Chapter 4
It had been almost two weeks and still no sign that Amanda was going to wake up. After the infection scare, she seemed to be holding her own and her wounds seemed to be healing nicely with no further signs of infection in her surgical or her other head wound. Billy had taken Lee off the active duty roster for the time being and put him on paid family leave until further notice, knowing from long experience that Lee could not function properly as an agent if he was worried about Amanda all the time.
Francine had regained consciousness a few hours after arriving at the hospital and had recovered enough from her concussion to return to work. However, she would hold a grudge against Billy for a long while after he pulled her from the field and put her on light duty working with Fred Fielder for six weeks, much to Francine's disgust. Billy couldn't help but smile at this, whenever he thought of it. Billy, more than anyone, understood that Francine, for all her skill as an agent, tended to get too big for her britches and still needed to be taken down a notch or two every once in awhile. Besides, maybe poor old Fred might learn something useful while working with Francine. One never knows about these things.
Lee sat next to Amanda's bed hour after hour and read to her. He had begun with Phillip's copy of Sky Chief Rides Again and was now steadily working his way through every book of any interest on the bookshelves in the family room, mostly American and English classics from when Amanda was a literature major at UVA, plus some she had collected on her own. Lee found out that Amanda owned the first five of the 14 Oz books by L. Frank Baum and had put out feelers at several local bookstores to find the rest. Price no object. That ought to set a fire under someone's tail, Lee thought. Dotty had told him that she had a line on at least four more at the moment.
Sometimes, when his throat grew too hoarse to read, he would just sit and watch her with his head cocked to one side, his eyes sparkling with love and hope. It was at these times that he prayed more fervently than he had ever prayed in all his life and willed her with his whole being to wake up and be well.
The doctor had told him that as severe as her head injury was, she would probably come out of the coma with significant changes in her personality, her intellect, her memory and her motor skills. Lee didn't care. All he knew was that he loved her and he wanted her back any way he could have her. Anything was better than losing her all together, which he knew without a doubt would surely kill him as well.
Dotty visited frequently while the boys were in school and tried to tempt Lee with her best cooking, which he would pick at and rarely finish. She would sit with Amanda while Lee showered, shaved and changed clothes. Then he would return, unwilling to leave Amanda's side until the next time Dotty appeared. Finally, the doctor approved a cot in Amanda's room, knowing it would be wasted breath to get Lee to leave his beloved wife's side. If Lee's mother-in-law and boss couldn't do it, then he probably didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell.
Sometimes, Lee would just hold her hand and tell her about the places they would go and the things they would do, not if but when she awakened from her coma. He talked about taking a second honeymoon, since their first one had been cut short, when Amanda acquired a bullet wound in her shoulder. Anywhere she wanted to go; maybe a cuisine or art tour of Italy, a wine tour of France, Munich during Oktoberfest, Monte Carlo during Carnivale, a cruise to the Caribbean or the Bahamas, a river cruise down the Rhine or the Danube, or perhaps taking Emily up on her offer of showing them the British Isles. He talked about the improvements he wanted to make on the house or maybe they could find another house with more room. He talked about buying a couple of horses and boarding them for the boys to take care of and ride. He talked about getting the boys a dog. And with tears in his eyes, he talked about having a child of their own. He voiced the possibility that it may not be possible, but he had hope.
LSAKLSAKLSAK
Amanda stood in her bedroom and just seethed. She gripped the hair over her ears and trotted in place and squealed, she was so infuriated. Their wedding plans were slowly turning into a huge nightmare. The simple church ceremony with family and close friends had turned into the society event of the D.C. Spring season in a cathedral for more than 300 guests. Dean's mother was determined that their wedding should rate the society page of the Washington Herald and every other newspaper worth its salt within a hundred mile radius.
And her wedding dress, what could she say about that? It would be a handmade designer original and would cost almost as much as the remaining mortgage on her house! Just the thought of touching it made her heart rate accelerate and the breath to catch in her throat. Their wedding rings would also be designer originals, each one costing twice as much as her station wagon. And she didn't even want to think about her hair, makeup and nails and the other jewelry she would be wearing.
