ACT 1
BOSCO’S BAR AND GRILL – CHEVY CHASE – 7:00PM
Colin leaned over and kissed her cheek, then pulled back. “You’re more stunning than I remember,” he said with a grin.
“You do tend to notice that type of thing,” she deadpanned.
His smile widened. “It’s hard to miss with you.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Charm’s still working for you?”
“That and the accent,” he said, sliding into the booth. Donna slid in across from him as their waitress walked up to the table.
Colin motioned to Donna and she looked uneasily to the waitress. “Diet Coke.”
“Gin and tonic,” Colin said, and then waited for the waitress to leave before looking back at Donna. “So,” he drew out. “You’re still working at the White House?” It was a question, but he asked as though he knew the answer. She wondered if he’d seen the People magazine story in January or if he actually kept up with
“I’m working for the first lady now. What about you?”
“Here and there,” Colin said. “
“So you’re just in town for… the thing?”
He nodded, but studied her face. “Yes, a few days. But that’s not why you asked me here.”
“No.” Donna took a deep breath; she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what she was about to ask, but since returning from Amiir, she couldn’t stop thinking that there were things she was missing; things she should know. “I can’t remember the explosion.”
“Ahh…” he said, his voice soft.
“I remember talking with you, and talking to a soldier you introduced me to. Then…” she gestured to air. “Nothing really. Someone screaming maybe; I’m not sure.”
Colin shifted in his seat and looked down at the table, shifting his eyes up to look at her. “It must’ve been on the news. You can’t get the footage?”
The waitress brought their drinks and asked if they’d like to order. They both said no and Donna waited until she was gone to speak again. “I’ve seen the footage. It’s not close, it’s not detailed, it’s not… what happened. It’s only after what happened.”
“Donna…”
“It changed my whole life, Colin. My whole life. Everyone died but me and I can’t remember it.” She stopped and looked at him. “I only know one other person who was there, Colin, and she… it’s just not something she can talk about.”
Colin bent his head and sighed loudly. He ran a hand over his face and through the little hair he had and looked back up at her. “You’re sure?”
She paused for several seconds, staring out the window at the rain. When she looked back at him she nodded more confidently than she felt. “I need to know what happened to me.”
“Ok,” he sighed, sitting up straighter and picking up his glass. He drank a good portion of it and sat it back down on the table, then looked at her. “It was
CUT TO MORTON’S RESTAURANT
Sam walked quickly inside while wiping water off his coat. He took it off, handed it to the young woman behind the coat check counter and waited for his ticket, then continued on to the maitre d’.
“Mr. Seaborn,” the maitre d’ said, recognizing him from countless business meetings. “How are you this evening?”
Sam smiled at the young man. “Wet, but fine, thanks. I’m meeting my fiancée here.”
“Yes, sir. She’s been seated. Right this way.”
Sam followed him to a table near the fireplace. Lauren was drinking a glass of red wine and reading the menu. “Hi,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.
Lauren smiled politely but insincerely and turned her head so his kiss landed on her cheek instead of her lips. He lingered there a bit and then stood upright and sat down across from her.
“May I bring you something to drink?” the maitre d’ asked.
Sam glanced at the menu. “A glass of the house red for now.”
“Very well sir,” the man said, leaving.
Sam looked back over at Lauren and smiled. “You look great.”
“Thanks,” she said uneasily.
“How was your day?”
“Fine,” she said, re-opening her menu and studying it.
“Anything exciting happen?”
Lauren sighed and looked over her menu at him. “You’re a half hour late and I’m hungry. Can we just order?”
Sam closed his eyes for a brief second. “I got away as soon as I could. I’m sorry.”
“I know you are,” she said without taking her eyes off the menu.
CUT TO INT. WHITE HOUSE PRESS ROOM
“…will now be paying eighteen point four billion dollars for the three-thousand mile pipeline instead of the eleven billion originally agreed upon. In addition to that, the
“Lester…”
Lester looked up from the briefing and around at the reporters with hands raised. “Yeah… Mike.”
“Will President Nazarbayev be running in the election?”
“Yes,” Lester said matter of factly before looking around the room again. “Katie.”
“Lester, what’s the administration’s reaction to this deal?”
