Title: The Season of Giving

Timeframe: Season 3, Christmas 1985

It was the eve before Christmas Eve in Arlington, Virginia. Throughout the city, it was evident that the holiday was in full swing. The lampposts were hung with HOLLY garlands, and pine wreaths were hanging on many houses, churches, and shops.

At 4247 Maplewood, the West-King family had gone all out this year, as in most years, with decorations, a sign of their YULETIDE spirit. Inside the home, the family was bustling about, beginning preparations for the big Christmas dinner and putting finishing touches on Christmas presents. They were listening to traditional Christmas hymns, like Away in the Manger, Silent Night, and O HOLY Night, along with more contemporary carols, like Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Feliz Navidad. Phillip and Jamie King were especially excited, as this was the first Christmas in several years that their father would be home to celebrate it with them.

Since Joe’s return a few weeks ago, he had been trying to reestablish a relationship with them. Amanda was glad for this, and gave him as many opportunities to spend time with the boys as possible. In fact, Joe was going to take the boys to his new apartment for the evening and have a little pre-Christmas celebration of their own. He would also be joining them for their traditional Christmas Eve activities of opening a few presents and attending church services. Dotty’s sister, Lillian, would be arriving in the morning for her annual visit, and the family was excited to have everyone together for the first time in several years.

Dotty was also in a state of great excitement, as she prepared to go to a Christmas party given by her good friend, Delilah Hemmings. She looked forward to this party all year, and Amanda giggled to herself as she watched her mother try on numerous outfits. “Mother, who are you trying to impress this year?” she asked with a smile.

“Darling, I am not trying to impress anyone. Well, maybe that new widower who moved in near Edna…what’s his name? Anyway, I am just trying to look my best. Is there something wrong with that?” Dotty rambled as she continued putting the finishing touches on her outfit. As she buttoned her last button, the doorbell rang.

“Grandma! Mrs. Hemmings is here for you!” Jamie yelled from downstairs. Dotty looked at Amanda, who smiled back at her.

“You look beautiful, Mother. You’ll knock their socks off!” Amanda grinned.

Dotty went down the stairs and left, calling, “Goodnight!” as she walked out the door. She had left a couple of surprises for Amanda, hoping to get Amanda in the “right spirit”. ‘I almost wish I could be here to see what happens when she finds that mistletoe. Hopefully, she won’t be alone!’ Dotty thought to herself. She had noticed Amanda had been in a good mood for the past few days and hoped that Amanda was interested in someone. ‘Amanda needs a man in her life,’ Dotty mused. ‘Someone to treat her the way she deserves. Maybe I ought to give Dean a call… He was such a nice man! I never did understand why she stopped seeing him…’ Dotty continued to ramble in her mind as she drove away with her friend.

SMK SMK

As Amanda entered the living room, she called out, “Boys! Do you have your things ready to go with your dad? He’ll be here in a few minutes!”

Phillip and Jamie came barreling into the room, carrying duffel bags. “Yeah, Mom, we’re ready to go. Can we take our STOCKINGS with us? Dad asked us to!”

Amanda smiled, “Yes, you may. Your dad already asked me…it seems he has a few surprises for you…if you’re good!” Amanda was so glad that Joe was going all out for Christmas. They boys really needed to see that their dad was back for good and wanted to be an integral part of their lives. She just hoped that this lasted…Joe always put his heart into his work, and she was a little afraid that he would fall back into old patterns.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Amanda headed over to open the door. “Oh, hello, Joe. Merry Christmas!” she said as she saw her ex-husband on the porch. She was really glad he was back, but was a little surprised to find that she didn’t seem to have any residual feelings for him. She knew that she still loved him as the father of her children and as a friend, but no longer felt the passion she did when they were first married.

“Merry Christmas, Amanda,” Joe replied. “You look really nice tonight. Any plans?” He looked at her furtively. He really didn’t want to know the answer, but he couldn’t help but ask. Since returning from Africa, he’d seen a new Amanda, one that he really liked. He was unsure of how she felt about him. She’d been so welcoming when he’d come back and so helpful in getting his name cleared…could she still love him? He was unsure of how he felt about her as well. Their marriage had been over for so long now, and he hadn’t given much thought to her, other than in reference to their boys, until he had returned the States. She was nothing like the happy little homemaker he’d left behind. Now, she was this vibrant, exciting….mysterious woman. He glanced up and noticed mistletoe…what better way to figure out how he felt, he thought. “Um, Amanda, THERE’S MISTLETOE HANGING ABOVE YOUR HEAD,” he said.

