‘I finished another box of kitchen stuff,’ Josh called. He tore off a strip of tape and sealed the box shut, writing “CROCKERY” in black marker.
Donna sat up on her bed. ‘Did you pack the plates like I said?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Three layers of bubble wrap?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Did you put the paper in between them in the box?’
‘Uh huh.’
‘And the foam peanuts?’
‘Hey, maybe we should get the secret service to carry them over one by one?’ Josh suggested, amused and exasperated in equal measure.
‘You’re laughing at me now but do you know how long those plates have been in my family? We’ll both be having it out with my grandma if any of them get broken.’
Josh stuck his head around the door. ‘Hey,’ he said, as he took in the room, ‘were you not starting in here?’
‘I’m thinking how best to categorize things.’
‘Of course you are,’ he said, coming over to the bed. He looked at her for a moment. ‘And what else?’ he asked, knowing there was something.
She sighed. ‘It’s nothing, seriously. Just, you know. I can’t help feeling a little nervous.’
He scratched at his chin. ‘It’s a big step.’ Feeling he should, he added, ‘I mean, if you don’t feel ready yet—I know you’re set to move out of here whatever, but you could find another place for right now if you wanted—’
‘No, Josh, no. I basically live with you already; it’d be a step down from what I have now. It’s just the ceremony of it, you know? The properly moving in together.’ Donna met his eye. ‘But it’s right; I know it’s right.’
He smiled. ‘Good. I think so too.’ He leaned down to kiss her and she shifted up onto her knees to meet him, his arms wrapping around her waist, her hand against his jaw. She gave a little hum of satisfaction as he pulled her tight against him, nipping gently at his bottom lip.
‘And uh, also?’ she murmured, when they broke apart. ‘I feel kind of sad. It’s a little weird that we’ve technically both had apartments for the past three months and we haven’t had sex in mine once.’
‘Well, I dunno how your tenant would have felt about that.’ He raised his eyebrows at her. ‘There are—oh, hours still until the removal van gets here. The packing’s almost done out there, and in here won’t take too long. You wanna give your bed a last hurrah?’
‘I don’t know.’ At his questioning look, she added, ‘It would seem mean to neglect the floor, the sofa—’
‘The kitchen table?’ He kissed her again quickly. ‘Last one there has to tell your grandma about that one plate I maybe accidentally sort of chipped.’ He gave her a gentle shove back onto the bed and took off.
‘Josh!’ she shouted.
‘I’m kidding!’
She followed him, laughing.
(Source: notabadday)
‘We can’t rely on Callahan,’ Josh said. ‘You’ve gotta come up with someone else for me.’
Around the table, his staff exchanged furtive looks, all except for Lou, who groaned and put her head on the table.
‘Josh,’ she sighed. ‘How many times has Callahan threatened to vote against us at the eleventh hour? And how many times has he been full of hot air?’
‘Yeah, but we may actually be relying on his vote this time, and I’d rather we weren’t. So find me someone else.’ Josh tapped his pen impatiently against his notepad.
‘Fine,’ Lou said.
‘Good.’
‘Tomorrow.’
‘Why not tonight?’
‘Because I don’t know if you noticed this, but we’re at a party. There’s an open bar.’
‘You can get as drunk as you want when we’ve passed this bill.’ Josh looked down at his notepad again. ‘What about Summerby?’
‘Tried her.’
‘Lang?’
‘Donna just walked in,’ Lou said, sounding relieved.
Josh’s eyebrows shot up and he looked toward the door, adjusting the glasses he’d only agreed he needed when Donna told him they made him look both sexy and wise.
‘It’s a party!’ Donna reminded them now, as she approached the table. ‘You’re making everyone work?’ she asked Josh.
‘No! I mean, we were going over a couple of things. I guess it’d be okay if people enjoyed the night for a while—’
The staffers had dispersed before Josh had finished the sentence. He could round them up again later, he thought. For now he closed his notepad and removed his glasses, tucking them both into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and standing to kiss his wife.
‘Hey,’ he said warmly. ‘The red dress got an outing?’
‘It did,’ she replied, sliding her arms around his waist. ‘I was thinking between the two of us we could show it a good time. Drinks, dancing…’
‘Sounds nice.’
‘You think it’ll go some way toward making up for the fact that it’ll end up thrown in the corner of our bedroom later?’
‘Probably. I wouldn’t worry about it; I think the dress understands our priorities.’ Josh grabbed a couple of glasses of wine as a waiter passed by with a tray, handing one to her.
‘Good.’ She accepted the glass, taking a sip. ‘Unless you’d rather work?’
He ducked his head, abashed. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘They’ll get it done, you know. I know you’re worried about the vote, but you’ve got time and they’ll get it done.’
