“I guess we have more in common than I thought,” Olivia said.
“We all put our pants on one leg at a time.”
Olivia nodded. “Crazy, right?”
They traded stories about college life and secret crushes for the next few hours until they finally arrived near Washington just after 3:00 p.m., right as the beltway started to slow down due to traffic. Once they reached the entrance to the White House parking, one of the guards at the gatehouse greeted Olivia with a wide smile.
“Miss Olivia, it sure is nice to see you back here,” the man said. “We’ve been expecting you.”
Olivia cocked her head to one side, eyeing him closely. “Reggie, if you guys told my dad—”
“Don’t worry, Miss Olivia. Nobody said a word. You’re entitled to surprise him like any other normal father.”
He waved her inside, the Secret Service SUV still right behind her. Once they parked, Olivia gave Penny a brief rundown of what to expect from the security staff but not to worry about it. A half-hour later, they were inside the White House.
Olivia found out from her father’s assistant that he was about to enter a meeting. “If you hurry, you can catch him.”
Olivia grabbed Penny by the wrist, urging her to come along and meet her dad.
“Oh, I don’t want to ruin the moment,” Penny said.
“Trust me. You won’t ruin anything. In fact, I need you. Okay?”
Penny relented, and they walked down the hall to where President Young was scheduled for a meeting. They were waiting outside the door for several minutes, which never opened.
One of the staffers cruising down the hall stopped when he noticed Olivia. “Liv, I didn’t know you were coming into town this week. Are you here for the big celebration on the Fourth?”
Olivia nodded. “Yeah, I was hoping to surprise my dad.”
“Well, I’m sure he’ll be surprised because I haven’t heard him mention you were coming. And he gets pretty excited when you’re about to visit.”
She smiled. “I just got here with my friend, and I was trying to catch him before his meeting.”
The man glanced at his watch. “It looks like the president already went in, but you can wait for him in the basement. As you know, the private quarters are still under reconstruction after the bombing. But it’s going to look great when they finish.”
“I think we’ll just go in now,” Olivia said as she reached for the doorknob.
“I would do that if I were—”
Olivia flung open the door, catching her father off guard. He drew back, his mouth gaping.
“Surprise, Dad!” Olivia said.
President Young scrambled out of his chair and hustled over to her. “What a pleasant surprise. You just told me you were going to be in Newport and—”
“That’s the point of a surprise, Dad,” she said. “You’re not supposed to know anything.”
He gave her a hug before stepping back and studying her. “You look great, hon. And who’s this?”
“This is my friend, Penny. She works with me at the sailing company.”
“Well, Penny, it’s so nice to meet you,” Young said.
“It’s an honor, Mr. President. Is there any way I can get a quick photo with you for my social media pages.”
“Of course,” Young said as he glanced at the officials seated around the table. “You don't mind, do you?”
He didn’t wait for their response before he posed for a quick photograph with Penny.
“Don’t forget to tell all your friends how cool I am,” Young said with a wink. “There’s an election coming up soon.”
Penny smiled and nodded. “Don’t you worry.”
Young kissed Olivia on the cheek. “We’ll catch up tonight, Livy. I’ve got to finish this meeting first.”
“Of course, Dad. We’ve got some things to attend to first anyway.”
“Love you,” Young said before taking his seat.
Olivia and Penny hustled out into the hallway where the staffer was still standing.
“What was that you were saying, Doug?” Olivia asked as she playfully punched him on his bicep.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Doug said. “Usually he doesn’t shrug off intrusions like that.”
“You’re not his sassy daughter. But I’ll put in a good word for you.”
Olivia nodded down the hallway and glanced at Penny. “Ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
The two young ladies ventured into the temporary residential quarters in the basement.
“This is temporary?” Penny asked as they entered a spare bedroom downstairs.
Olivia laughed. “There are plenty of awful things about being the daughter of President of the United States, but spending time in the lap of luxury isn’t one of them.”
Penny pushed down on the post bed covered with a plush comforter. A small leather couch was positioned against the left wall, while Winslow Homer’s “Breezing Up” painting was centered on it.
“Is this the original?” Penny asked.
Olivia nodded. “You know your art, don’t you?”
“I love Winslow’s stuff. But I can’t believe you have that in your room.”
“Our room,” Olivia said. “At least, for the rest of this week.”
“This is incredible.”
“Like I said, there are some perks, though not as many as you might think.”
The girls found their suitcases sitting in the corner, already placed there by the Secret Service detail. They took a few minutes to unpack and discussed what they wanted to do while they were visiting.
“Before we do anything,” Olivia said, “we need to go to this nail salon I always try to go to whenever I’m in town.”
“I’m always up for a mani-pedi.”
Olivia chuckled. “I’m starting to think you’re my long lost sister.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me.”
They finished putting away their clothes before hustling upstairs. After a brief conversation with the head of the Secret Service, the ladies went to their car, bodyguards in tow.
* * *
THE NAIL SALON located off Connecticut Ave. was set to close in fifteen minutes, but when the owner heard that Olivia Young wanted to patronize her store, she stayed open late. The Secret Service detail performed a quick walkthrough of the business before signaling that it was safe for Olivia and Penny to enter.
Cute-icles was Olivia's favorite place to get her nails
