Part 11: Putting
It All Together
Amanda walked upstairs and almost ran into the
door when she got to her room because she was so lost in thought. She was
trying to find the right way to tell her mother that Lee and her were getting
married. After leaving her things in the room she proceeded to go back down the
stairs. Amanda kept telling herself she could to do it, just say it and get it
over with. What was the worst that could happen?
She reached the last stair and peeked around the
corner, Dotty was sitting on the couch patiently with her hands folded on her
lap. Amanda took a deep breath.
" Hi mother."
" Hi sweetie, come sit down, what is it you
wanted to tell me? How was your trip?"
Amanda needed to take things slow or else she
knew she would screw everything up.
" My trip was great!"
" Now that your back can you tell me where
you went?" She was dying to know.
" Okay, I guess, we went to Cancun."
" You did! I was trying to guess where you
we going, but that wasn't one of my guesses. Did you have good weather? What
was it like?"
Amanda really needed to tell her mother soon or
else she might explode, so she went back to the original subject. " Mother
I'll tell you all about that in a minute but first I need to tell you something
really important, and you have to promise not to freak out."
" Well...it isn't bad is it...never mind, go
ahead I'm listening, I won't freak out." Dotty was almost worried, this
seemed really important, thousands of possibilities started running through her
head.
" All right (she moves closer to her mother)
it isn't bad, (Dotty narrowed down her possibilities a bit more based on this
new statement) well...Lee and I...uummm well...we are...(deep breath) getting
married." There she said it, now she could only hope that her mother heard
her and she wouldn't have to go through it again.
Dotty sat in silence this was not what she had
expected, but all the same it was so exciting, this meant she got to plan a
wedding! " Congratulations!" She embraced Amanda in a giant bear hug.
Amanda let out the long breath she had been
holding, she was so relieved!
Even though Dotty was excited she did have a lot
of questions and she was not putting them off till later, she was going to get
them out of her daughter tonight. " Amanda, I am really happy for you, but
don't you think this somewhat sudden, what about the boys, they just met
him?"
Amanda knew that was coming. " We've decided
not to tell the boys until they get to know Lee better and visa versa. If you
think about all the time Lee and I have known each other, then no I don't think
this is sudden, just making up for lost time."
Dotty understood their decision about the boys,
but what was she talking about when she said 'all the time that Lee and her
have known each other'? " Amanda, what do you mean...all the time you have
known each other...just how long have you known each other?"
There was no way around this one. " Well ya
see...Lee and I...have known each other for quite some time."
" How Long?!" It was more a demand then
a question, why hadn't she known about this man before?
" How long have we been close or how long
have we actually known each other?"
" Both! I want to known everything, even how
you met and while you're at it, I want to know how he proposed."
Amanda could see this conversation was leading
into some things she would rather not answer, but what else could she do, the
look in her mother's eyes said she meant business. " Okay, we have known
each other...since...(Amanda squirmed) since before I broke up with Dean."
She felt like a little girl telling her mother how long her glasses had been
lost.
" Three years! Why didn't you tell me about
him?" Dotty almost felt betrayed, there was a touch of sadness in her
voice.
" I know it sounds really bad, but it's all
behind us now and I want to start over. If you could only know how many times I
wanted to tell you about him...and before you ask why I couldn't tell you, can
we skip that question, because I can't answer it, maybe I'll be able to in a
few years, but not today. If you could just understand that, I would really
appreciate it. " Part of Amanda wished that Lee was with her, but she knew
it would be best if he wasn't.
Dotty sighed. " I understand, go on."
Amanda smiled, she loved her mother so much.
" Okay, just let me say everything before you ask questions. (Dotty
nodded) Alright this is a condensed version, here it goes, we met at a train
station...we sort of ran into each other, well one thing led to another and I
ended up working with him at IFF. (Amanda held up her finger because Dotty was
about to ask a question) Any ways, at first we hated each other, but our boss
kept putting us together on cases, I mean for different documentaries.
