A/N: So, I did some research on African countries and Estoccia in this story is based on Gambia, the smallest landlocked country located in West Africa. It has a population of around 2 million people, most of them 35 yrs. and younger, and the primary language is English. Primary crops are peanuts, rice, tomatoes, and citrus fruits.
Also, remember Thea and Jenny, the Stetson twins, are almost 1 yr. old.
PRESENT DAY: April 1990
LifeSource Chem
Main Office Building
"Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of Stanley and myself, and all of us here at LifeSource who have been working round the clock to make this dream a reality – thank you so much for coming out and celebrating with us today."
Stacey paused to take a breath, acknowledging the applause and whistles that came from the small crowd gathered in front of her.
"Twelve years ago, we launched our revolutionary crop spray that changed the landscape of agriculture forever. Our special formulated spray has saved an average of eighty percent of the world's crops that would have been destroyed by locusts and other mites-"
Her words were drowned out by ear-piercing whistles and thunderous applause. Stacey let the roar continue for a minute before she held up her hands.
"Yes, I, too am overwhelmed with our success – but I wanted – we wanted to do more. I know that water – pure water – is also a huge concern in many places around the world and we here at LifeSource have been working for years to find a way to purify stagnant water – ponds, rivers, the smallest puddles – even rainfall. People can survive for weeks without food – but only a couple of days without water and everyone will perish – not to mention the simple fact that crops need water to grow and thrive. If you factor in an arid, desert climate, well-"
Stanley cleared his throat and stepped up to the podium next to his wife. "Stacey-" he whispered in her ear.
She blushed. "Sorry, everyone, I'm getting cared away again."
Stanley gave her a brief one-armed hug and kissed the top of her blonde head. "I still do love her passion, Ladies and Gentlemen."
The audience laughed.
"But the bottom line-" he paused and looked at her, waiting for her to pick up the thread.
She nodded and continued. "The bottom line is that we've done it! LifeSource Chem has figured out how to purify stagnant water – and the face of agriculture is about to change yet again!"
"Amanda!"
Amanda turned her head at the sound of her name to see Stacey weaving her way through the crowd. She murmured an excuse to the couple she was speaking to and met her friend halfway, throwing her arms around the chemist in a fierce hug.
"Stacey! I'm so proud of you! First the crop spray and now this – you must be over the moon with your accomplishments!"
Stacey pulled back, smiling at the praise. "I am, but I couldn't have done it alone – I hope it didn't sound like I was tooting my own horn up there. I really do have a full team of chemists, scientists, and other experts behind me."
Amanda laughed. "A far cry from the start-up LifeSource was back in '73, am I right?"
Stacey looped her arm through Amanda's and together the two of them started walking toward the refreshments table. "Oh Amanda, I never dreamed – but what about you? I mean, you're glowing!"
"Getting a good night's sleep will do that for you."
"Ah! The girls are finally sleeping through the night?"
"They've been taking turns but for the past week, both of them have been sleeping the whole night through – and I feel like a new woman!"
Stacey laughed.
"Of course, Lee blames himself. He thinks that his presence winds Jenny and Thea up before bedtime and since he's been out of town on a location shoot-"
Stacey snorted. "That's ridiculous!"
"I know it is," Amanda sighed. "I tried explaining to him that his absence just happened to correspond with the girls' sleep patterns finally evening out, but I think he's being overly sensitive about it. I'm afraid, secretly, he's comparing himself to-" Amanda swallowed, not even wanting to say her first husband's name.
"Joe?" Stacey whispered, as if saying his name too loud would cause the man to appear. "Is Lee feeling the need to prove he's a better father than your first husband? Because, between the two of us, he won't have to try very hard, will he?"
Amanda pulled out of her friend's hold and reached for the punch ladle, pouring a cup for Stacey and then herself. Both women took long sips in silence while Amanda gathered her thoughts.
Stacey had been there throughout the breakup and divorce of her first marriage. She had taken the time out of her busy schedule to check on Amanda, and take her to lunch once a month, refusing to let her friend become a hermit. Once Amanda had started working at IFF, their contact had become less frequent, but they had still managed to see each other every few months. The boys called her Aunt Stacey – and she had been thrilled when Amanda told her about Lee.
Stanley had stayed on the sidelines, but Amanda couldn't really blame him. He and Joe had been college roommates and shared a deep friendship – he was hurt when Joe left the States, not once but twice. Yet it was Joe both of them reached out to when it came time for a trial of LifeSource's chemical spray – and the nation of Estoccia had jumped at the chance. Estoccia's peanut crop had thrived under the spray and LifeSource had hit the motherload. Now, Estoccia had volunteered again to do a trial run of their water formula which would greatly help the economy as it had suffered greatly in the droughts of the past year.
