Running through the airport, he was nearly out of breath and ready to collapse when he saw her.  There she was, in line to board the plane.  What was he going to say to her?  She was nearing the front of the line--he had no time to think.  He did the only thing he could think of.  He yelled across the crowded terminal.     

“Amanda!” 

She, along with everyone else in line, turned to him.  “Lee?”  Her shocked expression wasn't comforting, but he plunged ahead. 

“Amanda, you can’t go!  Don’t get on that plane.” 

She shouldered her way through the crowd, separated by the divider.  “Lee, what are you talking about?”  Her voice was tight and strained--she always did hate drawing attention to herself. 

“All I’m asking is for you to have a cup of coffee with me.  We need to talk.  I . . . I need to tell you some things.”

“Lee, Tom is waiting for me.  We’re getting married in two days!  Whatever this is about, it’ll have to wait.”

“No, it can’t wait.  I’m sure there’s a later flight you can take.  Please?”  His eyes pleaded with hers.  He needed to get her to understand the urgency. 

“Do you need some type of closure, Lee?  If you do, you’ve got it.  I know we didn’t end our friendship on a great note, but I’m okay.  Really.”  She gave him a small smile. The smile never reached her eyes and only confirmed his suspicions. 

He watched her mouth as she spoke.  This was not about closure.  He could feel his chest tighten, and he was breathing heavily.  She wasn’t getting what he was trying to say.  How could he make her understand?

Her gaze darted to the moving line behind her.  “I’ve got to go, Lee.  If you want, I can call you when Tom and I get back home.  We can talk then.”  She turned and headed back to the much shorter line. Almost everyone had already boarded the plane.

He watched in dismay as she showed her boarding pass to the attendant.  Running his hands through his hair, he started to walk away but stopped and turned back.  “We have a house in Rockville!” he yelled. 

She turned around once again and stared at him. 

“Horses, we’ve got horses.  Phillip and Jamie love ‘em.  We have two kids of our own, too.”  He grinned from ear to ear.  "Jenny, she’s five.  She’s not much of a violin player, but she tries real hard.  She’s a little precocious, but that’s only because she says what’s on her mind.  And when she smiles . . .” He trailed off, fighting the lump that had formed in his throat.  He missed her already.  Pushing back the thought that he’d never see his children again, he tried again.  

Amanda was now standing about ten feet away from Lee, as if mesmerized by his words. 

“And Matty, he’s two.  He has your eyes.  He doesn’t say much, but we know he’s smart.  He’s always got his eyes open.”  He motioned around the room.  “He’s always watching us.  Sometimes you can look at him and know that he’s learning something new.”  He smiled.  “It’s like witnessing a miracle.”  Swallowing hard, he struggled to continue--he didn’t want to lose her attention now. 

“The house is just the way we want it.  A bit chaotic, but it’s ours.  Well, it will be in 118 payments.  And you and I, we’re partners.  Real partners, at home and work, just like you said we were.  I’ve never had a better partner than you.  We play off each other’s strengths.  We’re the best team Billy has!” 

Now that he had her complete attention, he walked toward her.  “And we’re in love.  After seven years of marriage, we’re still head over heals in love.  We’ve had our share of problems--you were shot on our honeymoon.  I nearly lost you . . . but we survived, and we came out even stronger in the end.”  When he was only a foot away from her, he stopped.  “You’re a better person than I am, and you make me a better person just by being around you.  I don’t know, maybe it was just a dream, and I went to bed one lonely night in August and imagined it all, but I swear nothing’s ever felt more real.”  She stared at him wide-eyed.  “If you get on that plane right now, it’ll disappear forever.  I know we can both go on with our lives, you can marry Tim--”

“Tom,” she squeaked out, with tears welling up in her eyes. 

“Tom,” he corrected.  “And I can go on alone, but I’ve seen what we can be together, Amanda.  And I choose us.” 

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

“Please, Amanda, one cup of coffee?  You can always go to Hawaii.  Just not tonight.”  He held his hand out to her, his eyes pleading with her to take it. 

Glancing around the terminal, she smiled faintly.  “Okay, Lee.”  She grasped his hand, and he brought her hand to his lips, placing a delicate kiss on her fingers.

“Okay,” he whispered.  He released the breath he was holding and smiled triumphantly--‘One small step at a time.’ 

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Lee entered his apartment with a spring in his step.  He had just left Amanda at her place, after spending the evening talking over coffee. 

It was so easy to talk to her.  She calmed him in a way he’d never experienced with anyone else.  They filled each other in on their lives.  She even opened up about her relationship with Tom Sundry.  How she had met him at a time in her life when she was most vulnerable and needed someone to love her.  She hadn’t realized how unhappy she was in her relationship with Tom, until she saw Lee at the restaurant earlier in the day.  Over time, she had forced down her feelings for Lee. She'd tried to make a life without him, only to find that she constantly compared Tom to him.  She admitted how unfair it was to Tom--that she never really gave herself a chance to truly love him.

As she spoke, his heart beat faster.  Seeing the sparkle return to her eyes was overwhelming.  Happiness washed over him, knowing that no matter what happened in their past, they would always be together in the future. 

Then, like a rock, it hit him.  Yes, he would get his happily ever after with Amanda, but what about Jenny and Matt?  What would happen to them?  His heart ached to hold them again, to hear them laugh or call him ‘Daddy.’ 

That perfect glimpse would always be a reminder of the devastating mistake he had made letting Amanda walk out of his life.  He had taken the first steps in correcting that mistake earlier in the day, but he knew deep down he had sacrificed the possibility that Jenny and Matt could be a part of their reality.  And for what?  His pride?  Grasping onto the thought that at least Amanda didn’t know what she was missing, he sighed.  She wouldn’t miss the unmistakable sound of tiny feet padding down the hallway toward their room in the wee hours of the morning.  She wouldn’t miss the sweet smell that hung in the air after the kids had had their baths for the evening.  She wouldn’t feel the longing to hold them just one more time. 

Lee dragged himself from the couch, strode to the bar, and poured himself some liquid courage.  With a quick gulp, he stood tall.  He resolved to do whatever was necessary to insure Amanda would always be with him.  He loved her, and they would have a long life together.  Lee stared at the empty glass and then threw it against the wall in disgust.  He had Amanda back; he didn’t need anything else for courage. 

He smiled, shaking off the melancholy that had invaded his consciousness. After turning off the lights, he headed into his bedroom to get some much-needed rest.  Tomorrow was the start of a new life for him--for both of them. 

He only hoped Amanda would be able to sleep.  She had spoken to Tom from the airport, letting him know she would not be coming to Hawaii.  After a long discussion, they had agreed to talk about it in the morning. 

Lee could see the pain it was causing her.  His only consolation was that he knew the pain would only be temporary.  She would be so much happier with him than she could ever be with Tom.  He would devote his life to making sure of it.  He'd offered to be there when she made the call, but she had said it was something she had to do on her own.  He’d respected her decision.  He knew it would be tough, but she was a brave woman.  The bravest he had ever known.

Before Lee left her house, Amanda had asked him to join her for brunch in the morning.  They still had a lot to discuss, but he knew all the hard work would be worth it.  He and Amanda would be together.  As he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts were of the beautiful woman residing on Maplewood Drive. 

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