By: chipmunk and Imp
Category: Romance
Pairing: hinting at Leo and Margaret
Characters: Leo, Margaret and Mallory calls
Rating: TEEN – P&SC (See Rating Chart Below)
Beta By: Lynn
Warning! I’m rushing this
out to post it for the holiday.
Thanks to Lynn (Imp) for the idea and the brainstorming to get my muse going again! Thanks to Bev (adoreleo) for encouraging me to just start writing! And for help with DC area directions!!
Archived at:
http://www.geocities.com/chipmunkswhimseys/WinterMain.html
Disclaimer:
Without Prejudice, the names of all characters* contained here-in are the
property of NBC, WB, Bravo, A John Wells Prod., from TV show, The West Wing.
They are the creation of Aaron Sorkin. No infringement of these or any copyrights is intended, and are used here without permission.
No monetary benefit is received or anticipated.They own them; therefore, they do not belong to me. I only borrowed them , with my humble thanks to them. Any resemblance, herein, to any person living or dead, is just a coincidence.*Any Original Characters developed by me and found in this or any of my fics, belongs solely to me.Acknowledgement: A 'grateful' and 'enormous' thanks, to the actors and actresses,
who portray these characters 'brilliantly' and bring them to life in my head.
Feedback: We’d love it hear your opinion! PLEASE! It helps to improve our writing!
Note: This stand alone fic and is NOT connects to any of my prior series !!
Summary: A forgotten memo and a sleepy Leo start an unusual Saturday. A brisk autumn afternoon and a walk in the falling leaves, lets Leo and Margaret relax for once and possibly move closer to each other! Thanksgiving finds them together in a place that neither anticipated.
*****
It’s that fall time of the year again in DC and
the heat and humidity of summer have long vanished. The air is now cool and crisp, with an earthy
scent from the multi-hued leaves that crunched wonderfully underfoot. All this Margaret thoughtfully
remembers enjoying on her walk home last night, when taking advantage
of the fact that Leo sent her home early on a Friday night. If you can call just before
It’s the wee hours of the morning and Margaret is almost
awake with her thinking, her brain starts first with her. Suddenly she is bolting up in bed, “Oh my
God” her hand stops the sound from her lips. Margaret just remembers that she forgot to
retype a memo for Leo last evening.
Glancing to the alarm clock, she discovers it’s just
Margaret really had meant to retype the memo yesterday that Leo needs today for his Saturday morning meeting. He rushed her out so early last night that she totally forgot that she was planning to do it in the quiet of the evening, once the White House finished the regular business day.
Swinging her legs to the floor, she’s thinking, ~ I can
get it done in no time with it being a quiet Saturday morning. Leo’s meeting is not till
All during this rationalizing in her head, Margaret is hurrying to dress. She’ so glad that she indulged in a relaxing bubble bath the evening before, which is helping to save her some time now. Margaret has a mission to complete with a dead line of 9AM, when she knows that Leo will come striding in, ready to take on the world, or worse, a few grumpy Republicans on a Saturday.
*****
Rushing in to work, Margaret arrives just before
Narrowing her eyes, Margaret glares around behind her at Leo’s closed office door. She has her suspicions, as to where she can find the missing memo. Leo must have retrieved it from her files, after she left last night, after Leo had given her the distinct impression that he was leaving right behind her.
Margaret quietly slides the file drawer shut, no sense disturbing the peace and quiet of the Saturday morning by slamming it. With the obvious place to look being in his office and with her office keys still in her hand, Margaret steps to his door and gets a second surprise ~His door is unlocked! I’m going to crown him royally for forgetting to lock it and God help him, he had better not be in there working. I never thought to ask security at check-in, if he was in the White House ahead of me, like I usually do!~
The first thing that Margaret’s aware of, as she opens the door, is the soft glow of the lamps in his office. Her eyes immediately lock onto his desk, prepared to see him sitting there reading the memo.
Instead, Margaret finds him fast asleep at his desk, his head resting down on his folded arms, with his face away from her. The angry rant on the tip of her tongue swiftly dissolves. His whole body is slumped in weariness, Margaret observes, as she quietly moves over behind his desk. Now that she’s inside his office, Margaret notices some classical music playing quietly in the background, something soft and relaxing. Probably what lulled Leo to sleep.
Margaret moves around behind Leo’s chair and places a hand on his shoulder, crouching down closer to view his face. It looks so different in slumber, so relaxed and it has a softer, younger look to it. A look that the rest of the world never gets to see. Only Margaret and a few others at the White House have ever been privy to Leo like this.
Margaret sighs sadly, knowing that Leo has not been home at all last night, recognizing the suit he’s wearing, as the one Leo had on yesterday. Margaret raises her hand and softly runs her fingers through his hair, admitting to herself that not all of his worry lines disappear in sleep any longer. This tremendous job that Leo does for the President has aged him. But, then again, this job has aged all of them and more than just physically.
Margaret has found over the years that Leo is a very sound sleeper, once he actually manages to get into a deep sleep. Power sleeping Margaret calls it. This is a time that Margaret can be more personal and caring with him, not that she wants her feelings for him to be known, but Margaret can indulge in a gentle touch to the man she more than admires. Her eyes sweep over his head, beneath her caressing fingers, noting that the silvering hair still has a touch of the reddish gold that Margaret remembers from their first years together.
Margaret then shifts her eyes to watch the soft movement of his body, as he breathes slowly and deeply in his sleep. Margaret knows that she really needs to get Leo up and move him over to his sofa. How he’s positioned now, on his desk, is not going to be very restful, as it’s a result of exhaustion.
Before Margaret wakes him, she first moves to close the doors to his office and turns down the lights, deciding to leave the soft music playing. This way, if Leo wakes enough while moving to open his eyes, he’ll think it’s still nighttime. This is not her first time of walking a sleeping Leo to a sofa or a bed.
Once Margaret is done preparing the room, she returns to Leo’s side and whispers in his ear "Leo. Leo.” Margaret gives his shoulder a tiny shake and she gets a small ‘humph’ from him in response, “Leo, lets move you to the sofa. Up you go.” With a hand under his arm she encourages him to rise, “You’ll sleep better lying down."
Leo, still mostly asleep, allows Margaret to lead him over to the sofa and is mumbling in his sleep on the way, “Whatever you say, Margaret. Mmmm… Thanks, mmm… you always take such good care of me. MMmm… It’s no wonder I love…mmm.”
Margaret smiles at his soft murmurs and feels a deep warming glow inside her. He’s her Leo and he really does appreciate what she does for him. His subconscious is telling her that now.
