One year had changed everything for Lee. Married to Amanda and he didn't have them anymore. Black books. Names and phone numbers. Never bothering with addresses. That could be discovered later.

Years he had spent looking for the quick lay, a one night escort or dinner companion. All of that was down the drain, now.

Yes, he had referred back to them once he'd asked Amanda to marry him. He didn't know why he kept them. Maybe, just maybe they were a security blanket for him. If he and Amanda argued, the black books were there for back up. Still, every time he opened one up during the engagement, he closed it again. Told himself he didn't need the black books, but kept them.

Three nights before the wedding, he burned them. There was a state park that he saw. It was illegal to enter after midnight but he knew his Agency status would get him out of any jams. He shoved them into a rusty barbecue pit that still had a few unburned chunks of charcoal. Lighting the pages of the last one, he threw it in with the rest.

Amanda never asked him about them, or for them. She didn't know much about them, except the time Paul Barnes came to town. It was about then that Lee realized he wouldn't need them a lot longer.

Now, he lay in bed with her on a Saturday, just before sunup, totally pleased they were gone. He didn't miss them. He had something better. Amanda. And he didn't need to write her name anywhere. It was already engraved on his heart.

The end