for him. He could see Donna sitting on the corner of her desk chatting away with Ainsley, who was in her chair. Sam heard Ainsley laugh and grinned. He'd missed her since she left two years ago. They sent e-mail's occasionally and talked on the phone, but he hadn't actually seen her since her wedding. His gaze fell upon the two frames on Josh's desk. One was a set up picture of Josh and Donna with Sam and CJ on either side of them. To the casual observer it was just a group picture. The other frame held a note from Mara that she'd sent him after the first miscarriage, it read: 'Now you owe me eight shoulders to cry on. I'll deny this in the morning, but I luvya, Bu'. He wondered if Mara even knew Josh had it framed and kept it on his desk. Sam was just putting the frame back when Josh walked in the door.
"Who would have ever guessed that something from Mara would be one of the things I treasure."
"I always knew once your egos got over each other you'd be friends. Since I'm going to be gone for three weeks, I need you to keep on top of the final prep for the G8 summit. Everything we've agreed on is printed on yellow paper, non negotiables on red, things I want, if possible, on white and things I anticipate coming up and how I'd like them resolved on blue paper. Try really hard not to alienate anyone. Oh yeah, Mara's going to have her laptop with her so you can use her secure e-mail."
"Geez, your faith in me is so heart warming, buddy."
"Josh, to know you is to... be prepared."
"Keep it up, Sam, and I'm going to spread the rumour that Ainsley's baby is yours."
"Try it and I'll tell Donna what you're up to before you can tell the first person."
"You have been hanging around your wife too long, Sam. Evil doesn't look good on you."
"Have fun, Ballerina boy. I'm taking Ainsley out for lunch."
"I hope you have a lot of cash on you," Josh quipped ignoring the ballerina comment.
"Ready to go, Hayes? Sorry. Mitchell?"
"That's OK, Sam. I kinda of miss being called Hayes."
"I'm glad you are coming back, Ainsley. I missed you."
"I missed you to, Sam. I found myself wondering why you hadn't tried bribing me with food to do your work for you, then I remembered I was in Nashville."
Sam and Ainsley continued talking until they reached the limo. Ainsley teased him about living the high life, so Sam told her about the six month old plane and Mara's search for a helicopter. By the time they had finished their Homeburgers and Beaver Tails and were making their way to Laura Secord, Sam had caught up with everything happening in Ainsley's life. He bought her a dozen licorice lollipops and had them tied up in a ribbon.
"Now, this is a good bouquet. I almost don't want to eat one."
"I knew you'd say that," Sam replied and handled her one of two loose ones he had in his pocket.
"So, what time is your appointment with Mar?"
"Three."
"I'll walk you across the street then. You know when Leo finds out you were in the building and didn't go see him....."
"I saw him right after I spent half an hour with CJ."
"So you saved the best for last."
"Umm, yeah...sure, yeah," She teased.
"Evil Republican."
"Condescending Democrat," Ainsley laughed back.
************************
Leslie did a double take when Sam and Ainsley approached her desk. The protruding stomach threw her for a loop until she heard a southern accent.
"Ainsley? Oh my gosh! Congratulations."
"Thanks, Leslie. I know I'm a little early, but this one seems to think he has some pull with the Ambassador. So, how ya been?"
"Fine, not having as much fun as you obviously, but fine"
"I'm going in Leslie. I'll just be ten minutes, Ainsley."
Sam smiled when he opened the door, Mara was on the phone rolling her eyes and tossing wadded up pieces of paper at her window.
"I understand that, Senator, believe me I do, but what you're asking me to support would cost Quebec fifteen million dollars and Vermont would gain what? Two million, four million tops? It's basic math, Senator. Even a congressman can figure it out."
"Hey, sexy," Mara mouthed. "I'm glad I could crack you up, Sir, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to help you. If you insist on trying to do this, I'm going to have to crush it like a bug. I'm going away for a few weeks, but when I get back, I'll give you a call. We can do lunch and maybe figure out a way to help Vermont that won't hurt Canada."