Margaret carefully maneuvers her sleepwalker around the end of coffee table and Leo continues with his mumbling, even softer to himself with the next breath, “Maybe, mmm… shouldn’t really say that last part, but…?” His brain refuses to work enough to help Leo to figure it out. He trusts Margaret totally to do what’s best for him and Leo obeys her easily in his sleep.
Margaret thinks her gruff Leo McGarry is so cute when he’s half-awake and so manageable. She slowly walks behind him, guiding him by holding him at one upper arm and a hand at his waist, as he tends to sway a little to one side, with every other step.
Margaret finally gets him successfully around the coffee table and she avoids allowing Leo to make a try for his favorite chair, by putting her body between him and it. She glances around Leo, to his sofa, noting that his throw cushions are still propped conveniently in the corner. Margaret hesitates their progress for a moment, as she reaches behind her to grab his Air Force blanket off the back of the chair.
In doing so, Margaret briefly lets go of his arm, allowing Leo to smoothly glide from Margaret hold at his waist and Leo sinks sleepily down onto the couch. He instinctively tucks a cushion under his head, quickly lying on his side and facing out to her. His eyes may have never opened during the journey and they’re definitely closed now.
Margaret settles Leo down to sleep on the sofa, by gently placing Leo’s blanket over him. She steps to the end of the sofa where his feet are dangling off the edge and slips his shoes off, tucking the blanket around his feet. Margaret turns back to check Leo’s face to see if he’s comfortable. Bending close, she makes a few minor adjustments to finish smoothing out the blanket over his shoulder. She can’t resist reassuring him with as soft whisper, “There you go, Leo. All tucked in. Sleep well.”
Leo can just smell a whiff of her perfume and he thinks it’s a lovely dream. Being nearly asleep, Leo slightly turns his head upwards and puckers up his lips, begging for a kiss, as if to thank Margaret for her acts of kindness.
Margaret almost laughs out loud
at Leo wanting a kiss to finalize the tucking in. She leans over and just kisses his forehead. Wise enough not to risk placing her lips too close
to his.
Tucking his chin down to his chest, Leo mumbles softly, rambling, as sleep reclaims him, "Can we go out to breakfast later? Mmmm… you know it’s my favorite meal to eat out.” Leo ends with a long contented sigh.
Margaret wonders what he’s dreaming about already, with Leo talking about food. ~Maybe he’s hungry. Did he eat at all last night? ~
She again straightens the edge of the blanket. When her knuckles brush against his hand underneath, Leo instinctively clasps her hand, giving it just the hint of a kiss, before tucking it against his chest.
What woman could resist such a touching gesture? Margaret sits on the coffee table and indulges him and her for a few minutes. Leaning toward him, resting her chin on her other hand, Margaret watches Leo fall back into a deeper and more restful sleep. Margaret starts to relax, while Leo holds her hand clasped in his against his body. Margaret can feel Leo breathe slowly in and out.
When Leo’s breathing tells her that he’s fully asleep, Margaret grudgingly slips her hand out of his, needing to get back to the business she came in for, early this morning. ~To retype that memo that Leo needs for the meeting.~
*****
As she leaves him to get some real sleep, Margaret’s mind starts on a plan. It’s still early and Leo can get three more hours, before he has to get ready for the meeting. Margaret knows he’ll grumble a bit when Leo wakes after so short of a night, but Margaret first plans to have coffee waiting for him, as soon as his eyes open. After his first cup, she’ll send him to shower and change. That should finally wake him up.
Margaret makes a pit stop on her way out, to glance in Leo’s closet. She wants to check by the dim lighting that he’ll be able to change into a fresh suit or maybe she can convince him that he should opt for the more casual clothes from his overnight bag. The ones that he keeps in there for his last minute visits to Mallory’s.
*****
Margaret reenters Leo’s office when it’s time to wake him up. First, she opens the blinds slightly and turns on the lamp on his desk. Moving back over to his closet, Margaret gathers his fresh clothing, selecting the casual ones that she did find stored there earlier, hoping that he’ll not growl too much about them. Taking his clothes, his loafers and his shower kit, Margaret lays them on his conference table, in easy reach.
Knowing that she has let Leo sleep as long as possible, Margaret again sits on the coffee table. Leo hasn’t moved since she left him there, and he looks so much younger, so relaxed and sleeping so trustingly.
When Margaret shakes his shoulder, Leo again instinctively seeks her hand, as he hears her voice in his sleep. Leo tucks her hand that’s again clasped with his, back to his chest. He was sleeping so wonderfully and he’s still so very sleepy.
For once Leo doesn't want to wake up. Margaret’s hand is curled to rest over his heart and he won't let go. Leo snuggles his face down to their joined hands and his lips touch a tiny kiss to Margaret’s hand in his sleepy state. His mind is wavering between sleep and slumber. Since that is all of his Margaret that he can hold right now, he snuggles down and back into a deeper sleep.
Margaret tries again to gently wake
him. “Leo, its
Leo again only wakes partially and then he tries to gently pull Margaret down with him to cuddle.
As much as Margaret would love to, she knows that can’t happen in the office or anywhere else really. Margaret is so glad she’s not sitting on the edge of the couch or she might have given in to Leo wanting her to lie with him. Margaret can still smell his cologne from yesterday. It’s definitely safer for her to remain on the coffee table. Her heart is touched that in his uninhibited sleep Leo wants to hold her close.
Sitting on the coffee table, with her long legs, Margaret’s knees are resting against the front of the couch. Leo’s elbow brushes on her knee. He pulls his knees up to touch hers and Leo keeps them there, as if to snuggle up again hers, while still holding her hand. Only Leo could work out a way to cuddle with her and not even have Margaret on the couch with him!
As much as she hates to end his much needed sleep and loving his unique way to be closer to her, she knows that she’s going to have to be firm with him or he’ll not have time to get ready and have his breakfast before his meeting. And he damn well is having something to eat this morning, or her name is not Margaret. Her smile softens, knowing he’ll love the surprise breakfast the she planning for him.
“Leo, it really is time to get up.” At his mumbling that he wants to stay where he is, she sighs knowing she has to be drastic. “Leo! Time to get up or you’ll be late. The President is counting on you!”
Well… that got the needed response, as Leo’s body immediately pops up into a sitting position, with his socked feet on the floor. His leg is still touching hers and he had unknowingly dropped her hand when his eyes flew open.
She hands him the coffee mug that she had brought in for him, with a sad apologetic smile to him for using his love of the President to get the result that was needed.
