Chapter 28

Amanda knew the minute that Jamie and Abby walked into the restaurant that something had gone very badly wrong between them. They weren't laughing, and they certainly weren't touching; in fact, they were both so stiff that they looked like they were facing an ordeal rather than a celebration dinner.

"Uh-oh," she murmured.

Lee, who was standing beside her, said, "What?"

"Look at Abby and Jamie. Something's wrong."

Lee looked at the young man who had been so resistant to his relationship with Amanda in those early years, a young man whom he loved as much as he loved his own biological children, and said, "Yeah. Look, there's not much going on at the office today, so why don't you take Abby and go home? I'll see if I can get our Jamie to talk, even if it takes a couple of rounds at Nedlinger's."

"Good idea. "

Abby went over to Matt Davis and congratulated him; he, in turn congratulated her. "Whatever you decide to do, Abby, I know it will be the right decision."

"I'm going back to Nebraska to finish my degree, Colonel Davis."

"Matt, please. I thought you would."

"There are a lot of reasons, reasons I won't go into now, but it's best."

"I understand. Kendra has been telling us about you, and Deb and I would like to get to know you better. Would you sit with us, unless you have other, er, plans?" Matt said, glancing at Jamie.

"No, sir, I don't, and I'd love to sit with you."

"Excellent. Come and meet my parents.

Jamie came over to Amanda and Lee and said, "She's going back to Nebraska."

"Well, yes, Son, that's where she lives, and where she's been in school for the last three years. What else would you expect her to do?" Amanda asked pointedly.

"Obviously not what she's doing."

"We can't talk about this now, Jamie, but if you want to talk, I'm here to listen," Lee said.

"Thanks, Lee, but I think I'll just eat and go back to New York."

"Please don't do that, Jamie. You need to talk about this, and you shouldn't be driving in this state of mind," Amanda said.

"All right."

Somehow, they all got through the meal. When it was over, Amanda offered to take Abby home, and Lee, who had ridden to the restaurant with Amanda, asked Jamie for a ride back to the Agency. When they got out to the BMW, Jamie handed his stepfather the keys and said, "Go wherever you want."

"How about that cemetery where you found James Bishop's grave?"

"That's fine. It's as good a place as any."

Lee drove to Oak Hill Cemetery and parked. "Your mother and I did some of our best talking in parks when things were rough."

"And here we won't have to dodge kids with soccer balls."

"True."

They walked along the tree-lined roads for some time in silence, occasionally stopping to read an unusual marker.

"James Bishop is over there," Jamie said, pointing. "He was an army captain, and the date of death is the same as the first Battle of Bull Run. He was only in his early forties."

"General Sherman had it right: War is Hell."

"Yeah. I wonder if he left a wife, kids…"

"Probably. If he was a West Point graduate, there would be a record of it."

"I should check. I blew it, Lee."

"Son, I've learned that women are wonderfully forgiving; God knows I've made enough mistakes with your mother to fill an ocean, but somehow, she loves me anyway."

"Yeah. I just … I don't know. When I heard Harry offer her that job here, starting now, I thought, 'Great, we can get to know each other and see if this is going to go somewhere', and then she said she was moving back to Nebraska and I just lost it."

"Do you want me to talk to Director Wilson about a transfer to the Kansas City office? It would put you only about three hours from Lincoln."

"No, because when she finishes next spring, she'll be coming here. No, I just have to tough it out and hope it goes somewhere."

"I hear rumors that there are regular flights between D.C. and Lincoln, or at least between here and Omaha."

Jamie managed a smile. "Yeah, I heard that too."

"Feel better?"

"Yeah."

"Want to go shoot some hoops or something?"

"In a coat and tie?"

"Oh, I think I can find some workout clothes for you. Up for a little one-on-one?"

"You bet, and I'm going to beat your butt into the ground, old man."

"We'll just see about that, Sonny Boy!"

They went back to the car, and this time Lee handed Jamie his keys. As they left the cemetery, Jamie said, "Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"I know Mom really wants us to be careful of hurting my dad's feelings, but you're my dad in every way that matters."

