Chapter 15

As the sun was setting, Lauren could see its reflection on a body of water not far from the house. She had been left alone for almost 2 hours, neither man returning after their first encounter. She could hear them talking in a foreign language but it wasn't one she recognized.

She tried to understand what it was they wanted from her. Her mother almost never talked about her life before Virginia Beach. Every time Lauren had asked she brushed it off. She had only met a few people from her mother's past, Uncle Harry being one of them.

She used to love it when he visited. He would bring her special treats or small gifts and would spend hours just sitting and playing games with her when she was little. As she got older, he visited less and less until finally he stopped visiting at all. He would call occasionally but when she would ask if he was coming to see her he would always reply he was tied up with work but soon.

Closing her eyes, Lauren tried to think of anything her mother had ever said about working with Harry. All she could remember was she was Harry's secretary, nothing else. In her mind she tried to picture her mother as she was when she was younger, her hair dark and curly as she loved to wear it. She could remember she wore a hand stitched blouse with fancy buttons and a long calf length skirt at least twice a week. She had at least two blouses that Lauren could remember. Her mother would leave her with a neighbor and run errands as she would tell her. Hours later she would come home with a few grocery bags, maybe one from a department store.

Sometimes, when she returned, she would be angry and Lauren would spend the rest of the day playing in her room by herself to avoid being around her. Other times, Lauren would sit in her lap, tell her about her day as she fingered the buttons. Her mother would always gently remove her fingers and tell her not to touch. "But why, Mama? They're so pretty," she would say. Her mother would always reply, "That's a secret, baby. Someday I'll tell you all about it."

When her mother met her stepfather, Steve, those day-trips became less frequent. They did everything together, including trips to the market. Her mother almost never wore the blouses again after that either. Thinking about it now, she didn't find them in her mother's belongings either when she packed up the house. Unable to think of any reason the men would want something from her, she dropped her head into her hands and began to cry again.

At the hotel, Amanda was changing Charlie's diaper again. As soon as Lee could smell it, he made the announcement he was going to check the truck of Lauren's car for clues. Amanda just laughed, seeing the look on his face. Once Charlie was clean, she changed his clothes and put a pair of pajamas on him so he would be more comfortable during their dinner. Lee tentatively knocked on the door a few minutes later asking, "Is it safe?"

"Yes, its safe. He's clean now and I wrapped that diaper up into one of the trash bags from the bathroom," Amanda informed him.

"How is it possible that something that small can smell that bad?" Lee gestured toward Charlie.

"You really have no idea, do you?" Amanda shook her head smiling.

Putting his hands out to take Charlie from her, Lee commented, "What do you mean? I told you, I have almost no experience with babies. Your boys are the only kids I've really been around for any amount of time and well, when was the last time you saw me follow one of them into the bathroom?"

"That was nothing compared to when they first start eating baby food. Now that can be interesting," Amanda teased.

"Interesting? You call that interesting?" Lee was horrified. He looked down at Charlie in his arms, shaking his head. "Do you hear that, little guy? She calls dirty, stinky diapers interesting. No wonder we don't understand women."

Amanda smiled at her husband. There was something about how he was interacting with the baby that was very different from his panic earlier. The great Scarecrow was sitting on the edge of the bed of their hotel room, having a conversation with a 4 month old infant. She wondered if he ever thought of having his own child someday. She couldn't help but think what a great father he was becoming to her boys, how he was learning quickly how to adapt to their moods, how to engage them in conversation. They had never talked about having a child together, they were still trying to figure out how to make their secret marriage work. She was still young enough that the idea was possible, even if her boys were older.

Lee was watching Charlie playing with his hands. He didn't realize Amanda was watching him or what was going through her mind. Looking up,he caught her eye and she blushed, looking away quickly. "Amanda, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, did you find anything interesting in Lauren's trunk?" she asked trying to distract him.

"No, it was clean. A spare tire, lug wrench and a baby carriage. That's it. You sure?" Lee asked again. It wasn't like her to avoid eye contact with him when they were talking.

"Do you want to go through the backpack before dinner or after?" she answered his question with another question.

Standing, Lee walked over to her. "Amanda, what's going on?" he asked, his concern showing in his voice.

She reached forward and took Charlie from him, "Nothing, I'm just… worried about Lauren, that's all."

Checking his watch, Lee commented, "It's after 8 now, maybe we should do dinner first. Do you think he'll be ok? We can stay here and get room service again." Lee reached out to touch Charlie's hands.

"No, I think he'll be fine. He's pretty content so I think he'll be good during dinner," Amanda said as she picked up his blanket. She turned him around to face her, wrapping the blanket around him lightly. "Ready?" she asked Lee.

Opening the door, he smiled and said, "After you two." He put his hand on her back to guide her toward the elevator. They walked the short distance to the restaurant and were immediately seated as it wasn't very busy.

"Will you need a high chair for that handsome little fella?" the waitress asked.

Lee teased, "No, I think I can reach the table just fine."

Amanda shot him a look and replied, "No, he's fine. Thank you." After the waitress walked away she looked at Lee, "Do you have to flirt with every waitress?"

"Hey, you were the one that told me I was cute, do you remember?" Lee teased her now.

"If I remember correctly I said you weren't THAT cute," Amanda smirked. She couldn't resist him.

"But you still said I was cute," Lee smiled at her.

"Ok, ok… yes… I said you were cute. But now I'm telling you I'm hungry." Amanda laughed.

They talked quietly for a few minutes about the menu and decided on a salad for each of them, splitting an entree of chicken parmesan with pasta. Amanda sat Charlie on her lap, facing Lee, his little hands thumping on the table. While they waited, Lee would occasionally capture one of Charlie's hands under his only releasing it when Charlie looked confused. Amanda continued to watch, fascinated by Lee's new interest in Charlie.

Once the salads were delivered to the table, Amanda carefully put her arm under Charlie to balance him as she attempted to cut it up into smaller bites. Their entree was brought to the table shortly after that. Lee offered to cut the chicken for her so she could easily eat. Amanda looked at him, "Who are you and what have you done with my husband?"

"What? Amanda, what are you talking about?" Lee asked.

As she tried to take a bite of pasta, Charlie tipped his head back, bumping her shoulder, dropping the pasta onto her shirt. Shaking her head, she looked down at the baby. "Thanks, Charlie."

Lee immediately stood and walked around the table. "Here, I'll take him. You see if you can get that out before it stains."

Amanda stood, slowly handing the baby over to him. "Are you okay? You've been acting kind of strange the last few hours."

"Amanda, I'm fine. Go take care of that. I have him." Lee replied, comfortably holding Charlie on his hip.

Walking toward the ladies room, Lee didn't see the tear in Amanda's eye as she walked away. Once inside, she wiped it away. It took her a moment to understand why she was getting emotional. At that moment, seeing Lee with Charlie, she realized where she wanted their lives to go. She wanted their marriage in the open and she wanted to have a child with the man she loved. She just wasn't sure if he felt the same way. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, she would have some answers.