Alien Diplomacy

fine.
    I heard some snarly sounds, took a look over my shoulder, and sure enough, the dogs were all dragging their beds down the hall. Duchess gave me an extra wag as she pulled her bed into our room. Dudley shot Jeff a betrayed look as he followed her. Dottie dropped her bed on Jeff’s feet, indicating clearly that the rest of the job was his. Duke, never one to pass on a good idea, did the same.
    Jeff heaved a sigh. “No problem. Our room’s big enough.” He picked the beds up and arranged them in a row along the side that didn’t have the Poof Condos and the door to Jamie’s room on it. The dogs took this opportunity to wash his face. “Gah. I’m cleaning up. Kitty, are you ready to feed Jamie?” I could tell he was praying my answer would be yes.
    “Yes.”
    Jeff shot me a grateful look. “Great, be right there.” He trotted into our bathroom.
    “Mom, are you sure Dad should go tomorrow?”
    Mom nodded. “It’ll raise suspicions if my husband isn’t with mefor this. The President’s clear on what your father does and what your father knows.” Mom shot me a look, so I was pretty sure the President also knew what Dad didn’t know, meaning the President knew more than me, but that was always a given.
    “Okay, if you’re sure.” I realized my tone didn’t indicate I was sure, because my father hugged me.
    “I’ll be fine, kitten.”
    “But, who’s going to watch Jamie if we’re all at the President’s Ball?”
    “Gladys,” Mom replied. “Believe me, she’s excellent.”
    “With babysitting or protection?”
    “Both.” The way Mom said it, clearly Gladys had her Mossad Stamp of Approval. “And Denise Lewis will be with her.”
    “Why doesn’t Denise get to go to the President’s Ball when Dad’s going?”
    “Kevin’s not attending, at least, not as a guest. And Denise doesn’t actually want to go.”
    “I don’t want to go, either.”
    Mom laughed. “I’m sure. But you’ll be fine, kitten.”
    “My Washington Wife teacher told me to disavow all knowledge of the class while I’m there.” I figured it would be better if she heard that coming from me.
    Mom’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I’m sure Missus Lockwood has her reasons.”
    “You know her?”
    “Yes. I’m not a fan.” Mom kissed my cheek. “She’s not my kind of woman. There’s more than one way to handle things, kitten. Your ways seem to work, so don’t let that stuck-up, condescending, uppity woman with the most overinflated ego based on doing the least amount of actual meaningful work bother you.”
    “Don’t hold back, tell me how you really feel about her.”
    Mom snorted. “Be happy I’ll be too busy tomorrow night to spend any time with her, or else she’d get an earful, if not my fist in her face.”
    I hugged her. “Thanks, Mom.”
    She hugged me back, but not the bear hug, since I was holding Jamie. “Any time, kitten. No one disavows knowledge of my daughter and gets a pass from me. They might get shot, sent to Guantanamo, or merely cut dead, but they don’t get to insult my child, and my parenting skills, in that way and get off without some form of pain.”
    I hugged her again. “I love you, Mom.”
    “I love you, too. You’ll be fine tomorrow, kitten. Just do what you do best, and don’t let the people who’d never have the courage to face what you do on a regular basis get you down.”
    “Turkey opinions shall be avoided, I promise.”
    Mom kissed my cheek. “That’s my girl.”



CHAPTER 54
    M Y PARENTS LEFT, AND JEFF AND I settled in to take care of Jamie. The dogs only tried to help a few times. Jeff found this unsanitary and freaky, but Jamie didn’t seem to mind at all. Me, I’d grown up with dogs shoving their noses into anything I was doing, so no biggie from my side of the lounger.
    Feeding, bathing, and the rest of the nightly routine over, we put Jamie to bed. She was just starting to transition from bassinette to crib. Some nights she wanted to be in the bassinette, others she wanted the space. Tonight was a crib night, presumably because she had extra Poof companions. Poofs on guard duty were not an issue.
    We tucked her in with her half of the baby monitor, closed the nursery door, got into our nightclothes, made sure our half of the baby monitor was securely on the nightstand, and snuggled under the covers. I’d gotten used to the sleepy purring sounds the Poofs made, and the cats were similar. The dogs were louder, but it was a comfy sound, four dogs