NOTES:
Author: Yana
Rating: PG-13 for adult situations; nothing explicit
Spoilers: Season 3 up to Night Five, just to be safe
Archive: Please ask.
Disclaimer: The shopkeeper is mine. Everyone else are
absolutely, totally, not my characters. The West Wing is the property of
the kind non- litigious type folks at NBC and I get no material profit
from this. Further disclaimers may be found at the end.
AN: I don't juice fast, but I know people who do. I've
done some reading, but for the sake of this story, let's assume I know
absolutely nothing. I apologise in advance for any inaccuracies.
AN2: Amy gets the 'Mandy Treatment'(TM) in this one.
I'm aware ;)
Yes, a juice fast was definitely the answer, Donna thought as she grabbed her coat.
She felt like crap. The hours at work were only getting longer as reelection approached. The lawyer she'd been kinda seeing - well, 'kinda seeing' seemed to sum it up. Josh was off in Amy-land and wasn't around for anything besides work. And to top it all off, her practical side was telling her to call Casey and ask if the job offer was still open.
And I feel like crap, she reminded herself.
She'd stumbled across a book that extolled the miracles of juice fasting and found herself drawn to the idea. Detoxifying her body. Stripping back to the bare essentials. Being healthy. Regaining control. Which was why, in an effort to fix at least one thing in her life, she was slipping out of the office in the middle of a bright winter afternoon.
Apparently, the first rule of juice fasting was to buy a really good juicer. Having priced out the 'good' juicers, however, she promptly decided to try organic juice itself, at least to start. Of course, the voice in her head said, if she took Casey's offer she could afford pretty much any...
No.
Not thinking about the mess that is my life, she thought. Thinking about juice.
Apples.
Beets.
Healthy things.
Papaya. Mmmm. Papaya...sweet, tropical...like Hawaii. Or Tahiti. Tahiti...no. No. Vegetables.
She steered her thoughts back on course as she hurried down the street.
Green leafy things, full of vitamins.
Carrots, being slowly lowered into a food processor to be pureed into liquid, inch by inch...
There was an image to get behind.
She came upon the health food store suddenly. It was an unassuming little place, almost aggressively bland with its light beige paint, fluorescent lighting and sterile open aisles. The sign above the display window had a friendly little picture of a smiling tomato and a bell tinkled as she opened the door. She went in, trying to keep her thoughts on produce.
Peaches. Ripe and soft, sliced finely with a sharp knife.
White grapes. Crushed to pulp.
Celery, snapped into tiny >snap< bite-size >snap< pieces >snap< >snap<
"Can I help you?" a voice asked.
Donna realized she'd been standing in one place for quite a while, actually, gritting her teeth and staring past - she checked the label - the organic buckwheat honey.
"Uh. Um, juice?" she stammered, trying to unclench her jaw and breathe normally. She wasn't very successful. The round-faced little shopkeeper eyed her with the faint anxiety usually evinced when one discovers several rolls of silly putty connected to some wires and a backward-counting digital display.
"Sorry?"
"Juice." Donna took a deep breath and rummaged in her purse for the list she'd made. She wondered if maybe she should skip the juice fast thing and take a very, very long vacation instead. Through reelection.
The shopkeeper took her list and steered Donna in the right direction. "Over here."
Ringing Donna's purchases through, the little shopkeeper spoke up again. "No offense, but frankly, you look like you could use something a little stronger than juice."
"Uh, yeah." Donna glanced around, realising that the shop was empty of other customers.
"Is it the time of the year?"
"Sorry?" Donna was still distracted.
"You know, Valentine's Day has passed, winter blahs..."
"No," sighed Donna. "It's work."
"Gotta pay the bills somehow," the shopkeeper said sympathetically.
"No, no," Donna said hastily. "I love my job. It's just - " She trailed off.
"Job doesn't love you?"
"Something like that."
"Well, I guess you have to really enjoy your time off."
"No such thing," Donna laughed.
"Boss working you to hard?"
"No, no. I love my boss. But - " She broke off again, choking, and looked down.
The shopkeeper watched her for a moment, wearing the same bomb-waiting-to-explode expression as before. "You ought to take some time for yourself, Donna."
"I know - hey, how did you know my name?"
"It was on your credit card."
"Oh, right." Donna shook her head and smiled sheepishly.
"Tell you what," the shopkeeper said, dropping something into the bag. "A free gift for a first-time customer. In honour of Valentine's Day. Well, actually, left over from Valentine's Day. You don't mind, do you?"
