“Scotch? At ten in the morning?”
“Probably the reason they instituted coffee as the formal festivity.” Marion giggled. “A moment alone and a toast with a glass of scotch is a tradition none of us are supposed to know about,” Marion explained. “There seem to be a lot of those. The problem is everyone from the cleaning staff to the press office knows before you will.”
Jameson laughed. “Maybe it’s time to create a few new ones.”
Marion winked. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”
Jameson grinned. Fortune cookies and Bible Study, oh, and fireplaces.
CHAPTER TEN
Candace accepted a kiss on the cheek from Jameson. “I’ll see you at the Capitol,” she said.
“I’ll be there unless there’s a tradition of First Ladies hitting the drive-thru first,” Jameson replied.
“I’m positive I don’t want to know.”
“See you shortly,” Jameson said.
Candace buttoned her coat and looked at her predecessor. “Any chance you stowed that scotch in your jacket?”
“Looking for a little liquid courage?” Wallace asked.
“More like warmth. It’s freezing.”
“Believe me, you won’t need the heaters when you get up there,” the president advised. “The blood will be pumping so hard through your veins, you’ll be able to heat the entire city.”
Probably true. Candace followed President Wallace to the car, offered a wave to the press, and slid into her seat. No turning back now, Candy.
***
“Have you seen Mom yet?” Michelle asked Jonah.
“No. I heard someone say that JD’s car just pulled in. They’ll probably be here in a minute,” Jonah replied. “Why are you freaking out?”
“Jonah, our mother is about to become the president.”
“Yeah. I got that memo a couple of months back. She’s still Mom.”
“Yes, she is,” Pearl sauntered up to the pair.
“Have you talked to her, Grandma?”
Pearl turned to Jonah. “Give us a minute.”
“Good luck,” he said.
“Care to tell me what this is all about?” Pearl asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Michelle answered.
“You’ve been fidgeting like there’s a swarm of ants in your pants since we got here,” Pearl observed.
Michelle didn’t know how to respond. She hadn’t given any thought to her nervousness. She’d been awake most of the night tossing and turning. Melanie finally got up and made her a cup of tea. She didn’t seem to have any conscious thought, only emotions. She was excited. She was also suddenly terrified.
“Shell?” Pearl grabbed Michelle’s arm.
“I don’t know, Grandma. I can’t believe it, I guess.” She took a deep breath. “I can’t believe she’ll be gone, so will JD, and so will you.”
Pearl smiled. “We’re a phone call away.”
“It’s not the same.”
“No,” Pearl agreed. “She’ll miss you more than you will have time to miss her with that colony you seem to be creating.”
“Colony? I can’t help that I had twins!”
Pearl sniggered. “And another on the way. Always trying to pull ahead of your sister and brother,” she teased.
“I am not.”
“If you say so.”
Michelle sighed. “Mom won’t have time to miss me.”
Pearl shook her head. “Your mother is right.”
“About what?”
“She always says this family needs an asylum. You are a lunatic if you believe that,” Pearl said.
“I’m being selfish.”
“No,” Pearl disagreed.
Michelle was caught off guard by her grandmother’s response.
Pearl smiled. “It’s not selfish to wish you could keep her close, Shell. It’d be selfish to ask her not to go because you wish it.” She caught a glimpse of Candace and Jameson heading toward the door beside President Wallace and the First Lady. “Don’t look now,” she said. “The chief loon is headed this way.”
“Mommy!” Cooper ran for Candace.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Candace accepted an exuberant hug from her youngest child.
“This place is big, Mommy.”
Candace’s smile lit her from within. Cooper’s innocent excitement captured her heart. “It is big,” she agreed. “You know, I used to work in this building.”
Cooper’s eyes opened wide. “You did?”
“I did,” Candace told him.
“Mommy, you’ve had a lot of white houses.”
Candace pulled Cooper close and laughed. “I suppose I have.”
“Nana!” Spencer grabbed Candace around the waist.
“Hello, Spencer.”
“You look important, Nana,” he said. “Kinda like Mommy.”
Candace struggled to keep a straight face. “Well, thank you,” she replied. “And, you look handsome.” She glanced over at Michelle who was trying to avoid her gaze.
“You did my tie,” Spencer reminded her.
Candace frowned. “That must be why it’s crooked.” She winked. “Why don’t you go ask Scott to help you straighten it?”
“Kay! Come on, Coop!”
“I’ll see you both later,” Candace promised. She made her way to Michelle.
“His tie isn’t crooked,” Michelle said.
“No.”
“How come you sent him to Scott?” Michelle asked.
Candace pulled Michelle into a corner. She sighed. “I should’ve had you stay with us last night.”
“What? Why?”
Candace placed her palm on Michelle’s cheek. “I wouldn’t be here without you, Shell. I hope you realize that because I do.”
“Mom, I didn’t…”
“You challenged me. Sometimes, I wanted to throttle you,” Candace admitted. “It was good for me. Remember something,” she said. “Whatever you decide you want to do a year, or two, or ten from now; you can do it. You’re one of the most talented communicators I know.”
