Note: I have updated all the previous chapters, but all I really changed was the dates and references to them. Mostly this was because if I continued along the way I was going, Philip and Jamie would have been much too young during the show. I seem to recall that Philip was born in 1973, so clearly Amanda wasn't in college in 1975.
Chapter 3: Love is a Many Splendored Thing
February 22, 1972
"Don't think you're getting away with that!" Lee laughed at the brunette on the other side of his bed, holding his boxers at him tauntingly.
"Then come get them," she said, huskily.
Lunging over the bed, Lee missed her by an inch as she moved back. He went to attack her from a new angle when his eyes caught the clock. Suddenly he went in a completely different direction, grabbing a clean pair of boxers and a t-shirt from his bureau.
"Sorry, hon, but it's getting late. I need to call the states now if I don't want to wake her up."
The look that was returned was not in the least bit friendly. "Can't you call Mandy tomorrow?" Eva pouted.
Lee shot her a look. "I told you, she hates being called Mandy. And I promised her I'd call today. She worries about me, there's so little I can tell her about where I am. I won't be on long, I promise."
Had Lee taken the time to look back, he would have seen that his girlfriend did not understand. She was muttering obscenities under her breath and shooting hated glances at him. But Lee was focused on the task at hand, dialing in the multiple numbers needed to place an international call.
And much to Eva's chagrin, once the line was picked up on the other side, she was completely forgotten.
"Amanda! Hi, it's Lee. How are you?" she heard him say in excited tones. She couldn't understand what the deal was with this Mandy person, but she didn't like it.
"Really! Congratulations! Wow!…When?… I'm not sure I'll be done here yet, and I don't know that I can leave.… No, don't hold off on my account.… Well, I won't be finished, but I should definitely be able to come back to the states for a few days then. Are you sure you want to hold off just so I can be there? I'll understand if … Okay, okay," he laughed into the phone. "Yeah, I'd feel the same way if it were me.… Well, actually I am seeing someone. Her name is Eva.…Um, okay. I'll ask her, but I'm not sure she'll want to.… I understand.…Okay, I'll check in with you again in a couple of weeks.… Well, if you need anything – anything at all, you know you can always leave a message with Mr. Melrose, right?… Okay, Amanda. Good night."
Lee returned to the room to find Eva staring straight ahead, but ignoring her clearly foul mood announced, "Amanda and Joe are getting married!"
Eva looked up, surprised. She couldn't help but think that there was something between Lee and Amanda considering how often he talked about her. But if there was, why was he so excited that she was marrying someone else? And why was she marrying someone else? Not that she cared.
"Really?" she tried to sound interested.
"Yeah, in a couple of months. She said she wanted to make sure I could be there, so she's waiting a little longer than they had planned. She says you can come with me if you'd like," he smiled.
Plastering a smile on her face, Eva played demure, "Do you want me to?"
Lee laughed at her, jumping up on the bed and falling over onto her, "Of course I do," he laughed just before he kissed her.
April 15, 1972
The bridal march began, and the attendants of the church all stood expectantly, their eyes trained on the back entrance. Dotty stood by her daughter's side, smiling at her, waiting for her to take her first step. Leaning down she whispered, "Thank you for asking me to do this."
"It's not a favor, Mother. I want you to," Amanda whispered back, willing herself not to finish the thought.
However, Dotty could read her daughter better than anyone, and whispered in a hoarse voice, "He would be so proud of you, sweetheart. I can almost hear him saying, 'Take care of my Panda' to Joe."
Amanda smiled in spite of the sudden ache in her chest, and took the first step toward the new man in her life.
As one would expect, Joseph D. King gasped at the sight of his bride as she walked toward him. In the white gown, with her hair down and her face softly hidden by the veil, she was breathtaking. If anyone had been listening, they may have noticed one of the groomsmen gasp as well. Amanda looked like an angel, and to this particular groomsman, she was. She had saved him so many times since that day on the playground and he could not help but be surprised at the sight she made coming down the aisle.
