Peppermint and Gold
After watching the
Christmas parade without too many problems Josh convinced me that he was fit to
drive so I let him take me back to the White House to pick up my car. He seemed to be doing better. He decided to go in to see if the President
was around. Josh was not too happy to hear the President called his apartment
last night. And that I forgot to tell
him until this morning. Well, I had a
lot on my mind last night and this morning.
I'm sure the President didn't expect Josh to call him on Christmas morning
anyway. I spent the day with friends and
am now lounging in the tub thinking about the events of the last month. Josh just called and he's coming over in a
little while with something for dinner.
I think any lingering confusion I had about last night has gone
away. I have come to the conclusion that
Josh just really needed a friend. If
that's all there is to it at this moment that's fine with me. Josh really is my
best friend and I don't want anything to ruin that. I glance at the clock, 7:00.
Half an hour till Josh said he would be over. I drag myself out of the
bubbles and throw on jeans and a sweater.
I put my hair up in a ponytail and debate whether or not to put some
make-up on. I decide against it. I plug
in the lights to the Christmas tree and light some candles. Normally I would put on a Christmas CD, but I
don't think that's a good idea right now.
The doorbell rings at
exactly 7:30. I don't think Josh has ever been so
punctual. I open the door and see he is
actually smiling. He's carrying a bag
full of Chinese take out and a smaller paper bag.
"Merry Christmas,
Donna." as he leans over and gives me a completely innocent kiss on the
cheek.
"Thank you."
I take the food from him
and put it on the kitchen table. Josh
stays in the living room and takes off his coat. I stand in the doorway and look at him for a
moment. He looks ten times better than
he did last night. He's wearing khaki
pants and a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, as
usual. He sits on the couch and puts the
other bag on the coffee table. I come
out of the kitchen and join him.
"So, did you see the
President this afternoon."
"Actually I did, he
had just come down to the Oval Office to check on something when I got
there."
"And?"
"And we had a nice
conversation. You were right. He did understand. Not to say that he wasn't
pissed at me for yelling at him in the middle of the Oval Office. But he was really nice about the whole
thing. I think Leo talked to him. He told me he is glad that I am going to get
some help and that if I ever needed anything to let him know. He also said he was glad you were with me
last night. Did I thank you enough for
what you did last night?"
"Yes, Joshua, you
did."
"Just making
sure. Let's eat before the food gets
cold."
We sit down at the
kitchen table and he dishes out the food.
We make small talk during the meal, nothing important. We gossip about Sam and Mallory and Danny and
CJ. When we're done I hand him a fortune
cookie.
"Read it."
"You don't need to
look far for the things that are important to you."
He smiles at me and I am
sure I am turning 5 shades of red.
"My turn," I break the cookie in half.
"You always know
just what to do."
"That's for
sure."
Josh squeezes my
hand. I'm sure I'm blushing again. I jump up to put the dishes in the sink. Is it getting warm in here or is it just
me? Josh wanders into the living room
and turns on the TV to get the football scores.
I watch him from the kitchen while I wash the dishes. He's stretched out
on the couch with his shoes off. He certainly looks more like himself
tonight. The twinkle in his eyes is
still missing but I have seen his dimples more than once since he got
here. I finish up the few dishes and go
into the living room. He curls his feet
up to give me room and I sit next to him on the couch.
"Anything good
on?"
"No," as he
turns off the TV. He sits up, faces me
and grabs the bag off of the coffee table.
"I didn't get a
chance to get you a real Christmas present.
I was too busy trying to keep from falling apart these past few weeks,
not that I succeeded or anything.
Anyway, I wanted to get you something but there weren't any good stores
open on Christmas Day so I had to shop at 7-11. This is the best I could do
there, but I promise I will make it up to you."
He hands me the package.
I really can't imagine what he bought me from 7-11. I reach into the bag and start to laugh as I
pull out a roll of Peppermint Lifesavers.