"Thank you, James."

On the way home, Abby was quiet, and Amanda didn't press the issue. When they got to the house, Amanda said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I could use something stronger than iced tea right now. How about a wine cooler? I know you're still under twenty-one, but nobody's driving and I won't tell if you won't."

"That sounds good, thanks."

Amanda got two chilled wine cooler out of the refrigerator and uncapped them. She handed one to Abby and held up her bottle. "To men. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

They clinked bottles and Abby giggled. "Ain't that the truth! Look, I know he's your son, Amanda…."

"Yes, but I also know what he's like. He blew up because you wouldn't drop everything and move out here, even though it would mean major adjustments for you, didn't he?"

"Yes. I've only known him a day, Amanda, and I like him, I really do; when we were getting ready to go to the foundation this morning, he surprised the heck out of me by swooping in and kissing me, and I liked it, I really did."

"I understand. Jamie's… Jamie. His dad took that job overseas when he was only five, and for the longest time, he thought he was at fault, that if he'd been better, Joe wouldn't have left. He and Phillip were constantly bickering, and when he was twelve, he got glasses and braces, and you can imagine how that went."

"Oh, yeah."

"That was the same year that Lee and I got engaged and then married, but we couldn't tell anyone because of … well, it's a long story. He and Lee knocked heads a lot in those days."

"But they get along okay now, don't they?"

"Oh, yes, better than I would ever have expected. I never would have thought Jamie would apply to join the Agency; he's been fascinated by photography ever since Lee gave him an old 35 millimeter camera that difficult year, and we thought he'd make a career of it, which he has, in a way – but join the Agency – no."

"I need to finish this degree, Amanda, and do it soon. My mom and dad were high school sweethearts, and he wanted to get married the summer after graduation, but her parents wanted her to go to college. There's a little college about an hour from us, Chadron State, that started off as a teachers' college, you know? Anyway, Mom wanted to be a teacher, so she went off to college in the fall of 1970, and Daddy stayed and worked in his father's auto repair business. She did a year at Chadron State, came home in the summer of '71, and, well… they got married."

"Baby on the way?"

"Yeah, my oldest brother Larry. Her parents, my Grandma and Grandpa Michulka, were furious. Grandpa wanted to take a horsewhip to Daddy for getting his little girl pregnant, but they had no choice- they had to get married. So Mom gave up her dream of education, had three babies in four years, and life went on. When I was a year old, Daddy said we were moving to Chadron so Mom could finish her degree, and we did. He worked two jobs to pay the bills, but she got her degree, and it only took two years, going year-round, taking maximum course loads, whatever it took. She got her degree and we moved back to Alliance; my Grandpa Kozal had been diagnosed with cancer and he needed Daddy to take over the shop. She's been teaching ever since, except when she took time off when my two youngest brothers were born. I always thought I'd be an elementary school teacher too, but we had a geography teacher at our high school that really got me interested in current affairs, political science, that sort of thing, so when it was time to declare a major at UNL, I chose Poli Sci."

"I understand. Just be patient with him, Sweetie; it will all work out, I think."

"Yeah. Well, if you need to go back to work, I'll be fine; I still have that shorts outfit to cut out."

"No, I'm off for the rest of the day. I think I'll go sit out in the back yard and just read under the patio umbrella."

"That sounds good. Can I help with supper, assuming that Jamie will be here to eat it? I'm also assuming that Phillip will be with the Davis family."

"I've got some ground beef thawing in the fridge; I thought I'd make Swedish meatballs."

"I can do that; I'm Czech, but we like Swedish meatballs too."

"What do Czech meatballs taste like? Years ago, Phillip had to do a project about Czechoslovakia. We were supposed to have a traditional Czech meal, but things got a little busy and it never happened," Amanda said, remembering Spiderweb.

"I'll make them for you someday; they're made with pork, not beef, though. Do you want me to pick up the kids from your daughter's house?"

"No, she'll bring them home about five. You really aren't the au pair or the maid, Abby."

"Oh, I know, but I like to be helpful. Thanks for listening."

"Happy to help."