She looked up and realized that there was. Apparently, Dotty had hung it up earlier without her knowledge. ‘Ooh, Mother, sometimes I could really throttle you!’ she thought to herself. She glanced at the anticipation on Joe’s face and decided to just get it over with. “Well, I guess there is,” she answered. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. Then, he gazed into her eyes, as if searching for something. She stepped back and said, “Come on in, Joe, the boys have their things in here.”

Joe followed her in and greeted the boys. They started talking excitedly and gathered their stuff together. As they led the way out, Joe continued to glance at Amanda. Amanda simply smiled back, with no indication that anything out of the ordinary had occurred. Amanda called to the boys, “Hey, aren’t you forgetting something? Now, you be good for your father, and I’ll see all of you tomorrow night for Christmas Eve. I expect all of us to go to church and then open some presents. How does that sound?” The boys hugged their mother and they all assured her they would be back for all the festivities.

As Joe drove away, he smiled to himself. ‘I could see myself falling in love with her again,’ he thought. Then, the boys started talking and he let the thoughts float away. He’d have to give Amanda more thought later.

SMK SMK

Amanda turned to go back into the house. As she did so, she thought about Joe and kissing him. It had been so long since she had kissed him…over three years, in fact. She remembered their first kiss from so long ago and how intoxicating it had been. How did she feel now? Joe was the father of her boys, after all. It wouldn’t be that difficult to go back to how things once were…but, did she really want to do that? She enjoyed her life right now, and didn’t want to go back to who she had once been. And the kiss…well, did she feel anything? She really didn’t think she had.

She heard a tapping on the back door. Instantly, she grinned and made for the back door. Lee was waiting for her.

“Hi,” she smiled as she opened the door to him. “Merry Christmas.”

“Uh, Merry Christmas, Amanda. I, uh, thought I’d stop by…” Lee stammered. He really couldn’t come up with a reason. He just wanted to see her, something that was happening more and more often. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when he’d stopped making excuses to himself about why he came to her house so often. He just knew that, when he was here, he felt…comfortable…almost…like it was home. He hadn’t had that feeling in so many years, and he was quickly becoming addicted to it.

Amanda smiled at him. “It’s OK, Lee, nobody’s here. Mother went to a party and Joe just picked up the boys. Would you like to come in?” She was so happy to see him. She hadn’t been in to the Agency for a couple of days and had missed him. She smiled again as she realized that she wasn’t even trying to fool herself about that anymore. Her day just didn’t feel complete anymore if she didn’t see or talk with Lee. She motioned for him to come inside.

As he started to come in, he looked up and said, “Uh, Amanda, THERE’S MISTLETOE HANGING ABOVE YOUR HEAD.”

She glanced up and realized that her mother had, indeed, hung mistletoe above the back door as well. ‘I swear, Mother, I am going to get you for this!’ she swore to herself. ‘Please, Lee, don’t let this scare you off! I’ve got to play this cool,’ she told herself. “Uh, yeah, I guess there is,” she lamely answered.

Lee glanced at her. ‘What do I do?’ he thought. He’d wanted to kiss her for awhile, to see if there was anything beyond simple attraction there. Ever since they’d finished with the Sacker case, he’d been thinking about it. ‘Well, no time like the present,’ he told himself, then leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. “That is the tradition, right?” he whispered. Amanda just stared and nodded her head. ‘Oh my gosh, Lee just kissed me!’ she thought. All other thoughts flew right out of her head.

They both seemed frozen where they were. Finally, Amanda smiled and leaned back into the door. As Lee walked in, Amanda shook her head, trying to clear the emotions raging through her. “Um, would you like some hot cocoa and some cookies? I just baked them,” she croaked as she tried to gain her equilibrium back.

He nodded at her, trying desperately not to let her see how the kiss had affected him. He leaned forward and sniffed. The SCENT of the freshly baked cookies reminded him of Christmas long ago, when his mother had baked sugar cookies and allowed him to help decorate them.

He looked back at Amanda and realized that he had his answer. There was definitely more than attraction at play here. He wasn’t ready to admit just what his feelings were, but they were there, and he knew that no other woman would be in his life until he figured out exactly where things were going. He smiled at Amanda, realizing that this didn’t scare him…much…anymore.

As she glanced at him, she realized that there would be no going back to Joe. When Joe kissed her, there had been a feeling of nostalgia and friendship, of a love that was sweet, but in the past. When Lee kissed her, there had been sparks and sensations and a promise of something to come. She knew that what she had said back at Dooley’s was right. She wanted to go forward. She also knew that, for her, going forward meant Lee.

“Merry Christmas, Amanda,” Lee said as he watched her. For the first time in his adult life, he meant it. He was finally experiencing an honest-to-goodness Christmas spirit and it actually made him happy.

“Merry Christmas, Lee,” she answered with a sweet smile. What a wonderful gift the night had brought, she thought to herself. ‘I finally know exactly what I want.’