Leo rubs some of the sleep from his eyes with a quick swipe, as he scans the room with tired eyes, “You know, Margaret, one of these days I might just have to cheerfully choke you for using dirty tactics like that.”
“I learned from the best, Leo!” Margaret smirks, as she watches him take his first tentative slips of coffee. Watching the shift in his facial expression to bliss, as it starts the waking up process for him. He so enjoys his coffee, especially the first one of the day. Just one of the reasons she keeps him a constant mug going, not that it’s good for him, but she has to choose her battles.
“OK, no letting you in the Sit room again, when I’m working on a project. You might want to take over for me. You actually do run most all of the White House from my office anyway.” He belatedly points out the exception, “Short of the Oval office.”
“Bet your Ass, Leo!” She grins at his teasing her, like he’s so worried she’ll take command the Sit room.
Lowering his head, he chuckles at her bantering with him. He leans forward and sets his coffee mug on the table in front of him. Still leaning forward, Leo yawns and rubs his face with both hands. Moaning and rubbing harder this time to get some life back into it.
Margaret can’t contain the sigh of disbelief from escaping her lips at his antics, ~No wonder he has so many lines and creases on his face, with the way he wakes himself up.~
Hearing her sound of rebuke, Leo flashes a small sleepy smile at Margaret and then bends farther over to snag his shoes from under the coffee table and slips them on. Tying them by instinct. His elbow bumps Margaret’s leg a couple times in the process, since she’s not bothering to get up out of his way, but just sitting there enjoying watching him perform the simple act. The third time he manages to bump her, she teasingly shoves back with her hand, catching him off balance.
Leo falls slightly to the side and remarking, “Hey. I’m still asleep. Are you picking on me?”
Margaret stands holding her hand out to him to indicate that it’s the time to get on his feet and go. “Well somebody’s gotta keep you in line.” She’s not sure if he’s aware that it’s the same hand he was hugging just a few minutes ago. And that’s fine. It’s just their way. They have a closeness that’s hard to define. She walks a still sleepy Leo to the door and sends him down to the locker room to shower.
After handing her his now empty coffee mug, he glances to the items she holding out to him, “Casual, Margaret? This is an official White House meeting.”
She gives him a look and informs him, “This is Saturday, Leo and it’s a committee meeting, not a group of Congressmen.” At the look of indecision on his face she hints, “When you get back, I have something nice planned for you, so don’t waste any more time. Now go on.”
Leo doesn’t protest any longer, but takes the clothes and shuffles out to find the locker room. He really did need more sleep, if he’s giving in so easily and bending his standard of protocol in the White House.
*****
While Leo is gone to shower, she calls to order a really nice breakfast for them both. She plans on it being delivered from that fancy restaurant that he loves to sneak off to, when he want to indulge his expensive palate. She knows that Leo has connections to the head chef there, because she has used it before when she would call for his reservation. The chef and Leo have become friends through their love of food preparation. The chef loves to spoil Leo and is pleased when Margaret can let him know if Leo was anticipating if a particular item would be available that night, so he could arrange it for Leo. Margaret is sure that he’ll help her this morning.
The menu she decides on from the chef’s recommendations is a fresh fruit cup, Eggs Florentine, which he lovingly describes to include eggs, spinach, cream, cheese and a hint of nutmeg. Margaret asks the chef to make it as healthy as he can. She’s hoping that he can actually out do himself and not let Leo figure out that it has low-fat cheese and low cholesterol eggs. She adds, just to round out the meal, whole-wheat toast and coffee. Of course she includes Leo’s favorite morning beverage, tomato juice.
After hanging up with the restaurant, pleased with the arrangements for delivery, Margaret starts on her next idea of maybe she can set up the table in his office with real china. Picking up the phone she quickly dials her friend Joyce down in the formal occasions coordinators department, to see if she’s in this early on Saturday morning. That department has to handle so many events on the weekends that she’s possibly there early to deal with them. She should be able to indulge Margaret and loan her two place settings and maybe a nice linen tablecloth. Margaret will let her know that she’s surprising Leo with a fancy delivered breakfast.
*****
When Leo returns after
his long warm shower, he loves the surprise of a lovely table set for two and
after removing the silver covers, he sees that Margaret is hovering to see if
he approves. He can’t resist teasing, “what no grapefruit?” They both know Margaret and her
grapefruits.
She smiles happily at
him bringing up their old banter, “Leo, you said that just to get a dig at me
for pushing you to eat more grapefruit.
You once even resorted to fibbing to me about having half a grapefruit!”
He smiles at her, “This
is wonderful, Margaret. Thank you and no
I did not lie. I did eat a grapefruit
that morning, just not before you asked me, much to the chagrin of the officers
in the Sit Room.” He grins at her in
appreciation for her thoughtfulness this morning.
Even though Margaret is
getting the advantage of a nice breakfast as well, she still assumes that it
will be a working breakfast. He does have a schedule this morning.
When
Leo sees her tuck the yellow notepad and a couple pencils next to her plate, as
he seats her at the table, he takes the liberty of transferring them easily to
his desk. He knows before he even turns
back to her that she’s about to protest and he nips it
in the bud. “No way, Margaret. The government can just take a break, while
we enjoy our meal. We’re going to give our attention to this lovely
breakfast that it deserves, after you going to all the trouble of arranging
it.”
Margaret
nods her head smiling and quietly agrees, “Thank you, Leo. I hope you enjoy it, as much as I plan on
enjoying it.”
Leo
encourages her to begin their meal, “Bon appétit, Margaret.”
During the meal Leo inquires, trying to make casual conversation, “This is wonderful Margaret. Is it from my chef friend’s restaurant? You know how much I love his place.”
She just smiles her confirmation to him and he digs in more enthusiastically.
A
few bites later Leo asks her, “Where are you going for the long Thanksgiving weekend coming up?”
Margaret
looks at him like he’s asking a dumb question, “I’ll be right here in DC and at
the office with you on Friday.
Thanksgiving Day is just one day.”
Leo
concedes her point and then asks her. “Well then, will you go out for a nice
dinner on Thanksgiving? I imagine that
there’s not much sense in anyone cooking for just one, or
are you going over to a friend’s place.”
Margaret
lights up at his interest and reveals her plans with joy, “I’m working with the
church, on the holidays again this year.
I’m volunteering to serve at the community dinner for the homeless and
the needy.” Margaret drops in, “Since I
don’t have any immediate family or relatives in DC.” She continues to explain more about the
dinner. “They have so many attend and
they can use all the helping hands they can get.” She switches gears and asks him in
return, “I thought you were going to be
here at the White House with the First Family for dinner?”
