Chapter 4
Hearing the phone ring, Lee turned away from the coffeemaker. "Stetson," he said, picking up the telephone receiver.
"Lee, my boy, how's everything going with you?"
Lee broke into a big smile. "Hey, Harry, it's great to hear from you."
"Same here. How's married life treating you?"
"It's better than I ever could have imagined." It was the truth. Once their marriage was public, there had been some hard feelings on the part of Dotty and the boys, which he completely understood. There was a time when both Phillip and Jamie tested the boundaries, and there was Jamie's distrust of him. He had been forced to be patient with them, the patience he did not know he had. Now, things were settled, everyone was used to him, and he had a home.
"I don't claim to be clairvoyant, but I thought you'd take to it like a natural. You just had to find the right woman."
"The second part is certainly true."
"Amanda's a special woman. How are the boys doing?"
"Good. Jamie took second place in a statewide photography contest last week." Despite the valid reason for missing the contest, he still regretted not being there.
Fondly, he remembered Jamie's declaration of love. It had been one of the most remarkable moments in his life.
"Outstanding. I did have a reason to call you."
"Aw, hell, Harry. You don't ever need a reason to call me."
"Thank you, Lee. That makes me feel good. I heard through the Agency grapevine that you're thinking of leaving the field."
"The Agency grapevine?" Lee laughed. "Yeah, I'm seriously considering it. I don't have the drive for it now. My life has changed, I guess my priorities have changed. I have a life and a family that I love."
"Those are very valid reasons for assessing your future."
Lee paused, then continued. "I'm also worried that I'll screw up if I go in a new direction. Harry, I'm not sure I'm cut out to be an Agency bureaucrat."
Harry guffawed. "Lee, you'll never be a bureaucrat. You'll continue to be a thorn in Dr./Smyth's side, and I for one will love every minute of it. And you won't screw anything up. I saw something in you when I hired you. It sounds like you've outgrown fieldwork. Look, sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zone, and take a chance. Let me ask you something. Are you truly happy being a field agent?"
Lee swallowed hard. "Not really. I'm not burned out or anything, but I don't get the same satisfaction from the job that I used to. I love working with Amanda. That's the best part."
"Most agents have this moment at some point or another. Look, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. You're smart enough to figure it out yourself. What's Amanda thinking?"
"She'll accept my decision, but she's got to, and I want her to make her own decision regarding her career. She's worked incredibly hard to learn the job. Not to mention how hard her rehab was."
"I'm confident she'll make the right decision for herself."
"I know she will. How are you and Christina doing?"
"Christina's doing very well. She's thrilled to have her sister here."
"I bet she is." Lee had met her sister Sofia after she had emigrated from the Soviet Union. Sofia was Christina's only living relative.
"But she's a little worried about me. I've come up with a little heart problem."
Lee froze his movements. "Harry, I don't think there's anything little about a heart problem."
"Easy, there, Scarecrow. I now have a heart doctor who's monitoring it. He's put me on a couple of medications, got me on a healthy diet, and I'm doing more exercise. I may need a bypass at some point, but he wants to take the conservative route initially."
"You sure that's the best course? Heart problems are nothing to mess around with."
"Come on, Lee, you know Harry V. Thornton is indestructible."
Lee wished that was true. Oh, how he wished that was true.
"We know you two are busy with your jobs and the family, but we'd love for you and Amanda to come for dinner sometime."
"We'd love to. Amanda will be thrilled."
"Good to hear. We'll coordinate and get everything set up, or more like Christina and Amanda will coordinate. They're the planners in our families." The two friends laughed heartily.
Well, Christina's got lunch ready. Give Amanda our love. If you want to talk, call me anytime."
"I'll do that. Keep me up to date on your heart, okay?"
"I'll do that."
"And thanks for the advice. Take care Harry, I'll talk to you later."
"You too. Lee. Don't worry about me."
As Lee hung up the call, he reflected that the older he got, the more he worried about the people he cared about.
The door opened and Amanda breezed in. She smiled brightly as she sat at her desk. "Hello, sweetheart."
"Hello to you, too. I just talked to Harry. He and Christina send their love."
"Oh, shoot, I'm sorry I missed him."
"He said he heard from the Agency grapevine that I was thinking of quitting fieldwork," he said with a chuckle. "Since Billy is the only one who knows, he must have told him. I don't mind. Oh, when we both can get our schedules arranged, we have a dinner invitation."
"That sounds lovely. It will be so much fun."
"Yeah." His expression faltered. "He, uh, he's got a heart condition."
Amanda tensed and Lee remembered her father had passed away from a heart attack. "He says it's not serious. He's getting exercise, and a healthier diet, some medicine that sort of thing."
He went to her desk and put his hand on her shoulder. "He's going to be okay." He wished he could be sure of that.
