In Limbo

Chapter 15

It was around noon of that same day when Amanda came into the house, calling out, "Mother? I'm home early today. I thought maybe you and I could go for lunch, alright?"

When there was silence, Amanda, putting down her purse and jacket, went into the kitchen to check for a note.

She found one near the stove...It said:

Amanda,

I'm heading out to lunch with the card group, and then doing some shopping at Capitol Center Mall. See you tonight. Love, Mother

Amanda sighed and putting the note down, stated, "Okay, well, it looks like just one for lunch today."

Going to the fridge, she pulled out lunch meat and bread and mayo, putting them on the counter, when the phone rang.

Turning toward the kitchen island counter, she picked up the receiver, answering, "Hello?"

The voice said, "Is this Audrey Thompson?"

Amanda replied, "N-No, this is her daughter, Beth Blake. May I help you?"

The voice remarked, "This is Burt Daniels of the Trentonian newspaper? I was calling her back to discuss the Ask Penny column she sent a letter to."

Amanda, baffled, asked, "Well, Mr. Daniels, I-I don't know what letter you're referring to, but is there a message I can give her, please? She's out right now and I don't expect her back any time soon."

Burt sighed, and then answered, "Fine, Ms. Blake...Can you please tell her that the column, Ask Penny, originates from Chicago, at the Tribune, and their number is 312 555-2121. She apparently thought that our paper handles that advice column, but it's in syndication, so it's in many different newspapers all over the U.S., so she should contact them directly, alright?"

Amanda responded, as she wrote the Chicago number down on scratch paper nearby, "I'll let her know. Thank you for calling, Mr. Daniels. Bye, bye."

Hanging up the phone, she went to the family room to the magazine rack where they kept the Trenton newspapers from the previous day, and finding it, pulled out the Arts and Leisure section where the crosswords were, and on the opposite page, spotted the Ask Penny column.

Scanning it quickly, she was surprised at seeing a letter signed, Troubled In Trenton!

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed reading the letter:

"Dear Ask Penny:

My daughter and grandsons and I recently moved here to Trenton, and my grandsons and I have begun meeting new people over the last few weeks, and even though my daughter encouraged me to, she hasn't really taken time to do so herself, claiming she has a lot to do at her new job, which has me a bit worried. Should I nudge her a bit about it? Thank you. Troubled In Trenton."

And the response, which said:

"Dear Troubled:

It takes time to develop friendships/relationships in a new setting, but I would just stay out of it and leave her be. She must realize you care, but, as she is an adult, I wouldn't imagine she would be too happy to know you were trying to find her new friends/dates without her asking for your advice in the first place."

Amanda, shaking her head, stated, "You're darn right, I wouldn't! Thank you, Ask Penny!"

Putting the paper back to rights, Amanda placed it back in the magazine rack, and went back to the kitchen to make her sandwich and pour herself some ice tea.

As Amanda sat at the table eating her lunch, she stared at the number, saying softly as she thought of Lee, "I had someone really special before we left Arlington, Mother, but the stupid Government ruined it for us, so I don't even know where he is anyway..."

-SMK-

Meanwhile, at the Tribune, Lee was going through letters for the next day, when Frank came into his office, replying, "Boy, when you answer a letter...Whew!"

Lee, puzzled, asked, "What?"

Frank scoffed, showing him the response to Troubled, commenting, " The switchboard is jammed with calls, wondering which mother/daughter team you pissed off-"

Lee shook his head, saying, "C'mon! All I said was that she should stay out of it, and leave her be!"

Frank, shaking his head, showed Lee the paper with the response, and Lee gulped answering, " B-But I-I didn't write the rest of this!"

Then, with a realization, bellowed out the open door, "Sandy! Get your butt in here!"

Sandy, within minutes, entered, responding quickly, "Hey, what's the excitement?"

Lee, fuming, showed Sandy the answer to Troubled from the previous day, querying, "Did you add the rest of this to the answer? What the hell were you thinking?"

Sandy, looking at the troubled response quietly answered, "Uh-oh...I was thinking it needed something extra that night, and then I got into a beef with my mother on the phone before leaving work, and I guess I forgot to proofread before it went to press...I'm so sorry, Chuck."

Just then, Mark came into the office, "Okay, Castle...I know you're new here still, but I thought Sandy would be checking your stuff-"

Sandy sighed, answering, "Mark, it was my fault. I had a thing with my mother on the phone before leaving work that night, and I forgot to proofread-"

Mark, with a gesture, stated angrily, " Great! Do you realize how many fires we gotta put out now because of your goof?! Go wait in my office, Nuisance!"

The phone rang just then as Sandy left quickly,, and Lee picked up, answering, "Castle...Um, yes...Just-Just a minute, please. Let me put you on hold, okay? Thanks..."

Pressing the hold button and replacing the receiver, Lee said to Mark, "For you...The-The Trentonian on Line one..."

Mark sighing deeply, nodded, and with a growl, replied, " The fun never ends here! Okay, Frank, you're helping Castle with today's stuff, and I'll get Scott on the Sports column, and then we're reorganizing who does what here, you got it?"

Frank and Lee nodded wordlessly as Mark strode out angrily, and Frank asked as he looked at the file cabinet with a gesture, "Okay. Where do we jump in for today's column?"

Lee groaned, stating, "Start with the A section in the file cabinet, please..."

While Frank went to the file cabinet, pulling out the A folder, Lee then shook his head thinking, This can't get any worse for me, can it?

TBC