In Trouble Again
Chapter 14
The next day Amanda was still feeling awful about her disagreement with Lee. She took a glance at the backyard window. It seemed to be a habit now for her to look out that window several times a day; she had gotten so used to looking out and seeing Lee pop up.
But when she looked out today, all she saw was a quiet, peaceful backyard.
No pop-up Lee today, she sighed.
Then she berated herself for her disappointment. She needed to stop building up expectations when in came to Lee. After all, he wasn't a knight in shining armor; he was a government agent with a dangerous job who had been forced to accept her as his partner. She had to remind herself that her life wasn't a fairy tale and she shouldn't expect a handsome spy to come in and sweep her off her feet.
Still even after knowing all that, her heart yearned to see him.
Feeling slightly depressed that all she had to look forward to was a silent house, she decided she needed to push ahead and do something positive. And to start the day out right, she needed some breakfast.
Walking to her refrigerator, she opened it to get some cream for her coffee and remembered she had used it all up yesterday. Darn it! And after some more checking, she realized she was low on other things, too, so she made up her grocery list.
Maybe grocery shopping will help to distract her from other things...as well as a certain person, she convinced herself.
It was a beautiful day when she went opened the garage door. She was about to get in her car when she spotted another one of her neighbors passing by her driveway. She came out to greet him.
Mr. O'Brady was walking his Bulldog on leash. When he noticed Amanda standing in the driveway, he gave a big wave.
"A thoosain pleasant mornin's to yer, Mrs. King!" Mr. O'Brady greeted her.
Smiling and feeling better, she waved back, "Good morning, Mr. O'Brady!"
"Tis a guid mornin' fer bein' ootdoors, Eh'd say!" he smiled.
"It is!" she yelled back as he continued walking on, "I hope you enjoy the sunshine, and have a nice day!"
"An' tae same to yer, lassie!" he yelled back as he led his dog away and they went on their merry way.
And for a moment, the lovely morning and a kind greeting from a friendly neighbor made the world seemed right. Because of these optimistic thoughts, she failed to note the ominous black sedan with the tinted windows parked down the street, with the driver holding a remote contraption of some kind.
Her ears next picked up the sound of a familiar engine and she turned her head to see a beat-up plumbing van headed her way down the street. The sight immediately quickened her heartbeat.
Lee!
Shading her eyes with the flat palm of her hand, she remained standing on the driveway and watched, silently praying the van wouldn't go past her house. She breathed a sigh of relief when the van slowed down as it reached her residence. When it was close enough, she moved to the side to allow the van to park on the driveway. She could now see Lee on the driver side, his expression unreadable, as she hesitantly waved to him. He, too, had look of apprehension on his face when he reciprocated.
Lee could feel the loud thumpings from his heart. As he gathered his toolbox in his hand, he hoped things would go well for them. At last he emerged and came over to her. He could feel the anticipation growing as he closed the distance between were very aware they were out in public for anyone to view, so they knew to keep things businesslike.
"Mrs. King," he formally greeted her.
"Leo," she responded back, holding her head up high, "I hadn't expected to see you here today."
'Yeah about that," he stated, clearing his throat, still unable to look at her,"I didn't think I would be coming around, either."
She tilted her head, "So what changed your mind?"
He looked directly at her, causing her knees to feel weak, "I had a job to do."
"Oh? Some more plumbing to do?"
"No, my real job," he stated and added in a low tone, "...protecting you."
"Oh."
Lee could tell from her reaction that whatever frustration that had occurred between them was forgiven. Another quality he admired in Amanda; she never held grudges. She really was an amazing woman, he thought. Meanwhile, Amanda felt those familiar flutterings deep inside her. She was touched that despite their differences yesterday, he still wanted to protect her.
"Well, thank you for caring," she told him, "and here I thought you were here to protect my tailpiece."
He now had a questioning scowl on is face, "Protect your tail-...what?"
"In plumbing," she casually explained, "the tailpiece is a part that runs from the sink drain to be P-trap," she paused, with mischief in her eyes, "A real plumber would probably know that term."
"Ohhhh the P-trap!" he pretended he knew what she meant all along, "You mean that plumbing fixture that stops sewage gases from drifting from your drain pipe into your house!"
Lee's unexpected knowledge of plumbing made Amanda's jaw dropped.
"How did you know-"
"For your information, Amanda, I DO read up when I go undercover!" he explained. Then he added in a jesting tone, "And if you ask me, it's the Tailpiece that seems to be a real troublemaker, Ma'am!"
The double meaning wasn't lost on her.
"Oh really?" She challenged, smiling for the first time today, "I don't think so. In my opinion, it's the Locknut that is the cause of all the trouble. It easily gets out of whack!"
He proudly stood tall, "I can assure you, Mrs. King, that my locknut is in perfect working order!"
She laughed and then leaned in with a low voice, "Lee, I'm sorry about how I acted towards you yesterday."
"No, I was the one with the short temper, " his eyes immediately turned apologetic, too, "I'm sorry for walking out on you."