‘Yeah, I know.’ He leaned into her a little, voice dropping. ‘It’s just that there wasn’t much else to do before you got here.’
Donna rolled her eyes at him. ‘You’re an idiot, and you’re charming, and I don’t know how you pull both those things off at the same time.’
‘Hard work and a fair amount of natural talent?’
She laughed and said, ‘Come and dance with me.’
He shucked his jacket, leaving it and the notepad behind on his chair, and let her lead him by the hand onto the dance floor.
(Source: notabadday)
‘Donna, seriously,’ Josh called from where he was lounging in an armchair, jeans already dispensed with. ‘You can’t leave unpacking until tomorrow? Or just leave it, period?’
Donna gave him a stern look. ‘We’re not living out of a suitcase for five days, Josh. Besides, have you seen these wardrobes? It’d be a shame not to make use of them.’
Josh stood up. ‘Okay,’ he said slowly, crossing the room to her. ‘But have you seen this bed? Be a far greater shame not to make use of that, don’t you think?’ He climbed onto the bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her back against him. He tilted her head back for a kiss. ‘Be a tragedy, really.’
‘Mm.’ She let him kiss her for a moment before going back to the suitcase. ‘Unpacking now, sex later.’
‘No, nononono! See, my thing’s urgent. The clothes aren’t going to mind being left a while. In fact, they’d probably praise us for our ability to prioritize.’ He moved up behind her, pressing his lips to the shell of her ear. ‘Why did we even bring clothes, when you think about it?’
She turned to look at him. ‘Maybe you could help? Then we’d get it done in half the time.’
‘Well, sure. But we can get it done in half the time tomorrow, too.’
She closed the suitcase over and faced him fully. ‘Okay.’
‘Okay?’
‘Yep.’ She stretched her legs out past him, leaning back on her hands. ‘It’s just a shame, because there might be some clothes in there that would interest you.’
His breath caught. ‘Such as?’
‘Well, I did pick up a couple of things, what with it being our honeymoon and everything.’ She looked sadly over her shoulder at the suitcase. ‘It’s too bad you don’t want to see them.’
‘Maybe we should unpack some stuff,’ he said hastily. ‘Not all of it, not enough for us to get distracted by the unpacking—’
Donna pulled a face. ‘It’s right at the bottom, though. I made sure the important things went in first.’
He reached past her and opened the suitcase again. ‘You wanna take the drawers on the left?’
She pecked his cheek. ‘Good idea.’
(Source: notabadday)
“This is one for the history books, Donna!”
She rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m later than you for date night. Exactly nobody other than you and me cares about that. Except possibly the poor people you’ve been bothering.”
“Donnnnaaaaa… Did you know, this is the very first time I’ve been out in public by myself this year?”
“Thank goodness for that!” After a moment, her expression changed. “Does that bother you? Do you need more space?”
“No, no!” He nearly toppled of his bar stool. “We barely see each other as it is. And-” he glanced left and right, “if you hadn’t turned up I think someone might have talked to me.” He shuddered theatrically.
“You ridiculous man. Come on, they held our table for us.”
Just then he caught sight of Lou, ranting on CNN, but he just grinned and got up to follow his wife, the only person we wanted to talk to.
When they reached their usual spot, a secluded corner booth, he stopped her with a discreet hand on her hip and stepped close behind her.
“I very much like you in red, my love,” he whispered in her ear.
She shot him a heated glance over her shoulder.
“I know you do. Now hurry up and sit down so we can eat… and go home.”
—-
(Source: thefinestmuffinsandbagels)
Donna stood in the doorway for a full minute, just to ensure that she’d definitely caught Josh red-handed, before coming quietly up behind him, leaning on the back of the sofa and asking, ‘Anything interesting?’
Josh jumped, closing the Vogue magazine quickly. ‘Hi!’
‘Tell me if this sounds familiar,’ she said, pressing her lips together and furrowing her brow in mock-thoughtfulness. ‘“I don’t know why you buy that crap, Donna; would you not be better giving that fifteen bucks a year to charity or, you know, throwing it down the drain?”’
‘I was just—’
‘Also,’ she continued, ‘“There’s absolutely nothing of value in that thing; do people get paid to produce it? It’s at least, what, sixty percent adverts?”’
‘Thing is—’
‘Finally, “I can’t believe anyone, least of all you as a smart, educated, thoughtful adult, would even glance at this thing”, and yet I’ve stood in the doorway and watched you for the past two minutes so I’m curious, Joshua—have your thoughts on Vogue changed at all? And just who is Hollywood’s most sought-after colorist?’