“Cautious optimism. General McClain, chairman of the joint chiefs, has been in Astana for the last three days, attending negotiations with
Questions continued firing at him and he pointed to the newest reporter from The Post. “Jeff.”
“When do you expect the thirty thousand troops back in the
“Details of that are still being worked out, but if
The side door opened and Lou walked in and up to the podium. She handed him a piece of paper, which he scanned quickly before looking back up to the press. “Ok folks, that’s it for now. We’ll have more details when the agreement has been signed, which we’re expecting will be either tomorrow or Monday. I’m calling a full-lid. You’ll be paged if needed.”
He stacked his papers as they continued shouting his name, but turned and walked from the podium without answering. He didn’t like to brag, but he was getting pretty damn good at this. As he pushed the door open to leave, Lou was standing in the hallway waiting for him. He flashed the paper before her eyes. “This true?”
“Yes. He left fifteen minutes ago.”
Lester sighed in relief. Thank goodness. “I’ll be ready in fifteen.”
“Make it ten,” Lou said, walking off in the direction of her office. “There’s relaxation to have.”
Lester chuckled and walked towards his office. He needed this; they all needed it. He could almost taste his first beer.
“Troops home for Christmas? That’s straight out of a Norman Rockwell.”
Lester turned and waited as Annabeth caught up with him. “I couldn’t have planned it better myself,” he said with a grin. “What’s up?”
“The first lady’s going to
Lester shook his head and started walking again. “Josh is gone and we’re going to get drunk. I don’t care about
“Wheels up is at nine,” she said, ignoring him and nearly jogging to keep up with his long strides. “She arrives at the school at eleven, takes a tour, attends an assembly where she’s speaking for fifteen minutes, hugs a few kids, and will be back here by three when the kids get home from school.”
“Seriously,” Lester said, walking into his office and behind his desk. “Josh is gone for the night. We’re done working.”
She stared at him for a second. “Who’s going?”
Lester clicked on his e-mail and typed in his password. “It’s your trip; I don’t care who you take,” he said without looking up at her.
“Tonight. Who’s going to get drunk?”
“Oh.” Lester looked up at her and smiled, thoughts of pool and darts popping into his head. “Probably anyone in the building, including the president, who’s had to be around Josh for the last week. It’s been like the campaign all over again.”
Annabeth pondered this for a second. “I’ll come.”
“We’re meeting in the lobby in ten minutes,” he said, going back to his e-mail.
“Got it,” she said, turning around and heading for the door.
“Let me ask you something,” he said just before she walked out.
“What?” she asked, turning back to him.
“Is the first lady’s office commenting on the pictures in The Post previewing tomorrow’s exhibit?”
“We’re using the company line,” Annabeth replied, walking further into his office. “The pictures being displayed at the exhibit are a true representation of what’s happening in the
“But that’s not going to be the question you get.”
“I know,” Annabeth sighed. “But she hasn’t decided if she’s going.”
CUT TO MORTON’S RESTAURANT
Sam listened to Lauren order, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. This was what she meant the night before when she told him the necklace he gave her didn’t make up for his apathy in their relationship. She wanted an effort, not a gift, and while her obvious displeasure with him in recent months hadn’t made this any easier, he knew she had a point. He could’ve been on time for dinner; he could’ve called Josh on his way to the restaurant and told him about the meeting with the DCCC. Or he could’ve told him tomorrow. He knew when he left the meeting that he only had twenty minutes to meet Lauren, but he still chose to go back to the White House. He was going to have to try harder.
The waiter turned to him and he ordered, then handed over his menu. “Could we get some bread please?” he asked.
“Of course, sir. I’ll bring some right out.”
He glanced over at Lauren, who was frowning as she often did recently, but waited until they were alone again to speak. “How about after dinner, we climb under the covers with a bottle of wine and watch an old black and white?”
A ghost of a smile played across her lips. “We used to do that all the time.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s the perfect rainy night activity.”
“You don’t have to go back in?”
He shook his head. “I’m all yours.”
She quirked her mouth and looked over towards the fireplace as if she didn’t believe him. He wanted to say something to defend himself, but he couldn’t blame her for doubting him so he let it go. The waiter appeared and placed a basket of bread and butter down on the table and Sam cut a slice off and buttered it, then placed it on a small plate for her.
