Heart Cards, Flowers & Sweet Stuff

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003399" TEXT="#080000" background="03fc8c00erkjxk.jpg"> <div> <B>Shameless Valentine's Day fluff. </B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#0066CC" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#99CCFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Smiles, Tears, & Happy Endings</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFF99" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>  |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Smiles, Tears, Happy Endings"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Brandys Stories"><U>Brandy's Stories</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Other Side"><U>The Other Side</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Getaway"><U>Getaway</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Deserved Recognition"><U>Deserved Recognition</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The End of These Days"><U>The End of These Days</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Moving On"><U>Moving On</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lessons Learned Shared"><U>Lessons- Learned & Shared</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="So, I Had This Dream..."><U>So, I Had This Dream...</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id214.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Perfect Plan"><U>The Perfect Plan</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id215.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Incredibly Campy Road Trip From Hell"><U>The Incredibly Campy Road Trip From Hell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id216.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Whole New Story"><U>A Whole New Story</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id217.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What Are Friends For? 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She picked each card up and considered it carefully before placing it in one of the four piles she had arranged beside her. Sorting out the cards into their proper categories was something that Sarah Lyman took very seriously. First, there were the funny/silly cards- they were the ones you gave to people you liked in an okay sort of way. Then there were the funny/sweet cards. Those were the ones you gave to your good friends. The third category of cards were the sweet cards. Special friends got those cards. The last category were the ‘heart cards’. These cards were the most special of all, because they went to the people that you carried around inside your heart. It didn’t matter how far away they were or even if they had died and gone to heaven- you always had them in your heart. Sarah Lyman had a fairly large share of ‘heart cards’ to send out this Valentine’s Day, and since it was only three days before the big day, she was determined to get the other cards out of the way. Of course she had to do  Aunt CJ’s and Uncle Toby’s card today. It had to go all the way to California. </div> <bR> <div>   Donna Moss Lyman sat at the breakfast bar going through the three days worth of mail that had piled up over the long weekend that she and Josh had somehow managed to take. She smiled a bit to herself when she realized that she and her daughter had similar organizational habits. As Sarah was sorting her valentines into piles, Donna was sorting the mail in piles according to category as well. A rather interesting invitation caught her eye, and she was just about to open it when her daughter turned to her, concern creasing her six-year old brow. </div> <div>   " Mommy, are you sure Aunt CJ and Uncle Toby will get their card on the right day?" </div> <div>   " Well, we’re going to send it off in the late post today. It should get there on time" Donna replied, trying not to smile at her daughters  over-whelming  desire to be both punctual and organized. This was definitely not a trait she inherited from her father. Even with a decent watch, Josh still had a problem with punctuality. </div> <div>    " Maybe we should send it by special mail?" Sarah suggested.</div> <div>   " Well, we can if you want, but I don’t think it will be necessary" , Donna replied , coming over to sit next to her daughter. </div> <div>   " Okay…if you’re sure. I wouldn’t want Aunt CJ and Toby-Bear to think I’d forgotten about them." </div> <div> This time Donna gave in to the smile, but only so she wouldn’t laugh out-right at her daughters special name for Toby. She had given it to him when she was three, and he was telling her the Toby Ziegler version of  "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". In Toby’s version, Goldilocks made friends with the bears and they had a big, wonderful picnic together at the end. When Sarah, in a flight of three-year old whimsy decided to call Josh ’Daddy Bear’ and Donna ’Mommy Bear’ and herself ’Sarah Bear’- well, Toby naturally became ’Toby Bear’.  