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The Energy of Sun Rays

Lee: Changes

He found her outside on the porch, wrapped in a blanket and staring out at the ocean from one of the chairs. Although the hotel's oceanfront porch was shared, the lack of other patrons this time of year had given them nearly complete privacy on this trip. In the dim light, the breakers' foam took on a gray hue, contrasting with the inky black of the water, and the beach sand appeared nearly white.

Since it was winter, the night breeze blew in from the sea, tossing Amanda's hair as she stood up to greet him. Taking the blanket from her, Lee wrapped it around them both as he drew her into an embrace from behind, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder.

Underneath the blanket, she slipped her forearms underneath his. "I'm glad we came here."

"So am I," he told her. By unspoken agreement, they'd declared a no-shop-talk, no-problem-solving period, although Lee had ended up breaking that agreement for a couple of hours after Billy had called his car phone, first by alerting Joe and Carrie and then by setting up a few extra precautions. He'd kept that to what was absolutely necessary, though, knowing that there was no new threat — and, under Virginia law, no statute of limitations for premeditated murder. The case would keep. Right now, there were more important priorities.

Amanda took a deep breath. "I'd love to know what you're thinking about."

He kissed her cheek. "Not a whole lot. Just enjoying our time here." They had to leave in the morning, although the five-hour drive meant they could fit in a leisurely brunch on their way out. "Debating going back home through the Bridge-Tunnel and Salisbury tomorrow, instead of using the Interstate."

"How much extra time would that take?"

"Little over an hour, mostly because of speed limits. There'll be a lot less traffic, though." He paused. "We'd be on or near the water for most of it."

"Let's do it," she answered. "Would you believe I've never gone across the Bridge-Tunnel? Every time I've been to the beach, I've always ended up going south of it and around. I saw the signs more than a few times, but for some reason we never had time to try it."

"You've never been to the Eastern Shore, then, either?"

"Only as far as Kent Island."

He smiled. "Then you're in for a treat. We're going to go through some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. It'll be a perfect way to end our trip, Mrs. Stetson."

Chuckling, she tapped her wedding ring against his. "Then that means it'll have been a perfect trip, Mr. Stetson." Then she sobered. "Thank you, Lee. For bringing us here, I mean. You're right that I needed the time away."

"Correction." Freeing one hand, he used it to turn her chin toward his. "We needed the time away. I just wish it could've been longer, that we'd had time to do a few more things."

"It's not over yet," she pointed out as she leaned forward for a quick kiss. "We have enough time for at least one or two more things. What do you think?"

"I think," he answered as he moved in for a longer kiss, "that that is an excellent idea."

There was a cautious, wary look on Carrie's face as she let them into the townhouse, but her tone was its usual pleasant cheerfulness. "How was your trip?"

"Fine," answered Amanda. "How was Thanksgiving?"

She was answered by a thunder of footsteps coming down the stairwell. "Hi Mom! Hi Lee! It was great! Carrie made us a stew called tee-cha — um, cha — um, how do you pronounce that word again?"

"Tchaka. Jamie, let them come in and sit down."

"They're inside already and we can talk while they walk. We also had fried plantains, and diri-she —" he stumbled again, this time with a grimace. "Maybe Carrie should describe it."

At that, Jamie's stepmother laughed, and her expression segued into indulgence and amusement. "All right. We had diri shela poul fri for Thanksgiving itself," she said as she ushered everyone into the living room. "It's a Haitian version of fried chicken. Then the tchaka, which is a traditional holiday stew, yesterday and today." She paused. "Joe and I thought it might be a good idea not to do a turkey and sides, so that it wouldn't bring back bad…" she trailed off. "So that it'd be different."

"Well, I'm jealous," said Lee, and he meant it. "There are a couple of good Haitian restaurants over near Brightwood Park, but I've never had anything home-cooked. You'll have to make those again sometime, or send me some recipes."

Her dark eyes lit up. "I'd be happy to."

The next set of footsteps on the stairs came at a more sedate pace. "Hi, there," said Joe. "Welcome back. How was — where did you say you were going again?"

"We didn't," answered Amanda. "But we went down to Kitty Hawk. There's a nice little motel right on the beach, within walking distance of the memorial." She stepped back from the bear hug she'd given Jamie. "We'll probably go back sometime soon, at least with Jamie and maybe with all of us." Still smiling, she sat down on the love seat she'd shared with Lee before they'd left, pulling him down next to her. "Was everything, um…" she trailed off. "You didn't have any problems, right?"

"It's all right," said Carrie. "Joe told me what's going on. And no, there weren't any problems."