"Donna, I know this
is corny but words can't express how much of a lifesaver you were to me last
night. How much of a lifesaver you are
to me all the time. So this is just a
very small token of my appreciation. I swear I will get you something better
tomorrow."
I just stare and smile at
him until tears come to me eyes. I can't say a word. Josh just pulls me into a big hug and holds
me for a minute.
"I didn't mean to
make you cry, it's just a 59 cent pack of candy."
"Oh, Joshua."
I put the candy on the
table and reach for a tissue. He picks
up the roll and starts to open it.
"What are you
doing?" I scream at him
"Taking a mint, what
does it look like?"
"Don't open them,
I'm going to save them."
He starts to laugh and
reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out another roll.
"I was pretty sure
you would say that so I got two."
I give him a swat on the
arm and he pops a mint into his mouth and then does the same to me. We settle back on the couch, side by side,
our bodies barely touching. Neither of us
feels the need to talk right now. After
what seems like hours, it was actually 10 minutes, Josh finds his voice.
"Donna, can we
talk?"
"Sure, Josh, about
anything in particular?"
"About last
night."
"What about last
night?"
"I'm not sure how to
say this. I was in really bad shape last
night and I just want to make sure that I didn't send you the wrong message
about anything. I mean, we slept
together in my bed."
"Yeah, we did. But believe me I didn't get wrong idea about
anything. Sure we slept in the same bed,
but you were upset, sobbing and exhausted. Those things don't make for a
particularly romantic evening."
"True, but I just
wanted to make sure that, well, you know what I mean."
"I do. Look, I'm not going to lie to you and say the
thought of us being more than just friends has never crossed my mind. But for now, I love the way things are
between us. You are my best friend. I
know I can count on you. The harmless
flirting we do is great and if we want to hold hands once in a while and maybe
even share a kiss that's fine with me.
No strings attached. No offense,
but I am not interested in finding out if sleeping together would make our
relationship any better. I don't want to
take the chance that it would ruin everything."
"Donna, you have
once again taken the words right out of my mouth."
"Josh, you know I
love you, right?"
"Yeah, I do and I
love you too."
We just sit for a while
on the couch, watching the twinkling lights on the tree. Josh jumps at the sound of a siren
outside. I pull him towards me and he
puts his head on my shoulder. He's
shaking, I'm not sure if it's the siren or the conversation we just had. We stay like this long after the sound fades
down the street. I kiss his forehead and
he pulls away. There's a single tear
streaming down his cheek and I brush it away with my thumb.
"Now what,
Josh?"
"How about a
walk?"
"Josh, it's 10:00 at night and 20 degrees
outside."
"So, bundle up and
let's go."
I grab my coats, mittens
and hat from the closet while he puts his coat and gloves on. I look out the window and it is snowing. By the looks of it the snow has been falling
since Josh came over. There's couple on inches on the ground already. We head out the door and down the front
steps. It is beautiful out. We head over to the small park down the
street from my apartment.
"Let's swing."
"OK."
We swing in silence for a
few minutes. I think I even see the
twinkle coming back into Josh's eyes.
Either that or he's just really cold.
We jump off of the swings and walk around some more. The neighborhood kids must have been out,
there are remnants of snow angels on the ground.
"Look, snow
angels" as I lay down on the snow to make my own. "Come on Josh, your turn."
"No, I think I'll
pass."
"OK, then you can
help me up."
He reaches out to help me
up with his good hand. He pulls me up and doesn't let go of my hand. The snow has stopped and the wind is picking
up so we head back, still hand in hand.
"How about some hot
chocolate?"
"Sure, then I think
I should be going, we do have to go to work in the morning."
I put the milk on the
stove and get some cookies out of the cabinet. Josh has once again kicked his
shoes off and is sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, watching
football highlights. I put the cookies
and the hot chocolate on the end table and lay on the couch behind him. We eat and drink in silence while we watch
the TV. I'm still chilly from our walk
so I grab the afghan and cover myself up.
