Christmas in The West Wing
By: Heidi L. Lane
Washington, Dee Cee
Friday, December 22, 2000 E.R.
7:30 AM
“Happy
Holidays, Jody!” Beth called as she scampered into her office to drop off her
portfolio.
“Hello,
Beth,” the older man replied from within his office. He looked at his deputy as she entered the room. “You’re in a
cheerful mood today.”
“Of
course! It’s Christmas-time. Happy Hanukah!” She said, suddenly thrusting
a wrapped box towards him.
“Beth! I didn’t get you anything. You really shouldn’t have,” Jody said,
pulling off the paper to reveal a small, beautifully inlaid wooden box. “What is this anyway?”
“It’s
a box...but you knew that. It’s for
business cards and things. Anyway,
Christmas is in three days- you’ve time.
I’ve got to go give something to Jesse.” She scampered out of the office, giggling, followed by her
ever-present protector, Bertram. Jody
stood lost in thought for a while, and then nodded to himself. He walked
purposefully out of the room with Michael trailing along behind him. He
absently greeted assistants and junior staffers as he made his way to C.J.’s
office.
“Hey,
Corbin!” he called.
“Jody,
I wish you wouldn’t call me that.” C.J. said hanging up a sprig of
mistletoe. Turning to his longtime
friend, he asked, “What do you need?”
“Corbin
is your name. You could always call me Joseph.”
“I
prefer not to. What did you need?”
“See
this?” Jody asked, holding up the box. “It’s a gift…from Beth. She gave it to
me this morning; but I haven’t gotten her anything.”
“You
need to go shopping.”
“You
don’t?” Jody asked incredulously.
“Nope.
I’m all done.” C.J. said, with a self-satisfied grin. He turned back to his
work and continued, “President Franklin is going shopping. Maybe he’ll let you
go along.”
“How’s
he going shopping? The Wardens won’t let him just wander around town.”
“I
don’t know. He said he was going shopping and I’m supposed to make sure the
Press Bards don’t notice.”
“Oh.”
Jody shrugged and started back to his office, calling over his shoulder, “They
aren’t really Bards, ya know!” he shook his head and muttered, “They’re
bards.”
“What’s
the difference, Mr. Darkforest?” His quiet shadow asked.
“I’m
a Bard. We have magic,” Jody
said succinctly.
On
his way to his office he ran into Lee. “What’s this about the President going
shopping.”
“He
sneaks out with a few Wardens. They clear out the store. He goes in, makes his
purchases. No one even knows he was there.”
“Wow!
Well, um, do-do you think he’d mind company?”
“You’ll
have to ask him that. Why? Did you forget someone on your Christmas list?”
“I
forgot everyone. It never occurred to me that we’d be exchanging gifts. I mean
we only exchanged cards last year.”
“We
also didn’t know each other as well. Did Beth give you something?” Lee said
grinning and glancing sidelong at the Director.
“It’s
not funny! How did you know? Did she give you your gift already?”
“No;
but I was in the room when she gave Jesse his.”
“Did
he give her anything?”
“Yes,
but she hasn’t opened it yet. Don’t feel bad, it never occurred to me to get
gifts for everyone either. As a result everyone is getting the same thing.”
“A
fruit basket, fruit cake or a bonus,” Jody said, grinning sardonically. Lee
smirked but didn’t reveal anything.
t t t
“No,
come on in, Jody. Do you need anything?”
“Are
you really going out shopping, sir?”
“Yep.
I’ve done it a couple of times. Like to come along?”
“Where
are you going, sir? What shop, I mean.”
“Antique
shop. I love antiquing. Such a variety of things all packed into one little
shop. You never know what you’ll find. Something for everyone.”
“Sounds
like fun, sir. You don’t mind me tagging along then?”
“No,
I could use the company and the other opinion.”
“Alright
then.”
Just
then a Warden peered into the office, “All set, sir?”
“Yep.
Jody’s coming along, by the way.”
“Very
good, sir.”
“Thank
you, Mister President,” Jody said softly.
t t t
Jesse
came in and perched on the edge of Beth’s desk. “Hi. So, are you really singing
at the Congressional Holiday Party?”
“What
does the program say?” Beth asked, not looking up from her work.
“That
you’re singing.”
“Well
then.” She looked up and chuckled, “I am a Bard, Jesse. Bard’s sing.
It’s part of the definition. Jody is too.”
“Yeah?”
Jesse asked incredulously.
“Well,
he’s a Bard too.” Beth said, with a shake of her head. Sometimes Jesse was
almost obtuse.
“What
are you singing?”
“‘O
Holy Night’ and ‘Away in a Manger.’ Jody’s singing a Hanukah song and ‘Walking
in a Winter Wonderland’.”
“Wow!
What day was that again?”
“Saturday.”
Beth said, returning to her work.
“Saturday…tomorrow?”
“Well,
next Saturday is after Christmas and during the Holiday break.” Grinning, she
added, “You know how Congress is about its break.”
“Yeah.
They wouldn’t come back for…well, anything.”
Beth
grinned up at Jesse. “Wake up, Jess. I know it’s nearly the start of the break;
but we do have a couple of days of work left. After tomorrow we can flake out
as much as we want to.”
Jesse
rolled his eyes and snorted, “Yeah. I’d better leave you to your work.”
“By
the way, how’d you like the gift I got you? You didn’t say anything earlier.”
“I
love it, Beth. It’s a very nice sampler. It’s beautiful.” He walked around the
desk and hugged her. “I just wanted to do that without Lee watching. He might
take it the wrong way.”
Beth
giggled, “Can you imagine the Press Bards?”