"Webb?" Sam mouthed back, guessing who was boring her to death.
"Thanks, Senator. I will have a good time, and you have a good weekend."
"My God, that man is longer winded than Jed! I've been trying to get rid of him for twenty minutes."
"Yeah, but he's not that bad when you can cut him off early."
"You're a little late for a nooner, Sam."
"I took Ainsley to lunch and walked over with her."
"You must have been happy to see her."
"Yeah, she's moving back here. I just thought I should warn you, I offered the house to her and Tom."
"House? What house, Sam?"
"The pool house."
"Oh, yeah. Sure. It's empty and all but....."
"Mar, Ains hadn't left yet when you bought the house. She knows how much that pool means to you. I'm sure she's thinking she'll never even set foot in the backyard."
"You've got a point. I'll offer it to her. When are they moving?"
"End of June."
"Tom will be thrilled. Not!"
"He'll just have to deal with it. Did you notice my suitcase near the front door?"
"Yes, I did, thank you for not making me do it for a change. You will be rewarded."
"I love your rewards. I better get back to work. I'll see you when you come rescue me."
"That you will. You can send Ainsley in."
**********
Sam and Mara had been in Anguilla for a week. They sailed over to St. Martin the day before, went shopping, had lunch and dinner, spending the night on the boat. They'd been back at the beach house for a few hours when Sam went inside to refresh their drinks. In recent years, Mara had relaxed her 'no outside communications' rule. She brought her laptop and when Sam noticed he forgot to give Josh his cell phone, Mara told him he could check it twice a day. He agreed that it was reasonable to set a half an hour a day limit on phone conversations. In fact, Sam had only used the phone once to check in with his mom.
Sam fixed a pitcher of vodka lemonade and grabbed the tin of brownies Mara had made the other day. He noticed the cell phone on the counter and the flashing message bar. He checked it and found a 911 from CJ. He munched on a brownie as he hit the speed dial.
"Hello?"
"Where is the fire?"
"Put CNN on and see for yourself."
"No TV here, CJ. What's going on?"
"Well, Mr. Ambassador, I gave Danny your interview yesterday as a pre-emptive strike and it's going to run tonight. I'm going to walk into the afternoon briefing and the first question is going to be why your wedding was covered up."
"Crap, who broke it?"
"Julie Harris from the LA Times."
"Harris? Isn't she that snotty friend of Lily's that got pissed at Toby when he wouldn't let her interview the President."
"I think you're right, you don't think..."
"Oh, yeah. Lily never liked me and she hates Mara. She signed a nondisclosure for the First Family, not us. It's Lily. I'm sure she figured if she waited this long she could deny it, but she picked the wrong hack reporter."
"Well, I'm going with the standard 'The White House does not comment on the personal lives of it's staff'."
"Can you warn Leslie?"
"I already did last night when I gave Danny his interview back."
"No one knows where we are, lets keep it that way."
"I'll do my best. Tell Mara I say hi."
"Will do. Talk to you later."
Sam hung up the phone, ate another brownie and brought the pitcher and brownies out to Mara.
He waited until Mara finished a drink and ate a few brownies before he told her what was going on. Her response surprised him.
"Vengeance will be mine on Lily, but we had three more years of privacy than I ever figured we would."
"You're taking this better than I thought."
"What can I do? I'm certainly not ruining two more weeks of my holidays to deal with this. In fact, I think CJ should make it seem like we are both gone for a month. No one will be expecting us to be back a week early and we can get into our house without being ambushed."
"You are off for a month, aren't you?"
"No. I'm talking a week off in the middle of June to go to London and Venice with Abbey. I'll be back for a week, then leave again."
"I thought Donna was going on that trip? She was over the moon and Josh was whining for two days straight."
"Donna's still going. I'm tagging along."
"So when were you planning on telling me this?"
"When I thought of it. It just sort of slipped my mind."
"Did you remember to tell Leslie?"
"Yes, because she's taking the end of that week off. I think we should call your parents and mine and warn them not to say anything."
"That's an idea."