Stanley and Stacey's lives would be forever intertwined with Amanda and Joe's – and she wasn't sure that she was comfortable sharing intimate details about her new life with Lee – especially as it contained ghosts of their shared past.
All of this ran through Amanda's brain at lightning speed as she sipped her punch, which was overly sweet and she winced, wishing that she could have shared her own homemade recipe with the caterers.
"Amanda?"
She smiled. "Lee and I are still newlyweds-"
"With a mother-in-law, twin baby girls, and two teenage boys from a previous marriage all living under one roof," Stacey added. "I can imagine it makes things a bit interesting at times."
"A bit. But we're managing-"
"If it helps, I've never seen you so happy – not even in the beginning with Joe."
Amanda was speechless.
"Oh honey, don't look so stricken." Stacey reached out and squeezed her hand. "I know you loved Joe – but I think we both know that Lee's your soulmate."
"Mother said the same thing to me once-"
"Smart lady."
"Don't tell her that – it will only go to her head!"
Both women laughed as a shadow fell across them. Amanda looked up to see Stanley standing next to them.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Of course not, Darling." Stacey dropped Amanda's hand and looped her arm around his waist. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, here and there – talking to a few people about investing." He flashed a grin at them both.
"That's my husband, ever the businessman."
"Well, I have to earn my keep somehow. I'm hopeless in the lab." He turned to Amanda. "Joe says hello, by the way."
She blinked in surprise. "When did you speak to Joe?"
"Last week – I was in Estoccia getting an update on the trial. He said he was sorry that he hasn't called you and the boys lately-"
Amanda waved the words away. "He's busy – we understand that. He did call for Philip's birthday last month."
Stanley frowned. "You haven't spoken to him since then?"
"No, why?"
"I just – I got the feeling something was bothering him – I thought he might have called and talked to you about it."
"Phone service isn't the best – sometimes our calls are disconnected and other times I can't hear half of what he's saying. I keep hoping things will improve, for the boys' sake but for now, our best communication still seems to be through the mail."
Stacey laughed. "I can't imagine letter-writing is high on teenage boys' priority lists."
Amanda grinned. "No, but Lee is actually pretty good at getting them to sit down and write a short note every couple of weeks. Just takes a bit of bribery," she finished with a wink, glancing at her wristwatch. "Oh my gosh, is that the time? I have to get home and rescue him. Mother left for her bridge game an hour ago and he's home alone with four kids-"
She and Stacey embraced, and Amanda waved to Stanley before disappearing through the crowd.
"What was that all about?" Stacey inquired of her husband.
"Excuse me?"
"Interrogating Amanda about Joe? You know they're not in regular contact anymore – You're the one who saw him last week – is there something wrong with-?"
"What – no! Everything's fine."
Stetson Household
"I'm home!"
Amanda dropped her purse on the table just inside the front door and paused, listening for the sounds of her family and instead was met with silence.
Silence.
Unless it was the middle of the night, or both of the twins were down for their midday nap, the house was never this quiet. There was always the undertone of chatter, the white noise of the TV in the den, followed by the cheering of her boys as they watched the ball game.
Amanda went down the long hall to the back of the house where the kitchen was located and saw through the kitchen windows that her family was in the backyard. The patio doors were shut tight, which was why she hadn't heard them as soon as she entered the house. Breathing a sigh of relief, she crossed to the doors and opened them and stood there, drinking in the sight before her.
Philip and Jamie were tossing a baseball back and forth – Philip catching and throwing with ease while it took more effort from her younger son to toss the ball back to his big brother. Jamie was more intellectually inclined than his brother, but he rarely said no to a game of catch.
There was a loud smacking sound as the ball landed in Jamie's glove. "Don't throw it so hard!"
"Aw, come on, Jay, I'm just helping you develop some muscles!"
"My muscles are just fine-"
"Whatever you say, Doofus."
"Lee-"
"Philip, don't call your brother Doofus."
Lee Stetson, Amanda's husband and spy extradonaire, sat cross legged on a large picnic blanket, his twin daughters, Jenny and Thea, crawling in circles around him. He held out a hand to each of them and as Amanda watched, Jenny stopped and grasped his hand with both of hers, pulling herself up to her feet.
Amanda gasped and took a small step forward.
"Don't move, Amanda," Lee breathed the words softly. "Just stay there a minute."
Jenny's big brown eyes were locked on her father's as she took one step and then two before she tumbled and Lee caught her up, smothering her with kisses. "What a big girl! That's Daddy's big girl!"
Thea began to wail on the blanket and Lee instantly scooped her up, including her in his embrace. "It's okay, T. You're my girl, too. I love you – you'll walk when you're ready."