She shrugged, "At least I learned a lesson."
"You did?" he didn't look convinced, "And what lesson is that?"
"That when I'm sorry, it means it was your mistake," she sagely stated.
He smiled.
"I admit I was wrong for leaving so abruptly," he admitted, "I wished I had reacted differently."
She humbly nodded, "Me, too."
"So we're good?" he asked, sounding anxious.
"We're more than good," she told him, "We're great!"
And both were relieved to be starting anew.
"Soooo..." Lee began, "I see that you were heading out somewhere?"
"Oh, yes!" Amanda had forgotten about her errand, "I was just going to the grocery store to get some food. You want to accompany me?"
"Welllll...," Lee sounded hesitant, "an unmarried housewife grocery shopping with her plumber...hmmmm...that doesn't look suspicious to the neighbors at ALL!"
"Heh," she gave that awkward half chuckle sound of hers, "I suppose you're right about that. " she concurred.
"Besides," he pointed out, "you really shouldn't be out there by yourself until we catch this crazy killer."
Amanda put her hands on her hips.
"But Lee, what if we never catch the person?" she asked, "I can't survive on crackers and one apple!"
"Wellll, there's another solution to this shopping dilemma...I could go to the store for you..." he volunteered.
Oh! She liked the idea of saving herself a trip! Amanda quickly shoved the grocery list his way before he changed his mind.
"Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" she sweetly asked.
"Uhhhh..." he looked startled at the list suddenly thrust upon him, "I guess not?"
"Now," she explained decisively, "I've already separated this list according to departments: produce, meat, dairy and so on, with the items needed to purchase underneath the headings, preferred brands listed."
He scowled at the list, "You organize your shopping list?"
"Of course," she stated, "I have to buy for an entire family, so organization definitely saves time and effort! I realize that this is quite different from a bachelor's shopping list, which probably consists of the same four items every week: beer, ground beef, hamburger buns,and a tomato!"
"Heyyy, at least it's freshly picked!" he defended himself.
She looked doubtful, "You expect a tomato from a supermarket to be freshly picked?"
"Not the tomato! The ground beef!" he jested.
The absurdity caused her to laugh, "Just go shopping already, and thank you! And when you get back, I'll fix a delicious lunch for us!"
"Now THAT'S worth shopping for!" he happily exclaimed, as she looked pleased as well.
Lee got into the cab of his van and shut the door. Then he rolled down the window so he could still talk with her.
"Wish me luck!" Lee announced.
"Luck?" she asked, confused, "Luck with what?"
"With the selection of a shopping cart, of course" he stated, as if it were obvious, "I'm hoping I can find one that has all FOUR functioning wheels at the same time!"
She laughed, "Yes, let's hope your luck holds out!"
He fastened his seat belt and when he looked her way again, his expression looked serious, "And when I get back, Amanda, we should talk."
"Talk?" Amanda was puzzled again, "Talk about what?"
"Stuff," he vaguely stated, and then after thinking about it, finally decided to elaborate, "well, actually... " he couldn't look her in the face, "we need to talk...about us."
Amanda blinked twice.
"Us?"
"Yeah, things between us are...changing, and it's about time we discuss what's happening between us. You do want to do that, don't you?"
He shot a wistful look her way.
She visibly gulped, "Um, yes, sure, I do."
He let out a relieved breath, "Okay, then."
"Okay, then" she gave him a confident smile, "So...hurry back!"
His eyes looked warm, "I will!"
And as he was rolling up the window, he was also thinking that if he could always be this happy, he could get used to living in suburbia!
Amanda stepped away from van to give Lee room to drive away. He inserted his key into the ignition to start the engine.
Uuuuhhh, Uuuuhhh...
The engine began to turn over as they exchanged parting smiles. Their smiles dissipated quickly, however, when the hood of the van unexpectedly shook.
And then before anyone could react-
BOOM!
An explosion came from underneath the hood and-
SSSSSSSSSSSS!
-the engine erupted into flames, which came up through the slits of the hood.
Lee swung the driver side door opened. But instead of getting out, he seemed to be struggling with his seat belt.
"LEE!" Amanda cried out. Pure shock showed in her face as she rushed towards his van, ignoring the heat and danger.
His seat belt was defintely jammed.
"DAMMIT!" he yelled out, still fumbling with it and then he shouted out, "AMANDA! I'M OKAY! GO! GOOOOO!"
"NO! YOU'RE STUCK!" she exclaimed, attempting to help him.
Flames continued to burn inside the interior of his hood as high heat emitted from the van. Lee knew that the initial explosion could flare up to an even bigger detonation. All he had on his mind was to get Amanda away from the danger.
"GET AWAY!" he warned her again, but of course she refused to listen.
"STRAIGHTEN THE BUCKLE HERE AND TRY AGAIN!" she ordered him.
"I'VE GOT THIS...JUST GO!" Lee insisted, knowing his words would go unheeded. He did as she instructed and finally he felt the buckle loosening.