Gradually we got to know each other better, became friends...best friends, and
fell in love. (Memories were pouring into her head) Eventually we shared an
office and we admitted that we wanted to get to know each other better, which
then led to us saying 'I love you.' So we've been close for about a year. Since
you insist on knowing how he proposed I guess I'll tell you...we were in the
hot tub, in our room, and he said, ' Amanda King, I love you and I will always
love you no matter what. You are the most beautiful, intelligent, caring woman
in the entire universe, will you marry me?" Amanda showed her mother the
ring.
Dotty was truly touched by her confession. "
Oh darling, I'm so happy for you, it's beautiful!"
*****
Amanda felt so wonderful about being able to tell
her mother about Lee. She answered her few questions without lying and went
upstairs feeling like everything in her life was perfect.
Later that night Amanda called Lee and told him
the whole story. They exchanged 'I love yous' and said goodnight.
*****
In the morning before Amanda went out the door to
work, Dotty teased, " You aren't hiding anyone else from me are you?"
" Of course not mother."
Amanda left as Dotty leaned against the counter
and shook her head. One thing was bothering her, 'Why did she say that she couldn't
tell me about Lee and not that she didn't tell me about him. Oh well, I
suppose I will never know.'
*****
Lee and Amanda arrived at the same time and met
up in the parking lot, as they made their way to the door Lee held her soft
hand. Once they reached the door they were overcome with emotion and snuck a
kiss before coming in.
Mrs. Marsten greeted them and handed them their
tags. They hastily headed up the stairs and once out of her sight their lips
were back together as if a magnetic force had made them. They continued down
the hall while ravishing each other without missing a beat. Still kissing, Lee
unlocked the door and if it hadn't been for the suddenly crowded room he would
have made love to her right there on the office floor.
" SURPRISE!" Screamed Billy, Francine,
Beeman, Fred, Leatherneck, Ragmop, and what seemed like the entire agency,
except for Dr. Smith.
Lee and Amanda broke apart, their eyes grew as
big as saucers, they we both at a loss for breath and words. If they had been
cartoon characters, little shades would have come down over their eyes with the
word 'expired' written across them because they both thought they might drop
dead any second.
" Congratulations!" Cheered Francine.
Lee and Amanda's lips moved but no words came
out. Finally after thirty seconds of incomprehensible silence Lee managed to
say, " For what?"
" For your engagement silly!"
" But...but how did you know?"
Stammered Lee.
" We have our ways." Francine winked.
After Lee and Amanda gained composure Lee said,
" Well I guess there's only one thing left to do." He smiled at
Amanda, walked behind her and unclasped the necklace she had on. Very carefully
he slid off the ring, which had been located on the piece of jewelry. Then he
took her left hand and placed it on her ring finger. Then he kissed her in
front of everyone again, except this time he knew he was doing it, everyone
applauded.
Six months later...
Lee and Amanda still worked at the agency and
they still held their reputation of the best team, despite their relationship.
Lee had made magnificent progress with the boys, and felt it was time to pop
the question. He decided to do it Saturday night after dinner when Dotty and
Amanda were doing the dishes and Amanda didn't know about it.
" Boys, can I talk to you for a minute,
outside?" Amanda gave Lee a curious look, but he just smiled and turned
away.
" Sure Lee."
They got up from the table and went out to the
gazebo. The boys had a feeling about what was coming. They had been wondering
how much longer it would be before they decided to get married.
" I need to ask you guys a very important
question about your mother and I want to know what you think, Okay?"
" Okay."
Deep breath, Lee had put a lot of thought into
how he would ask them. " Would it be alright by you if I got married to
your mom? I love her very much and I want to spend the rest of with her and
you."
Phillip and Jamie exchanged glances and then
nodded their heads yes. Lee let out the breath he had been holding and Phillip
so genuinely remarked, " Lee we would be honored to have you for a step
father."
" Well you don't half to be so formal about
it." Said Lee chuckling to himself. " One more thing, you guys want
to be ushers in the wedding?"