He
reveals some information that that the President just gave him this morning,
when he had stopped by on the way back and checked in with him, “The First
Family’s plans have changed and they’re now going to
“I
could go along of course, but I really don’t want to intrude on their private
family dinner.” Margaret gives a
concerned look at his confession.
Leo
sighs and knows he should explain why he doesn’t want to celebrate the holiday
with his best friend and family. “You
know how it will be... This will be one
of the few times that ‘just the Bartlet’s’ can be together this year. It’s family time and
I know they all love me as family and they did tell me to extend their
invitation to Mallory, but she’s going
to be with her mother in
His
mind is still on the upcoming weekend. ~This is my first year of being on my own for
Thanksgiving and I really want
to be near the White House with the President gone. I know it will ease his mind to know that I
am close by, if anything arises that needs attention next weekend.~ Glancing
to Margaret he contemplates, ~maybe I’ll try to find time out where she’ll
be volunteering.~
Margaret
knows that Leo has a way of handling the President that most of them find
bewildering, but she still has a question about his possibly not accepting
their invitation to Manchester for Thanksgiving. “Leo, just how are you going to manage to
decline the Presidents invitation? I
assume he has not made it an order yet, for you to attend. So what are your tactics? I hope you have a good plan.”
Leo’s
spirits lift at her seeing right to his next problem. “Well, I may try pure reason and logic on
him, by pointing out that Josh will be gone to visit with his mom and we can’t
ask him to stay here and cover the White House, as it’s not been that long
since his dad died and the holidays are still tough for his
mom and him. CJ is going to
Margaret
nods her head in agreement. “Good plan!
That just might work, Leo. You
know the President worries about all of the senior staff getting to see their
families in a timely manner, especially for the holidays.”
Leo
is happy that she approves of his tactics to get out of going to
Margaret
knows Leo must have broken a lot of hearts when he was
young and carefree. And
God help her, he still ‘has it’. She
would follow him to Hell and back for a vacation, if he asks her with his charm
at full volume. ~Like he had to ask!~ “Sure, Leo.
Where you go, I go. As long as I
don’t have to do any press briefings.”
Leo
laughs at her tacking on a condition.
They have both been too long working in Politics.
*****
After
breakfast Leo settles in to read his memos that she finished while he slept. He
looks so different behind his desk in casual clothes and not his usual crisp
and dapper suit, but Leo still has that essence of authority and power no
matter his manner of dress or surroundings.
It still makes Margaret’s breath catch softly at his rugged good looks
in soft clothes, not that she would let him catch her doing so.
*****
Leo’s
meeting goes well and is actually shorter than any of them had hoped. Leo and Margaret make short work of his after
meeting notes, calls, letters and any adjustments to their ‘to do’ lists for
Monday. They are surprisingly done by
It
has for once been a quiet day at the White House and the prospect of it
continuing quiet is for once quite possible.
Nothing is rumbling on the international front. Leo glances out the window longingly at the overcast day and can tell it’s a little brisk
outside. “How about sneaking out for a
stroll around the monuments to clear our heads?”
The
joy on Margaret’s face, at the prospect of spending time outdoors, is all the
answer he needs or gets, as she rushes from his office to close hers up,
hopefully for the weekend, and to grab her coat, fearing that something will
arise to steal their treat, before they can escape the building.
It’s
a good afternoon for a fall walk and the cool breeze is raining the last of the
colorful leaves down on them. The air
has the spice of fall in it, smelling of a mix of leaves, damp earth and a
cleanness that is hard to name.
Outside
the White House grounds, Leo has a suggestion that he hopes Margaret will agree
to, “Care for a dog?” He nods his head
to the vendor nearby.
She
looks at Leo with surprise and a happy smile at Leo getting into the mood of a
free autumn afternoon. She still can’t
resist giving a protest anyway. “Leo, do you know what they put in hotdogs, let
alone think of their fat content?”
He
gives her a look of exasperation, “Margaret, like I care! It’s just a simple hotdog. People eat them all the time.”
She points out his
inconsistency. “Leo, you ate an
elegant and nutritious meal this morning and now you want a hotdog?”
He
grins and honestly admits, “What can I say?
I’m just a man of my simple roots, after all.”
She
grins back at him and replies, “And I love that you are, Leo. It’s one of the things that keeps you human, with your feet firmly planted on the
ground.” She looks back at the building
they had just exited, knowing that they should never take where they are, as
being commonplace.
“So,
you want to join me and have a dog?” He
pointedly asks her.
Margaret
surprises him, “You, bet your ass I will.
Ask for everything on it. I
might as well be hung for a sheep, as a lamb!”
Just
to tease her, he looks behind him with a smirk, as if to see the backside of
himself, “You know, that’s twice today
you’ve referred to my ass.”
She
bluntly points out, “I cover it for you!
So I’m allowed! Now, go get our
dogs, since you have me hungry for it now.”
They
munch their snack, as they walk around the Ellipse. She has a habit of leaning her head close to
his, as she talks to him and he nods his to the side in
agreement. Both have an arm gesturing as
they walk and talk. It’s just their way.
*******************
Crossing
Leo
asks, “Margaret, you warm enough?” She
nods in affirmation. He can tell she
loves the fall weather, with her wind blushed cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes
from the snap in the air. She looks
striking in her long forest green, suede coat with a black velvet collar. Her
hair moves softly at times in the breeze.
She is so beautiful at this moment.
His breath catches and anyone could see the loving admiration that’s
written all over his face. He glances
quickly away before Margaret can see his secret.
They
stop to rest on a bench at the north end of the
Needing
to move again, Margaret suggests, “Let’s go west to the Lincoln Memorial. We can walk along the south side of the
Reflecting Pool.” Margaret likes having
a plan. She then stands up to get them
started again and recommends, “It feels as if the temperature is dropping some
more. We better walk at a good pace now,
to get some heat going to keep warm.”
At
her words Leo tilts his head up to her, wearing a small smirk, keeping his
thoughts to himself about her last words, as he rises to join her. He walks
briskly beside her, with his cocky city swagger making his long black wool coat swing slightly around his
legs.
Margaret
hesitates in her step just enough to fall one step
behind him, to sneak a good look at the debonair man beside her. He really is unaware of the charisma that
surrounds him, as she notes the eyes of the people they pass follow him.
Leo
realizes that Margaret has fallen into her usual respectful position of how
they normally walk the halls of the White House, just behind his shoulder. He turns to reach for her arm to slip it
through his, so she will again walk beside him.
He wants her beside him, as an equal outside of work and it ‘is’ the
gentlemanly thing to do, or so he rationalizes to himself, as long as it has
the desired effect of her snug again him, as they walk in sync, in complete
harmony.