As she made her way towards, Joe, Amanda glanced around and catching Lee's eye, she smiled just a tad bit wider. She wasn't sure he was going to be able to make it after all, and he'd cut it so close she hadn't had a chance to see him yet, or introduce him to Joe.
But soon she was at the head of the church, Joe was kissing her mother on the cheek, and Amanda's attention was turned away from Lee Stetson and towards her groom.
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In the reception hall, Lee looked around at all the smiling faces. Eva was clearly in no mood to be here, and he wasn't quite sure why she'd come now. Looking for a friendly face, any face, he noticed Amanda's college roommate and headed over to say hello, Eva following slightly behind.
"Hi, Lily," he smiled and Lily looked up and then broke into a huge grin.
"Why, it's Amanda's jet-setting friend," she teased. "Joe's never before met groomsman."
Lee laughed. "Well, I tried to get here earlier, but just couldn't do it. I didn't need to be an usher."
Lily laughed. "Oh yes, you did. Amanda may have called off the wedding had Joe not agreed. How are you, Lee?"
"I'm good.…" he was just about to introduce Eva and Lily, when Amanda came bustling up to them, trails of white silk in her wake.
"Lee!" she flung herself in his arms, and Lee wrapped his arms around her.
"It's good to see you, too," he teased, bestowing a kiss on her cheek. "You look amazing. Exactly the way a bride should look."
Amanda blushed, "Thanks. Come, I want you to meet Joe," and she promptly dragged Lee away leaving Eva and Lily together.
Eva stared coolly around her and in an effort to ease the discomfort, Lily asked, "So, you're Lee's girlfriend."
"Yes. My name is Eva," she placed her hand out, but the gesture held no warmth and Lily shook it out of habit more than anything else.
"I'm Amanda's college roommate, Lily. I met Lee in college."
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"Joe," Amanda walked up to her groom, "This is Lee. Lee Stetson, this is Joe King." She smiled at both men and it was clear that she fully expected them to embrace and admit undying love for one another.
Of course, just because Amanda loved both men, doesn't mean that they immediately loved each other, and so the introduction was just a tad bit keyed down from Amanda's expectation. The men shook hands, Lee offered his congratulations, and Joe thanked Lee for his duties as an usher, graciously pretending that it was something that he had wanted.
The three were talking when Dotty rushed up to them. "Amanda? Amanda, you absolutely must say hello to Aunt Lillian." Looking around, she smiled, "You must be Lee," she said. "I haven't seen you since you were just a little boy. How are you, dear?"
"Very well, Mrs. West. You look lovely. I heard several people ask which of you was the bride when you were coming down the aisle." Lee turned his charm on in spades, and as anyone who knew Dotty West would expect, she ate it up.
"Oh, Lee," she laughed as she swatted his arm affectionately. "You have turned into a fine young man. You have a girlfriend, don't you?"
When Lee faltered in his response for just a moment as he looked around for Eva, Dotty continued, "You absolutely must. I would not believe for an instant that you are single!"
"No, Mrs. West, I do. She's over there, talking to Lily." Amanda, Joe, and Dotty turned in the direction he was pointing.
"She's lovely," Dotty said.
"Yes, she is," Amanda echoed. "Lee, I'd love to meet her."
But before Lee could respond, Dotty interjected. "It will have to be later, Amanda. You really need to say hello to Lillian." And before another word could be said, Dotty dragged Amanda off leaving Joe and Lee alone.
"So, Amanda tells me that you have a job with a film company," Joe smiled.
"Yes, I'm an editor. It's government run, so sometimes we do pretty weird films, but it lets me travel all over the world, so it's worth it." Lee told the IFF cover story with ease.
"I'd love to travel, but I'm not sure that Amanda and I will get to do so now. We're torn between traveling and having a family. I'd love to live overseas for a few years. Work for an organization in a third-world country that helps make life better for the people."
Lee smiled, "That's admirable. But I guess that's why most people don't do it. It's too hard to fit something like that into the rest of your life."
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Amanda slid an arm around Lee's waist. "Are you having a good time?" she asked, looking up at him expectantly.
