Amanda took a deep breath and bounded down the stairs. She watched Lee escort Joe into the living room and shut the door. The angst and anger began to rise from the pit of her stomach and flush her cheeks. As she stood at the door, Amanda could hear the tension in Lee and Joe's voices. She slid open the door to see the two men standing virtually toe to toe, Joe's finger pointed aggressively toward Lee.
"Joe! Sit down! That's enough!" Amanda said with fire in her voice.
Lee and Joe both stopped their arguing and turned to look at Amanda. Joe plopped down into the overstuffed chair and angrily laced his fingers together and placed them on his lap. Lee exhaled heavily as he took his seat and began to run his hands through his hair. Amanda took a seat on the couch next to Lee and instinctively reached for his hand. She took a moment before she began and stared down her ex-husband that sat across the coffee table from her. Her usual warm, round, brown eyes now were full of anger and hurt. Memories from her life with Joe began to flash in her mind's eye.
"It's very nice to meet you, Amanda West. My name is Joe King….I really do love you, Joe. You make me happier than I have ever been…..Amanda, I don't ever want us to be apart. Will you marry me?...Congratulations! It's a boy!...Guess what Joe? Philip learned how to walk today! Wait till you see!...Philip? Come meet your baby brother, Jamie…Oh, Joe! Our very own house! I can't believe it! I feel like we are a real family now!...Africa? You want us to move to Africa? Joe, we have two small boys. We can't just move them half way around the world to Africa! What are you thinking?...Fellas, I have something to talk to you about. Your dad isn't going to be living here anymore….Mother, what kind of a man sends his wife divorce papers by special delivery from Africa without even so much as a warning that they were coming or that he was even thinking of divorce?...And if you just sign here, Mrs. King, your divorce will be final….Mom, why doesn't dad love us anymore? He never comes to visit us….."
"Amanda…A-MAN-DA!" Lee called to his wife as she was lost in thought. Amanda snapped out of her flood of memories and focused her attentions on Joe but still holding on tightly to Lee's hand.
"So, Joe…..tell us exactly what went on with the boys and the agency talk." Amanda demanded.
"Amanda, it wasn't.."
"And DON'T tell me it wasn't a big deal!" Amanda interrupted as she leaned forward on the couch, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
Joe looked at Amanda and quickly inhaled. "Ok, fine…..Philip overheard me talking to Sam about Francine and how he is having some difficulty adjusting to her being a spy and working for the agency. Philip put two and two together and came and asked me some questions about what you two do if you supposedly work with Francine and she works for a government agency."
Lee's ears perked up at the word 'spy'. "Wait a minute, Joe. Did Philip hear the word 'spy' from either of you?" Lee asked. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"Oh, Joe! How could you have not called me right away?" Amanda interjected almost on top of Lee's question.
"Will you two let me finish? I don't know if Philip heard ME say the word spy, but he's a bright kid. He pieced all of the clues that the two of you have been leaving all over the place and figured it out all on his own. He was the one that told ME that he thought that you two were spies."
Amanda's face dropped in horror. "Well… what did you say?"
Joe's face began to get red and his eyes showed a heightened level of agitation. He sat there in silence.
Lee and Amanda looked at each other. Lee's jaw was clenched and his temple muscles were pulsating. Amanda was unconsciously wringing her hands over and over as she awaited his answer. She inhaled sharply as she jumped up from the couch.
"Joe King! You answer me RIGHT NOW! What did you say to Philip?" Amanda yelled at Joe. Her body language screamed that she was a mother protecting her young and if need be, she would take Joe down. Joe was taken aback at Amanda's aggressive gesture. He had never seen this side of her and he honestly was a bit frightened by it. Her gaze was burning a hole into his eyes.
"What did you expect me to say, Amanda? Did you want me to lie to Philip? I mean, I know that lying has become second nature for you, but I feel that at least one of his parents should tell him the truth about things and have their best interest at heart!"
Before she realized what she was doing, Amanda lunged for Joe. Lee sprang from the couch, grabbed her around the waist and held Amanda on their side of the coffee table.
"How DARE you, Joe! How DARE you sit there and say that I am comfortable lying to my sons! I have kept the agency from them for their protection not for my pleasure. AND if either of their parents have their best interest at heart, it CERTAINLY ISN'T YOU! I'm not the one that left them when they were small boys to go off to Africa and never even ONCE came home to visit them! You hardly called or wrote. Do you know how many times I had to convince them that their dad still loved them? Philip asked me all the time why his father didn't love them anymore. And after all the heartache you caused them, you try to waltz back into their lives and act as if you are 'Father of the Year'. You really need to get over yourself, Joe."
Joe began to show his anger on his face. His steel blue eyes began to redden. He took in a deep breath in preparation to respond to Amanda, but she would not allow him to speak before she was done.
