“Mommy, Daddy!  You’re home!”  Jenny ran into the kitchen, with Matthew not far behind. 

Lee let go of Amanda’s hand to scoop Jenny up into his arms and spin her around.  “Good morning, Jenny girl.”  The little girl giggled at his antics. 

“Did you have a nice anni . . . anniversary?  Phillip said you were on a date.”

“Your big brother was right.  We had a wonderful time.  Your mommy is the best date a guy could ask for.”  Amanda’s hand squeezed his shoulder from behind.  “Speaking of your brother.  Where is Phillip?”

“He’s still sleeping.”  She leaned over to his ear conspiratorially.  “I think Matty wore him out.” 

“I see.  You had nothing to do with it, of course.”  Jenny shook her head adamantly; Amanda tried to stifle a laugh. 

Jenny cupped Lee’s face with her small hands.  She inspected every feature on his face, her eyes penetrating his.  Before he could ask her what she was up to, she smiled brightly at him.  “I knew you’d come back to us, Daddy.”  The hug that followed nearly knocked the wind out of him.  He smiled into her hair and set her down on the stool at the breakfast bar. 

Lee looked over to Amanda, who was feeding Matthew in his high chair.  “What do you say we go on a picnic?”

She smiled and nodded.  “I think that sounds like a great idea.  What do you say, Matthew?”

“Park!”

Before he could turn around, Jenny had jumped off her stool and darted up the stairs.  “I’ll go get our shoes!”

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“Amanda?”  Lee called softly to the still form lying next to him.

“Hmm?”   

“Are you awake?”  He touched her shoulder, and she rolled over.

“Uh-uh.”  Came her sleepy reply.

“What do you think about going on a vacation over the Christmas holiday?  We could go see your mother and Kurt.  Phillip and Jamie will be on break, and so will Jenny.  Your mother would love it.  She’s always trying to get us to come for a visit.”

“But we wouldn’t be at home for Christmas.”

“It doesn’t matter where we are as long as we’re together, right?” he asked the back of her head. 

“Yeah.  That sounds nice, sweetheart.  Can we talk about it tomorrow?  I’m really sleepy.”

“Yeah.  Goodnight, I love you.”

“Love you, too.”  Lee was sure she fell back asleep before the words left her mouth. 

He smiled.  It felt good to have a future.

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“Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these... it might have been.”

-John Greenleaf Whittier

As they walked into the school’s auditorium, Lee spotted something out of the corner of his eye.  Something alarming.  He hurried Amanda and Matthew to their seats.  After assuring Amanda that he wouldn’t miss Jenny’s performance in her first big recital, he rushed back to the vestibule. 

There he was, the man he’d seen on his way in.  “You again.  Why are you here?  You’re not sending me back.  Do you hear me?  I’m not going back!  Understand me?”  Lee fought to control his emotions.

“Relax, Lee.”  The man smiled.

“You can’t do this.  You can’t keep coming in and out of people’s lives, messing things up.  It’s not right.”   

“A glimpse by definition is an impermanent thing, Lee.”   

This wasn’t happening.  Not when he’d finally found what he was missing.  “You think you can just come waltzing into my life, throw me into a new one, let me fall in love with my wife . . . in love with my children, and then rip me out again?  This is my life, man.  Don’t you understand that?  I don’t want to go back to who I was before.  I belong here.  They need me.  I need them!”

“I’m sorry, Lee.  I told you in the beginning.  You would only be here until you figured some things out.”

“I’ve got kids!”  His eyes pleaded with the man.  He met the unrelenting stare.  “I’m going to go watch my daughter be the best damn violin player there is.”  He turned and stalked back to his seat. 

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Lee lay awake, holding Amanda in his arms.  He needed to be with her one more time--something to remember.  “These past several weeks, I know I’ve done some unusual things.”

She laughed.  “It’s been interesting.  That’s for sure.”

“I’ve done some good things, too, haven’t I?”

“You’ve been Lee Stetson, and that’s always a good thing.”  She brushed her hand gently across his arm. 

He snuggled closer to her.  “I need you to remember me, Amanda.  How I am right now--at this very moment.  I need you to put that image in your heart and keep it there.  Keep it with you, no matter what happens.”  The timbre of his voice grew solemn. 

“Are you okay?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.”

When she tried to pull away from his tight embrace to study his face, he stopped her, unable to look her in the eye.  “Please.  You have to promise me, Amanda.  Because if you don’t, it’ll be like it never happened, and I don’t think I could live with that.”

“I promise.”  She let out a nervous laugh.

“Promise me again,” he whispered into her ear and closed his eyes, relishing the sound of her sweet voice. 

“I promise, sweetheart.”  This time there was worry in her voice.

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Lee slowly tore himself out of bed, careful not to wake his wife.  He walked into Matthew’s room, leaned over his crib, and watched the rise and fall of his son's tiny chest.  Brushing back the sweat-slicked hair from his brow, he slid his index finger in between the boy’s curled fingers, relishing the feeling of their softness. 

“I love you, son.”  He turned and, without a sound, left the room.

Reluctantly, he walked across the hall to Jenny’s room.  The harsh glow from the lamp on her desk cast a strange hue on the soft pink walls.  Looking down at her angelic face, he begged the powers that be to allow him to stay, even for just one more night.  One more night to read to her, to listen to her tall tales from kindergarten, just one more hug . . .

He leaned down and kissed her cheek.  Watching her wake from his touch, he chided himself for disturbing her peaceful sleep. 

“Is it morning already, Daddy?”

“No, baby.  Go back to sleep.”  He smiled as she nuzzled back into her pillow.  “I’m going back to the mother ship.”  He couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of his daughter telling him she knew he was an alien.  She had bargained for her little brother’s safety, as well as her own.  But when he thought about it, that’s what it felt like.  He would be going back to an alien life.    Why couldn’t he just stay?     

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It was nearly four o’clock in the morning.  Lee sat in the bedside chair next to Amanda, watching her sleep.  Maybe if he stayed awake, fate couldn't tear him away from her.  He'd thought about it all night.  During the argument with Marcus at the school, he had blamed the strange man.  He knew, now, that he could only blame himself.  He did this.  It was his doing. 

He had let Amanda walk out of his life.  Not Marcus.  He threw away the best relationship he’d ever had.  And why?  For what?  Because he was scared? 

He slid in next to Amanda and rested his chest against her comforting back.  He just needed to hold her, one more time.  “Please don’t forget me, Amanda.  If I can get back to you, I will.  I’ll do whatever it takes.”  He kissed the top of her head and snuggled closer.  His eyes no longer able to stay open, he drifted off, nestled with his life. 

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