“So,” he said, trying to deflect attention from his work schedule. “How was your day?”
She took a bite of her bread and chewed while watching him. “It was work; fine I guess.”
“Any new exciting cases?”
She shook her head. “No. But I got a call from Rachelle Clark.”
“Really?” he asked, somewhat surprised. Rachelle and Lauren had worked together at Miller-Peters-Bradford in LA, but they’d never been close friends. “How is she?”
“Michael Peters passed away.”
“Oh,” he breathed out, taking her hand across the table and squeezing gently. “I’m sorry.”
She smiled softly and looked down at their joined hands before looking up and nodding slightly. “The funeral’s Monday; I need to be there.”
“Of course. Are you… you’re ok?”
“Yes,” she said, her smile widening the slightest bit at Sam’s concern. “We weren’t close, but he was my boss for six years and I should be there.”
Their salads arrived and they ate silently for a few minutes. It was, strangely enough, one of the first comfortable meals they’d had together in a while. “What else did Rachelle have to say?” he asked around a bite.
“Not a lot; she had a list of phone calls to make so she didn’t have much time. They just got a new case involving a divorced man who took his children for the weekend and left the country. She couldn’t say much about it, but she seemed to think winning it could mean a change in child protection laws.”
“They’re defending the mother?”
“Yes. It was Michael’s case, but they’re going to have to reassign it.” She took a sip of her wine. “They’re also going to have to appoint another partner.”
“Who are they leaning towards?”
She tilted her head and thought about it for a few seconds. “It’d be mine if I was there, but I’d guess they’re looking at Eric.”
CUT TO INT. JOSH AND DONNA’S APARTMENT
Josh walked inside, his hair dripping wet and his coat leaking water on the floor, and was surprised by the darkness of the apartment. He flicked on the light by the door and called Donna’s name; there was no answer. He kicked off his wet shoes and dropped his backpack, then walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. He took a long drink and walked into the bedroom looking for her. When he came up empty, he started telling himself that there was nothing to worry about even as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed her cell. Her phone went directly to voicemail and he hung up and checked his own messages in case he’d missed her call. He didn’t have any, and walked back into the living room and sat on the couch, hanging his head. He hated fighting with her.
CUT TO BOSCO’S RESTAURANT
Donna stood up and reached for her purse with shaking hands. She’d asked for details and he’d given them to her as unapologetically as he’d shown her the real
She took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out slowly. She could handle this. Colin stood and watched her as if worried, but let her walk ahead of him towards the door. She got her trench coat and umbrella as he held the door open for her, and she put her umbrella up and walked into the rain.
He followed her outside and stood next to her under his own umbrella as they each waited for a cab. “You’re ok?”
She smiled bravely and hoped he didn’t know her well enough to read her face. “Yes. Thank you.”
He paused and then nodded reluctantly. “How’s Josh, by the way?”
“He’s good,” she replied with a fake smile.
“Really? I can’t imagine he wants you to come tomorrow night.”
Donna’s jaw tightened and she turned towards the street. “Josh is supportive of my decisions.”
“Of course,” Colin said. Silence stretched and he looked down the street for a cab. “I always meant to apologize to you, you know.”
This surprised Donna and she turned towards him. “Why?”
He didn’t face her, just stared out at the road. “I didn’t belong in that hospital and I knew it. But I stayed anyway, and that was partly because it irked Josh.”
Donna just looked at him. She didn’t know how she was supposed to react to that. At one point, she might have been mad that he’d stayed for the wrong reasons, but the truth was that it didn’t matter anymore. “There’s a rather long list of reasons it took Josh and me so long to get together and you’re very low on it,” she finally replied. “It was my fault; I should’ve asked you to go.”
He looked over at her and nodded. “I never had a chance with you.”
She smiled. “You didn’t want one anyway.”
He chuckled and then looked back at the road. A cab approached and he held his arm up. It pulled slowly up to the curb, splashing water onto the sidewalk, and he reached over and the opened the back door, then gestured for Donna to get inside.
Donna slid into the cab and looked back at him. “Thank you, Colin,” she said seriously. It was hard to hear, but she was strong enough to hear it. This was something she had to do.
Colin nodded and watched her for a second. “Will I see you tomorrow night?”
She smiled flatly. “Yes.”