"No! Thank you. What is it?"
"A love sponge."
"A what?" Donna peered into the bag.
"Love sponge."
"Um, I've seen, uh, sponges before and that's about the right size, but..."
"Oh, no, no, no," the shopkeeper said hastily. "They're not, uh, for that. It's a sea sponge."
"A sea-love sponge?"
"A biodegradable, dioxin-free alternative."
"Okay." Donna smiled politely, almost ready to bring the exploding-bomb expression herself.
"Sorry." The shopkeeper fished around under the counter for something. "Damn. I'm all out of pamphlets. It works like this: give the sponge to someone you love and they will love you in return."
"Really."
"Temporarily."
"Okay." Donna began backing away, bomb expression firmly in place.
"And when I say give, well, they really only have to touch it, and then you..."
"Thanks!" Donna called out, slamming the door in her haste to get out of the store.
"Enjoy the love." The shopkeeper chuckled quietly in the empty store.
Donna was almost all the way back to the White House when she remembered she'd paid cash.
*****
It was never much fun hauling ass back to her office on a sunny winter afternoon, but seeing Amy relaxing in her chair took the serious biscuit.
"Oh, sorry!" Amy got up hastily when she saw Donna's expression.
It wasn't fair. Amy had an education, an awesome job, a great body, and Josh. And now, apparently, she had manners and a sensitivity to other people's non-verbal messages.
Donna stopped herself from sending another non-verbal message across the room. Think of juice, she thought. Fresh, thick, sweet juice, diluted with cold, clear distilled water.
She mustered a genuine smile for Amy by thinking of steel counter-top appliances.
"No, it's okay. I just have a lot of shopping." She lifted the bags for emphasis.
Amy smiled back and turned to look down the hall, leaning on the doorway to the bullpen. Donna sat down, occasionally shooting glares at Amy's back, and tried to organize her desk. As soon as Josh came out of his office, she was definitely taking over his fridge for her groceries.
She rummaged around in her bags and pulled the so-called "love-sponge" out of its package. It was small, yellowish, and roughly oval-shaped. And it seemed to be very, very slightly damp. Probably the love potion, Donna snorted. She balanced it in her palm and inspected it at eye level.
Yup. It was a sponge, all right.
A faint sigh escaped Amy.
"Josh will be done any minute," offered Donna, still eyeing the sponge.
"I know."
How could two perfectly polite words which were probably meant to reassure me instead completely irritate the crap out of me? Donna wondered.
Without thinking, she aimed her palm at Amy and flicked. The sponge flew straight and true and hit Amy square in the back before dropping to the floor.
Donna clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
Amy's hand reached around to her back to feel the damp spot on her jacket where the sponge had hit. She rubbed her thumb and forefinger together questioningly. She was about to turn to Donna, when -
"Hey Amy."
"Sam!" Distracted, she turned to see the Communications Deputy rounding the corner.
"How's it going?" He paused next to her.
"Um, fine, actually -" Amy's voice suddenly sounded husky.
"Are you okay? You look a little flushed."
"Ah -"
Donna watched Amy's thumb and forefinger rubbing together absently. Amy cleared her throat and looked up at Sam. Her hand reached out to brush his wrist.
"Sam," she grated out. Her breathing suddenly seemed a little shallow. "Can I talk with you?"
Sam's eyes seemed to grow dark as he gazed down at her. He caught the hand she'd laid on his wrist and stroked her fingers with his.
"Sure, this way." His voice was deeper too, all of a sudden. He took off down the hall and Amy followed hard on his heels.
Donna's jaw dropped. No. That absolutely was not Amy spontaneously coming on to Sam. No way. And that was not Sam caressing her hand and tugging her back to his office. His private office. She looked down at the sponge on the floor. Then back up at Amy's retreating figure.
"I saw that!" Josh's harsh voice cut through her little jumping-to-conclusions party.
"I'm sorry?"
"You threw something at my girlfriend!" he accused.
"I - what? No!" she lied baldly.
"You did! What the hell was it?" He made for the sponge but Donna scuttled across on her chair to snatch it up.
"I - uh -" she stuttered.
"Let me see!" He grabbed it from her, squeezing it. "It's - it's a -"
"Biodegradable, dioxin-free alternative."
"What?"
"Sorry." Donna looked down at the sponge, then up at Josh.
Josh was staring at her.
Staring. At her.
"Look. I didn't mean..." She trailed off and stood up, taking the sponge from him and dropping it behind her on the desk. "Josh?"
