Beginning of August
Joe was sitting at the breakfast table with Julia, Sean and Ann, Ann was 3 months old by now and started making funny 'aarruuh' noises to talk to her family.
Jill came out of the bathroom looking kind of miserable.
Sean: "Is something wrong mum?"
Jill: "I got my period."
Sean: "Don't stress about it, Mom, I mean there are a lot of people in my class who say their parents took longer."
Julia: "That's right, Phillip told me that it took his parents almost a year to make his little brother."
Jill: "Maybe, but your father and I aren't used to that."
Joe hid behind his newspaper.
Sean: "Dad's been under so much stress since he became president, though."
Julia: " That' s true: Maybe we should go to the ocean. Just the 5 of us, Sean and I will watch Ann and you relax a bit."
Joe: "Good idea, but even if we go to the ocean people will call me at 3 in the morning and ask me if I want to drop a nuclear bomb on someplace."
Sean: "And then what are you going to tell them?"
Joe. "What any normal person would say, that we actually have the atom bombs just to be able to deter, but that we don't just radioactively irradiate everything."
Julia: "I'm proud of you. You're my favorite president."
10 days later
Jill: "I'm very curious to see if they really leave you alone for a whole day."
Joe. "I'm very optimistic Jilly, but you better see what the kids did."
The kids had a platform set up right on the beach, a table full of fresh flowers and candles a lasagna was already ready, right on the ocean, next to it a tent in which was a comfortable king size bed.
Jill: "The kids are really hopeless romantics, they get it from you."
Joe: "Honey you are at least as romantic as I am. But I think the way our children are thoughtful and caring, those little and big gestures of kindness, you taught them that. You are a wonderful mother."
They sat down at the table and chatted with each other.
"You know Jilly, I don't even know where to look. At you or at the sunset in the ocean."
After they had eaten. They retired to the tent. It was not only a particularly pretty silk bedding but the whole interior of the tent was romantically decorated.
They lay down in bed together.
Joe: "Do you hear that? You can still hear the sea?" He flipped the light switch on the string of lights and the room shone with a pleasant, romantic, colored light.
He brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
Joe: "Have I thanked you enough for your love today?"
She began to undress him.
Jill: "I'm afraid not. You could show me your gratitude right here and now, though."
September 1989
"Mom, let me guess, I know that facial expression. It didn't work." Sean took Jill in his arms "Don't be too sad. I mean look. Ann is only 4 months old and you're still so young."