She shook her head and collapsed on the bed. With a huge groan she lay back and closed her eyes. She covered her face with her arm and just lay there, trying without success to calm herself. After awhile she did calm down. She curled up under the quilt she kept folded at the foot of her bed and drifted into a light sleep. That was how Dotty found her sometime later.
Dotty gently jostled her shoulder and softly called her name, "Amanda? Amanda?" Amanda groaned and moved her arm. Then she raised her head and looked around. She blinked and caught sight of her mother standing silently beside the bed, her arms folded over her chest.
"You know, Mother. If I was another kind of person that didn't care about setting a good moral example for my sons, I would go out right now and get rip roaring drunk," Amanda said, a forefinger wiggling in the air and then stabbing the bed for emphasis, her tone matter of fact, her expression absolutely serious. Dotty remained silent for a moment or two more, though she could barely keep from smiling at her daughter's latest pronouncement and kept her face neutral with some difficulty. Still, it was hard to see her baby girl in such distress.
Amanda sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, the quilt still drawn about her as though for comfort, if not for warmth. Dotty sat down next to her and regarded her with eyes sparkling with love. Dotty placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and asked, "Come now, dear. What is it that has you so frustrated?"
"It's everything, Mother. Absolutely everything," Amanda said, her fisted hands banging the bed on either side of her thighs, an edge of frustration in her voice.
She took a deep calming breath before she asked, "What exactly do you mean by 'everything'?"
Amanda sighed and forcefully ticked each item off on her fingers, "It's Dean's mother and her agenda to get our wedding in the society pages of every newspaper worth its salt from here to Des Moines. It's the rings and the dress, designer originals that cost more than the remaining mortgage on this house. It's the fact that our plan for a small church ceremony with family and close friends has turned into a spring event, a ceremony in a cathedral for over 300 people. I don't know if I can handle much more of this. I don't belong in that world, Mother. When it comes right down to it, I think I belong right here, where I've been all along."
Dotty pulled her into a tight embrace and rested her chin on top of Amanda's head. "Oh, my poor poor little girl. Let me tell you a story about when your daddy and I got married," Dotty said softly.
Dotty stroked Amanda's hair and rubbed Amanda's back as she told her about Carl's parents and how they had a little bit of money. Since Carl was the eldest son, they wanted to show off a little bit. She told her how a simple backyard ceremony performed by a local minister and a beautiful dress she had made herself with her mother's help that turned into a huge church ceremony performed by a minister flown in from New York, because he had performed Carl's parents' wedding ceremony and a store bought dress with a three foot train in Victorian style with pearls and lace.
"Oh, yes. I know all too well what you're going through," Dotty commiserated.
"Oh, Mother. I never knew," Amanda whispered, her words somewhat muffled, because she just didn't feel like mustering the energy to raise her head at the moment.
"So you see, my darling girl, you are not alone in this," said Dotty as she continued to rub soothing circles on Amanda's back.
Amanda and Dotty were silent for a little while, each lost in thought. Finally, Amanda straightened and shook her head. "Do you really think I'll survive this, Mother?" Amanda asked.
Dotty laughed humorlessly. Then she said, "You will survive this and much much more, I guarantee it. Look at what you've already come through. This is a temporary thing. Just roll with it long enough to get past it and then you can get on with the rest of your life."
"Good advice, Mother," Amanda said and kissed her on the cheek.
Dotty laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and said, "Thank you, dear. They might be few and far between, but I still have my moments."
Amanda glanced at the clock on the nightstand and said, "It's late. Are the boys at home?"
"They've been home for a few hours. They're supposed to be doing their homework. I told them you'd had a tough day and not to disturb you on pain of death," Dotty chuckled. "Mr. Chicken or Marvelous Marvin's for dinner?"
They looked at each other and both said at the same time, "Let's let the boys decide."