He leans his head back to look at me and he just smiles. God, I love those dimples. I smooth back his hair that's starting to
curl up from being wet with snow. He
sighs and puts his head back down to watch the TV. I prop my head up with my left hand and drape
my right one over his shoulder. I feel
myself start to doze off.
"Donna, it's midnight."
Josh is standing next to
me putting his coat on.
"Josh?"
"I'm going to get
going. We both need a good night's
sleep. I'll see you in the
morning."
I sit up on the couch and
he sits next to me for a minute.
"Thank you so much,
for everything. I don't know how to
repay you."
"Josh, you already
have, getting the help you need is all I ever wanted. I just want you to feel
safe and be happy."
"You make me do both
of those things, Donna."
He kisses me on the forehead
and heads out the door.
I head to the bedroom
thinking, this didn't start out to be the Christmas of my dreams but now I'm
beginning to think maybe it has been. I
smile as I look at the roll of candy in my hand.
The alarm blares out at
me. 5:00 already? I slam down the snooze button and pull the
covers over my head again. Nine minutes
later the alarm goes off again. Guess it
is really time to get up. The sun is out
and the streets have been plowed. That's
a good sign. I stumble into the shower. By 6:00 I am ready to leave. I can't help but wonder what kind of mood
Josh will be in this morning. I hope he
got some sleep.
The drive over to the
White House goes quickly, which is a rare occasion when snow blankets the
city. Usually things just come to a
complete stop. I guess lots of people
are on vacation today, but not the White House staff.
I don't see Josh's car in
the parking lot. Not that I really
expect him to be early or anything.
After a quick stop to get some coffee and muffins for us I am heading to
my desk. As soon as I sit down Charlie
is standing in front of me.
"He's not in yet, is
the President looking for him?"
"No one is looking
for Josh, this is for you" He puts an envelope in my hand and before I can
say anything turns back towards his office. I turn it over, look at it and
shudder. The Seal of the President of
the United States.
Yikes. It has my name on it so it
must be for me. I sit and open it with
shaking hands. Although I'm not sure why
I'm shaking, I mean, I talk to the President all the time. And I don't get nervous, at least not
anymore. I take out the card. It's a hand written note.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Donna,
I'm sure Josh has thanked
you for all you did for him on Christmas Eve.
If not, tell him to see me first
thing this morning! I just wanted to let you know how much I
appreciate all you have done for him
these last few months. Your concern for
him and for the rest of us has not gone unnoticed. You have gone above and beyond what is
expected of you. I am proud of you and I hope this coming year will be a better
one for all of us.
Jed Bartlet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I read it two more
times. I can't believe it. A personal note from the President. This is surely a first for me. I'm still staring at the card when Josh comes
in.
"Love notes from a
secret admirer?"
"Wouldn't you like
to know, actually it's a note from the President."
"Sure it is, bring
my schedule in please."
I follow Josh into his
office. He drops his backpack on the
chair and hangs up his coat. I put his
coffee and muffin on his desk. He sits
at his desk and puts his feet up on a stack of folders.
"Josh, I spent a
long time on those, please don't kick them over. And by the way that note really is from the
President."
"Then let me see
it."
"No, it's
personal."
"Personal?" as
he lifts one eyebrow.
"Joshua, you're
impossible. If you're nice to me maybe I
will let you read it later. Here's your
schedule. It's pretty light, not many
people are working today. Leo wants to
have lunch with you."
"Great, I'm sure he
wants to have complete play by play of my meeting with Stanley."
"I don't think so
Josh, he's just worried about you. If
that's all I'm going to go back out to my desk. Believe it or not, I do have work
to do. Eat your breakfast."
"Yes, dear" he
says with a smirk.
"Josh, flirting is
fine, saying "yes dear" is not."
"Donna, you're going
to have to start writing these rules down for me."
