“Okay, we’re almost out of here, guys.”  Amanda said as she wrestled Matthew’s stroller out of the elevator. 

“Don’t forget my ‘Mary Janes’, Mommy.  You promised!”

“You’re right, I did promise, Jen.  Okay, we’ll stop at the kids shoe department first, then we’ve got to pick up Daddy’s watch at the battery store, and then I need to go to the linen

store--.”

Lee rolled his eyes listening to the women in his life go on and on about shopping.  “Why don’t we go to all the stores--every single store in this God forsaken shopping mall?  Wouldn’t that be fun?” he growled sarcastically and pasted on a fake smile.

Amanda turned around and glared at him with a shocked expression.  “Why don’t I take the kids and you . . . you can hang out in the men’s department or something.  Come on, guys.”

Lee sighed loudly and then turned his back as she stalked away.  He was sure he’d pay for that little outburst later.  Would this day ever end?  Shopping with two women and a toddler was not one of his favorite pastimes.  A root canal would rank higher. 

He spent several minutes looking at ties and suits until boredom set in as he anxiously awaited their return.  “Where the hell are they?”  Just as he was about to initiate a search for his “family,” a charcoal-gray suit caught his eye. 

“It’s perfect for your frame.  Why don’t you try it on?” the salesman said, as he pulled it down off the wall and guided Lee into the fitting room.

Looking over his shoulder into the three-way mirror, Lee appreciated the designer suit.  “Might want to take an inch out of the back.”  As he turned around, he added, “And lengthen the sleeves.”  It felt good to be pampered.  It had seemed so long since someone did something for him.  He felt important again.  Not just someone’s husband or father, but secret agent. 

Looking into the mirror once again, he spotted Amanda admiring him.  “You look amazing in that suit.  I mean really, wow--off the charts great!”  She smiled as she looked him up and down.  She really sounded sincere in her compliment and it was nice to hear. 

He smiled knowingly.  “It’s an unbelievable thing.  Wearing this suit actually makes me feel like a better person.”  He continued to model the suit.  Making eye contact with her in the mirror, he added, “I’m gonna buy it.” 

She walked over, lifted his sleeve to read the price tag, and swallowed hard.  “It’s two thousand-four hundred dollars.  Are you out of your mind?”  Her eyes widened. 

“She got those shoes!”  He knew he sounded like a child but didn’t care.  He wanted this suit.  He worked hard and shouldn’t have to ask to buy something he wanted. 

She laughed at his obvious childishness.  “Those shoes were twenty-five dollars.  Come on.  Take it off, huh?  We’ll go to the food court and get you a piece of that cake you like so much.”  Did she really think she could buy him off?  He heard her mutter under her breath to the kids, “Daddy’s a silly guy.”

“No,” he said adamantly.  When she turned to face him, he continued, “Do you have any idea what my life is like?  I wake up in the morning to the sounds of utter chaos.  I drop the kids off.  I go to work.  I pick the kids up.  I come home and play with the kids--I even take out the garbage.  Then I go to bed and get about six hours of sleep, if I’m lucky--only to start it all over again in the morning.   So, what’s in it for me, Amanda?  Huh?  Where are my ‘Mary Janes’?”  He cringed at his own selfishness, but the frustration that had built over the past week was too much to contain.  He had to let it out somehow. 

She waited until he was done with his diatribe.  “You know, it’s sad to hear your life is such a disappointment to you.”

He laughed sarcastically.  “I can’t believe it’s not a disappointment to you!  Jesus, Amanda!  I could have been a thousand times the man I am.  I could have . . . How could you do this to me?”  He threw his hands up in the air.

“Who are you?” 

He sighed.  “All right.  Look, I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I was such a saint before and I’m such a PRICK now!  But maybe I’m just not the same guy I was when we got married.”  His jaw was clenched, and he could feel the blood rushing to his head. 

Her face was flushed and she was looking around the store, clearly embarrassed.  “You know what?  Maybe you’re not!  Because the Lee Stetson I married would not need a twenty-four hundred dollar suit to make him feel better about his life!”  Her voice raised an octave near the end of her last statement and she tried to continue more quietly.  “But I’m telling you, if that’s what it’s gonna take then buy the damn thing, Lee.  We’ll take the money out of the kids’ college fund.”  She huffed toward the store’s exit, pushing the stroller and holding Jenny’s hand.

“Forget it!  We’ll go get some cake!  It’ll be the highlight of my week!” he yelled, hoping the louder he spoke the madder she’d get.  It would serve her right.  It wasn’t his fault he was mixed up in this ‘glimpse’.  So it must be hers.  Looking into the mirror, he caught the salesman staring at him with a shocked expression.  “What?”

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Lee's attention flickered between the silent woman next to him and the road ahead.  “Listen, I’m really sorry about what happened back in the store.  I don’t want to fight with you.  I just wonder sometimes how we ended up here.  I mean, when we got married did you see us here? 

He thought for sure she was going to continue with her silent treatment, but was relieved when he heard her quiet voice.  “Life has thrown us a few surprises, you know that.”

Now was his chance.  Perhaps she could fill him in a bit on their life prior to his little glimpse.  “It really has, hasn’t it?  So, if you had to, what would you say was the biggest surprise?  Just out of curiosity.”