“Mom…”
Candace winked. “Now, I need to find my wife.”
Michelle rolled her eyes. “She’s covered in kids.”
Candace turned to find Jameson surrounded by Cooper, Spencer, JJ, and Nate Ellison’s boys. “Maybe she’s really Peter Pan.”
“Could be. He built a whole world. Then again it was called Never Never Land.”
Candace laughed. “Sounds about right.”
“Mom,” Jonah tugged on Candace’s sleeve. “I think they’re getting ready to start.”
Candace nodded. “We’ll talk later,” she told Michelle. “I’m going to grab Jameson for a minute.”
A voice called for the Ellison’s children and Candace’s family to head to the corridor that would lead them to the West Platform of the Capitol Building. Marianne corralled Spencer and Cooper. “Spencer,” she said. “You need to go with Scott now.”
“What about Coop?” Spencer asked.
“Remember, we talked about this? You and Maddie are going to go with Scott. Laura and Mel will be with you too.”
“And, Grandma Maureen?”
Marianne nodded. “Grandma Maureen and Grandpa are going too.”
“I have to leave Coop?”
Marianne took a deep breath and squatted to her son’s height. “Today is Nana’s big day. Cooper and I will see you outside in a few minutes, okay?”
Spencer shuffled his feet.
“Spencer, I know Cooper is like your brother. But Cooper is my brother,” she reminded him. “He has to go with me, Jonah, and Shell. Okay? You can stand together when we get there, and you will be together all week.”
Spencer nodded. He looked up at Jameson. “Jay Jay?”
“Yeah, buddy?”
“Will you come too?”
“I have to stand with Nana for a few minutes, but I promise; I will see you out there.”
Spencer nodded.
“Go on,” Marianne said.
“He could’ve walked with you if it meant that much to him,” Jameson said.
Marianne smiled. Life in the Fletcher-Reid family was anything but ordinary. She suspected that Jameson would always regard Spencer more as a son than a grandson, just as Spencer thought of Cooper as a brother, not an uncle. “It’s good for him to learn he can’t always get his way,” she said. “Besides, Cooper is your son. He deserves that spotlight today.”
“So, do you,” Jameson said.
Marianne offered her hand to Cooper. “Come on,” she said. “Give Momma a hug and lets you and me make sure Jonah’s tie is straight.”
Cooper hugged Jameson hard.
“Keep your sisters in line,” Jameson said.
Cooper giggled. “And Jonah.”
“And Jonah,” Jameson agreed. She took a deep breath and made her way across the room to Candace. “Any last words?”
Candace laughed. “I don’t know. Got any fortune cookies?”
Jameson’s eyes twinkled.
“No…”
Jameson reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a fortune cookie. “Thought you might like a glimpse of the future.”
Candace held Jameson’s gaze as she cracked open the cookie.
“Well?” Jameson asked. “Aren’t you going to read it before they herd us like cattle?”
Candace snickered and dropped her eyes to the slip of paper between her fingers. “The best is yet to come.” She looked back at Jameson. She often wondered how many of these special cookies Jameson kept hidden. It didn’t matter. Jameson understood that Candace’s penchant for Chinese take-out and a cabinet of fortune cookies was rooted in a need for simple pleasures. In their way, the folding containers and the cookies filled with silly phrases, proverbs, and romantic sentiments reminded Candace that meaning in life was found moment to moment. Caviar and champagne had their place. Chicken wings and cookies in plastic wrappers equated to home, to the people who had nurtured Candace as a child. Candace hoped to instill the same sense of purpose, hopefulness, and wonderment in her children and grandchildren that her grandparents and Pearl had engendered in her. It seemed like a little thing. It wasn’t. Jameson’s fortune cookies were nothing short of a love letter—each and every one.
“Mrs. Wallace and Ms. Reid,” a voice called into the holding room.
“That’s me,” Jameson said.
“Jameson.” Candace pulled Jameson back. “Make sure you add ‘in bed’ to that one,” she whispered.
“Where do you think I got the fireplace idea?” Jameson kissed Candace’s cheek.
“She’s something else,” President Wallace said.
“You have no idea, Don; no idea at all.”
***
Jameson offered Janine Ellison a smile. “Are you ready for this?”
“Between you and me? Not even a little bit.”
“Nate is good for Candace. They make a good team.”
“I think so,” Janine agreed. “What about you? I barely got to talk to you this morning at coffee. How are you holding up?”
“I just can’t wait to see her walk onto the platform,” Jameson said.
“I understand,” Janine replied.
Jameson looked over her shoulder to where Nate Ellison was standing a short way behind them with his entourage. Ahead, she could see Jonah leaning into Michelle’s ear. In her wildest childhood dreams, she would never have imagined standing in this hallway. She was grateful that she would arrive on the West Platform before Candace. She would have the chance to watch Candace enter. The group ahead pulled out of sight. Jameson took a deep breath. “Here we go.”
***
Michelle looked out at the crowd as they waited to be announced. “Oh, my God.”
“Senator Blake told me they estimate the crowd at about 1.5 million,” Jonah said.