Amanda's heart broke open at the scene in front of her. This was what she had always wanted – and had never gotten until right now.
With this man – her soul mate.
"Mom?"
She blinked and turned to see Jamie was standing right next to her.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, sweetheart – why do you ask?"
"You're crying."
Amanda laughed shakily as she lifted her hands and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. She reached out and crushed Jamie to her in a fierce hug. "I'm fine, just fine. I love you."
"Mom? I can't breathe-"
"Let him go, Honey-" Lee's voice reached her and she opened her eyes to see her husband standing close by, his arms still holding their girls.
"Sorry." She let go of Jamie and ruffled his hair.
"Geez, mom, was Aunt Stacey's party that bad?" Philip wanted to know.
"No, it was a very nice party. It just –" she fumbled to a stop, not sure how to put into words how she was feeling, or if it was appropriate to share with her children.
Lee looked at her and seemed to know what she needed without her saying a word. "Boys, will you take your sisters inside and give them a cracker snack? I want to talk to your mom for a few minutes alone."
Philip rolled his eyes. "Fine, but don't get distracted, okay? I've got a date in an hour-"
Jamie cuffed his brother on the arm. "I can watch them if you're too busy-"
"I never said that-"
"Yeah, you kinda did-"
"BOYS!" Amanda and Lee cried in unison.
Philip flushed as he took Thea and Jamie took Jenny and both boys disappeared into the house, shutting the patio doors behind them. Lee looked at his wife for a few moments, before he closed the short distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"So, the party wasn't that bad?"
She shook her head, lowering her eyes. "No, it wasn't – it just – seeing Stacey and Stanley always brings up memories of Joe and, and I-" she fumbled to a stop, biting her lip.
"You miss him."
Her eyes flew back to his, growing moist with emotion as she saw the walls go up in his, hiding his true emotions from her. "No, Lee. I don't. Days like today make me feel guilty, that's all."
"Guilty – why?"
"Because I finally have what I always wanted – and at one time, I thought Joe was my one and only chance to have that. Being with Stacey and Stanley always reminds me of those days." She paused to run her hands up his chest and wrap them around his neck, pulling him closer to her. "But then I left the party and those memories behind and I come home and see the boys playing catch and you here with our girls – for Jenny's first steps – Joe was never here for the boys' first anything and you –" she paused to hiccup, her emotions overwhelming her at last.
"Hush," he whispered, cradling her head in his hands. "You've got yourself all worked up, Amanda Stetson."
She smiled through her hiccups, and rested her head over his heart, letting herself be calmed by the steady beat. "I know that you're worried about not being there to watch the girls grow up – that one way or another you'll abandon them like Joe or you'll die young like your father-"
"A-man-da-"
She lifted her head and fixed him with her deep stare. "You let me say this, Lee Stetson."
He shifted on his feet but said nothing more.
"But the fact that you were here today – for Jenny's steps and to comfort Thea – that means more to me – and to them, than you could ever know. It's more than Joe ever did for the boys, and I know you are the man your father always wanted you to be."
Lee groaned deep in his throat as he brought his mouth down on hers and kissed her – thoroughly, deeply, and completely. He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers, his dimples popping out in his cheeks, his eyes sparkling. "I love you, Amanda Stetson. But you can't come home from a party when we've been apart for a week and say such nice things to me when you know I have a healthy sex drive-"
She threw back her head and laughed. "Well, the girls are sleeping through the night now. I think we can continue this discussion later, Scarecrow."
"Count on it, Tigress."
The phone rang later that night just as Amanda was stepping out of the shower.
"Amanda! I think it's Joe – but the connection is terrible!"
She wrapped her blue bathrobe around herself and came into their master suite to see Lee holding out the phone to her as he shrugged into a T-shirt one-handed.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
He gave her a brief kiss and left the room, as she brought the phone to her ear.
"Joe? Are you there?"
"-nda?"
"Joe? I can barely hear you – this connection is awful."
"-orry – to talk – see Stanley today?"
She sighed. This really was impossible. She was only getting bits and pieces.
"Can you call me back? Maybe the connection-"
"NO! I need to talk to you!"
She sat down on the bed as the connection stabled and the urgency in Joe's voice came through loud and clear.
"Joe, what's wrong? You're scaring me. Are you in danger?"
"I don't know – I saw – Stanley – something wrong-"
Amanda's hand was running through her damp hair in frustration as the connection grew fuzzy again. "Joe, I can't understand you. Please, call me back."
"Amanda – I sent you –"
"What? You sent me what? A package? A letter?"
There was a clicking sound, followed by silence.
"Joe? JOE?"
The line went dead.
The call had been disconnected.