Part Three
Standard Disclaimers Apply
December 23, 2000
4:30 p.m.
Josh was getting ready to leave when Sam entered his
office and closed the door. "So," Sam asked. "How did
it go?"
"I don't know." He paused in thought for a moment. "I
don't think it went well." He looked at Sam. Something
was missing. "Sam, what happened to your antlers and
nose?"
"Toby got angry at me. He tore them off of my head and
ripped them to shreds. I think the breaking point was
when I called him 'Jolly Ol' St. Nick.'"
"I suspect he has no Christmas spirit."
"I know that very well. So, what happened?"
Josh paused for a moment. "She loves me."
"WHAT?"
"I wasn't whispering. Or stuttering," Josh said
sternly.
"She loves you? When did that happen?"
"I don't know! She didn't give me a specific day," he
snapped. He continued in a softer tone, "She just said
she's loved me for a long time."
"I don't know what to say."
"I didn't either. That's why she ran out. She said
she'd see me in the New Year...but I don't know. I
don't even know what that *means.* I think
everything's messed up."
"You can say that again."
"Thanks for the help, Sam. I really appreciate it,"
Josh said sarcastically. "First you let me drink, them
you tell me to talk to her...now you come up with 'you
can say that again!' Thank you so much!"
"Hey," Sam said a tad defensively, "it's not my fault.
If you didn't talk to her, everything still would've
been awkward, wouldn't it?"
"Well...um...yeah. It would," Josh admitted. "But it's
more awkward now than it was before."
Sam smiled. "But, there is the opportunity to make it
less awkward."
"First off, you're talking in riddles. Secondly, I
shouldn't take any more advice from a man caught
between his boss's daughter, a prostitute, and a
Republican."
"Who? Ainsley? I never had anything with Ainsley."
"You told me you thought she was cute."
"That doesn't mean I'm going to cross party lines,"
Sam declared.
"Okay, enough! Back to my problem," Josh said.
"I thought you didn't want my advice," Sam said with a
victorious grin on his face.
"Well, I don't know anyone with a better track record
at relationships," Josh relented. "Although you still
suck at them."
"Hey, I --" Sam began to protest. "I guess you're
right." He sighed. "Here's my advice to you, Josh. I
suggest you think about your feelings for Donna."
"That's your advice?" he asked incredulously.
"That's my advice," Sam affirmed.
"What do you think I've been doing for the past hour?"
Josh snapped.
"No. You've been thinking about what Donna said. I
think you have to examine what Donna means to you.
Then, you can think about what Donna said and where
you're going to go from there." Sam smiled, obviously
proud of himself.
"I guess that makes sense," Josh said slowly.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, my friend."
"I hope you know that if this ends badly too, I
reserve the right to hit you."
Sam nodded. "Understood."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 24, 2000
8:33 a.m.
Josh rolled out of bed. He hadn't slept much...he had
spent the whole night thinking.
What did Donna mean to him?
She was not one of the greatest women he'd known. She
was hardworking, loyal, intelligent. She could be
incredibly stubborn, which both delighted and maddened
him. He knew he could trust her with anything.
She was important to him. But what did that mean?
Love? Friendship? Other?
Damn feelings. Always so confusing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2:15 p.m.
"My life sucks," Donna declared to her roommate.
Celia sighed. "You've said that about two thousand
times in the past twenty-four hours."
"It's true. What kind of moron sleeps with her boss,
then declares her love for him? I've given myself the
gift of unemployment. Merry Christmas. Not to mention
the fact I won't get to see any of my family this
year."
"The invitation to my family's house still stands. I
leave at five," Celia said, trying to make the
prospect sound as delightful as possible.
"I'm in a horrible mood. I don't want to make your
time with your family any more depressing than it
already is."
Celia sighed. "Just as well. My mother probably
would've eaten you alive anyway. She does that to all
the guests...and some family members, too."
Donna laughed - although she didn't much feel like it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7:33 p.m.