Cooper tugged on Marianne’s hand. “A million is a lot.”
“Mom is a popular lady, Coop,” Marianne said.
Cooper beamed. “She’s ours,” he said. “And Momma’s.”
Marianne heard Pearl chuckle. “Yes, she is, Cooper. Yes, she is.”
***
Candace weaved through a small cluster of people and embraced Nate Ellison. “Thank you for taking this journey with me.”
The future vice president smiled warmly. “Thank you for giving me the chance.”
“I’ll see you on the other side,” Candace said.
***
Cooper held Marianne’s hand tightly.
“It’s okay, Coop,” she whispered. “Your momma’s next.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer began. “Ms. Jameson Reid and Mrs. Janine Ellison accompanied by Secretary of the Senate Danielle Pierce and….”
“See?” Marianne whispered. “There she is.”
“JD looks excited,” Jonah commented.
“Aren’t you?” Laura whispered.
***
Jameson failed to understand people’s excitement about her arrival to anything. Her entire claim to fame was loving Candace. That was it from her point of view. She started down the stairs, acknowledging a few familiar faces with an offered hand or a nod. How many people were watching? She forced herself not to think about the sea of faces standing in front of the Capitol. Candace might have had her detractors; she had far more supporters. Who wouldn’t want to share a piece of history; to say they were there the day the first woman became President of the United States? She moved across the aisle to embrace Marion Wallace.
“Good luck, JD,” Marion said.
“Think I’ll need it?” Jameson whispered.
“I left you a little something,” Marion replied. “Look in the recreation room upstairs.”
Jameson nodded and made her way to her family. Cooper immediately fell to her side. She bent over and spoke to him softly. “I know there are a lot of people, buddy. Just remember that Mommy and I love you more than anything; okay?”
He nodded. Jameson took his hand and looked at Pearl.
Pearl’s eyes were riveted to the door Candace would walk through; waiting impatiently to see the daughter she loved come into view.
Jameson followed Pearl’s gaze upward as the current president and vice president entered. Within seconds, both had offered her a kiss on the cheek. President Wallace leaned into her ear. “I left the president a few take-out menus.”
Of all the things the millions of people watching might guess President Wallace said to conjure Jameson’s laughter, she was confident take-out menus would not be on anyone’s list. She shook her head with amusement as the president crossed the platform to his family. She’d been so busy musing about the president’s humor, she’d completely tuned out Nate Ellison’s introduction. She had to mentally shake herself back to reality when he embraced her.
Jameson took a deep breath. This is it.
***
Candace smiled at several familiar faces and nodded her thanks for their congratulatory wishes. Already, all eyes were on her. She could feel them near and far waiting to see what she would say to them. She slowed her breathing, hoping it might tame the fierce pounding of her heart. A swishing sound she identified as the blood moving through her veins whirled in her ears. She’d experienced profound moments in her life; the birth of her children, the loss of her sons, the death of her parents, the moment she realized she had fallen in love with Jameson, the day they brought Cooper home—all of those moments had stolen the air from her lungs with their gravity. Today did not eclipse any of the seminal moments in Candace’s life. It was, she thought, the culmination of all of those experiences that led her here. It was seeing the potential in new life. It was understanding the palpable sadness that came with loss. It was experiencing the foundation love provided. She carried each of those moments, every person who touched her life and her heart over a lifetime with her today. She heard a chorus of horns herald her introduction. With a deep breath, she offered a silent prayer. “God, watch
over me as I do my best to watch over all of them.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, the president-elect of the United States, Candace Stratton Reid.”
***
Jameson’s eyes fixed on the doorway. Candace. “I love you.” The words fell from her without reservation or permission. She felt Marianne’s hand press into the small of her back in support. The thought passed through her mind that Candace looked regal as she stepped through the opening that led to the West Platform. Candace turned and accepted the well-wishes of several friends and dignitaries as she descended the stairs. Her posture exuded confidence and resolve without appearing rigid. Jameson marveled at her wife’s composure. Watching Candace as she approached, Jameson feared she might lose the ability to stand.
Marianne stepped a touch closer, sensing Jameson’s wavering. “She is amazing,” Marianne commented.
“She’s everything,” Jameson said.
***
Candace’s eyes met Jameson’s when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Amid the thunderous roar of the crowd, her world went silent. Jameson’s smile calmed the beating of her heart, speaking without words, anchoring her in the safe harbor Jameson had created in her life. She accepted a silent kiss on the cheek from her wife. No words were needed. She bent over and embraced Cooper, then proceeded to offer each of her grown children an affectionate hug. A peck on Janine Ellison’s cheek was followed by an embrace from Nate Ellison. “No turning back,” she whispered.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said.
Candace crossed the aisle and smiled at President Wallace. He leaned into her ear. “Breathe,” he advised.
Candace finished with the necessary pleasantries and stood beside the vice-president elect. She allowed herself to look out at the crowd for the first time. Dear God. She repeated her silent prayer, hoping someone was listening. People were counting on her to raise their hopes and to elevate their opportunity. She would need guidance and strength to deliver. If you’re listening, please give me the strength.
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