“Omigosh!”
Jesse exclaimed, “They’d be sure we were more than friends.”
Beth
wrinkled her nose, “You’re like my brother.”
“Yeah,
I know.” Jesse replied, chuckling. “Well, so long. And thanks for the gift.
Happy Holidays.”
“You
too.” Beth called as her oldest friend left her office. She glanced over at Bertram and said,
“You’ll get your gift later.”
He
adjusted his glasses and said, “I can scarcely wait,” with a gleam in his eyes.
t t t
“Jody,”
President Franklin called. “Do you think my wife would like this?” He held up a
beautifully inlaid jewelry box for the other man’s inspection.
“Looks
very nice, sir. If you give a jewelry box as a gift, you’re supposed to put
something in it.” He added as he picked up and discarded several trinkets.
“What
do you think you’re doing?” The
shopkeeper called to Jody.
“Just
looking,” he called back.
“Well,
be careful. Those’re fragile.” Jody rolled his eyes and turned back to his
conversation.
“Why
do I need to put something in it?” The President asked, picking up a simple
filigreed pendant.
“If
you give something like a jewelry box or a purse to someone and it’s empty,
there’s a superstition that it’ll remain that way.” Jody replied, picking up a
small leather-bound volume. “Edgar Allen Poe- The Collected Works. Beth
likes Poe- think she has this, sir?”
“Oh,
I imagine she does.” he answered, as he tucked a large book into his basket
with his other purchases.
“Mmm.
Probably.” Jody said, scanning the bookshelf. “Oh, this is nice. The
Collected Sonnets and Ballads of Prince-Bard Garnet. This is pretty rare.
She wouldn’t have it.” He stopped and
looked at a large painted picture of a fireworks display. He smiled slightly, thinking how the
President liked such things.
“Wouldn’t
it be expensive if it’s rare, Jody?” Ben asked looking at a stylized globe of
the Point. “Lee would get a kick out of this.”
“Bit
big for your basket though, sir,” he said, think that the same was true for the
picture he’d seen. “In answer to your
question I don’t think the proprietor knows much about books. He’s got common
volumes and rare ones all together in one place, and all priced by size- not
rarity.”
“Wow!
Lucky for you. I’ll have one of the Wardens carry it,” he added, pointing at
the globe. “This looks nice,” he said picking up a small desk lamp as a Warden
obediently moved to carry the globe to the front of the shop. “Wasn’t C.J.
saying that his office was too dimly lit?”
“Yes,
sir. Would it bother you if we stopped by the stationary shop next door before
heading back? I have only Jesse left and I think a desk set would be just the
thing.”
“What
about this one?” The President asked pointing at an old-fashioned pen stand.
“It’s…a
little out of my price range, sir.”
“That’s
the fun of antiquing, Jody. You get to dicker them down. I’m all set. So are
you, let’s go.”
t t t
Congressional Holiday Party
Washington, Dee Cee
Saturday, December 23, 2000 E.R.
9:00 PM
C.J.
shook his head, “I must have a lamp here from each of you.”
“We
all heard you complaining about how dark your office was, C.J.” Beth said
shrugging and giving her head a shake.
“Yeah
and you know what they say: Great minds…” Jesse started.
“Think
alike,” the other members of the senior staff chorused.
“You
could put some in your rooms at the hotel, Corbin. They’re not that brightly
lit.” Jody suggested, holding a gift out to Beth. She started to tuck it into
her bag with the other gifts she received, still wrapped. “Oh, for heaven’s-
would you open it, Elizabeth. I want to know what you think of it.” Jody said,
grabbing her hand.
“Alright,
but Christmas isn’t for a couple of days yet, you know,” she replied, carefully
and methodically pulling the paper off. “My it’s big. I wonder what it is. You
got a desk set for Jesse, a journal for C.J., a pencil holder for Lee. You
probably got me something equally practical and office- oh. Jody, The
Collected Sonnets and Ballads of Prince-Bard Garnet. It’s lovely. Wherever
did you find it?”
“I’m
not going to reveal my sources at this time.” Jody said mysteriously.
“Thank
you,” Beth said and placed a sisterly kiss on the older man’s cheek, causing
him to blush. “It’s a wonderful gift. I can’t wait to get home and curl up with
it.” She glanced significantly at her
protector.
C.J.
grinned, “Open mine too, Beth.”
“I’d
love to; but I think it’s time for the entertainment to start. Let’s go, Jody
We have a performance.”
As
she bounded off with her mentor in tow and their Wardens trailing along behind,
Jesse looked at C.J. and asked, “That wasn’t a performance?”
“She
certainly liked his gift. I wonder what she’ll think of mine,” he replied,
chuckling.
“What’d
you get her?”
“A
stationary set. You?”
“A
collectable doll.” C.J. shot him a curious look. “She loves those things. Has ‘em
all over her rooms. She even has a few in her office. And, I hate to break it
to ya, she’s not fond of purely practical gifts. Thinks they lack
imagination.”
“She
got me a lamp.”
“But
it’s a decorative one and it uses candles. That’s novel. The calling card box she got Jody is also
decorative. They aren’t purely practical.”
“Oh…should
I send flowers, do you think?”
“Can’t
hurt. Might help. Try it,” Jesse replied. “We’d best go sit. She hate it when
you miss her performances too.”
The
two men sat down to listen to their friends perform. President Franklin glanced
around the room, thinking to himself how the time spent with family and friends
was what made holidays grand. He smiled at his staff and watched them return
his smile and then grinned more broadly as Beth began to sing “O Holy Night” in
her sweet soprano voice.
Happy
Holidays!