Now what am I going to do?
Call Stanley. No, he’s already gone to his friend’s party. Sigh.
Okay, so I’m on my own. I can do this. I just need some peace and quiet.
My office. See? I can do this.
“Where are you going, Josh?”
Drat. “Leo..” I turn around to face him.
“If you’re going home, you know..”
“I know what you said, Leo. Actually, I was going to my office.”
“Right.”
“I was.”
“For what?”
I know this is going to sound stupid. “To think?”
“About what?” He’s a very direct man, isn’t he?
“Stuff.” My eyes drifted momentarily to Donna, which I think Leo caught, because he turned that
way and back.
“You remember two things, Josh.”
I know. Donna is my assistant, and this is the White House. I tense in preparation for the speech.
“You’ll always have a job as long as I work here, and you always follow your heart.”
I stand corrected. In fact, I think my jaw literally dropped to the floor. Only two people in this
world have had this talent of making me speechless. One’s my mother, and the other is this man
standing across from me.
“Josh?”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t need to go to your office.” With that, he walks away.
First, Joey Lucas. Now, Leo McGarry. Was there a memo I missed?
Enough digression, Lyman.
You have to face the facts. People think you like Donna. You’ve always known in your heart that
Donna may have this little crush on you. Donna takes care of you. Donna cares about you.
You would take care of Donna if you could and are given the opportunity. Though I think that woman
would probably break her leg and still work, using that leg as her own crutch if she has to.
Digression, digression, echoes her voice in my head.
Well, I do care about her. A lot. A whole lot.
But, is that enough to go on?
I turn to Donna and her friend. That chest pain again. It has such bad timing.
Come on, Josh. Stop being so dense.
I know one thing for sure: It won’t come to me if I keep on standing here.
I walk towards Donna. Thankfully, her back’s to me, so I won’t be distracted with her looking at
me as I walk and think.
I think that I think better this way. Must be the whole bullpen experience.
A young blond woman joins them, and the man introduces her to Donna. Unnoticeably to untrained
eye, she’s surprised and embarrassed. Out of my curiousity, I walk slowly.
“Caleb’s fiancé?” Donna manages to spit out. “Wow.”
Wow? Donna, you have a better grip of the English language than that.
But..
All of the sudden, I feel the adrenaline rush to my head. I clench my fists to keep myself on the
brink of sanity.
I am angry.
Not because of the music. Most definitely, not from Donna’s stuttering.
It’s Caleb.
I know a Caleb. A Caleb from Donna’s past.
Dr. Freeride.