"Donna," he said in a gravelly tone.
Maybe the sponge caused laryngitis.
His hand reached up and trailed gentle fingers across her cheek.
Or not. She leaned into his touch.
Suddenly, his face was very close to hers.
"Donna?" another voice chirped.
"Yes, Ainsley?" she answered. She took a step back but continued to gaze at Josh.
"Have you seen Sam?"
"He was heading to his office with - wait -"
"Hmm?"
"Ainsley, listen carefully." Donna gestured behind her, not taking her eyes from Josh. "See that sponge on top of that file? Don't touch it. Pick up the file and carry the sponge to Sam. Make sure he takes it from you and make sure - make sure- that you're the first person he sees."
"Donna?" Ainsley took in the scene in front of her.
"Yes?"
"You've completely flipped your lid." She took the file with her, though, balancing the sponge carefully on top.
With Josh watching her like that, Donna was finding it difficult to think.
He leaned in again. "Come home with me," he said in her ear. His warm breath made her shiver.
"What?"
"I'm done for the day, right?"
"Yes, but - "
"Then you're done too. Let's go."
"But - " Screw it, she thought. Like she was going to bring the A-word when he was looking at her like that.
Besides, Sam's office was about to get a hell of a lot more interesting. Donna wondered how the sponge would work the second time around. Would it be a triangle? A threesome? Huh. Maybe with Amy added into the mix, Sam would finally win an argument with Ainsley. Or maybe Sam was about to enter his own private hell. Either way, she didn't want to be around to find out.
*****
Some people said that you needed to hit rock bottom before you could pull yourself up. It was pretty safe to assume that if she went home with Josh and things didn't work out, she'd be right there at the bottom of the pit with up being the only way out.
Her brain decided to kick into overdrive on the way home. Fact. The shopkeeper had said the sponge's effect was temporary. Wow, she thought. That even sounded dumb in my head. Fact. Things couldn't get worse than Josh rejecting her as soon as the sponge wore off. Right. Wait. Unless he filed a harassment suit against her, too.
She drugged me with a sponge, your honour.
Not exactly a watertight case.
But that wasn't the point, said her conscience. She was deliberately taking advantage of him. She had incapacitated him, albeit inadvertently, and now she was following him home, to do something with him that she'd wanted to do for a very long time.
And that was very, very, very wrong...
"Josh! Stop the car."
He frowned at her, but slowed down and pulled over to the curb. "Are you all right?"
"I'm sorry," she said. "I have to get out of here."
"What's wrong?"
"I just - I have to go. I can't come home with you." She stumbled out of the car. "I'm sorry."
"Donna!" He reached over and caught her hand and she felt another rush of warmth burst through her chest. "Donna," he repeated quietly.
Her stomach was in knots. "It's for the best," she managed to choke out.
"No, it's not," he stated firmly.
"You don't understand."
"I understand you're upset. You're going to cry any second now."
"Josh." She tried to pull out of his grip. "Let me go."
He studied her. "You're scared."
"Yes," she whispered.
He paused. "Is it me?"
"No! No. Well, yes."
"I would never hurt you," he said tonelessly.
"It's not like that, Josh." She tried to reassure him. "I'm just - "
"Scared," he supplied.
"Scared I'll hurt you."
"You won't do that." He pulled her hand towards him and she relented, crawling back into the passenger seat.
"I might," she whispered.
"You love me too much," he asserted with a grin.
"That's the problem," she breathed.
"Close the door, Donnatella."
She did, and he started for his condo again.
*****
She supposed she'd been expecting him to press her up against the door as soon as they got in, but he didn't. Instead, he took her coat and hung it up. She stacked her groceries in his fridge, glad to stop lugging them around at least temporarily, while he poured her a glass of wine.
He took her hand again to lead her to the living room and she reflected on the fact that her heart started beating faster each time he touched her. She sat down beside him on the couch and he flicked the TV on to CNN. When he put his arm around her, pulling her close, she let herself relax a little and rested her head on his chest. They watched the news in silence, sipping their wine.
It was quite a bit later when Donna realized that Josh wasn't watching TV at all. He was looking down at her, and Donna got the sense that he had been for a while. She lifted her eyes to meet his gaze and felt his heart speed up against her cheek.
Finally, he leaned down to kiss her and she felt herself pulling back. "No."
"Donna?"
"I can't - you're not yourself, Josh."
"I'm a man very much in love with you," he said huskily.
