March Madness
Tuesday
Lee and Amanda busied themselves in the Q Bureau organizing old case files. Amanda filed, as Lee made sure all the pertinent information was in each one. A knock at the door was a welcome distraction for both.
Lee called out “Come,” as the door opened to reveal their visitor. “Hey, Leatherneck. Did they let you out of the catacombs?”
“Yeah, man. Anytime I get a chance to see daylight I jump at it.” Leatherneck leaned against Amanda’s desk fanning a stack of papers.
“Is it tourney time again?” Lee took this year's NCAA basketball tournament bracket from Leatherneck.
“Like you didn’t know, Scarecrow. You’ve probably been researching for weeks. How many years in a row have you won the Agency pool?
“I’ve won seven out of ten years. The only reason I didn’t win the other three years was ‘cause I was out of the country. I’m confident, this year will make eight.” Lee put his bracket on the table as Amanda emerged from the vault.
“Howdy, Mrs. King. How are you today?” Leatherneck tipped his head to Amanda as he stepped away from her desk.
“Hello, Leatherneck. What can we do for you?” Amanda sat at her desk and leaned back, appearing pleased for the chance to postpone her filing for the time being.
“I just came up to give Lee the brackets for the Agency tournament pool."
Lee sat as he started to explain the pool to Amanda. “Every year, we make our choices of who we think will win the NCAA tournament games. You get one point for every first round game you pick correctly and two points for second round, four for third round and on like that until you get thirty-two points if you pick the champion. Everyone puts in twenty dollars; the winner of the pool gets all the money.”
“Can anyone be in the pool?” Amanda took one of the brackets from Leatherneck.
“Yes, ma’am. Anyone who has twenty dollars is welcome to join in. Do you want to join the pool, Mrs. King?” Leatherneck looked surprised that Amanda was interested. Lee definitely was surprised Amanda wanted to waste twenty dollars on a pool that she couldn’t win.
“Thank you, Leatherneck. I’d like to do it. So, all I have to do is write on here who I think will win each game?” Amanda pointed to the names of the teams on each side of the bracket. “These are teams I choose from, right?”
“Yes, Amanda, each team playing in the tournament is printed on each side of the bracket. If you follow the lines you should be able to see who will play whom. If you have any problems, I can help you.” Lee smirked at Amanda’s apparent naivety about the work it took to be successful in a tournament pool. Lee pondered the possibilities of side bets with his wife. This could be the easiest bet of his life.
When do I need to have my picks done?” Amanda grabbed a pencil off her desk and started filling her bracket in.
“The bracket and the money are due in my office by ten Thursday morning. The games start that afternoon. I will post a list of both the game results, and the pool results outside of my office at the end of each round.” Leatherneck collected the rest of his bracket sheets and headed to the door. “Nice to have you aboard, Mrs. King. Scarecrow, there are a lot of people trying to knock you out of the winner's circle. You better make your picks wisely.”
“Don’t worry, Leatherneck. I have this one in the bag.” After the door closed, Lee leaned back in his chair and watched Amanda fill out her bracket. This was definitely going to be easy, thought Lee.
Leatherneck was right. Lee had been researching all the teams for weeks. He already knew what his picks would be. Soon both partners were finished filling out their brackets.
“I’m going to go ahead and turn mine in, Lee. Are you finished? Do you want me to take yours down also?” Amanda was now standing beside Lee’s desk trying to catch a peek at his bracket.
“I can walk down with you. I’m done.” Lee quickly folded his bracket so Amanda couldn’t get a look.
Lee and Amanda made their way down to the Quartermasters office. “By the way, Lee, are you coming over for supper tonight? The boys have something they want to ask you.”
Lee quickly glanced around the hallway before he replied. “Of course. I never pass up a chance to spend time with my family.”
Later that evening
The meal at Amanda’s was pleasant. Lee and the boys spent most of the meal discussing the tournament.
After the dishes had been cleared everyone went their separate ways. Dotty sat at the kitchen table working a crossword puzzle, Phillip and Jamie went up to their room while Lee and Amanda sat on the couch in the den.
Soon the quiet of the evening was broken when Phillip and Jamie came into the room. The boys stood in front of Lee and Amanda and looked at each other nervously. “Um, Lee?” Jamie asked pensively.
“Yes, guys. What can I do for you?” Lee longed for the day when his stepsons felt comfortable around him. They had made good strides, but things were still slow going between the three.
“Well, we always do a little tourney pick ‘em game as a family. And, well, we wondered if you wanted to do it with us this year?”
Phillip took up where Jamie left off. “We’ve all filled out our brackets. We have an extra copy if you want to do it too. It’s really rad. We even have a bet to go with it.”
Lee raised his eyebrow as he glanced at Amanda. He could hardly believe his wife would allow her boys to bet.
Amanda caught his look and replied. “It is a pretty minor bet. The losers have to cook the winner's favorite meal, as well as all the clean up afterwards.”
“Sounds like fun. I’d love to do it. I’m always up for my favorite meal.” Lee winked at his wife as he took the bracket from Jamie.
“You sound pretty confident in your picks, Lee. Who’s to say you will win?”
“Yeah, Mom has won the last four years in a row.” Phillip moved to sit on the floor across from Lee. “She follows college basketball all year getting ready for this.”
“Oh really? I’m learning something new about you. So that’s how you were able to fill your bracket out at work so quickly.” Lee saw Amanda look down when she knew she had been caught at her little, ‘I don’t know much about basketball but I’ll do this anyway,’ game she was playing at the Agency.
“You figured out my secret, Lee. Are you sure you still want to be in our little pick ‘em game? I’ve already started thinking of what I want you guys to fix me.” Amanda winked at Lee then leaned back on the couch. “Yes, I think some lasagna and garlic bread, a nice salad. Let’s see, for dessert, maybe a nice homemade cheesecake. Yes, I think that will be nice.”
“Oh, I am definitely in this game. Let’s see who knows college basketball better.”
“Good luck, Lee. Maybe this year someone can finally beat Mom. Phillip called out as the boys headed back to their rooms.
After the fourth round, four weeks later
“Lee, we’re going to be late for the staff meeting. Do you have to check the leader board now?” Amanda tapped her foot in impatience.
“It won’t take but a minute. Ha ha. I’m still ahead with 122 points, Leatherneck, Johnson, Collins then you have 101 points, Amanda. You are doing pretty good, for your first Agency Pool.”
“The tournament isn’t over yet.” Amanda started toward the conference room. “If we want to live to watch the final four this weekend, we need to get to the meeting. You don’t want to pull duty during the games do you?”
Week and a half later
“Oh waiter,” A voice called from the dining room. “I’d like some more iced tea, please.”
Lee poured tea into Amanda’s glass. “Is there anything else I can get you, ma’am?”
“Thank you, no. I’m doing fine. . . for now.” Lee caught the arrogant grin on his wife’s face as he returned to the kitchen to help Dotty and the boys clean up after Amanda’s victory dinner.
“I can’t believe she beat me. I just can’t believe she did it. I’ll never hear the end of this at work. Someone finally beats me at the office pool and it has to be Amanda,” muttered Lee, as he rolled up his sleeves and plunged his hands into the hot soapy water to scrub the casserole dish from the lasagna. “I just can’t believe it.”
The End
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters belong to WB and Shoot the Moon Productions. No infringement is intended. This is written for entertainment purposes only. Please do not redistribute or reproduce this story without my permission.