I stick out my tongue at
him and close the door behind me. I call
CJ to see if the press has gotten a hold of anything to do with Josh and his
meeting with Stanley. She assures me that no
one has mentioned it, not even Danny.
Josh spends a good portion of the morning in his office on the
phone. He must be making his own calls
for a change because he hasn't bothered me.
I checked on him a while ago and he did eat most of his breakfast. I keep busy with computer work and filing. The rest of the morning passes
uneventfully. Margaret calls to confirm
Josh's lunch with Leo and we make lunch plans of our own. I glance at the clock
and realize he only has twenty minutes before he is scheduled to meet Leo in
the mess. I get up to poke my head in
his office. He's in his chair facing out
the window with his feet on the windowsill.
"Josh, 20 minutes
until your lunch with Leo."
No response. I walk over towards Josh and sit on the desk
behind him. He's just staring out the
window, a million miles away. I try not
to startle him by lightly touching his shoulder.
"Josh, lunch in
20."
He spins around quickly
nearly knocking me off the desk.
"Sorry" He puts
his elbows on his desk and rubs his eyes.
"You OK, need some
ibuprofen?"
"Yeah."
I reach in his right hand
desk drawer and get a couple out of the bottle.
I get a bottle of water out of the fridge. By now Josh is standing up
and staring out the window at the snow.
"Take these. Did you get any sleep last night?"
"Yeah, actually I
slept pretty well."
He swallows the pills and
rolls down his sleeves. I straighten his
tie for him and grab his suit coat. He slips his arms in.
"Owwww."
"What's wrong"?
"Nothing, I just
bent my hand the wrong way."
"Speaking of your
hand, are you taking the pills?"
"Yes, dea... I mean,
yes, Donna."
"Good, why don't you
go out and get some fresh air for a minute before you meet Leo. It'll help your head."
"But it is 25
degrees out there."
"Last night is was
20 and snowing, you didn't have any problems then."
"OK, you win."
He heads down the hall
and I go to meet Margaret.
Margaret is in with Leo
when I get to her desk. I sit and
wait. I can't help but overhear them
talking in Leo's office.
"Leo, I'm just
saying that......"
"Yes, Margaret, I
will be nice to him. I know he's had a
rough couple of days."
"OK."
"You having lunch
with Donna?"
"Yes, Leo and I will
not pump her for information about Josh.
You'll have to get your information elsewhere. My lips are sealed."
"Since when? They
weren't sealed the day my divorce papers came."
"I was worried about
you."
"I know and if I
didn't say it then, I'm saying it now, thank you for caring."
"You're welcome.
Leo?"
"What?"
"You're going to be
late."
I hear Leo go out through
the Oval Office and Margaret comes out to grab her bag.
"How about a round
of "Who Has the Most Annoying Boss?" over lunch?"
"Nah, then we'd have
to invite Carol, Bonnie and Ginger."
"So is Leo going to
go easy on Josh at lunch?"
"I warned him, he
better."
Lunch with Margaret is
always a treat. It's something we love
to do although our schedules and the schedules of the bosses we adore don't
allow us to have lunch alone very often.
I tell her about the weekend with Josh without going into great detail. I do tell her about the Lifesavers. Upon hearing that she grants me the
"Corniest Boss" award. But she
knows how much the thought meant to me.
The hour passes quickly and we both need to get back to work. Josh isn't back yet when I return to my
desk. I didn't really expect him to be.
Sam and Toby stop by during their lunchtime wandering of the halls. They both
ask how Josh is doing and I just tell them better. Which I guess really he is. He still has that haunted look about him,
which a stranger wouldn't notice but I can see a mile away. Speaking of that look, Josh is coming down
the hall and things are not looking good.
He brushes past my desk
and goes into his office, slamming the door behind him. I am contemplating my next move, follow him
or stay right here, when the phone rings.
"Joshua Lyman's
office. Hi, Leo."