"Oh - god. Don't say that."
"You don't want me to?"
"Josh -" She wasn't sure how to breach the topic of love sponges possibly coated with mind-altering substances. She settled with, "This isn't like you."
"This is what I'm like when I'm with you."
"No, it's not." She stumbled over her words. "Two...two hours ago you were...you weren't like this."
"I've been wanting you like this for a very long time."
Her brain, back in overdrive again, helpfully suggested that if she had drugged him, he should have symptoms of some kind. She searched his face and Josh stayed silent, letting her study him. He didn't seem confused. His speech wasn't slurred. She'd watched him drive home - his motor skills were fine. He didn't walk as if he were dizzy. Aside from the "I'm in love with you" thing...
Donna took a few moments to savour that. She could feel herself giving in, but -
"Josh, can you recite all the states and their capitals?" Test the higher brain function. Memory. Yes, that was the key.
He was giving her a very strange look now.
"I just want to make sure you're you."
"And you think I'm behaving strangely."
"Josh - "
"Alabama. Montgomery," he interrupted. He leaned down and stole a quick peck on her lips.
"Josh - "
"Alphabetically, just for you. Alaska. Juneau." He brushed her lips again and pulled back to look at her. When she didn't say anything he leaned in - "Arizona. Phoenix." - and kissed her softly. "Arkansas. Little Rock." He lingered a little longer with her mouth this time. "California. Sacramento." And he kissed her again, leaving his lips against hers.
When he reached Georgia (Atlanta), he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her.
It was much later when he murmured "Hawaii, Honolulu", wrapped his arms around her, and carried her into the bedroom.
*****
The next morning, Donna reasoned briefly that the clink of a mug on the night table must have at least helped to wake her. But when she gasped and reached down to wind her fingers through Josh's hair, her last coherent thought was not about coffee.
"You know," Josh said conversationally a bit later, taking advantage of the fact that she was busy reciprocating to deliver a little monologue. "I knew that smart was sexy. Women have always found the sheer depth of my intellect intensely attractive. But I have never had a girlfriend who got turned on by hearing me recite state capitals."
Donna stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. She wasn't sure whether it was the smirking or the word "girlfriend" that had got her attention. He grinned at her and pushed her head back down.
"Yes, Donna, you are unique."
Well, if he was going to compliment her, she might as well reward him.
He made an appreciative noise. "That's probably why I fell in love with you."
Donna stopped again and met his gaze, her misgivings from last night back in full force. She wondered how much longer this - thing - was going to last. And how humiliated they would both be when he had to take back what he'd said.
He must have noticed the change in her expression. He reached down and hauled her up so that they were face to face.
"You do love me, right?" he said softly, cupping her face in his hands.
"Yes," she whispered. At least she could tell the truth.
She leaned in and kissed him with passion, and when he responded, she made love to him again.
"Everything else we can work out," he mumured afterwards, pulling her tight. She pressed herself close to his warmth and tried to forget everything else.
*****
Naturally, they were running late when they finally got to work. Josh had a full schedule that day with no time for talking - he would yell for the files he needed from across the bullpen and she would thrust them into his hands as he flew by. Sometime in the middle of the afternoon he cried out "Lunch?" and she dropped her extra sandwich on top of the next stack of files he would need.
Juice fasting would have to wait for less frantic days.
She brushed by Sam as she hurried through the halls and noted the dark rings under his eyes. She bumped into Ainsley later, and though neither of them had time to talk, Donna saw that Ainsley was smiling despite the fact that she yawned as she said hello.
They ended up working long past midnight and Josh automatically drove them both back to his place. Far too exhausted to comment, she fell asleep quickly on his couch and was only dimly aware of Josh carrying her to bed and climbing in beside her.
Waking her up half an hour before the alarm was apparently one of Josh's favourite activities. As she tried to catch her breath afterwards, she knew she couldn't give him up. He would have to be the one to end it. She resolved to watch him for signs that the sponge's effect was wearing off.
And she did watch him closely. That afternoon he caught her staring at him in the bullpen.
He sauntered over and casually bent down to her ear. "I know you can't believe your luck, but you really have to stop looking at me like that while we're at work." His breath tickled her ear and she stifled a noise.
He pulled back, grinning, and she deliberately gave him a hungry look. He watched her for a moment, entranced, then groaned and strode back to his office, slamming the door. She chuckled to herself and went back to work.
*****
The day passed. And the next, and the next. And the day after that. They seemed to have settled into a routine of work-sleep-love-work, and aside from the fact that there was no room in the schedule to eat, things were good.
