In Limbo

Chapter 49

Lee came into the Agency the next morning, looking like he hadn't slept much the night before, and as he came to Billy's office and went in, closing the door behind him, Billy, eyeing him from his desk, remarked concernedly, "You look beat, Son...Grab some coffee...Did you tell Amanda anything yet?"

Lee shook his head as he poured himself a cup and added cream, querying, "Are you kidding?! I'm still trying to wrap my head around this! I don't need Amanda and the kids getting more upset by things."

Billy nodded and gesturing as Lee sat down across from him, stated, "Let me see the letter..."

Lee, taking Joe's letter out of his jacket pocket, answered as he handed it to Billy, "I appreciate you talking me through this last night...You say we do have a lawyer we can use?"

Billy nodded once more as he finished reading it, and handing it back to Lee, responded, "Jake Tompkins, the man who helped us with the San Angelo case annulment..."

Just then, Billy's phone rang, and he remarked, "Melrose...What line? Alright..."

Handing the receiver to Lee, he commented, "Amanda, Line one..."

-SMK-

Lee pressed one and said, "Hi, Sweetie...How are you doing?"

Amanda stated, "Well, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, as you can imagine, and neither did the boys. I called the school to ask for a leave for them, and then Jack called, asking if Phillip and Jamie would want to spend some time with he and Teri in Chevy Chase after Joe's funeral next week."

Lee asked, "What did they say?"

Amanda sighed answering, "They want to, since they haven't seen Joe's folks in a while, and I think it's a good idea, since I got something from my lawyer this morning that came by special messenger...I-I just couldn't believe it...Let me tell you what it says here-"

Lee replied quickly, "I already know-"

Amanda asked bewilderedly, "H-How?"

Lee sighed commenting, "Because I found a note Joe left here the other day explaining his intentions... Did you say anything to the boys about what you received?"

Amanda stated, "N-No, I don't know what to tell them because I don't understand this-"

Lee remarked, "I-I know. Look, can you come to the Agency now, and we'll talk about it?"

Amanda, swallowing hard, answered, " Y-Yeah, I'll be there soon...Bye."

Lee said, "Bye, Honey."

As they hung up, Lee said to Billy, "Amanda's on her way..."

There was a knock at the door, and Billy, seeing a man standing outside, waved him in, stating, "Here's Jake..."

Lee, getting up from the chair, greeted the man as he entered, saying, "Jake...How are you? Thanks for coming."

He offered Jake a seat, while pulling another chair over, and Jake, shaking Billy's hand, asked, "What's this all about?'

As Lee sat next to Jake, he replied, giving him Joe's letter to read, "Amanda's on her way... It's a long story, but here's a letter from her ex-husband, Joe King to me...See, what happened was..."

-SMK-

Meanwhile, Amanda, on her way to the Agency, was just getting to the interstate when there was the beginning of traffic congestion!

Amanda, shaking her head, commented as she looked at her watch, "Oh, terrific!"

Then, while sitting there waiting to move ahead, she fiddled with the radio, to pass the time.

Finding an oldies station she liked, she then heard the announcer say, "Got a wedding to plan? I've got just the song for you."

Amanda groaned, "Ohh, please don't let it be what I think it is..."

It was The Carpenters with, "We've Only Just Begun", and Amanda sighed, answering as she turned the station quickly, "Nope!"

Turning to some other ones, she stopped on another station as she heard something familiar, but couldn't place it.

Then the sounds of Johnny Mathis came through, singing, "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late," and fuming, Amanda turned off the radio, replying, "You've gotta be kidding me! First one was on my wedding day, and this one turns out to be when my marriage went down the tubes?!"

Suddenly, the driver behind her honked, and Amanda, distracted, realized she could finally move ahead, and signaled her apology, and was on her way once more, thinking, Should've taken a cab with all that's on my mind lately...

TBC