He smiled down at her, "Yes, I am. Joe seems like a wonderful guy, and I think he realizes how lucky he is to have you."
Amanda laughed at him shyly, and then turning to the woman standing beside him, offered her hand, saying, "You must be Eva. Lee has told me so much about you."
Eva looked disdained at the arm Amanda had around Lee's waist and replied, "Yes, he's mentioned you once or twice as well. Congratulations, Mandy."
Amanda, seeing the look in the other woman's eye, withdrew her arm from Lee, and gently corrected, "It's Amanda. Thank you."
"Really, I swear Lee calls you, Mandy."
Before she could continue, Lee interrupted. "Actually, I call her Amanda and I mention her all the time." Lee laughed, trying to dispel the unease between them.
"What is it that you do again, Eva?" Amanda tried to warm up to Lee's girlfriend again. "I can't seem to recall."
"Oh nothing important to someone like you, Mandy. I'm sure you will perfectly happy living the life of a housewife with 2.5 kids, the white picket fence, and your days spent in a housecoat. But to me, that seems so… well, … pedestrian."
Amanda took a deep breath, but before she had even gotten her emotions under enough control to make some semblance of a polite response, Lee slipped his arm through hers and shooting a look at Eva, smiled down at Amanda. "Can I have one dance with the bride?"
Eva's rudeness all but forgotten, Amanda smiled up at him, her brown eyes shining once again. "Of course! I couldn't not dance with you on my wedding day!" and the two were off, Eva staring after them.
They smiled as they moved onto the dance floor, and Lee was amazed at how light Amanda felt in his arms. She seemed to move with him effortlessly and he'd been given extensive dance lessons from the agency for embassy parties. However, even he had never felt like he'd danced this well before, but Amanda seemed to fit in his arms better than any of his other dance partners, even Eva.
'Oh, well,' he thought. 'Dancing is hardly a prerequisite for dating.' But then quickly turned his thoughts away from Eva and towards the woman in his arms.
August 5, 1972
The phone rang, spoiling the quiet morning in the Arlington home. Amanda leapt for it, hoping to get it before it woke up Joe. She was up and enjoying her morning coffee, but Joe had had a late night working on a case for the DA's office and she didn't want to wake him.
"Hello," she said in soft tones so that her voice wouldn't carry upstairs.
"I was going to propose to her," came back the forlorn voice.
"Lee?" Amanda questioned. "Where are you? What are you talking about?"
"Eva. I was going to propose to Eva."
"Oh, Lee, that's wonderful! When are you going to propose? Have you done it already? What did she say?" Amanda got so excited at the news that she hardly gave Lee a chance to respond, but it needn't have mattered as he didn't say anything when she finished anyway. "Lee? Is everything alright?"
"She's gone," he whispered and Amanda struggled to make out the sound over the static of the overseas call.
Finally understanding what he said, she replied quietly, "I'm sorry, Lee." She considered offering him platitudes, telling him Eva didn't know what she was missing, it was her lose, there were other fish in the sea, but while Amanda thought that they were all true, she doubted Lee wanted to hear them. Quite frankly, she was surprised that they had lasted this long. Lee could do so much better than Eva, but while she was sure Lee knew, she had never explicitly stated her dislike of his girlfriend.
"I was going to meet her for lunch and propose to her then. I had the ring picked out since last week. But she came bustling in, looking happy and radiant and then announced that she was marrying someone else. His name is Angelo."
The two continued speaking in hushed tones, Amanda saying little, just trying to show her support, but before long, reality got the best of them and Lee got off, knowing he couldn't afford to spend much longer on the call.
However, they set up lunch when he came back to DC, which was a couple of weeks later. Years later, Lee would say that maybe something good did come out of Eva's breaking his heart – aside from him not making a huge mistake and marrying her. As after that lunch, they began to get together more often and made a point of trying to have lunch once every couple of weeks whenever Lee was in town. Once again, Lee's heartbreak had led him directly to Amanda and the friendship was strengthened even more because of it.
To Be Continued…