It was only on the day when both their apartments had completely run out of birth control that Donna realised how long she and Josh had been...together. She had cleared some time in her schedule to slip out to the drug store and found herself alone with her thoughts and her conscience again.
The afternoon was stormy and the wind and snow howled around her. Trying to stay calm, she went to the drug store and grabbed several boxes of condoms. Damn three-packs, she thought, stepping back out into the freezing winter. I have to start buying in bulk.
She made her way along the street and her brain threw up some mental index cards for her to contemplate. Fact. She was in love with him; there was no way she could deny it. And she loved being with him like this. It didn't matter that they hardly had time to themselves away from work. He had always been the last person she saw at night and the first person she spoke to in the morning. Now, she just rolled over and nipped his ear instead of calling.
Fact. If the sponge's effects wore off now, Josh would never forgive her. If the sponge's effects wore off later, or never... If it never wore off... If he...
The wind stung her eyes and she squinted against it, trying to hold back the tears and the lump in her throat. She ducked her head, not wanting to complete that thought, and hugged herself tight. She didn't see the door opening in front of her.
Thunk.
"Ow!" Donna rubbed the crown of her head and looked up to see a friendly little smiling tomato. And a cheerfully bland but extremely solid beige door swinging in the wind, bell ringing like anything.
"Sorry, sorry." The little shopkeeper bustled out, shivering, and bundled Donna inside, slamming the door tight behind them. "I have to do something about sealing that door. The wind gets in through the cracks just right and - hey. I know you!"
"You!" Donna said.
"Juice fast, right?"
"No. Yes. That's why I was here before, yes." She must have gotten confused in the storm. She'd thought this store was on the other side of the street.
The shopkeeper took in her expression and frowned. "Was something wrong with the product?"
"No. It was great." Licking the sweet drops off someone's naked, lightly furred chest was actually beyond great.
"Oh, good. From the look on your face I thought you were going to tell me you got sick or something. How's your head?"
"Um - " Donna tried to regroup her thoughts. She needed to ask...
The shopkeeper brushed her hand aside and inspected Donna's head. "No bruise, no blood. I'll get some ice for it. Would you like a hot drink? The kettle's just boiled."
"Sure." Donna accepted the icepack, plonking it unceremoniously on her head, and wrapped her hands around the warm mug.
The shopkeeper watched her in silence for a bit. "I remember now. Still busy at work?"
"What was on that sponge?" Donna blurted.
"I'm sorry?"
"The sponge. The love sponge?"
"Oh, that. Did it work?" The shopkeeper suddenly reached over and pulled open Donna's bag of drug store purchases.
"Hey!"
"Apparently."
"What was on them?"
"Love potion," the shopkeeper smirked.
"I'm serious," Donna snapped. "What was it?"
The shopkeeper looked confused. "It's - it's just a traditional family recipe. There's no harm in it. Or at least I didn't think so. Why? Did something happen?"
"Yes."
"Something you didn't want to happen?" The shopkeeper was suddenly very concerned.
"No! Nothing like that. I - uh - let's just say that the sponge worked really, really well."
"Oh? Oh. Good."
"No!" Donna repeated. "It's not good. Jo-he's not acting like himself. Not at all."
"Maybe he's just crazy in love with you."
"That's the problem!"
"You don't want him to be in love with you?"
"No! Yes. I do. But he's under a spell."
"Aaaah." Understanding dawned across the shopkeeper's face. "The spell of the love sponge."
"Exactly. It's not permanent, right?"
"My secret love-sponge-love-potion? No." The shopkeeper snickered.
"This isn't a joke!" Donna cried. "He's not himself. What have you done to him?"
"Good grief, Donna. You make it sound like I drugged him. Here. Sit. Drink. Talk to me."
Donna eyed her mug doubtfully. "Is there a potion in it?"
"Lemon. Honey. Hot water. That's it."
Donna sipped gingerly. "Mmmm."
"Good. Now, how is he not like himself?"
"Well, he's being, um -" An amazingly generous lover. "Considerate."
"Okay."
"And he's not yelling at work. Well, he is yelling, but not in an annoying way. Actually, no, it is annoying. Maybe I just don't mind so much."
"Okay."
"And he's been telling me he loves me."
"Doesn't he?"
"His eyes say yes, but -"
"You don't believe he could possibly love you?"
"He's under a spell."
"No he's not."