******************
Sam and Mara managed to get home without anyone waiting to shove a microphone under their noses. Two weeks was long enough for the media to go after someone else. Danny's interview had taken the wind out of the story. Everything was covered, so there was no reason for the press to be clamouring for answers.
Sam ignored a few 'you dawg' and 'lucky bastard' comments on his way to his desk. Ginger had a mischievous grin on her face and he knew he was in for a rough first day back.
"Sam, how could..."
"Ginger you danced with me at my wedding so shut up and give me my messages."
"You're no fun."
"Thank you, I work hard at it."
As soon as Sam walked into the Oval Office for a staff meeting, he reminded everyone that they were at his secret wedding, so he trusted they wouldn't be silly enough to make stupid jokes. He managed to halt any teasing before it could start. He thought he was home free until Jed stopped him on the way out.
"Sam, that was a pretty shrewd game plan you executed. You anticipated your opponents reaction and counteracted it. I think it's about time we played another game of chess. How about Sunday after lunch?"
"Of course, Sir. I think I can pencil in a loss on Sunday. Sorry I left you all to deal with my PR nightmare."
"Ah, it was nothing, Sam. Danny's interview put out the fire before it could really get going. I actually didn't hold you back just to give you a hard time. I'd like you to help Abbey and I out."
"How, Sir?"
"I'd like you to accompany Abbey on her European tour. You'd be my official representative."
"Thank you, Sir, but wouldn't the First Lady be your representative?"
"Abbey has her own agenda, Sam."
"Sir, could I take Ginger with me? Donna is going to be busy with your wife and from the sounds of it, I might need some help. Mara will be too busy shopping to be of any use to me. I'm sure Donna wouldn't mind sharing a room."
"Ginger's never been outside of the country with us has she?"
"She went to Nassau with us, but that was it. She went to Atlanta with me once and to Austin and that's the extent of her traveling."
"Tell Ginger to get her passport in order."
"Thank you, Sir. You might want to warn the Secret Service that if Ginger rushes you, she just wants to hug and maybe kiss you, not cause you bodily harm."
Jed chuckled, "I'll warn Ron. Now get back to work."
"Yes, Sir. Gladly."
Sam returned to his office and put on his upset face. He quickly called Ginger into his office and told her to close the door.
"Sam, I swear it was Carol's idea. I told her it was stupid but...."
"Ginger, stop babbling and sit down. I'm afraid we need to have a serious conversation."
"Sam?"
"The President is sending me away Ginger."
"What do you mean away? Sam, he can't just He can't"
"He can and he did. You made me promise that I'd take you with me if I ever left..."
"I'll have my desk packed up by the end of the day."
"You are going to have to make sure your passport is valid and up to date first."
"It is, not that I ever get to use it."
"Well, you'll need it since we are going to London and Venice. We leave late Sunday afternoon for nine days."
"What? We're going on the First Lady's trip?"
"Yeah."
"OH MY GOD!!" Ginger leapt out of her chair, shrieked and sat in Sam's lap to give him a big hug.
They were both laughing when Josh knocked once and opened the door.
"Whoa, Donna won't even get me coffee. How the hell do you get Ginger to give you a lap dance?"
"He takes me to Europe with him," Ginger replied.
"Europe? You get to go on the National Lampoon's European Vacation?"
"Yeah, just Ginger, Donna, Abbey, Mara and moi. I think my odds of getting lucky are pretty high, don't you?"
Ginger laughed, hit Sam on the arm and went back to her desk.
"I'm telling Donna you said that and since when do we refer to the First Lady as Abbey?"
"The worst Donna will do is say 'I'm not funny' and we, don't call the First Lady, Abbey. Only I get to."
"You know I liked you a lot more when you were scared of her. Once again, this is all Mara's fault."
"Yes, Mara is a cruel and evil dictator, hell bent on world domination and she's doing it one cup of coffee at a time."
"I have no idea what you are talking about and you just made me forget why I even bothered wasting my time coming to see you."
"Then my job here is done."
********************