‘Okay,’ he said softly, as if they were being listened in on. ‘So if you could maybe not tell anyone about this—’
She snorted.
‘If you could not tell anyone about this,’ he rushed on, turning to look at her with his eyes wide and pleading, ‘I will make it unbelievably worth your while.’
‘Huh.’ She came around to sit next to him on the sofa. ‘How are you planning to do that, exactly?’
‘Sexual favors?’
She pulled a face. ‘See, I already do okay for those.’
‘I’ll take you out somewhere. Drinks, dinner, dancing, the works. How’s tomorrow?’
‘Mm. Sounds nice, but I think you have to remember that this is kind of a big thing, Josh. I wonder how Lou will react when she finds out you read fashion magazines?’
‘I don’t read them!’ he protested, voice pitching an octave higher than usual. ‘It was just around! There was nothing else to look at! I was bored!’
She examined her nails, not even bothering to hide her smile. ‘Even so, I think you’re going to have to give me a little more.’
‘This is blackmail. I hope you know that. You’re a blackmailer, Donna Moss, and—and an all-around mean person!’
Donna sighed and reached for the phone. ‘Well, if that’s the way you feel—’
‘No!’ He looked down at the magazine in his hands and then shoved it at her. ‘Pick whatever you want from here and I’ll get it for you for your next birthday.’
She burst out laughing. ‘Josh, are you seriously offering to pay potentially in excess of a thousand dollars just to stop me telling anyone I caught you flicking through Vogue?’
He opened his mouth and closed it again. ‘Well, I was—’
‘Stop panicking,’ she told him gently. ‘Your manly pride is safe for now. Are you going to stop mocking me for my magazine choices?’
‘Yes.’ He nodded vigorously. ‘I’ll never mock you again as long as I live. Or,’ he amended at her skeptical look, ‘at least not about this. It’s quite good, actually; some of it’s kind of interesting and—’
‘Josh?’ she said.
‘Yeah?’
‘You said something about sexual favors.’ She stood. ‘You’ll have to be very attentive, mind,’ she called over her shoulder, as she headed for their room.
‘Absolutely,’ he replied, throwing the magazine aside and hurrying after her.
(Source: notabadday)
‘This wine,’ Donna said loudly, ‘this wine is good. This wine has body. This wine has…’ She gestured vaguely for a moment, the liquid in her glass sloshing dangerously. ‘Flavor,’ she decided. ‘It has flavor. Grape, I think, and a hint of—’ she gave it a quick sniff ‘—I want to say elderflower.’
‘Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?’ Josh asked.
She shot him a stern look over the top of her glass. ‘I know all about wine, Josh.’
‘You know how to drink it, that’s for sure.’
‘This is an important decision.’ She slid her shoes off, curling up on the sofa. ‘You could get into the spirit a little more.’
‘The spirit of getting drunk?’
‘The spirit of deciding on the details of our wedding,’ she corrected. ‘And I’m not drunk.’
‘You just described a wine as “having flavor”.’
‘And so it does,’ she said primly. ‘Try some. Or are you worried about your sensitive system?’ She shifted, and Josh felt his breath catch as her skirt rode a little up her thighs. ‘Josh?’ she prompted, after a moment.
He tore his gaze away. ‘I don’t have a sensitive system.’
‘So, you should drink with me.’ She knelt up and stretched across to the table that held several bottles. ‘Which do you want? The Riesling? Or this Champagne is meant to be good. Though I think when the woman said “good” she probably meant “expensive”.’
His eyes lingered on the length of her torso, her long, smooth calves, and he couldn’t care less about the wine. ‘You look fantastic tonight.’
‘Thank you. Choose a wine.’
He grabbed a glass and her open bottle from the coffee table beside her, poured himself some and took a swig. ‘This one. It’s great.’
She sat back down, folding her arms. ‘You’re not even trying.’
‘I just think there are some details that matter more, you know?’ He gave a small smile. ‘Like our wedding night. Which we should practice for as much as possible.’
She raised her eyebrows.
The wine selection was put on hold.
(Source: notabadday)
Donna cut the engine.
‘We made good time,’ she said brightly.
‘Very good,’ Josh replied, glancing at the clock.‘It’s surprising.’
‘Uh huh. Normally takes us much longer than that.’
‘Well, we avoided rush hour.’
‘Yeah, that definitely helped.’ Josh scratched at the back of his head. ‘I was expecting more traffic around New York.’
‘Same. We got pretty lucky there.’
‘We did.’ He shifted, turning to look at her. ‘Donna?’
‘Yeah?’
‘You think it’s possible we’re discussing the traffic we didn’t hit because we’re nervous about going inside?’
She blew out a breath. ‘Maybe.’