"Yes he is! I was there when he grabbed the sponge from me. He just dropped everything and - " Took me home to bed. "Um." She paused, but couldn't find a euphemism. "So what was on that sponge?"
The shopkeeper sighed. "You aren't going to let this go, are you? Fine. Repeat after me: one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak."
Donna recited the poem a couple of times under her breath, frowning.
"There. I've broken the trust of my ancestors. I hope you're happy. And incidentally, it's a pretty good recipe for rum punch, too."
"I don't understand," Donna said.
"There, in your mug, you have sour, the lemon, sweet, the honey, and weak, the water. I didn't put anything strong in there because I figured what with you working at the White House you probably shouldn't drink in the middle of the afternoon."
"So, there was lemon and honey on the sponge?"
"Oh, no. Lots of things are sour besides lemons, just like lots of things are sweet besides honey."
"You're not gonna tell me, are you?"
"I have to keep some secrets." The shopkeeper grinned.
"Okay." Donna took a deep breath. "When will it wear off?"
"Wear off? What do you mean?"
"When does he wake up and realise that he doesn't love me anymore?" Her voice broke then and she covered her eyes.
"Well, that's a risk you take in any relationship," the shopkeeper said gently, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "But I have to say that the vibe I'm getting from you is a big 'never'."
"I'm serious." Donna's voice rose and she snatched her hand away. "You said it was temporary."
"It is. It lasts longer for some people than for others."
"How long?" she insisted.
"Donna, I can't - a few seconds for the spark - a few minutes before your voice goes back to normal - I don't know. Listen. I can't make anyone do anything they don't want to do. That's what you want to know, right?"
"What?"
"I can't make a potion that makes someone fall in love with you against their will."
"But you said - it would - "
"Marketing."
"You gave it to me free," she pointed out.
"Force of habit."
"But it was a potion."
The shopkeeper smirked. "Yeah."
"What does it do?"
"You were the one holding the sponge, you tell me."
"But - "
"You touched the sponge - you took the potion too. Right?"
"Huh?"
"Go home and think about it, Donna." The shopkeeper relieved her of the icepack and empty mug.
"But what will I do when the magic fades?"
The shopkeeper gave her a sly smile. "Most people seem to manage. Now get out of here. He's wondering where you are."
"I'm never shopping here again, you know."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But feel free to drop by anytime, even if you aren't buying."
Donna found herself smiling as she headed back out into the winter cold.
And she was almost all the way back to the White House when she realised she'd never actually admitted where she worked.
*****
Epilogue
"DONNA!" Josh rounded the corner and headed back towards his desk.
"You really don't have to yell," she chided, falling in step beside him.
"Where were you?"
"I had some shopping to do."
"You took time out to go shopping? We're trying to run a country here. What was so important?" He snatched the shopping bag away as they entered his office and peered in.
She smirked.
"Oh." He shut the door quickly.
"Yeah. We're out."
"Really?"
"You know your voice went kinda high, there. Surprised?"
"Yeah," he admitted, grinning. "We're gonna have to start buying in bulk."
"I was just thinking that."
"Or." He looked down at his feet then back up again.
"Or?"
"Or -" He suddenly seemed nervous. "We could try something a bit more - um - premeditated. A long term arrangement."
Her face broke into a wide smile. "I'm okay with that," she assured him.
"Yeah?" He looked relieved and he leaned in to give her a quick kiss.
She put her arms around his waist and rested her lips against his. "I'll make appointments for us both next week," she said pointedly.
"I'm okay with that," he repeated her words, laughing, and she joined in.
Suddenly she was ridiculously happy. "I love you," she said, resting her forehead against his.
He smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "And I love you."
"You have staff now."
"'Kay." He kissed her once more and left.
She stuffed the shopping bag in a drawer and went back to her desk, smiling. Her brain was now working overtime on a new problem:
How do you convince Josh to buy a juicer?
THE END
More disclaimers:
Unknowingly borrowed the lines about magic fading from the Terry Pratchett novel 'Guards! Guards!'. I realised after the fact, but seeing as I have...let's see...one, two, three...yup, twenty eight of his novels on my bookshelf, I think the 'innocent coincidence' thing wouldn't hold much water. Also alluded to something in his novel 'Soul Music' but you'd have to be a fan. He is the master.
The rum punch recipe appears in print in the book 'Trinidad
and Tobago Recipes' published by the Naparima Girls' High School for their
Diamond Jubilee. After all the weight I gained on holiday I figure they
won't mind too much. And it's a great book.