Chapter 2

Amanda woke up early Saturday morning and stretched her arms above her head. She took an assessment of her body and happily realized her head wasn't pounding and her stomach was rumbling with hunger. Maybe Mother was right… that ginger chicken soup did the trick, she thought as she carefully rolled onto her side to watch Lee, still sleeping beside her. She sighed happily thinking of how Lee had attentively watched over her the last few days.

Amanda wasn't even angry when she discovered Jamie had stayed up late to watch the meteor shower with Lee. Instead, she had listened to him excitedly describe everything he had seen and how he spent the next afternoon researching what he could. Jamie explained how his science teacher even offered to give him extra credit if he could do a small presentation on what he had learned. So, as he laid beside her on her bed, he outlined the information he wanted to tell his classmates.

She blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the dim early morning light in the room. Inhaling one more time, she sat up slowly on the edge of the bed before she carefully walked across the room to the bathroom. Closing the door, she leaned against it and exhaled, her head beginning to spin once more. "Damn," she cursed quietly. She turned, looked into the mirror and cringed at what she saw. A purple and yellow bruise was still visible on her forehead, her hair hung in messy strands around her face. She splashed some water on her face in an attempt to combat the feeling of nausea once again. When the feeling passed, she looked up again and sighed.

Several minutes later she returned to their bed where Lee was reaching out for her, murmuring her name, "Amanda?"

"I'm right here, Sweetheart," she whispered as she sat down again.

"You okay?" Lee asked as he pushed himself onto his elbows, lifting his head off the pillows.

Amanda stroked his face lovingly with her hand as she replied, "Better than I have been. No headache this morning."

Lee leaned into her hand as he closed his eyes and whispered, "I'm glad. Anything else? How's your stomach?"

Amanda leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose as she said, "Hungry."

Lee yawned loudly before stating, "Then let me take care of that. How does toast sound?"

"How about toast with a poached egg?" Amanda suggested with a smile.

Lee chuckled, "Sounds like you are feeling better. You stay right here and I'll bring it up to you with some tea. I don't want to push it too much with coffee just yet."

Amanda looked at Lee. "Do you think you could…" she began to ask but her voice trailed off.

"Can I what? I'll do anything," Lee replied as he reached over and touched her hand with his.

Amanda inhaled and as she exhaled, she asked softly, "Can you help me take a shower? I'm not completely steady on my feet so I don't trust doing it alone."

"Anything you need. And after your shower, we can sit downstairs for a while. You can tell me where to put the decorations," Lee offered.

Amanda looked confused for a moment as she asked, "Decorations?"

Lee sat up and shook his head as he chuckled again, "Yeah, the boys insisted we hang Halloween decorations for their little get-together tonight. Streamers, some balloons and Jamie said there are some paper characters including a scarecrow we need to hang."

Amanda closed her eyes and smiled. The paper scarecrow had been a traditional decoration since the boys were little. "I know exactly where that box of decorations is too. I had put everything in one black plastic box in the garage. It has the letter H labeled on the side," she explained.

Lee pulled his robe on and declared, "I'll be back in a few minutes with your eggs and toast."

Amanda settled against the pillow when Lee disappeared down the stairs. She could barely hear him in the kitchen, just the quiet clink or thump as he opened cabinet doors or placed the pot on the stove. She looked over at the clock and realized how early it actually was. Neither her mother nor the boys were awake yet.

As she waited, she made a mental checklist of the things they would need to do that day to prepare for Halloween that night. The decorations needed to be hung, the snacks needed to be placed in serving trays or bowls, the candy needed to be emptied into a large bowl for the trick or treaters and last but not least, they needed to be sure everything was clean for Jamie and Philip's friends who would be arriving at five thirty. Amanda groaned at everything that needed to be done and lamented at her injury preventing her from being completely active in everything.

Lee stood in the doorway, carrying a small tray with her breakfast, tea and a cup of coffee for himself, watching Amanda's inner battle. He could see she was working herself up, the sadness evident on her face. "Hey, breakfast is ready," he called, breaking her train of thought.

"Thanks," Amanda replied sadly as Lee settled the tray over her. He lifted his coffee mug off and sat on the bed beside her.

"Amanda, don't worry about getting everything done. We'll take care of it," Lee stated softly as if he was reading her mind.