"Is he back
yet?"
"Yeah, Hurricane
Josh just stormed in 10 seconds ago.
Care to clue me in on what happened?"
"Somehow the press
got a hold of the fact that Josh met with someone from ATVA. You can imagine his reaction."
"Oh, God. How much more can he take right now?"
"Good question. Look, can you talk to him? I tried and I didn't get anywhere. How's his schedule looking for this
afternoon?"
"I'll talk to
him. He doesn't have too much planned,
just a few phone calls and an IMF meeting."
"Cancel the meeting,
I will send somebody else. Hold on a
second."
I glance through the
blinds at Josh; he's on the couch staring at the ceiling.
"Donna, the
President wants to meet with Josh. Call
Mrs. Landingham after he's calmed down to set something up. Don't rush him. The President understands. By the way he didn't eat much at lunch."
"Great, I'll see
what I can do. Bye"
I hang up the phone and
peek through the blinds again. Josh
hasn't moved from the couch. I quietly
enter the office, closing the door and the blinds. He's curled up with his back
towards me. I push him over a little so
I have a couple of inches to sit on. I
lean over him and prop my left elbow on the back of the couch and gently rub
his back with my right hand. He barely
moves.
"Josh, Leo just
called. He told me what happened. Want to talk?"
"Not
particularly."
"OK, I'm not going
to force you to talk. The President
wants to meet with you and I assume Leo sometime this afternoon. No rush. Tell you what, I will hang out the
DO NOT DISTURB sign for an hour. I'll try and set up your meeting with the
President for 4:00. It's only 2 now. Stay here and rest for a
while. Do you need anything?"
"Water and can you
turn out the lights?"
"Sure." I put the water on the table next to him and
cover him up with his overcoat. I turn
out the lights and go back to my desk. I
call Mrs. Landingham to set up the meeting.
Four o’clock is fine with the President.
She asks if Josh is OK and I tell her the truth, no he's not. She promises to send Charlie over with some
cookies. I call Margaret and let her
know the plans so she can tell Leo. I
open the door a crack and check on Josh, he seems to be asleep. For the next hour I manage to field phone calls
from various members of the press. Danny hasn't called and that is a surprise.
I start typing some memos for Josh when suddenly Danny appears in front of me.
"I figured it
wouldn't take you long to wander over here."
"Donna, I'm not here
to give you or Josh a hard time. I had
lunch with CJ and she suggested that I talk to you about scheduling some time
with Josh for later tonight or first thing in the morning. I want an exclusive and you're my only hope
of getting it."
"You got that right,
have a seat. Want some coffee?"
"Sure."
I get two cups of coffee
and bring them back to my desk.
"I'll convince Josh
to talk to you under a few conditions."
"What are you his
gatekeeper?"
"That would be a
good way of putting it. OK, here's the
deal. He's been through so much the last
6 months I don't want to see him get hurt any more than he already has
been. You interview him and him only, no
talking to the rest of the staff about him, except the President, of course."
"Of course. What else."
"You don't mention
his sister."
"Fine."
"You let him read it
first."
"Donna."
"I'm the only one
who can convince him to do this."
"Actually the
President can pretty much order him to do anything."
"OK, I'm the only
one who can get him to cooperate willingly."
"I'll grant you that
much, anything else."
"No, I think that's
it. I'll call you and set up a
time."
"You run a tight
ship Miss Moss, thanks for the coffee."
I glance at the clock;
unfortunately, Josh's hour of peace and quiet is over.
Josh is sound asleep when
I enter the office. I open the blinds to
the outside a little to let in the sun.
I look in the fridge to try and find something for him to eat. Beer, water and something that probably used
to be fruit of some kind. Yuck. I go back out to my desk and grab the apple I
brought back from lunch and a cookie Mrs. L sent over. I kneel down next to the couch and smooth
back Josh's hair.
