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Poet in My Heart Jane Harper RATING: PG-13 SYNOPSIS: Moving day for Sarah, moving-over day for Leo. ARCHIVE: Sure. HTML available on request. DISCLAIMER: I'm just a stowaway on the USS Sorkin. Don't throw me overboard, OK? Pretty please?
What a gawdawful day. Sarah Cooper burst through her front door only to be confronted with packing boxes everywhere, covering most of the living room floor and all the kitchen counters, and leaving barely enough room to navigate her wheels around the apartment. The next day she was moving, putting most of her furniture in storage, and for the first time in almost ten years she would no longer be living alone. And she was as nervous about it as the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof. She tossed off her work clothes and took a long, leisurely shower, then warmed up the kosher Chinese carry-out she had brought home and curled up on the sofa to read some of the proposals she had brought home from work. After a good hour and a half of trying to concentrate, she gave up, and just as she was digging her current mystery novel out of her briefcase, the phone rang. "Hello?" "Hey, Toots." It was Leo. "Hey yourself. You still at work?" "Yeah. Listen, can we have lunch tomorrow?" "Well _I_ have no plans for lunch, but can the free world do without _you_ for awhile?" "I'll ruin Josh's afternoon and make him stand in the gap for awhile." "You know Josh loves it when you hand off to him." Sarah had known Josh Lyman since he had been shot, and had seen him blossom over those months into a man who was ready to take charge when necessary. He had proven that the weekend Sarah and Leo's plane went down in Arizona, when Josh had needed to subdue a frantic President and coordinate the search for the missing Chief of Staff. "That would be nice," she continued. "What time is good for you?" Grabbing her Digital Assistant out of her briefcase, she pulled up her schedule for the following day. "I'm free from 11 to 2, so whatever works for you is great for me." After a moment, he said, "I'm not sure Margaret synched this before she left for the day yesterday, but at the moment it looks like 11:30 is open. Let's call it that unless you hear from her, OK?" "Works for me. She'll call me if there's a change?" "Yeah. See you tomorrow." She waited for What They Didn't Say. "Sarah .. ?" She smiled. "I know. Backatcha. I'll see you tomorrow." She returned to her mystery novel but hadn't read a page until the phone rang again. "Hello?" "Sarah?" "Yes sir?" It was her boss, the Vice President. "I was looking over the briefing memo you wrote me about the breakfast meeting tomorrow, and I realized I probably really do need you there." *Damn,* she thought. *Of all the days Hoynes would decide he couldn't start his morning without me.* "Sir-" she began. "That's not a problem, is it?" His tone said 'this-better-not-be-a-problem.' "No sir." "Well," he continued, "I know you're not a morning person, so I'll have my driver come by to pick you up. How's 6:30?" *Just dandy,* she thought. "Oh-dark-hundred.* "That'll be fine, sir." "See you then," he finished before hanging up. Sarah looked at her watch. Eleven-thirty. She put the leftover Chinese in the refrigerator and was cleaning up her dishes when the phone rang again. She resisted the serious desire to answer, "Grand Central Station!" "Hello?" "Hey, Mom." It was Sam Seaborn. "Hey yourself. 'T's up?" She and Sam had adopted one another, partly because Sam was dating Leo's daughter Mallory, and partly because she had a maternal fondness for him ever since they'd met the night of the Newseum shooting. "I just wanted to remind you that you're having dinner with Mal and me tomorrow night." "Thanks for doing that, tomorrow is shaping up to be Zoo Day." "Why?" he sounded concerned. "Well, Himself called and said he needs me for a breakfast meeting tomorrow..." "Oh goody," he interrupted. "I know how much you love those." "... and Leo is taking me out for lunch. Or not." "Or not?" "Well, you know how things are with him. Somebody could start a war and then where would I be?" Seaborn laughed. "Inconsiderate of them, wouldn't it be?" "I know," she responded. "How dare they get in the way of my love life?" "What time will you be here?" he asked finally. "Oh, you know what? Hoynes is sending a car for me tomorrow-" "He knows you," Sam interrupted again. "He knows it's not safe for you to drive before ten o'clock or so. You're not awake." "Well in any case," she laughed again, "could you or Mal come pick me up at OEOB?" "But that would leave your car at your place. How will it get over to Leo's?" "You could drop me here after dinner and I could drive it over?" she suggested. "I'd see if somebody else could do it, but with the hand controls-" "OK, that's what we'll do. I'll get Mal to pick you up at six." "Great. I'll let you know if I get kept late." "G'nite Mom." "'Night, Sam." She turned the ringer off and headed for bed. --
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