Chapter 44

Jamie stayed in Alliance through Saturday night. At daybreak on Sunday morning, he tried to slip out of the house without waking anyone, but Rosalyn Kozal wouldn't let him leave without a thermos of hot coffee, some sausage biscuits, a bag lunch, and a hug. "Call us when you get to KC," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Jamie, I am very glad that you were there when my Abigail needed you most."

"Long may it be so. Thanks for everything, Rosalyn."

Nine hours and one time zone after he left Alliance, Jamie turned in the rental and checked in for his flight from Kansas City International to Washington National, which left at six o'clock local time and would get him into D.C. at ten. At five-thirty, he boarded with the flight and cabin crews, took his seat in first class, and settled in for what was a very uneventful flight.

He came through the jetway at National in full rig- the jeans, the dress shirt and the sport coat - but he was wearing a Nebraska ball cap and his dress boots instead of his fedora and Doc Martens.

"Looks like the boy's gone full-up Nebraska," Lee commented as Jamie stepped forward, took Abby in his arms, and kissed her as if he hadn't seen her for months, not a week. Arriving passengers flowed around them, smiling at the sight of the young couple embracing.

"Hey there, Princess," he said when they could talk again. "I brought a whole raft of kisses from your family and your friends. It may take me weeks to deliver them all."

"I'll look forward to it. They love you, J- Man."

"Well, they're pretty lovable too, but between your cousins and your sisters-in-law, I about wore out these boots on the dance floor. Even Kathy got into the act, baby bump and all."

"They said you did the polka like you'd been doing it for years."

"Your cousin is a good teacher."

He slung an arm around her shoulders and turned to greet his mother and stepfather. "Hi, Mom. Lee, I'm taking the job, but I guess you knew that," he said as they all headed for baggage claim.

"Frank told me he was pretty sure you would. How long do you need to wrap things up in New York?" Lee asked.

"Not long. I have a buddy from my days at Pratt, Dave Perez, who's been sharing an apartment with two other guys, but he's getting married soon and of course they want their own place. I can just sublet to him until my lease runs out in August and he can take it over."

"Sounds good. Did you commit to shooting his wedding?"

"No, they're getting married in Puerto Rico, because both families are from there and some of the relatives can't come to New York. They've got all the arrangements made, so no problem there. I promised Bob and Myrna Bukowski that I'd bring Abby up to meet them, so if you can wangle a few days off, Princess, I thought we'd go up there tomorrow, pack up what little stuff I want to bring back, and come home on Thursday."

"The Agency will pay to move you, Jamie," Lee reminded him.

"Yes, but there's not much to move, really. The furniture is stuff I had when I was at Pratt, and I'm going to call the Salvation Army and ask them to come whatever Dave doesn't want. The rest will go into boxes that we can haul back in Abby's truck, if that's okay, Princess?"

"Sure, that's fine, as long as you drive in New York. I'm not sure I'm quite up to that."

"You'd do just fine, Abby," Amanda said. "If you can handle traffic here, you can handle traffic there too."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Amanda, but I think I'll let him do most of the city driving. Where will you live in Kansas City, Jamie?"

"I've got a line on a loft not far from the Federal Building. Jim Brauer knows the tenants; they're profs at UMKC and they're heading out in a week or so for a year's sabbatical in Costa Rica. I can sublet for a year, which will give me a chance to find something I like, maybe out in the northern suburbs. I thought about looking as far north as St. Joseph, but it really depends on how much time I have to spend in the office."

Jamie claimed his luggage and they left the airport in the Tahoe. With his parents in the front seat and he and Abby in the back, they could hold hands all the way back to the house. When they got home, Phillip and Kendra, who had been staying with the younger siblings, greeted them both and then left for their own homes. Lee and Amanda said good night and made a tactful exit upstairs.

"Want a beer?" Abby asked.

"No, thanks. Come and sit with me, Princess."

They cuddled on the couch for a few minutes, kissing occasionally, but Abby could tell that Jamie was fading fast.

"You need to get some sleep, SuperSpy. You've covered a lot of ground today. We can talk about this tomorrow on the way to New York."

"Okay. Night, Princess."

"Night, J-Man. I'm glad you're home, and I'm glad you're going to be living in KC."

"Me, too."

One week after he returned to Virginia, Jamie left again. He'd brought very little home from New York other than his clothes and personal belongings, and he left the heavy winter clothes in his room in Arlington for Abby to bring out when she and Ray moved her back to Nebraska in August. He took a few books, but the loft he was subletting had a good selection of books and movies, so there wasn't much point in taking his. Everything fit into the trunk and the back seat of his BMW, which he considered to be a true accomplishment.

He'd decided to leave in the evening to avoid rush hour traffic the next morning, so while his parents, Abby, and the younger children were out of the house that day, he'd slept for more than six hours. He shared a final meal with his family and then, once Bobby and Emily were in bed, loaded his luggage into the car and said goodbye to his parents and Abby.

"You be careful, Super Spy," Abby said as she hugged him tightly. "You might be Super Spy, but even Super Spies get tired."

"I'll be careful. I'm going to miss you, Princess, but this is a good test of whether or not what we feel is going to last."

"I know. I keep telling myself that. "

"One more for the road," he said, and kissed her again. "Best not quite three weeks of my life, Abigail, and the best is yet to be. I'll be in touch."

"Bye."

He got into the Beemer and started the engine; she watched until he made the turn off Elmwood and then returned to the house, where Amanda met her with a cup of fragrant spiced tea.

"I won't say it gets easier, because it doesn't, but you learn to cope," Amanda said sympathetically. "Do you want to sit and talk, or would you rather be alone?"

"Oh, talk."

"Then come with me and we'll have tea and cookies."

They sat down at the kitchen table together. Lee was nowhere in sight, for which Abby was grateful. She liked him, but she appreciated his tact in working in his office while she and Amanda talked.

"What would you like to talk about?" Amanda asked.

"Tell me as much as you remember about your first month working with Lee. That was… 1983?"

"That's right. Well, it all started when I took the man I was seeing, Dean McGuire, to the train station one cloudy morning in October…."