"What do you mean, what's going on?" asked Jamie.

"Grown-up talk," said Amanda easily. "And if there were no problems, then nothing to talk about anyway." She paused. "You ready to come back?"

"Actually," said Joe, "we'd like to talk to you about that."

Lee felt the muscles at the back of his neck tense. "Yes?" he asked.

"To be perfectly clear," continued Joe, "Jamie would like to talk to you about that." He glanced over. "This is your idea, son. We'll be right here, but you need to be the one to explain it to them."

Jamie took a deep breath as he sat down in a nearby chair. "Mom, I think I'd like to stay here for a while."

There was a long pause, during which Lee took Amanda's hand, threading his fingers through hers. "Why is that, sweetheart?"

"Well, it's not because you don't agree on cutting my allowance." He glanced at Joe. "Dad says that he'll work that out with you privately and let me know the final decision. It's mostly —" he cut himself off, taking another deep breath. "I think…I think I need a few changes right now. And I've never had the chance to spend a whole lot of time with Dad and Carrie. It's not like I don't want to see you or anything, 'cause I do. It's just that…" he trailed off again. "A whole lot of reasons, really. And I don't mean forever. Just maybe until it's time to go back to school after New Year's."

Under his hand, Amanda was shaking, but her voice was steady. "What about school between now and then? How are you going to get there?"

"Carrie says there's a bus from her school to mine. I can take that."

"Okay," she answered, looking toward Joe. "I take it that you're fine with this?"

"Yes. We have the room. Plus, it would let you focus on…" he trailed off. "Well, it might be a bit more, um, secure." There was an emphasis on the word, and he looked directly at Lee when he said it. "What with him having his own room and all, instead of sleeping on a couch in your living room."

Lee nodded, understanding the underlying message: Joe felt like Jamie would be safer staying there while they investigated the murders. Glancing at Amanda, he could see that she, too, had heard that message, and like him, she didn't think he was wrong. Still, her hand was gripping his a bit too tightly. "I have to admit that makes sense, although Lee and I are coming back with a bit of news."

"What would that be?"

They'd talked it over in the car on the way back from North Carolina. "We're…" she trailed off. "Jamie, you're right about needing some changes, and every time we go back to our house, it hurts. A lot."

"Yeah, I know," he answered. "I always try to get in and out as fast as I can, 'cause everything there reminds me of —" his voice hitched. "Of them."

"So," she continued. "Over the next week we're going to actually need to go back there a little more often than we have been, because it needs to be spic-and-span. Once it is, I'm going to put it up for sale."

Jamie's shoulders dropped, but Lee couldn't tell if that represented disappointment or relief. Probably it was a combination of both. "Are you gonna buy another one?"

"Yes," she said, "but I won't be able to do that until I sell the one we have. And that could take a while, especially this time of year. So…" she trailed off, glancing at Lee.

He picked up the thread. "I've been on a month-to-month lease for a while." The words were addressed to Jamie although he found himself meeting Joe's eyes as well, and even Carrie's. "So all I have to do is give notice. I'm going to look for a two-bedroom place on with short lease, maybe six months or so. That'll give you your own room while your Mom works on selling the house, and while we decide exactly what it is we want to buy together." He paused. "All three of us."

A smile appeared on Jamie's face, although Carrie didn't seem quite so sure. "That's an awful lot of moving in a short time."

"Yeah, but it's for a good reason." Lee paused. "And, well, I'm used to moving around a bit. I know how to make it as easy as possible. Plus," he continued, "six months lets Jamie finish the school year where he is. If you end up changing schools, chief," he continued, "and let's be clear that we're not yet sure you will — it'll be lot easier to do it over a summer break. I would know."

Jamie considered that, not noticing that Joe and Carrie were having a silent conversation behind him. "You know, I'm not sure I would mind going to a different school."

"We'll make that decision when the time comes," said Amanda. He could feel she had begun to relax. "As for right now, it might not…" she swallowed. "You know, it probably isn't a bad idea for you to stay here until we've moved into the two-bedroom place. So, Joe, thank you for letting him."

That had to have been incredibly hard for her to say, thought Lee, and he stroked the back of her hand gently. Across from them, he could see that Joe and Carrie had come to some sort of an agreement, because he was nodding at her.

"You're welcome," he told her. "And you know what? Carrie and I have an idea. A couple of the townhouses in this complex are for rent right now. Why don't you put in an application for one of them?"

Author's Note: Lee and Amanda are staying at the Cavalier Motor Court, which is now the Cavalier by the Sea, while they are in North Carolina. On the way back, they're going to take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Both places are well worth checking out if you're in the area.