Amanda took a bite, sighed as she chewed and, after swallowing, replied, "I know, it's just this is the first year I didn't do-"

"Didn't do what? Clean the house? Your mother took care of that. Shopped for candy? She did that too even though I think she got way too much," Lee stated. "Decorated? We'll work on it together but if you need to rest, you rest."

"But the boys…" Amanda groaned.

"The boys are not babies, anymore. They know what's going on. Jamie was worked up about it so much, he researched what he could and wouldn't relax until I showed him your discharge papers from the hospital," Lee admitted. Amanda rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. "Hey, I didn't tell you that to get you upset," Lee rushed out.

Amanda shook her head and dropped her chin. "I know, I just hate feeling …helpless and the last few days that's what I've felt," she whispered.

Lee moved the tray from Amanda's lap and lifted her chin with his forefinger. "You are anything but helpless. You are the strongest woman I know but everyone needs help once in a while," he stated, his hazel eyes searching her dark brown ones. "You will get through this and before you know it, you'll be back on your feet, running circles around all of us."

Amanda reached up and cradled his face in her hands, her thumbs stroking his cheekbones. She pulled him close for a soft, gentle kiss of thanks. Lee returned her kiss but backed off after a few seconds. He mentally tamped down his libido knowing she wasn't ready to take the kiss any further. He moved the tray back onto her lap so she could finish her breakfast as he swallowed his coffee. "I'm going to get a refill. Would you like anything else?" he asked as he stood. Amanda shook her head no so he crossed the room to the doorway.

"Lee?" Amanda called softly. He turned to see her smiling back at him as she said, "Thank you, Sweetheart." Lee smiled back before jogging down the stairs to refill his coffee mug.

Lee returned several minutes later to find Amanda in her closet, looking for something to wear. "You look beautiful in all of it," Lee teased.

"I just wish I had more energy. Hopefully eating breakfast will help. My stomach definitely feels a little better with something in it," she announced as she pulled a Halloween themed sweatshirt off a hanger and took a pair of sweatpants out of her drawer along with clean underwear, a cotton camisole, and socks. "If I'm going to be sitting around again all day, I'm at least going to be comfortable," she explained. "Now, about that shower…"

"What can I do to help?" Lee asked, taking the stack of clothes from her and placing everything on the bed.

"Could you… I was thinking…" Amanda began but she was unable to come up with an idea of how Lee could help her in the shower without one thing leading to another.

Lee, sensing her conundrum, suggested, "I'll be on my best behavior. I'll just stay in the bathroom with you in case you need me."

Amanda blushed, took a step closer to him and whispered huskily, "I always need you."

Lee grinned, his dimples deep. He winked at her, kissed the tip of her nose before teasing, "We're not quite ready for that marathon, but just you wait… when you're feeling better, you're going to have to make up for lost time."

"Oh, really?" Amanda teased back.

"Uh huh," Lee grinned wider now. He placed his hand on her lower back to guide her into the bathroom. "I'm thinking maybe a weekend away, just you and me…" he let his thought trail off, allowing Amanda to use her own imagination.

"Oh, Sweetheart," Amanda gasped. She leaned against the vanity as Lee turned the water taps on and adjusted the temperature. She carefully pulled her nightgown over her head, avoiding the sensitive bruised area and slipped out of her panties. She stepped into the hot spray of the water and sighed happily as the heat and gentle pressure relaxed her tightened muscles.

Lee simply watched through the frosted glass as Amanda carefully washed and conditioned her hair. He jumped to his feet when her hand shot out to balance herself after rinsing her hair. Without thinking, he opened the door and stepped into the enclosure, still wearing his pajama pants and t-shirt. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, his tone edged with fear.

"Yeah, I just lost my balance when I closed my eyes," Amanda admitted. "I probably shouldn't have done that."

Lee let out the breath he was holding and agreed, "Probably not a good idea."

Amanda surveyed her husband, now soaking wet, standing before her and said, "Neither was jumping in here with me."

Lee looked down at his saturated clothes and laughed loudly. "For you, I'd do anything. Now let's get you washed up and downstairs."

Amanda put her arms around Lee to hug him, then pushed up onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips across his cheek. "What have I done to deserve you?"

Lee chuckled once more and replied, "I'm sure I could ask the same question, but we better get moving before your mother finds us in here together. I didn't lock the door."

As if on cue before Amanda could reply, she heard Dotty calling them from the open doorway, "Lee? Amanda? Is everything all right?"

"Everything's just fine, Mother. We'll be out in a few minutes," Amanda called back.