"And how can you seriously sit there and say that YOU have their best interest at heart? You abandon them for nearly 3 years with virtually no financial support, no communication…..It was ME that was here making sure that they were loved and had a happy home! It was ME that was making sacrifices and taking odd jobs, clipping coupons to make sure that they had food on the table. Where were you then?"
Lee sat back and watched a side of Amanda immerge that he had never seen before. She was fiercely protective of the boys and telling Joe things that she should have said a long time ago. He couldn't help but begin to smile as he watched his wife in action.
Joe stood up from the chair and made a step towards Amanda. Lee quickly went on the defensive and positioned himself closer to Amanda.
"Amanda, you know damn well where I was and what I was doing. And I made sure that you and the boys had money and a roof over your head!"
"Huh! That's a laugh! The money you sent barely covered the mortgage payments. I was left to cover everything else! Thank God I was able to find a job with the agency! We wouldn't have been able to survive."
Joe looked at Lee and formed an angry smirk. "Oh yeah, thank God! And a paycheck wasn't all you found there, was it Amanda?"
Amanda could hear Lee draw in a sharp breath. She knew he was trying hard to not say anything and let her handle the situation, but she also knew that if Joe continued, the possibility of Lee punching him was pretty high. She was torn as to if she would try and stop him or not.
"What is that supposed to mean, Joe?"
"Well you found Mr. Right there, too, didn't ya? Now you are one big happy spy family! You two are reckless and think only of yourselves and don't give much thought at all to Philip and Jamie. After all, they're not your kids, right Lee? So why worry about their wellbeing?"
In one swift motion, Lee kicked the coffee table out of the way and stood toe to toe and nose to nose with Joe.
"You shut your damn mouth, Joe! I love Philip and Jamie as if they were my own! I have been looking out for their wellbeing for years, long before Amanda and I were even involved. Just because you walked out on an amazing woman and two of the best kids that there are is no one's fault but your own! Don't try to play the victim here or try and tell Amanda that she is anything but an incredible mother to those kids. And I don't supposed your jealousy played any part in you reveling the agency connection, did it?"
Lee punctuated his remarks to Joe with a firm poke to the chest. The fire in Lee's eyes let Joe know that he meant business. No further unkind or unfair remarks about him or especially Amanda would be tolerated. Joe took a step back and pulled on his jacket lapels.
"Well, I can see that I have worn out my welcome for tonight. I think it is time for me to go." Joe said smugly. He turned quickly and slid open the living room door.
Amanda yelled after him. "Joe! We're not finished! Get back here!" The only answer that Amanda received was the slamming of the front door. "Damn it, Joe!"
Amanda stomped into the kitchen. Lee followed her. The hot tears of frustration and fear out of not knowing what the boys were told began to fall from Amanda's eyes. Amanda took her familiar place by the kitchen window and stared out the glass hoping something would appear to calm her nerves. Lee stood back for a moment and watched helplessly as Amanda cried. He gently squeezed her shoulders. His touch was so welcome and safe at this moment. Amanda quickly turned around and buried herself in Lee's embrace. He held her tight and placed his chin atop her head. His hands gently rubbed her back in gentle circles.
"Sssshhhhh! It will be ok, Amanda. Don't let Joe get to you in this way. It will all be ok."
Amanda looked up from Lee's chest. The pain in her eyes cut right through to Lee's soul. He gently brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs as he cupped her face in his hands.
"Amanda, I promise that it will be ok. I think that we need to talk to the boys ourselves and finally come clean with the whole thing. They are old enough now that they can handle it and it might actually be a very good thing for them to know. They need to learn how to keep themselves safe." Lee placed his index finger on Amanda's lips as she began to speak. "AND Amanda, we don't know if what Joe said is true or not. They may have had their own suspicions for a while and it is better that they know the facts rather than work off of suspicions."
Amanda slowly nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. I have just dreaded this moment for the last 5-years. What if they can't forgive me for lying to them all these years? What if this puts them in more danger than if they never knew?"
"Well, we'll never know until we talk to them, will we?" Lee stood back and placed his hands on Amanda's belly. He stood there silently gazing at his unborn child and his beautiful wife. Amanda lovingly placed her hands on top of Lee's. Lee squeezed her hands and looked into her eyes. "You and this family are the most important thing in the world to me, and I will go to the ends of the earth to keep you safe. Don't ever forget that."
"I know you will, Lee. We'll get through this, together, right?"
Lee leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Amanda's lips.
"You'd better believe together!" He gave her another kiss, this one much more passionate. "Why don't you make us all some cocoa and I will go get the boys, OK?"
"OK"
Lee winked at Amanda as he exited the kitchen and headed upstairs to retrieve Philip and Jamie. Amanda put the tea kettle on to boil and retrieved the marshmallows from their secret hiding place. She was lost in thought when she heard Jamie talking to her.
"Hey Mom! What did you want to talk to us about?"
To be continued…..