The
maple trees lining each side of the pool are quickly shedding their leaves.
Still, the trees are dressed in a range of color from rich gold in the lower
branches, then up to bright orange, to deep red near the tops. Their reflections in the pool, even on this
overcast day, make a breathtaking view down the third of a mile long pool.
Once at the Lincoln
Memorial they stroll to the front and when they reach the wide steps up to the
portico, where the famous statue of President Lincoln sitting in a massive
chair is located, Leo stops her and asks, “You want to go up and see the
memorial up close?”
She gives him an
apologetic smile, “No, not today,
Thanks. I’ve seen it close up
before. Actually, Leo, the best time to
see it is at night. It’s so inspiring to
view it all lit up.”
The breeze is picking up
and Leo, with his hand in his coat pocket, offers out his elbow to her to grasp
again and agrees, “Yeah, your right, Margaret.
At night is the best. Once you
see it lit up, it’s just not the same during the day.” At her look of inquiry, he chuckles and
explains, “Who do you think had to bring me here, right after we took up
residence in the White House, when I admitted that I had not seen the Memorials
at night? Not that anyone could miss the Washington Memorial.”
“Oh, Leo, that must have
been fun. And it was so nice that the
President wanted you to have that experience and that he just had to show you
himself.” Margaret knows, as well as the
rest of the West Wing, the President’s passion for the national park system and
he now has one right in his own backyard.
Looking at his feet as
they walk on, he softly admits, as he reflects back to that night, “Yeah, it
really was nice. Ron set it up for us to
come out here at
He glances up to her
face and eagerly continues to express his feelings, “It was a special night for
both of us. I loved that we could walk
around a bit in the secure areas, just the two of us. We had such a great discussion that night on
the how our government has evolved.
Debating back and forth. It went
on for hours, even after we returned to the West Wing.” Just talking about it has him both passionate
and energized. Easily showing why he is
so committed to his work and why he loves to serve the President.
The
temperature is still dropping, Margaret notices as he talks that she can now
see wisps of his breath.
When
he falls silent with his thoughts, Margaret comments, “Leo, I’m so glad that
you and the President had that special night to remember. When it gets bad at work you have it to
reflect on to keep you focused. A special
night for the best of friends!”
He
glances to her in appreciation for her understanding, but she does know him so
well. He knew she would get it.
They
walk a bit more going north now toward a memorial that Leo knows all too well,
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. When
Margaret spots it up ahead she squeezes his arm tighter to her side and he
takes his other hand out of his pocket to pat her arm softly in gratitude for
her understanding.
They
stop at the intersection to the sidewalk that runs in front of the wall. As they silently look over, Leo now has both
of his hands jammed into his coat pockets, with a hard sad look on his face and
Margaret has now clasped both of hers around one of his wrists in
compassion. From the overview at this
distance they silently pay homage to the wall and the mix of visitors
there.
They
both want to move on and return to the enjoyment of their walk. He then steers her to continue their walk to
the path to the west side of it, still going northward, as if to circle back to
the Ellipse, by way of
Margaret
knows that when they finish their walk that Leo will just go back to the office
and find something to do, instead of going to his hotel, even though he stayed
the night there. Hoping
to give him the hint that they should call it a day and not return to the
office, she speaks up when they reach 17th Street and regrettably
removes her hand from under his elbow, “Leo, unless you need me at the office
this evening, I think I’ll just cut up here and catch a cab in front of the
OEOB and go home for the night.”
“Margaret,”
Leo growls in a low warning voice to let her know his disapproval of her
decision. “I wasn’t planning on having
you work in the office tonight, but you don’t have to take a cab. Come back to the White House and let my
driver take you home.”
Margaret
gets a determined look on her face, as she squares off with him, “Leo, we had
this debate before. So don’t there. I’m not about to use your driver for a ride
home.”
“Not
even if it’s as he takes me to my hotel?”
Leo hopes to try one more time to reverse her decision.
“Leo,
your hotel is west of here and my apartment is north. That’s not ‘on the way’. I can just take a cab. It’s not too far to get to my place, so it’ll
just be a short ride. You know it’s
just on the other side of
Leo
sighs and surrenders, “OK, at least let me walk you there and check out the
cabdriver.”
She
agrees to his compromise, “OK, Leo.”
Turning
left up
Leo
flags her a cab and then informs her, “Margaret, I’ll
just ride along with you and the cab can take me to the hotel after you’re
dropped off. It’ll save my driver from
having to take either of us home today.”
She
nods her head at his logic, “That would be nice, Leo. Thanks!
You’re a true gentleman to see me home.” She’s smiling again, as he
hands her into the cab and watching him slip in beside her, she sees the small satisfied smile on his face.
*****
As
the cab stops, Margaret invites him, “Leo, come in and warm up. It’ll only take a minute to make us some
coffee.” When he hesitates to answer,
but gives the impression that he really wants to accept, she prompts him, “Leo,
we both need to thaw our hands and warm
our ears, as we neither of us ever have enough sense to wear a hat.”
Leo
bows his head a moment, smiling, as he can’t fault her honest words. His hands are in his pockets of his coat, not
only to hopefully get them to warm up, but also to
keep them to himself. His hand to her
waist earlier, to assist her during their autumn afternoon walk, was quickly getting to be a habit that he could have easily enjoyed longer. “He looks up and sees her anticipating his
answer, “Sure, Margaret. That would be nice, if it’s no problem.” He leans across her to open the door handle
for her.
She
nods and exits the cab, waiting on the curb for him with the wind softly
flapping the bottom of her coat.
He
pays the driver and crawls out of the cab, and they quickly climb the steps to
the nice building that her apartment is in.
Both of them are encouraged to hurry by the thought of the warmth
awaiting them inside the doors. Leo
again finds a good reason to touch her waist, as he escorts her through the
threshold.
*****
Once
inside Margaret’s apartment, Leo helps her off with her coat and while he’s
taking care of hanging their outerwear on the coat tree, she moves into the
kitchen to start preparing the promised hot coffee. They both need it and soon, just to return
the warmth to their hands. It was a bit
nippier out than they expected, but it was an invigorating afternoon.
While
building the coffee maker, Margaret gets a plan. She hopes to cook some comfort food for him,
as she can’t pass up a chance to get some decent food into him. Before she can chicken out, she quickly asks him using her own brand of logic,
while trying to sound casual, “Leo, I can fix us a bite to eat. The cool weather and walking made short work
of the hotdogs we enjoyed, after leaving the White House. It won’t take a minute. Just something quick and simple to go with
our coffee.”