She glanced at the sleeping children and then turned back to him.  This time she spoke more quietly, “Well, Jenny for one.” 

“Right.  Surprise!  We’re pregnant!” he said trying to sound as if he had lived through the event.  “Yeah, that must have been . . . I mean, yeah, that was a very unexpected moment.  But what are you gonna do?”  He shrugged.

She continued to look out the passenger side window.  “I think it turned out all right.  Don’t you?”

“Yeah!  I really like Jenny.”  He was being honest.  She was a sweet girl.  If he had a daughter, he’d want her to be just like her.   

Amanda stared at him as if she couldn’t believe what he’d said.  “Well, great, Lee.  Maybe we’ll keep her,” she replied sarcastically.

That hadn’t come out right.  “No, I love her.  I love Jenny!”  He had to admit he really was getting quite attached to both of the kids.  They were so pure and innocent.  He couldn’t remember much about his life with his parents at Jenny and Matt’s age.  He knew they were both lucky to have a loving and caring mother like Amanda.

Wanting to change the subject he tried to learn more of “their” past.  “What other events do you think shaped our life together?”

“Where do I start?  Do you want to talk about the first year of our mystery marriage?  Or perhaps when I was shot on our honeymoon?  Or maybe when we finally told the family and the Agency we'd been secretly married for a year.  There are just so many.” 

“You were shot?”  He couldn’t help but repeat her words.  He'd brought her into this world of espionage, and he felt responsible for her.  It was what he had always feared would happen when she started working with him.  Shot on their honeymoon?  He cringed at the thought.

“Stop it, Lee.  I’m still mad at you.”  Her lips twitched as she fought the smile on her face. 

Thankful that she thought he was merely joking, he tried to sum up their life together.  “We meet, we start working together, we get married, and we have kids.  Our life in a nutshell.” 

“If you want to look at it that way.”  She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned her head to stare out the window.

“How would you look at it?”  He asked curiously.

He had to struggle to hear her.  “A great success story.” 

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Lee stumbled downstairs for a snack and found Amanda working at the kitchen table.  “You’re up late.”

“Yeah, I was just paying the bills.”  She looked at her watch.  “I thought you went to bed an hour ago?” 

“I was watching the news, and I got hungry.”  He opened the refrigerator door and searched the shelves, but came up empty.  “Where is it?”  He mumbled to himself.

“What are you looking for, sweetheart?”

“The piece of chocolate cake I saved from dinner.  I was still nauseated from that awful meal we had at the food court.”  He continued his search, then turned to her.

“You mean this cake?”  She picked up her fork and slowly took a bite of the rich dessert.   “Mmmm.  Delicious!” 

“Hey!  That’s my cake!”  Grabbing for the plate, Lee stumbled around a chair, only to find she had snatched it away before he could grab it.

“It is?” she asked innocently, as she slid past him.  She took another exaggerated bite.  “It’s just so good.”

Lee started toward her as she picked up her fork for another stolen bite. “Give me back my cake, Amanda.”  She grabbed the plate and ran through the kitchen and into the living room.  He darted in the opposite direction to head her off.

She saw him coming toward her and squealed, flying toward the stairs, only to be stopped by his much stronger hands.  He grabbed her around the waist and yanked her off her feet, pulling her down.  They both lay on the steps laughing. 

“You want this piece of cake?”  She taunted him.

“Yes, I want my piece of cake!  You know, the one you stole from me.”  He was practically laying on top of her now and lightly tickling her sides. 

She giggled, the goose bumps on her arms were an indication of his affect on her.  “Okay, just remember, you asked for it.”  She picked up what was left of the cake and shoved it into his mouth, smearing chocolate across his face in the process.  The sound of her laughter filled the room. 

“Thank you,” he snipped sarcastically.  He burried his fingers in the torte, and smeared a glob across her lips.  “I guess I should share, huh?”  They were both laughing at the mess they had made, and then he met her eyes.  Silence filled the air.

Only trust and love were reflected in her dark eyes.  He glanced up the stairs at the closed doors of the kids’ bedrooms.  They were asleep.  It was just the two of them.  Alone.  He gently placed his hands on either side of her face and pressed his lips to hers in a soft, sensual kiss.  Tasting the chocolate, he hungrily kissed her again, this time even more fervently. 

She ran her hands wildly through his hair, causing desire to course through him that was almost too much to bear.  Wanting nothing more than to take her upstairs and make wild, passionate love, he fought to control his emotions.  This was Amanda.  It didn’t matter if they were married in this universe.  He couldn’t pounce on her.  She wasn’t one of his typical bedmates. 

Lee dragged himself from the kiss.  Picking up the plate, he started cleaning the mess up off the stairs.  From the look on Amanda’s face, he could see she was not only confused at what had just transpired, but also annoyed.  One moment they were in a deep passionate kiss, and the next he was cold as ice.  He felt he should offer an excuse, no matter how lame it sounded.  “I thought I heard one of the kids.”  She listened, before lifting herself off the stairs and drifting into the kitchen.  Her hurt, disappointed expression made him feel even worse.  He’d need to watch himself.  It would be too easy to fall for her. 

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