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Matt sits on the edge of the bed and leans down to whisper, "Hey, bedbug," waiting for Matty to stir awake

"Dad," he just says, grinning a toothy grin

Matt strokes one hand over his head "We’re staying"

Matty’s eyes widen He’d been worried No matter how much I assured him that we’d find another home, that his dad has a lot of houed that none of the staffers he’d come to love would be there, nor the swans in the fountain

"Jack too?" He blinks, and Matt laughs and grabs his face, kissing the top of his head

"Jack too"

"Okay," he says happily "Jack, we’re staying!" he says, and we tuck him back into bed and just watch him for a minute in the shadows as he falls back to sleep Our boy, the apple of our eye Jack is wagging his tail from the corner of his roo my stomach with both hands, his chin propped on the top ofback and forth He doesn’t need to trace the letters "I love you"; the way he holds me says he loves us, all of us, all the same

45

THE END

Charlotte

He won By both the popular vote and the Electoral College again The White House staffers breathe a sigh of relief Matt and I wander the West Colonnade, Matt Jr asleep upstairs The noises of the White House are so familiar to us, every creak and shuffle, the hum and the bustle There will be no transfer of power until four years--four e are under way, of slow steps forward, continued increase in economy and security

It’s a cold winter day, and hundreds of thousands of people flood the National Mall to watch Matt’s second inauguration

Usually protocol dictates that the operations supervisor organizes the dinners and the entire Inauguration Day, rearranging furniture for upco out one president as the next one moves in--all within a few hours The few hours when the oath is taken, the luncheon is served, and the parade on Pennsylvania Avenue is held This year, there is no such furnitureBut while that part of the protocol seeh of relief, other parts are still taking place

Getting ready to welcoh the North Portico doors Organizing a buffet for us to share with our faural balls

Everyone is buzzing--the standard hustle and bustle of the White House see with a stylist and ato rehash what has been done so far, and where things stand

We get ready for church service, and Matty and Jack go with us to visit Matt’s father at Arlington Cemetery