Grinning
at her, he hints that her logic is tempting him, “It was brisk. Yeah, I guess we did walk for a couple of
hours.” He pauses just to play with her
patience. “So, what did you have in mind for a quick bite?” He knows it’ll be something warm and
healthy. She worries about what he
eats.
“Tomato
soup and sandwiches.” Answering, she
flashes him a smile and turns to get started, before he changes his mind or the White House calls his cell with an emergency.
He
gives a happy chuckle and can’t help exclaiming, “Great! Just my kind of meal! I have been craving tomato soup and a grilled
cheese for a long time.” Leo adds his
hint for the sandwich selection, since one goes with the other to him. He hasn’t had the
opportunity lately, to indulge himself with them at the White House mess.
She
gives him a semi–pointed look over her shoulder at his mention of ‘grilled’
cheese, but seeing the smile he has on his face, she relents, “OK.”
Leo
is feeling so content and comfortable sitting at the kitchen counter, still
warming his hands on the mug of coffee.
He can feel his body actually relax, as he watches Margaret going about
making them a small and simple meal. He
enjoys this relaxed setting, just as much as the elegant table she had set for
them in his office this morning. ~Spending
time with her away from work and just the two of us is…(he finds the right
word)…cozy. ~
*****
While
they’re sipping the first cup of coffee and waiting for the soup to heat they
are both pleasantly silent, just savoring the moment in the cozy kitchen. They warm not only their hands, but also the
steam rising from the hot coffee warms their
faces.
Margaret
has a thought and she sits up straighter, glancing toward the front door, not
that she needs visual verification. ~Hey! Leo doesn’t have his briefcase with him. He actually forgot it at the office.
~ This thought really warms her
heart. That taking a walk with her
overruled his natural reflex to grab work to take out with him, like he does
every time he leaves the White House.
She has Leo captive without any work to do!
It’s
still really early, even if it is growing dark and no
one at the White House has called yet needing him. ~So, how about I try to persuade him to
stay for a movie and some hot cocoa this evening? Just to ward off the misty
night that is developing outside the window.~ Margaret bobs her head at her
own reasoning.
“Leo,
it’s early evening still. Would you like to stay and watch a movie or
do you need to get on? I mean…. That is… if you don’t have
plans. We can snack on some popcorn,
just like at a movie. Not that any of us
have had time away from the White House to go to an actual theatre. Is there anything that the President will
need you for tonight? That’s about the
best I can do for junk food for you. I
think it would be nice to relax for a while.
If we can actually remember how to do that?” She just knows that he’ll just find his way
back to the office tonight, if nothing else other than to keep himself busy.
Her
rambling kinda scrambles her words, but he gets her meaning. Leo loves how her mind works and to have some
fun with her, he jokes back, “Relax? Relax?
It sounds interesting.” He stops
and looks thoughtful. “I don’t know
about a movie? Still. Maybe I should
call my assistant to see if I have anything scheduled for tonight, she runs my
life.”
When
Leo waits a beat to see if she takes the bait, but he has trouble containing
his smile when he notes her short intake of breath to scold him, but he can
tell she’s holding her tongue with anxious effort.
He
pauses fully this time to make her really fidget. They both love a
challenge. He draws it out as long as he
can and when she’s just about to assume he’s turning down her kind offer, he
continues with a grin, “Yeah, I’d really like to stay here for a while longer
this evening. Thanks, Margaret.”
*****
Margaret lets him choose
the movie for the night and Leo is surprised to find that she has several
videotapes and DVD’s in her collection. She likes some romantic ones, but she also likes
the more male macho ones, as she was raised with brothers who out voted her
when it came to picking the movie they got to
watch. Leo wonders if they might even have time for two if they’re short
enough. He smiles happily when he finds
a few of his favorites like, ‘
Once
the movie is started, Margaret is encamped on her sofa and she has Leo set up
in the recliner, with his feet up. It
was probably silly, but she actually insisted he use the footrest up. Hoping that maybe he would be less apt to get
up and to run to the office to work. Plus looking at his socked feet up in the air is so cute to
her, especially at her place.
By halfway through the
movie both of their mugs of hot cocoa are empty and also
the matching bowls of popcorn. Both Leo
and Margaret are now each covered with a throw blanket from the couch. As the weather outside is developing into a
blustery night.
Margaret has been thinking and she just has to know
something, before the day is over. “Leo, can you remember what time
you fell asleep at the office last night?”
She wants to know so she can figure out how much sleep he got. Margaret is always figuring things out. In her quest to try and
take care of him better.
Leo glances to her to gage her mood, as he
confesses, “Maybe 2
AM when I ah…must have gave into sleep.
I just meant to put my head down a few minutes to rest my eyes. The next thing I sorta remember is you waking
me to go and change clothes, but I have a sense of somehow getting to the
sofa. I guess you were responsible for
getting me there?”
Leo is right to assume her motive. Head bobbing Margaret confirms
it for him, as she’s already is figuring that he would have gotten three hours
at his desk and she got him three more on the sofa. Adding both together, that’s more
sleep than he gets more nights than she cares to remember.
With a pleased
‘humph’ sound of satisfaction, at knowing his Margaret, Leo returns his
attention to the movie, as he hugs the throw blanket closer under his chin and
snuggles deeper into the recliner.
Later
in the movie, Margaret looks over and finds Leo sleeping. The short night last night and the long walk
in the cold this afternoon, plus the comforting meal and then laying to watch a
familiar movie has taken its toll on him.
She turns down the sound on the movie a touch, so that the louder scenes
don’t wake him. She’s so pleased that he
feels so comfortable at her home. It has
turned out to be a lovely afternoon and evening, relaxing together.
The movie is just
getting over when Leo’s his cell phone
starts to ring. He had placed it on the
coffee table when they were getting settled in for the
movie. Leo wakes immediately and his
eyes scan around, as a conditioned response of urgency, looking for his cell
phone. At the same time, Leo is
automatically closing the footrest with his heels to set himself up.
Margaret
reaches for the phone, to hand it to him.
Leo
leans forward with the throw blanket bunched in his lap to take the phone. With a nod of thanks to Margaret, he
immediately checks the caller ID for the number displayed. With a sigh he leans back in the chair and
answer the call, “Hey, Baby!”
“Hey,
Dad. I wanted to touch base with you,
before I leave tonight.” Mallory’s voice
is one he never minds waking up to hear.
“Thanks
for calling, Mallory. Are you all packed
and ready to go? Did you double check
for your passport?” He so easily falls
into parental mode with his little girl.
