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MY GUESTBOOK
This throws you for a moment because the situation with the Columbia wasn�t leaked, but then you remember that Andi and your brother�s wife always got along and you�re pretty sure they are still good friends so it makes sense to you that she would know that David was on the shuttle and that there were some problems but that he was back on land, safe and sound.
�What� what if he isn�t, though?� you ask, feeling like a child needing to be reassured that the monsters under the bed really are afraid of the nightlight. �What if� what if�� you trail off, unable to put voice to thought.
�What if you�ve used up your allotment of safe returns for loved ones?� Andi asks, no hint of laughter in her voice. �That�s not the way it works, Toby. David got home safely because NASA has a hundred redundancies in place for when things go wrong. And Josh is going to be fine because this is one of the best hospitals in the world and because the surgeons are top notch and because� because I know it. In my gut. I just� know it. Okay?�
�Okay,� you whisper, partially because you want her to be right but mostly because you learned over the years that when Andi feels something �in her gut� she�s right nine times out of ten. She knew �in her gut� that you weren�t going to get fired after the Dairy Farmers Compact thing at the VFW hall and you weren�t. She knew �in her gut� that you were going to get Communications Director even though you knew that Bartlet wanted someone else for the position. She knew �in her gut� that your sister Talia was going to have two girls and that David was going to have all boys and that Liat was going to leave her first husband within a year and she had been right. She knew �in her gut� that Sam would work out and that you and he would end up making an unstoppable writing team and, though there are still times when you want to kick him through a plate glass window, you know that she was right about that, too.
She was, however, wrong when she told you, after you had been dating for a few months, that she knew �in her gut� that you were going to be the father of her children.
You don�t think about that, though, because you really want her to be right and you can�t allow any negative thoughts to enter your mind lest they somehow come true.
�Why aren�t you at your fundraiser?� you ask as you both leave the bathroom, your Secret Service agent falling in step behind you once again.
�I heard about the shooting but I couldn�t find out if you were alright or if anyone was seriously hurt or anything. I� I needed to be sure that you were okay,� Andi says shyly.