" Sure, does that mean we get to bring all
the pretty girls down the isle?"
" Yeah I guess you could put it that
way."
Before they went back inside, they shared a giant
family bear hug and Lee told them not to tell their mom because he was going to
ask her tonight.
When they got back inside, Dotty told them to
scoot upstairs, but first they gave their mom a big hug that almost knocked her
to the floor. Dotty figured that Lee wanted to be alone with Amanda so she
headed up with the boys to read her book.
Lee picked Amanda up like a baby and brought her
over to the couch, he sat down next to her, and she swung her legs over his
lap. " Amanda can I ask you a question?"
" Anything."
" Amanda King, you make me complete, you are
my soul mate, I love you, will you marry me?"
" I think you already know the answer to
that question, yes! I love you, too."
" I don't think life can get any better than
this."
" Oh, I think it can." Amanda said in a
sly way, as if she knew something he didn't.
" It can, can it, how?"
Amanda smiled. " It's my secret, I can't
tell you until after the wedding...and the honeymoon."
" Well, in that case we will just have to
get married really soon."
" I agree."
One month later...
Amanda was walking down the isle of the most
beautifully decorated church in all of, Virginia, D.C., and Maryland. She was
so happy, everything was perfect. Her dress was of satin and lace, strapless,
and a flowing train. Francine was her maid of honor and wore a lavender gown.
Lee looked better than ever in his black tux, with Billy beside him as the best
man. The church was packed to capacity and everything seemed to be in slow
motion, like she couldn't get to the altar fast enough. She felt as if she were
at the end of a famous fairy tale, when the princess finally finds her prince
charming. Her flowers were white roses and smelled so wonderful on that hot
summer day in June.
After the wedding festivities, Lee and Amanda got
on the plane to Hawaii. There wedding night was one to remember. The whole week
was just a blur a satin sheets in her mind.
In the car, coming back from the airport...
" Amanda, can you tell me now?" Lee was
dying to know.
" Tell you what?" Amanda knew what he
was talking about, but wanted to play with him.
" Tell me your little secret."
" Well I don't have any little secrets...but
I do have a big secret." She said mischievously.
" Well then tell me the big secret."
" You might want to pull over."
" Why?"
" Because it's a big secret and I don't want
you to go out of control when I tell you."
Lee pulled over even though he didn't think he
needed to. " Okay, I'm ready."
Amanda took a deep breath. " I'm...I'm (she
looks at her hands)...having a baby."
Lee's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it, a
baby, ' I guess life can get better' his Amanda was having his
baby; this was to good to be true. " THAT'S GREAT! OH MY GOD, I CAN'T
BELIEVE IT!" He smothered her with kisses. " When?"
" In January." She was so glad that Lee
was happy.
***epilogue***
Some time later…
Amanda has stopped
working for the agency momentarily because of the baby and decided that once
she has the baby she will only go back part time. As much as she loves her job,
family comes first. She is also tired of lying to her mother and now that Lee
is part of the family, he feels the same way.
" Mother?" Looks up.
" Do you remember when I
first told you about Lee?"
" Yes…why?"
" I think I'm ready to
tell you why I couldn't tell you about Lee in the first place, and why I'm at
it I'll make a few amendments to the story."
" Lets go sit down."
Amanda told Dotty the
details of the train station and everything she could about the agency without
breaking her code of silence. She even told her mother about all the messed up
situations they got into and how they got out. At first her mother didn't
believe her, but then Amanda showed her the badge and everything started to
make sense and come together for Dotty, by the end of the long discussion Dotty
was in awe. Amanda assured her mother not to worry and that Lee would take good
care of her as well as her taking good care of Lee. Dotty asked if she was going
to tell the boys, Amanda said, " Maybe when they're older."
" Amanda."
" Yeah?"
" Is Lee the reason my
flowers never grew under the window?"
" I think you should
talk to him about that." Amanda remarked, holding in a laugh.
The End~