"Josh, it's a little
after 3. You have some phone calls to
make before your meeting in the Oval Office."
"Go away."
I can tell this won't be
easy. Time for plan B.
"Josh, it's 25 out
and windy, do you want me to open the windows?"
"No, I'll get
up."
He reluctantly sits up.
"Have I ever told
you how mean you are, Donna?"
"Yes, Josh, as a
matter of fact you have, many times.
Here eat something."
"I already ate at
lunch."
I shoot him the
"don't lie to me" look.
"Leo has a big
mouth. Where's my schedule."
"It's on your desk,
you have a few phone calls to return. I
left a list. Yell if you need anything.
Oh, I need a few minutes to talk to you before you head over to the Oval
Office."
"OK, Donna?"
"Yes, Joshua."
"Thanks."
I smile and leave him
alone to eat and make the phone calls. I
want to warn him about my meeting with Danny before he sees the President.
Twenty minutes later the
door opens and Josh emerges. Looking
only slightly better.
"Josh, why don't you
run to the men's room and splash some cold water on your face. Try to look a little more alive."
He does and comes back a
few minutes later looking a little more pulled together.
"What did you need
to talk to me about?"
I push him back into his
office and close the door. He sits on
the edge of the desk and motions for me to do the same.
"This can't be good,
what's up?"
"Josh, I'm just
going to say this quickly so I would appreciate it if you didn't
interrupt."
"OK. Why do I have the feeling I am not going to
like this"?
"Danny came by to
see you when you were asleep. I wouldn't
let him in. He wants to do an
exclusive." He tries to say
something but I stop him. "I think
you should do it. I already set the
rules, no mentioning Joanie, no interviewing the rest of the staff about you,
except the President and you get to read it first. Danny agreed. So what do you think?"
"Actually, I hate
the idea, but I know I have to do it.
Thanks for running interference for me.
Set something up for first thing in the morning. I don't care what runs about me today. I'll tell my side tomorrow."
"Good. Now go or you're going to be late."
"I don't know how
long I'll be, will you wait for me? Also
I am expecting a package, just sign for it, and don't peek."
"No problem, so
what's in the package"?
"You'll see
later."
And with that he takes
off for the Oval Office. I sit at my
desk and wait, not so patiently for the package. I really want to know what's in it.
A messenger appears at my
desk a few minutes before 5. I sign for
the package. The messenger refused to
tell me where it was from. It's an
unmarked padded envelope with a box inside.
I shake it, nothing happens.
Guess I'll just put it on Josh's desk.
I go to set it down on the desk when something catches my eye. It's a
large note in Josh's handwriting.
DONNA, PUT THE PACKAGE
DOWN NOW AND LEAVE IT ALONE. JOSHUA
How does he know me so
well? I do as the note says. I go back to work for a while, finally
finishing up the important stuff about 5:45. No sign of Josh yet. I wander over to Margaret's desk.
"Are they still in
there?"
"Yeah, judging by
the smell wafting into Leo's office they are smoking cigars."
"Gross, but I guess
that's a good sign. If the President was
still furious at Josh he wouldn't share his stash of cigars, would he?"
"Probably not."
I hear the door between
Leo's office and the Oval Office open and Leo comes over by Margaret's
desk. He doesn't notice me at first.
"Margaret, where is
the file on...Oh, Donna, I didn't see you.
Josh is still in with the President, come in for a minute."
We go into his office and
he shuts the door.
"I just want to let
you know that things went well. I don't
know what you did for him this weekend but thank you."
"I really didn't do
that much. We just hung out. We didn't
even talk that much."
"Well, what ever you
did it helped. The President noticed too."
"I know, he sent me
a note this morning."
"Donna, I know he
doesn't always show it but he does need you."
"I know."
The President yells for
Leo from the Oval Office. I guess Josh
is on his way back to work. Leo stands
to go see the President. He stops in
front of me and leans over to say something.
