August 23, 1986 8:00am
"Careful, Amanda," Dotty said as she lowered her daughter to her bed. Amanda sighed with impatience, but moved slowly until she was lying firmly in bed with her leg cast straight in front of her.
Looking around she turned a quizzical face to Dotty, "Is Lee here?"
"Lee?" Dotty asked, "No, dear. Of course not."
"It's just…" Amanda paused while she tried to put the thoughts into words, "I smell his aftershave."
A look of shock came across Dotty's face, "Oh my gosh, Amanda, I'm so sorry, I meant to change the sheets!"
"What?"
"Lee, he came over a few nights ago to tell us where you were. He fell asleep on your bed. I meant to change the sheets, but…"
"It's okay, Mother. I'm fine here. I know you weren't concentrating on the sheets the last few days."
"No, and in a couple of days when you are feeling better, we'll talk about what I was concentrating on."
Amanda looked down at the bed, her cheeks slightly red. "I'm sorry, Mother, but I really couldn't tell you."
"I know you felt that way, but now that I know, and the boys know," Dotty said meaningful, "things are going to have to change around here."
"I know, Mother."
Placing a kiss on top of Amanda's head, Dotty whispered, "But rest for now. That talk can keep a couple of days. As long as you are wearing that, anyway," Dotty looked pointedly at Amanda's cast as she moved out of the door.
Amanda sunk deeper into her bed. She couldn't remember the last time something so simple had felt to wonderful. Inhaling deeply as she stretched her upper body she could again smell Lee's aftershave.
She snuggled even further under the blanket and let the comforting smell lull her to sleep.
August 23, 1986 12:00pm
Amanda awoke to the feeling of someone softly caressing her head. Looking up sleepily from behind her hair, she could see Lee watching her with a small smile on his face. When he caught her eye, his smile widened.
"Morning, sleepyhead," he said as he let his hands fall to his sides.
"Morning. Don't stop, that was nice."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, a little headache, but nothing else. Of course, the doctor gave me several Valium, so I can't feel much."
Lee's smile faltered for a moment and Amanda regretted her comment. "I'm fine, Lee. Really."
Lee's hand moved back to her head, smiling at her gently. "You're a terrible liar, you know?"
Amanda closed her eyes sleepily, and moved closer to Lee. Her head resting against his leg, she whispered, "I'm tired. Stay with me until I fall asleep?"
"Of course," Lee whispered back and when her breathing had evened out once again, he leaned down, placing a small kiss on her cheek. "You are a terrible liar, but one hell of an agent."
August 24, 1986 7:00pm
"Boys! Please, I still have a headache," Amanda called to Philip and Jamie from her perch on the couch.
"Sorry, mom," the boys mumbled back, ashamed of their actions. Coming closer, Jamie asked, "Will Lee be here soon for dinner, mom?"
"Yes," said a voice behind them.
"Lee!" Philip exclaimed.
"Hey, kiddo!" Lee said as he patted Philip's head. He handed Amanda a packet of seeds.
She took it from him, looking at it quizzically, before asking "Marigold seeds?"
Lee smiled, "I thought you'd prefer to plant them and have them year after year than just the one time. And marigolds as they are bright and cheery."
Amanda smiled, "Thanks. It was a lovely thought."
Dotty came out, bearing a TV tray. "All right, fellas, dinner's ready in the kitchen. I thought we'd take our plates and eat out here today so we could be with your mother."
"Yeah! Dinner in front of the TV," Jamie exclaimed as he went to the kitchen, Philip behind him.
Dotty moved closer to Amanda and handed her the tray. "Thanks, Mother," she said as Dotty bestowed a warm kiss on her cheek.
The boys came back with their plates heaped full of food, and Dotty and Lee followed suit.
Dinner was a lively affair (no TV, to Jamie's dismay), with lots of conversation. The boys and Dotty had lots of questions about IFF and Amanda and Lee answered what they could.
A couple of hours later, after Dotty and Lee had finished the dishes and the boys had gone to bed, Dotty got up herself. "Do you think you could help Amanda upstairs, Lee?" she asked, yawning.
"No problem, Dotty," Lee replied as Dotty made her way upstairs.
Amanda and Lee sat downstairs for a few more minutes in silence, before Amanda yawned.
Without a word, Lee got up and scooped her into his arms. Settling her under the covers, Lee sat besides her. "You okay?"
Amanda nodded her head, before looking at him quizzically. "Mother said you spent the night here while I was …" she trailed off, not sure what the right word was.
"I didn't mean to," Lee admitted, embarrassed. "I came up here looking to be closer to you, and the next thing I knew it was morning."
Without thought, Amanda whispered, "My bed smells like you a little now.… It's nice."
Lee started at that and then Amanda seemed to realize the implication of what she said and turned bright red.
Standing up, Lee began pacing around the room. "Amanda,…"
"I, um, I shouldn't have said that," Amanda interrupted. "I just meant it was comforting to know you had been here in some way, I just … well, I don't know what I mean."
Lee smiled at her slightly, before coming to sit besides her once again, "I know what you mean. I kind of like having you around, too."
Amanda slapped him lightly on the arm. "Gee, thanks."
"You should get some sleep, though," Lee whispered as he tucked the blanket around her.
Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. When she smiled up at him, he leaned down again to place another soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "Sweet dreams, Amanda,"
"Thanks," she whispered, then as he was almost through the door, "Lee?"
"Hmm?" he mumbled as he turned around.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make things awkward. We're okay, right?"
Coming back over, Lee leaned close to her once again, running a hand softly through her hair. "We're perfectly fine. More than fine."
And then for good measure, he leaned down once more to place a chaste kiss on her lips.
He stood up and walked toward the door, and then for some reason he would be unable to explain later, he went back over to her and placed another chaste kiss on her lips. And then a third.
The fourth kiss was not so chaste.
To Be Continued…
PS For those of you confused at the title, it's a misquote from "If I Only Had a Brain" – "While my thoughts were busy hatchin'"