When the ’bear’ part of everyone else’s name began to fade away, Toby’s remained. Of course, Josh did do his best to remind Sarah of  Toby’s special name whenever possible.  Like it or not, Toby was stuck with the name- at least until Sarah grew out of it. </div> <div>   " Aunt CJ and Uncle Toby would never think you had forgotten about them. They know how much you love them", Donna assured her daughter with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.</div> <div>   " I know that. I just want to make sure. You always say it’s good to remember special people on special days. That’s why Daddy goes to temple on Grandpa Noah’s birthday, and on Aunt Joanie’s birthday. And that’s why you and Daddy watch your movie on Valentine’s Day and you’re anverseies" Sarah pointed out, the picture of a politician’s child who is striving to make her point.</div> <div>   " Anniversaries", Donna corrected, then said, " You’re very right. That’s exactly why we do those things. Did I ever tell you what a smart little girl you are?" </div> <div>   " Yes- but Daddy tells me more. He also says I’m a big girl, not a little one. He says ‘little’ girls can’t read and write as well as I do. Only big ones." </div> <div>   "Trust Daddy to foster that particular element of your personality " Donna muttered under her breath.</div> <div>    " What did that mean, Mommy?" Sarah asked, regarding her mother with confusion.</div> <div>    " It doesn’t matter right now- besides, don’t you have an awful lot of Valentines to finish before supper?" </div> <div>    " I sure do. We better stop talking now, huh, Mommy?" </div> <div>   " That’s might be a good idea", Donna replied with a satisfied little smile. When it came to dealing with Lyman’s , conversational misdirection was always a handy tool. </div> <bR> <div>   When Josh came home an hour later, he found his daughter still hard at work on her valentines and Donna preparing supper. Sometimes it still shocked the hell out of him, how domesticated his life had become. Of course the biggest shock of all was what an incredible kick he still got out of it. He just wished  the news he was about to deliver could come at a better time. Deciding that softening the ground with a few well placed words might help, he walked into the kitchen and exclaimed, " Man, am I lucky? I get to come home to the two most beautiful ladies in the world." </div> <div>   This earned him a delighted and nearly bone -crushing hug from his exuberant daughter, and a knowing smile from his wife. Maybe he had laid it on a trifle thick in Donna’s presence. She was pretty sharp at picking up on signals. As soon as Sarah unwrapped herself from around her father and Josh was able to breathe again, he walked over to the counter where Donna stood. Stealing a carrot out of the salad that Donna was preparing, Josh gave her a quick kiss. </div> <div>   " I missed you", he said, adding a full dimpled smile for good measure.</div> <div>   " I missed you too… and I have a feeling I’m going to be doing a little more of that if that effusive greeting was any indicator. Am I right?" </div> <div>   " How on earth did I manage to marry such a smart woman?" </div> <div>   " I took pity on you", Donna replied with a smirk, then gave him a conciliatory kiss on the cheek.  " Now answer my question."</div> <div>   " Well, see…here’s the thing…I’ve got this meeting with Governor Altman in Virginia. He’s thinking about throwing his hat in the ring, and …"</div> <div>   " This is the only time he can see you?" </div> <div>   " Yeah" Josh replied, doing his level best to look properly contrite. She could tell that despite the fact he would likely be missing one of their anniversaries he was excited about the prospect of this meeting. She still got charged up seeing that look of excited purpose when he knew he was working for something good and true. Not that she was going to let him off the hook too easily. </div> <div>   " So how long will you be gone? " </div> <div>   " Well…" </div> <div>   " That’s very deep, Josh- but it’s not exactly an answer." </div> <div>   " I have to be in Richmond tomorrow morning- early and then he wants me to accompany him to Roanoke. So, I probably won’t be able to be back until late on the fourteenth or early on the fifteenth" </div> <div>  Josh waited for one of two reactions- the minor explosion or the big chill. The explosion was doubtful with Sarah sitting ten feet away, so he was preparing himself for the big chill when he looked into her eyes.  Surprisingly, he saw nothing more than regret and resignation. No anger. No resentment. He was missing both a fairly important anniversary and Valentine’s Day, and he wasn’t getting any sort of flack for it. Something was definitely up. </div> <div>   " You okay?" Josh asked  softly, so Sarah wouldn’t overhear. </div> <div>   " Yeah." </div> <div>   " Are you sure?" </div> <div>   " Yeah…I’m…let’s talk about it later, okay?"