‘We could go back. Tell her over the phone.’
‘We just drove for nearly six hours; you think I’m leaving before I’ve had about a gallon of your mom’s soup?’
‘I can make that for you.’
She patted his thigh. ‘Oh, honey, you really can’t. No, I’m glad we’re doing this,’ she continued, before he could retort. ‘I’m glad we came to tell her in person.’
He smiled at her, her lack of faith in his soup-making skills forgotten. ‘Yeah. Me too.’ He leaned across and kissed her, his hand going to rest on her stomach. ‘There’s nothing to be nervous about. She’s going to be so happy, Donna.’ His eyes shone in the half-light from the porch. ‘It was only me and her for so long, and now—’
‘She gets a grandkid,’ Donna murmured, her hand covering his. She smiled back at him warmly. ‘I know.’
‘And you. You know you’re her family, too.’ He tilted his head, considering. ‘Though she’s counted you as family ever since she decided we should get married back in… oh, 2000?’
Donna laughed and opened the car door. ‘Come on. Let’s go tell her I’m going to need soup for two.’
He climbed out as well, slamming the door behind him. ‘So, two gallons?’
‘Yes.’ She locked the car and came to join him. ‘Shall we?’
He nodded and took her hand.
(Source: notabadday)
Everything about the day had been awkward and terrible. Josh had been so excited. He was ecstatic to the point of exhaustion. Nerves hadn’t entered into his anticipation at all. He hadn’t considered for a minute that it could go wrong. She would say yes. Of course she would. They had talked about it, endlessly. The practical concerns, their own feelings about marriage, family. He knew her. He knew she would say yes. What he didn’t know, though, was that the world would intervene and see to it that he never actually got to propose - at least not before they arrived at their own engagement party.
Quickly, he had been able to get the message across that things had not gone to plan - so Donna never really found out what the party was for. Everyone was looking at them though, with knowing expressions and suppressed excitement (except Toby, who could only muster goodwill the first three times Josh talked about it). Donna accepted her obliviousness pretty hastily, much to Josh’s relief. She looked relaxed, happy and, as usual, sent calming smiles in Josh’s direction every time he appeared to get a little agitated. It would only be later, as they retold the story of their engagement that Donna would reveal she knew all along - a little redhead birdy told her…
Exhausted, meeting after meeting having consumed his day, Josh wearily walked the distance from his own office to Sam’s. When he turned the doorway, Donna was sat with her legs on the desk, barefoot, with a playful grin on her face. “Hey,” he grinned at his wife, mirroring her own expression, before remembering that it wasn’t his office that she was making herself comfortable in. “Should I be worried?” He looked a little confused. Her grin only widened, “Yeah, you know, this is probably a good time to tell you that me and Sam… we just can’t fight it anymore…” Donna’s tone was reflective of the time he sent her to a Teddy Tomba lecture. Laughing still, she dropped the sarcasm, “Josh! I was talking to Sam about First Lady business, and he knew you were headed this way but had to speak to Lou…” Donna offered a slightly vague explanation, before Josh interrupted. “Lady business?” She glared at him, before taking her legs off the desk and walking over. Shaking her head as she approached him, she quietly said, “Call me when you’re leaving,” before leaving him alone in his old office.
Despite Josh’s unsociable disposition, Donna had, over the years, worked on his party manners. He smiled, he was courteous, he pretended to take on board the endless advice. Then, just as his facade was slipping, Donna would swoop in and save him . However, despite the ubiquitous fatigue with which he had pushed through the day, tonight’s smile was earnest. As he entered the party, a little later than everybody else bar the President, he spied his flaxen-haired, angelic daughter. Evie was the perfect miniature of his wife, dainty, with a youthful elegance, the apple of his eye. She had her hair swept up in a silky, pink ribbon. Not a turned head in the room could detract his attention, perhaps not even Donna, who watched happily as her conversation with Margaret came to a halt.
Josh took a plate of hors d’ouevres from the hands of a server, “For the most important woman in the room,” he proudly proclaimed, as he headed towards Evie, lowering himself to her height as she met his path. She beamed at him, expectantly as he softly said, “Hey sweetheart.” Feeling the eyes of everyone else in the room upon them, Evie shyly replied, “Hi.” After offering her the plate of appetizers as though they were made just for her, he asked, “How’s the party?” Evie smiled at him, charmed by the way he spoke to her with absolute attention. “Are you making any deals, tying any shoelaces together?” She giggled at Josh, who kept to her eye-level. She replied, “Not yet,” while still giggling lightly at her father. He then wrapped his arms around her and joked, “Keep working the room”, before kissing her neck affectionately. “I love you.”