She
gives a happy chuckle at her Dad worrying for her, “Yeah, Dad. I may not have Margaret to keep me organized,
but I have everything. I double-checked
for my toothbrush too and you
know, I could buy a new one in
“Well,
since you mentioned it, Mal. Do you have
enough money with you? I’m not being
nosey, but I just want you to have enough to enjoy yourself and maybe do a
‘little’ shopping.” He ends on a teasing
note, knowing that she will shop.
“Dad,
you’re sweet and thanks, but I have enough, even for a ‘little’ shopping. I’m just going for the week.” She loves that
he knows her so well.
“Good. OK. Well… Is there
anything else I can help you with, before you go?” He’s just a Dad checking one more time. Glad that she didn’t get upset at him for
offering her money. She is so
independent. He doesn’t need to wonder
where she gets that?
He chuckles softly to himself, knowing the answer.
Mallory
finally relents and lets him know her dilemma. “I guess I could use your help,
Dad, if you really have the time. I had
planned on taking my car to the airport and leave it
there, but I had to leave it at the garage for repairs while I’m gone. Now I’ll have to take a cab to the airport. I’m really not
looking forward to loading and unloading my luggage in and out of the back of a
cab. And that is if it arrives here when
I need it.” She doesn’t ask ‘right out’
for a ride, not wanting to interrupt him if he’s working.
Leo
jumps right in and offers, “Mal, I could take you, if you have a little time to
wait for me? When does your flight
leave? Is it still scheduled to leave
on-time with the wind picking up tonight?”
“Yeah,
Dad, I checked the web page of the airline and there was no delay posted.” At
hearing his sound of disbelief, she assures him, “Don’t’ worry! I do plan on checking
again, the last thing before going out of the door. Dad, I don’t want to call you away from
something important.”
Leo
doesn’t want her to think he’s unhappy or too busy for her, “No, it’s fine, Baby. I’m
not working. Actually, I’m at
Margaret’s.” He chuckles and asks,
“Would you believe that we actually took a walk in the open air this
afternoon?”
Mallory
replies with a happy tone, “Dad, you two are crazy! Its been getting
colder all day!” She chuckles at
scolding him. Pleased that he got an
afternoon out of the office and almost amazed that Margaret actually dragged
him out into the fresh air.
“Leo
confesses, “Yeah! We discovered that like
two miles from anywhere warm! So when
our cab dropped Margaret off, she invited me in for hot coffee.” He pauses a beat, “She has been feeding me
and forcing me to indulge in hot cocoa and
popcorn, in front of a movie, with my feet up.”
He makes it sound like he has had to endure something painful, but he
loves it and his happy voice gives it away.
Mallory
is so glad to hear her Dad being so light hearted, “Yeah, Dad! Real torture, I can just tell.” Her mock sarcasm let’s him know that she’s
not buying it.
Mallory takes them back to his offer to help,
“Dad, it’s
Leo
explains his own dilemma, “Well, Baby, it will take me a little while to go to
the hotel to get my car, but I don’t mind!
If I won’t be cutting you too close on your flight time?”
Margaret
interrupts, “Leo, you can just take my car from here. If you want company, I can ride along and
drop you off at your hotel on the way back?”
She’s already folding up her blanket and gathering up their bowls and
glasses, while Leo continues on the phone.
Leo
nods his head to Margaret in agreement.
“Mallory, we have it worked out.
Margaret and I will just come get you in her car. She can get me home afterwards.”
“Thanks,
Dad! That would be great. Can you be here in an hour?” She giggles and
teases, happy that her Dad is coming to her rescue, “And I won’t have to worry
about you on the road alone and tired.
Margaret will see you safely home. She takes care of you! Tell her thanks from me!”
Leo chuckles, “You two
really do think I need a keeper and yeah, I’ll tell her!”
Mallory totally agrees,
“Yeah, we do, Dad and I’m so glad you have your Margaret.”
Leo softly agrees, “Me
too, Baby. We’ll leave here in about 30
minutes, to come pick you up. See ya
then. Love you, Baby! Bye!”
He lifts the throw
blanket from his lap to get up and smiles over at Margaret, while he’s folding
the throw, “Mallory says to tell you thanks!
Not just for the ride tonight, but for taking such good care of me.”
Leo hands her the throw
and stands to head for the kitchen. He
moves to walk past her with their empty glasses in one hand and their bowls in
his other, he pauses to drop a kiss to her forehead, “that thanks goes for me
too!” He is wearing a rare smile as he
continues on to the kitchen. ~Today has been really nice. I need to thank Margaret for it too!~
*****
The first of the week, Leo
does a bit of research to find out where Margaret was going to be serving
Thanksgiving dinner. This is not as easy as he had hoped, as
unfortunately there are lots of shelters and
kitchens for the homeless in DC. He
finally resorts to calling her church, St. Stephen Martyr on
Leo sneaks in hoping to
just watch Margaret at the shelter, to see what her life is like away
from him and work. He hangs
back to observe her from near the doorway and
it’s awhile later that she sees him. Standing
there smiling proudly at her, watching her helping the homeless with a friendly
dignity that he would expect no less from her on this day
When
she spots Leo, Margaret instantly knows he’s there for her and his smile tells
her that, for once, it doesn’t involve work.
She gestures to him through the people that she’s serving in front of
her, for him to quit standing there like he’s holding up the wall and join her.
His
smile fades and he gives a slight shake of his head, hoping she’ll pickup on
the fact that he didn’t plan on disturbing her with
his visit.
Margaret
just waves again for him to come over to her.
Seeing
that she’s not paying attention to his subtle hints, he tilts his head to the
side, as if to convey to her to please not insist he
interrupt the serving of the meals. He
really did not expect to talk to her.
Margaret
knows he has no plans for today and has probably just been rattling around with
nothing to do and no one to see. She
knows that he has been banned from the White House for today. She puts her fists on her hips and gives him
her best pointed-look signaling that he better get his
butt over there and now! ~Like he
wouldn’t be welcome anywhere today, especially with me. He’s my Leo.~
Leo
shoves himself off the wall with his best James Dean impression, with his hands
in his pockets. Moving in a direct line
to Margaret and not catching the
eyes of those he passes. Not knowing
where he belongs at this gathering, as the ones enjoying the Thanksgiving
Dinner do not seem to recognize him, and he’s not one of her church
volunteers.
He
finally reaches the table where she’s serving another family and he opts to act
like it was his idea to approach her, and pastes on a bright smile, hoping
she’ll not kill him for being there and intruding on her day off.
