Reflections: Strands of Pearls
Lynn Jepsen
Fifteen years ago, I stood on the living room stairs and told everyone
how Joe would be President and I would be his Chief of Staff. We're not
there yet, and we might not ever arrive, but we're working on the Hill.
Representative Ziegler will be sworn in three hours from now. I will
serve as his Chief of Staff.
Mother isn't here to watch this, and neither is Uncle Toby. Dad and Aunt
CJ and Aunt Diana and Uncle Josh have been wonderful. They didn't step in
and take over the campaign, although I did find myself calling Uncle Josh
twice a day during those first few weeks on the campaign trail. Oh, and
Aunt Diana and Dad worked out a few of Joe's stump speeches, but we did
the hard work, and it was hard.
When Mother died, Dad gave me most of her things - her books, her
clothes, most of her jewelry - and so today, I decided to take a piece of
her with me to the Hill. Her mother gave her a pair of emerald earrings
when she graduated from Oxford. I'm graduating from state politics into
the big time.
"Donnatella?"
Dad is leaning in the doorway, and I wave him inside. "Your uncle is
making people crazy." Rae'll sit on him. How do I look? "Like my little
girl." Daddy... "You know, this business, it's tough." Yeah. I've seen it
first hand, remember? "I suppose you have, Pigtails." The color rises in
my cheeks. It's been years since he's called me that. "You've got your
mother's heart." And Uncle Josh's temper. "That too. Come here." He wraps
his arm around me, and I rest my forehead against his. Dad has been
through so much, that I'm just glad he's proud of me.
"You two coming!" Rae opens the door, and I can see Joe behind her in the
hallway with Aunt CJ. Rachel grabs Dad by the arm, and gives him a hug
before dragging us both down the stairs. January in Virginia is something
to see. Puffs of snow are gathering on the porch as I peer out the
window. Grandpa left Mom his house when he died, and when Joe ran for
office in Richmond, she gave it to me. It's strange, thinking about Mom
growing up here. She used to tell me stories about growing up in England
and spending summers here, with her father and her best friend.
"Elle?" Yeah, I'm coming. Joe slips an arm in mine, and Noor grabs his
other arm and kisses him before we break our huddle and slip into our
coats.
*
The Representatives are sworn in in alphabetical order. Ziegler is last.
At least that gives me lots of time to take in the atmosphere. That, and
the feeling of family. Dad is standing on one side of me, and Noor on the
other. Uncle Josh is leaning more on Aunt Diana than his cane, but I
wonder if I could find him a chair. He shouldn't be standing up for so
long, but.... he's stubborn. Aunt CJ's crying. I wonder if Dad would be
prouder if I had run for office instead of running Joe for office. He
squeezes my arm then, and I have the answer to my question.
I stayed up most of last night decorating our new office. It wasn't hard.
I just figured the staff has worked so hard they deserved a break. When
we hit the tunnels, Uncle Josh starts in on one of those "I cornered
so-and-so in this tunnel until they changed their vote" stories, and Rae
interrupts him every once in a while to correct him.
The office is small, and we're just starting out, but thanks to Uncle
Josh, I already knew how to tackle the hurdles of getting furniture,
stationary, and ID passes. That puts us days ahead of everyone else.
"Great party, Elle." Noor drops her arm around my shoulders, and smiles
at me. It's rough making friends when your father used to be President,
but the three of us, Noor, Joe, myself, we're the three musketeers.
"Your Uncle Josh is sharking everyone at poker. You should come play."
No, I'd rather not. I'm trying to get psyched up for a little family
excursion later. "To go to the--" Yeah. "Okay. I'm gonna go check on Joe.
His head's starting to get big." Yeah.
*
Mom is buried in England where she grew up and where she escaped to, and
Uncle Toby is buried in New York ten blocks from the house where he grew
up. Dad and Uncle Josh always take flowers to Leo McGarry whenever we go
to Boston, but it's the other Donnatella we all visit most often.
Uncle Josh will always tell her that he loves her, and he always cries.
Those moments are the only time I can remember him crying, including when
Mom died, and I know how much he loved her.
Aunt CJ will shake her head quietly and whisper something about the
sisterhood and then she'll take Josh's arm and lead him to the car. Aunt
Diana usually waits there for him, but today she whispered 'thank you'
before taking Uncle Josh's other arm.
Joe's lips are pinched into a straight line, and he nods, leaving a few
flowers, and jogging after his mom. Then it's just Dad and I standing
there, side-by-side.
He bows his head, and I wonder if I'll be as great a person as he is. He
has always stood by me, even when Mom was scared of the things I wanted
to do, even when I was scared too. He built tree houses, and helped me
bury Brutus at the house in Virginia. He held my hand when I learned how
to walk, and sent me to Uncle Josh when he realized I was serious about
being a political operative. Dad sent me to Princeton and Yale, and paid
for a summer at Oxford, and then he smiled when I threw away all that
education to work as a staffer in the House.
Dad also took the time to talk to me, and explained everything patiently.
I understand now how much that really took - to take time out of running
the country to satisfy my curiosity. After another moment, he raises his
head, and starts on the trip up to the car. I'm always the last to leave.
Mom used to stand here with me, while I tried to understand who this
woman was who had been so much a part of the family that I carry her
name.
Donna, I'm sure you've been watching out for Uncle Josh and Dad and Aunt
CJ and Aunt Diana, and now that you have Mom to help you, I thought maybe
you could keep an eye on Joe and Noor and me.
They're standing around the car when I jog up, talking about Jed Bartlet,
and Leo McGarry, and John Hoynes, and Elena Cordova. I walk slowly,
listening to them talk about THE CAMPAIGN, and although I couldn't name
the year or time, they know immediately which campaign they're laughing
about.
Joe looks at me as Uncle Josh tells a joke about Mandy Hampton, and Dad
follows up with a line about someone named Mallory and a hockey player.
"Are we going to sound like that someday?" I certainly hope so. They've
got what I want. They're family. They love each other. They support each
other. I'm not sure Dad would be Dad without these people. He nods then,
and we all pile into Aunt CJ's van for the drive back to the Hill.
There's a party to go to, and although it might resemble a family
reunion, it's not. My real family is sitting here with me. Dad leans
across the seat to pat my shoulder, and begins a story.
"I was trying to protect oil companies from liability when Josh showed
up, soaking wet, with a goofy grin telling me that I just had to go to
Nashua...."
THE END
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