"DONE!" he announced as the seat belt released and he tumbled out while at the same time grabbing Amanda's hand.
"AMANDA! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! DON'T LOOK BACK!" he ordered her.
The urgency in his voice told Amanda he meant it, and still holding hands, they both hurried away from the vehicle. They had taken no more than six steps from the fiery van when-
KA-BOOM!
The sky lit up with flames as another explosion, a larger one erupted. This one ripped through the entire body of the van, causing the vehicle to be entirely enveloped in flames.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
The heat from the fire was scorching and the blast caused Lee and Amanda to be thrown into the bushes next to the wooden fence as the van burst into a big red fireball.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
In the meantime, the black sedan was still parked across the street. Admiring the handiwork, the driver gave a satisfied smiled and then pulled away from the curb.
.
"AMANDA! YOU OKAY?"
Lee was huddled over her, to protect her from the heat and flames.
"YES! WHAT ABOUT YOU?"
"I'M FINE, I'M FINE!"
"GOOD! BUT, LEE, OH GOSH, YOUR VAN!"
Her dismal words blended into the heat of the fire, the air crackling as his vehicle was engulfed in searing flames.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
"NEVER MIND THAT, AMANDA!" Lee yelled, "THE IMPORTANT PART IS THAT YOU'RE SAFE!"
"WHAT?" she asked, unable to hear him.
They heard footsteps running from everywhere and soon hands were reaching out to help Lee and Amanda up from the bushes. In the background, they could already hear the sounds of a fire engine and emergency services.
.
Some time later, Lee and Amanda sat in the back of the paramedics van as a medical personnel checked them over. They both insisted they didn't need to go to the hospital. Outside of some minor burns and a few lacerations from the fall, they didn't seem to be hurt. The police had helped to clear the place of the neighbors. A tow truck was rounding the corner, intent on eventually taking away the destroyed vehicle.
"You two were very lucky," the paramedic named Joe stated. He was the one who had examined them, "neither of you sustained any permanent burns. "
"WHAT? "PERMANENT TURNS?" Amanda shouted, a confused look on her face.
It was Lee who yelled back, "NO! HE SAID WE DIDN'T SUSTAIN ANY PERMANENT BURNS!"
Amanda looked horrified, "WE HAVE PERSONAL BURNS?"
"I CAN BARELY HEAR YOU!" Lee informed her, "SPEAK UP!"
The paramedic looked from Lee to Amanda and then finally comprehended the situation. He slightly raised his voice to explain to them what had happened:
"DUE TO THE EXPLOSION, YOU TWO ARE SUFFERING A SLIGHT HEARING L-"
"WHAT?" Lee interrupted the explanation and pointed to his ear, "SPEAK LOUDER!"
The paramedics sighed and then cupped his hands over his mouth to act as a megaphone.
"BOTH OF YOU ARE SUFFERING A HEARING LOSS, BUT IT'S ONLY TEMPORARY!" he yelled to them.
"WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT US?" Amanda wanted to know, "ARE YOU ANGRY FOR SOME REASON?"
Oh boy.
Then the paramedic noticed Lee tugging and tapping on his ear with a puzzled look on his face.
Joe the paramedic explained loudly, "IT'S TYPICAL TO ALSO EXPERIENCE PERSISTENT RINGING IN THE EARS AT TIMES!"
Lee didn't seem to hear the paramedic as he looked around.
"IS THERE A PHONE NEARBY?" Lee hollered out, "I CAN HEAR THE ANNOYING THING RINGING!"
"I HEAR IT, TOO!" Amanda concurred, also looking about for that non-existent phone, "SOMEONE SHOULD GET THAT!"
Sighing, Joe the paramedic next reached into his medical kit and pulled out a container of pills and took four out.
"HERE, TAKE TWO," the paramedic loudly advised, handing them each two pills, "IT WILL HELP RELIEVE THE ANXIETY AND RINGING!"
Lee looked down at the pills in his opened hand and then back at the paramedic. He hated taking pills.
"CAN I TAKE JUST ONE?" he bellowed to the paramedic.
Joe covered his ears, "NO NEED TO YELL AT ME! I'M NOT THE ONE WITH A HEARING LOSS!"
"WHAT?" Lee turned to Amanda, "HE'S NOT FEARING HIS BOSS?"
"IF HE DOES, IT'S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!" Amanda advised.
"What?" Joe was completely baffled.
Lee guessed, "I BET HIS BOSS IS MAD BECAUSE HE CAN'T STAND THE GUY'S MUMBLING ALL THE TIME!"
"I WOULDN'T BLAME HIS BOSS!" Amanda agreed.
The paramedic shook his head as he began closing up his medical kit.
"Those two deserve each other!" he grumbled under his breath.
"WHAT?" they both yelled at him in unison.
.
.
.
(I've always loved the silly side of SMK, so my apologies to the heroic EMS workers (especially my favorite one) who would never work this way!)
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