Margaret
can read him like a book and she was able to tell as he walked over that he
seems a little backwards, like he shouldn’t be there. She also loves the glow of his face when he
turns on the charm and he certainly is doing that now. Margaret returns his smile, with one of her
own. She then has a wonderful idea and
hopes that he’ll think so too. “Leo,
would you come back here to me?”
Leo
nods his head in agreement and slips quickly behind the counter. Glad that she’s happy to see him.
With
a break in the line for the moment, Margaret quickly orders, “Leo, you’re soon
going to get too warm, so put both of your coats over that chair!” She turns behind her and picks up a full size
apron. Turning back to Leo, she
smilingly slips it over his head. “Leo,
you’re just what I need right now, an assistant.” She hopes he takes the bossing
good-naturedly. She grabs one of his
sleeves and proceeds to roll it to half-mast, before doing likewise to the
other.
Leo
blinks a beat or two and then a moment later, just starts laughing in
delight. He loves it. “Your assistant? Is this payback for something I did or that I
didn’t do?”
Margaret
grins and hands him a large spoon for the sweet potatoes in front of him, “I’ll
decide later. The people need you, Leo,
and what better way than by actually serving them.”
Leo
retorts smugly, “I serve them everyday, Margaret, but this is a much better way
than debating with the cabinet, anytime.”
Margaret
nods in agreement, as she returns to serving.
Leo is so pleased to be included in spending
the afternoon helping others. Before he
never would have thought about taking time to do charity works, in the city
were he has taken up residence for the duration of the administration. He’s been assuming that what he does for the
nation in his work was all he was capable of.
And today, Margaret has shown him that just a
few hours can make a difference to the citizens he helps and also to himself.
A little while later, one of the centers staff comes
by and is taking pictures for the monthly newsletter of the holiday servers. Margaret
and Leo lean together and hold up their spoons, wearing big smiles and slightly
splattered aprons. The staffer teases
them and promises that he will send them a copy of the picture. He is a little surprised when Margaret tells
him to address the envelope to the
Once
the grapevine gets working down the line, some of the dinners in the line do
recognize him, from seeing Leo on the TV and they wish him a Happy
Thanksgiving. Some feel special
that he is there serving them. When a
man in line jokes about it to Leo, he teases back, “I’m always serving the
people from the WH, but this will go down better.”
This
brings a nice bit of good-natured roasting from the ones around him, and he
grins and takes it in like spirit. The
staff and volunteers continue to treat Leo just like one of them, as he makes his trips to the kitchen for
refills on the items that Margaret and he are serving.
**
Later
in the afternoon, the line of dinners is starting to slow down and the servers
have been taking turns for their own chance to eat dinner.
Leo
and Margaret are happily tired by this time of the day. They don’t hesitate to sit right in with the homeless and needy, who
are enjoying a warm meal on this holiday.
They
smile at the others at the table, as they slip in to sit at the end, on
opposite sides to face each other.
Margaret is happily bossing him and still taking care of him, as
they sit down. Leo is having a wonderful
time with her this afternoon and he obediently smiles and with mock sarcasium
replies, “Yes, Dear! Anything you say, Dear!”
She
grins and blushes at his teasing, knowing that if the others volunteers
overheard him that they’ll tease her also, at a later date. “Oh, Leo,” she scolds, as she playfully swats
his arm with her napkin.
Leo
chuckles and takes a bite, looking at her with a grin at her blushing
face. She’ll learn not to play games
with him. Leo plays for real.
They
eat for a few minutes to take off the edge off their hunger, both reflecting on
the day.
Leo
states to her, “This has been good today, Margaret.” At her nod of agreement, he then ads,” I
needed to get in touch the people again.”
Margaret
states with her fork, “I think so too, Leo.
You have been cloistered too long in the White House. You need to do this more often.”
Leo
grins and can’t resist, “Yes, Dear!”
She
rolls her eyes at him, knowing he’s getting so much pleasure and mileage out of
teasing her.
Leo
gets serious, “Really, Margaret. I have so many blessings that I take for granted
sometimes. I need to give back to the
people, one on one. You have always been my connection to the people.”
Margaret
grins, “Good! I can connect you again
then. We’ll do this again for Christmas!”
~He walked right into that one,~ she smirks.
Leo groans playfully, like she’ll work him to
death and asks, “Can’t I just donate?”
Margaret
banters back, “You can do that too, Leo.
Thanks!”
**
The
little girl now sitting beside Leo moves over closer, “Hi, my names Susie. What’s yours?”
He
smiles down at the little imp of a girl, “I’m Leo. Glad to meet you, Susie, and this nice lady
with me is Margaret.” She reminds him of Mallory at that age, all eyes and
ivory skin, glowing with innocence.
Susie grins at Margaret,
as she says hello. She turns back to
Leo, “She’s pretty! Is she your wife or
your girlfriend?”
Leo steals a pleased
glance at a blushing Margaret, before he answers the precocious child, “You
could say we’re special friends. Do you
have a special friend?”
Susie solemnly answers,
“I did, her name is Cindy, but we had to move here.” Her face brightens, as she asks, “Will you be
here at Christmas? Mommy says we’ll be
here till after Christmas and that Santa will find me here with the other
kids.”
Leo gives her a soft
smile, “I plan on it, Susie. I’ll try to
find you ‘especially’, to wish you a Merry Christmas.”
Margaret
looks sad, knowing it’s hard on the families here at the holidays. The people here probably won't have many, if
any, Christmas presents, especially the kids.
Susie
is pleased with his promise and turns her attention to eating her dinner.
Leo leans forward and whispers to Margaret,
“When we get to the office tomorrow, find out how we can help her
Christmas. I know there’s only so much
we can do, because of who we are, but a little something will help.” He knows that it could be a real ‘fiasco’
with press, if he tries to do too much for them. Which would actually not help her in the end,
but he will see what he can do on the quiet.
Margaret
nods in understanding, ~Ut
oh, there goes Leo’s credit card~
After the little girl
and her family leave the table, Margaret
stands up from the table and announces, "Time for the dishes now,
Leo.”
Leo
groans in mock protest, but he’s grinning at her.
Stopping
beside him, Margaret leans down and
whispers in his ear, “Come on, the
warm water will help the arthritis in your hands.” She’s always looking after her Leo.
Leo
scoops his empty dinnerware off the table and hurries to follow Margaret r. Leo walks
with his trademark rolling gait, happy knowing that he’ll be right there beside
Margaret
, for the next holiday.
The
End and Happy Thanksgiving!!
blessings
chipmunk
Imp
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http://www.parishes.org/stephenmartyr.html
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