We attend the three balls with Shae and Elliot, but before Elliot leaves the third one, Jordan and I duck out early and head to Number One Observatory Circle.
Elliot’s official residence.
There’s no one inside as Jordan goes first and immediately sets off to check things upstairs. I stand in the foyer for a moment, smelling fresh paint and cleaning products. I haven’t been in here in a few years, not since I worked a detail. I saw all the before pictures they provided Jordan with, though, and the change is drastic from the stuffy, conservative Jackson family, who preferred darker, dramatic colors and more formal furnishings.
The formal living room has been rearranged and there’s different furniture. Ditto in the dining room. Both those rooms are designed to be more formal, used frequently for ceremonial purposes, and both have wallpaper that’s traditional but not objectionable, so Jordan left that in place as a time-saver while changing the furniture and artwork. If Elliot doesn’t like it, the work crews can always change it out later.
In the kitchen and breakfast nook, the ugly rust-colored paint the former vice president’s wife loved has been replaced by a lovely light bluish grey that makes the space feel larger, calmer, and perfectly accentuates the existing slate grey cabinets and granite countertops. Elliot didn’t have a lot in the way of kitchen supplies, so that was another area where Jordan spent a little money.
The counters are mostly uncluttered, except for a set of retro-looking glass canisters that bring a little pop of color to the space and hold things like Elliot’s favorite tea bags, coffee pods, and other items he’ll frequently use.
The family room is now a pale fern green instead of dark green, and sports a new 60-inch flat-screen TV, purchased with Elliot’s money. It sits on an entertainment center that came from the government inventory. The leather sofa is also new, a large, comfortable sectional that several people can easily stretch out on, including a matching hassock that’s the perfect size to bend someone over for a spanking.
I know that’s not a coincidence. It’s definitely a space Elliot will appreciate, use, and feel comfortable in.
My boy nailed it. I’m so proud of him.
Jordan appears in the doorway. He looks painfully anxious. “Do you think he’ll like it, Sir?”
“I’m sure he will, boy.” I open my arms to him and he comes to me for a hug. “I especially like the sofa.”
He smiles. “I hoped you would, Sir. It’s leather, so it’s easy to clean.”
I laugh. “My practical boy. Show me upstairs.”
He takes my hand and leads me upstairs, where the exercise room is first. The government owns the equipment, but the spare bedroom is the perfect size for Elliot’s personal gym. A weight bench, treadmill, and stationary cycle. He has a heated pool outside he can use year-round. The hardwood floor is now covered by an interlocking and removable rubber mat system to protect it. The walls are pale, sunny yellow, just a whisper from white with enough tint to make the color show. Elliot doesn’t like bright, loud colors for wall paint, and he’s not a fan of dark spaces, either.
His home office is another converted bedroom. It now sports floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, with all of his books neatly arranged there, along with his desk from his apartment, which he’d requested. Also, his own floor lamp, and his recliner, make a perfect reading space in one corner, next to a window. I suspect there will be plenty of evenings when he’s alone that this will be his safe retreat where he can close out the world.
In the master bedroom, the king-sized mattress is new, but the frame is from existing inventory, as is the rest of the furniture. Jordan even included a padded bench at the foot of the bed, perfectly situated for Elliot to sit on for dealing with Duck. The bed is offset, closer to the far wall, because the layout is arranged to give Elliot plenty of room to move from the door to the bed, bathroom, and the closet and dresser while using his walker, or in case he has to use his wheelchair up here.
Now that I think about it, downstairs is similarly arranged, with an economy of furniture that strikes exactly the right tone between feeling like a home and not being oppressively stuffy, all arranged with a careful mind of possibly needing space for a wheelchair or walker to pass. Although, with the split levels downstairs, a wheelchair won’t be practical.
The walls in here are also pale blue, only more blue than grey, and the same color is continued into the master bathroom. The large, plush area rug in the bedroom is dark grey with swirls of midnight blue and deep fern green, and I suspect it’s comfortable to kneel on.
The spacefeelscomfortable, tranquil.
Itfeelslike Elliot.
When I peek in the drawer of one of his nightstands, I find lube and condoms, the ones that were in his nightstand at home before I packed them myself.
“I handled those boxes personally, Sir,” he tells me. “Once they finished in here, I put those things away, and the bathroom items.” Meaning Elliot’s clean-out kit, and the few toys Elliot has that I gave him over the years.
The personal items we didn’t want anyone else dealing with.
“Good boy.” This is why I know this arrangement can work, because I trust Jordan to have Elliot’s back, and I don’t have to remind him of the little details.
Helivesto remember the little details, without fail.
“Do you think he’ll like it?” he asks.
I pull him into my arms and kiss him, deeply, thrilled that he so perfectly captured Elliot’s spirit. “I think he’s going to absolutely love it, baby.” I mean, this won’t be a total surprise to Elliot, because he signed off on the renderings, diagrams, and paint swatches Jordan put together.
We go look at the guest room and bath. They’re simply and tastefully decorated in a more subdued modern style that I know the origin of—me.
Elliot asked Jordan to have me pick out what this room would look like.
Because, hopefully, I’ll be “using” it a lot.