</div> <div> " Okay. As long as you’re sure…I’m sorry about tomorrow night and about Valentine’s Day." </div> <div>  " It’s okay. I understand." Donna walked over to where Sarah sat and said, " Sweetie, let’s start clearing the table , okay? Supper’s almost ready." </div> <div>   " Okay Mommy. Daddy, if you’re going to be gone on Valentine’s you better remember to get Mommy a special heart card- and some pretty flowers and maybe some sweet stuff too." Sarah suggested wisely. </div> <div>   " That’s a good idea, kiddo. Mommy deserves all that and a lot more." </div> <div>   " You bet, Daddy", she nodded as she  collected her box of cards and walked to her room to put them away.  Josh watched her leave, her blonde ponytail bouncing behind her and turned to Donna with a grin. </div> <div>   " You ever think that she’s not really a kid at all- just a very short adult?" </div> <div>   " All the time." </div> <div>   " I really am sorry about going away", Josh said walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. </div> <div>    " It really is okay, Josh. But I want to do something tonight, before you leave…" </div> <div>   " What?" </div> <div>   " After Sarah goes to bed, I want to curl up on the sofa and watch ‘our movie’ , as Sarah refers to it. Okay?" </div> <div>   " Sure. Can’t mess with tradition", Josh replied. </div> <div>   " Good." </div> <bR> <div>     Their ‘movie’ had been an anniversary present from CJ the year after Sarah was born. It was comprised of still photographs and video from assorted appearances on the both campaign trails, as well as footage from their wedding and Sarah’s first screen appearance when she was four days old. It was a visit with all their fondest memories that they took at least once a year. </div> <div>   They were curled up together on the sofa watching as the images flew by and Donna felt a wave of nostalgia hit her for those  days when they were all together. It had been such a magical time- especially after she and Josh had gotten their feelings for each other sorted out. She got all teary when she saw the footage of their wedding. Their wedding had been such a final part of the healing for all of them- giving them a wonderful memory of May to replace all the tragic and near tragic ones. </div> <div>   When the first images of Sarah, all pink and wide-eyed in her father’s arms came on the screen fresh tears began to fall. It was at that moment that Josh turned to her and spoke.</div> <div>    " Okay- I know you always get all misty when we watch this…but , Donna- this is off the charts, even for you. Please tell me what’s wrong." </div> <div>   " Nothing… I just… I’m going to miss you and I was thinking… we’re going to need a new tape soon." </div> <div>   " Yeah- Sarah’s going to start demanding more screen time. She’s already starting to grumble about not getting to see enough of herself on this one" Josh replied, chuckling. </div> <div>   " Not just for that reason…" Donna replied with a definite air of mystery. </div> <div>   " What else? " </div> <div>   " Well… it was supposed to be part of your Valentine’s present- but since you’re not going to be here, I guess it’ll just have to wait." </div> <div>   " Ah, come on Donna! That’s not fair. You already put it out there. That’s like making a promise and then taking it back."</div> <div>   " Oh, you mean like making sure you are here for every anniversary- the only legitimate excuses being a national emergency or alien abduction."</div> <div>   " Remind me to hurt Sam for telling you about the Fort Knox thing, okay?" </div> <div>   " Don’t change the subject. You promised!" Donna pouted. </div> <div>   " Yeah, cause you never do that…Can’t you just give me a hint?" Josh whined.</div> <div>   " I already did. I can’t help it if you weren’t listening." </div> <div>   " You did not. All you said was…. Wait a minute. Why do we need a new tape? Is there going to be something  new to add?" Josh asked, getting a really happy, but goofy grin on his face. </div> <div>   " That doesn’t actually qualify as a guess", Donna observed, her grin matching his. </div> <div>   " Well, that settles it then." </div> <div>   " Settles what?" </div> <div>   " I’m calling Governor  Altman, and rescheduling." </div> <div>   " What exactly are you going to tell him?" </div> <div>   " I’m telling him that there’s no way I’m leaving my newly pregnant wife alone on Valentine’s Day. I can tell him that, right?" Josh asked , a flicker of doubt passing over his features.</div> <div>   " Yeah, I guess that’ll work. Just tell him he can’t repeat it to anyone until we do." Donna replied with a majestic little wave of her hand. Of course she was soon laughing and rolling her eyes as Josh did his ‘who da’ man’ dance on the way to the phone .  One thing was for sure- February was definitely a month for beginnings  with them, and there was nothing wrong with that. </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> The End </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>