Josh decided to go for a walk, hoping to clear his
head.
He breathed in the cold winter air. It might not make
him any clearer about what was going on in life, but
he did get an opportunity to see his own breath. That
had fascinated him since he was a kid.
He watched all the people walk past him. Families,
couples, singles, all rushing home to the ones they
love. There was something beautiful about the sight.
And he wished Donna were there with him to see it.
He wished he never had to be apart from her again.
And then it all became clear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8:35 p.m.
Donna was alone in her apartment. She was growing more
melancholy by the moment. Her brother was in Minnesota
with the flu. Her parents were in Wisconsin, probably
just settling down with an assorted group of relatives
for a holiday meal.
And she wasn't with any of them.
She was in her small apartment - alone - watching
Christmas movies on AMC. At least Celia was with her
family. Sure, Celia hated her family, but she was
*with* them.
At least she wasn't alone.
And Donna didn't even want to think about Josh. She
loved him so much...and now she'd probably lost him
forever. How could Josh be her friend and co-worker
after she'd spilled her heart out to him?
It couldn't be forgotten. Nor could the night they
spent together. Sure, Josh didn't remember it. But it
still wouldn't be forgotten.
This made sense to her.
Point is, there was no turning back now. There was no
Josh and Donna anymore.
On the television, Judy Garland was performing in
'Meet Me in St. Louis.' Somehow, singing, dancing, and
happiness was extremely depressing. She assumed it had
something to do with her already reduced state.
She heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" she called
out.
"It's Josh," a voice returned.
She began to panic. "Um, Donna's not here," she
answered lamely. "This is her roommate."
"Donna, I know your voice," Josh answered softly. "I
need to talk to you."
"Yeah, that worked out real well the last time," she
muttered to herself. She almost didn't want to leave
her couch. She didn't want to face him. But, she had
to. She couldn't keep the door closed on Joshua Lyman.
Whatever he wanted to say, it couldn't be worse than
not seeing him again.
She opened the door. "Hi, Josh," she said meekly.
"Hi, Donna." He stood at the door for a moment. "Can
I...can I come in?"
"Oh. Sure." She stepped aside and let him in.
Josh looked around at the Christmas decorations in the
apartment. "This is certainly festive."
"Don't make fun of me, Josh," she said tersely. "I'm
not in the mood."
Josh looked taken aback. "I wasn't making fun of you.
It is festive."
"Yeah, I guess it is," she said noncommittally. "I'm
sorry, Josh, for the mood I'm in. I'm sorry for what I
said yesterday. I just got to the point where I
couldn't keep what I felt for you to myself any
longer."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"I figured."
"You don't have to apologize."
"Okay."
"I love you."
"Okay." She paused for a moment. Her eyes widened.
"Excuse me?"
"I love you," he repeated. "I don't know how long I've
felt it, but I just know I do. When I think about
you...when I'm with you..." His voice trailed off. "I
love you."
"I think it's my turn to be speechless," Donna said
softly.
"Okay. Do you have any mistletoe around here?"
"No. Why?"
"I was looking for an excuse to kiss you."
*Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight*
Josh moved closer to Donna. He loosely grasped her
hand and felt her soft skin beneath his fingertips.
"Well, I don't have any mistletoe. You know, that's
what got us into this mess in the first place."
"Thank God for mistletoe, then," he said with a smile.
"Because it made me realize that the most wonderful
woman in the world is in love with me."
*Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away*
"Josh." She could feel tears clouding her eyes. Joshua
Lyman loved her, and now everything had changed again.
This time, for the better.
"Donnatella. Since you don't have any mistletoe, I
guess I just ask. Can I kiss you?"
*Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now*
"What do you think?" Donna said with a smile. She
pulled Josh to her and kissed him.
"Merry Christmas, Donnatella," Josh said lightly.
"I love you, Joshua Lyman," Donna said.
"I love you too, Donnatella Moss," he replied.
And they kissed again.
*And have yourself a merry little Christmas now*
THE END