"I don't care what
Josh says, you're a good girl" he says with a smile. Then he totally shocks me by planting a kiss
on my forehead. Only Leo could call me a "good girl" and have it melt
my heart.
I head back to my
desk. Josh is in his office with his
feet on the desk, eating another one of the cookies. I plop down in the chair opposite him.
"So, how'd it
go?"
"Actually it went
OK. Leo and the President agree with the
deal you made with Danny. I think I
better lock you away somewhere, the President has a thing for you. Mrs. Landingham better watch her step or he
may try to replace her with you"
Josh says with that old familiar twinkle in his eye. I'm sure I am blushing.
"I see my package
came. Guess you saw my note."
"I did and can I say
that it really annoys me that you know me so well."
"I know it does, but
I could say the same about how well you know me."
"True, so what's in
the package?"
"You'll see soon
enough."
Oh goody, something for
me.
"Get your coat.
We're going for a walk."
"Josh it's 20
degrees out."
"I know but I don't
care."
"OK, good thing I
didn't wear a short skirt today."
I grab my coat and he
opens the envelope, inside is a long thin box in Christmas paper. He shoves it in his coat pocket and grabs my
hand. Good thing I didn't wear heels
either because Josh is practically running through the bullpen. Once we get to the nearest empty hallway he
does slow down a little. He leads me out
the door into the Rose Garden.
"We're here."
"Where, the Rose
Garden, it's the dead of winter, there are no roses. Josh, I'm freezing."
"Donnatella, shut
up, please and sit down."
We sit on a marble bench,
which must have a temperature around -10, but I stop complaining. Josh takes my hand. He seems to be fumbling around for the right
words. Finally he speaks.
"Donna, I know I've
been a pain in the ass for a while now, especially the last few weeks. I know you tried to help and I just pushed
you away. I didn't mean to. It's just that I wasn't ready to talk. It's not because I didn't want to talk to
you."
"I know."
"I've said some
things to you recently that I'm not very proud of, especially the self worth
comment. I know that really did hurt you
but you were too nice to smack me for it."
"Believe me, I
wanted to."
"I'm sure you
did. I'm really just trying to apologize
for all I put you through. You didn't
deserve any of it. I'm sorry. What I said about you being a lifesaver was
true. Even though I didn't let you help
me in the way you wanted to you did help me, in ways you will never
understand."
I think I'm going to cry,
although the tears will probably freeze on my face.
"And about
"us", I like the way things are.
The way there are no strings attached, I'm not ready for any strings. If
you are I'm really sorry. I don't want
to ruin what it is we already have either.
Can't we just stay like this?"
"Staying like this
is fine with me Josh. If something
happens somewhere down the line, great, if not then I still have my best
friend. That's more important to me than
anything. That lifesaver thing, it goes
both ways. I do need you too."
Now Josh is getting
teary. He wipes at his eyes with his
gloved hand and reaches into his pocket for the box.
"I didn't know what
to get you for Christmas until this morning.
By the time I got to the office I knew exactly what I wanted but I had
trouble finding it. That's why I spent
most of the morning on the phone, making my own calls. Here, I hope you like it."
I take the box and pull
off one glove with my teeth. I unwrap it
and take off the cover. Inside is a
beautiful gold bracelet. Near the clasp
is a tiny gold charm, a life preserver, a lifesaver. For a few minutes all I can do is cry.
"Joshua, I love
it."
He takes off his gloves
and puts it on me. It's perfect.
"Donna, there's
something else"
"What? another
package."
"Not exactly. I think I'm ready to tell you what happened
these past few weeks. The meeting with Stanley was a real eye opener and I want
you to be the first one I share things with.
Are you ready to hear everything?"
"More than ready,
but can we do it inside?"
"No problem."
He holds out his hand and
I take it in mine. Maybe things will
progress and maybe they won't. But one
thing is for sure, Josh is going to get better and I'll be right there to help.
THE END
