Chapter Two                                                                                                                                     Friday, October 13, 1989 6:45 p.m.

Shadows fall on even the brightest hours                                                                                                                             –Bryan Waller Proctor  

Dotty bustled about the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the dinner she’d been preparing. Amanda and Lee had each unknowingly invited a guest, and only realized it late Friday afternoon. When they discovered they’d invited Ephraim and Francine without the other’s knowledge, Dotty had burst out laughing. She reassured both of them that she was making pot roast with succotash and there would be plenty for everyone.

Amanda walked into the kitchen, carrying Sarah on her hip. Sarah was chewing on an arrowroot cookie and babbling away. “Mother, where is Sarah’s Sippy cup? I know I put it in here when I was feeding the girls, but now I don’t see it.”

“Try the refrigerator,” Dotty answered and smiled. Sarah waved at Dotty and babbled, “Ga”. Dotty laughed and wiggled her fingers at the baby.“Here it is, Sarah!” Amanda grinned. Sarah looked so much like Jamie did as a baby, except with the reddish blonde hair she shared with Carrie. “Mother, do you need any help with dinner?”

“No, darling, you just take care of the girls. Dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes. Plenty of time for the guests to arrive. How do you think they’ll react?”

“I don’t know, Mother. I promised Francine a relaxing evening…I hope she doesn’t think I’m matchmaking, especially since I didn’t even know Ephraim was coming. But, they’re friends, so hopefully it will be OK,” Amanda rambled nervously. She really didn’t think Francine would get angry, but you never could tell. She hoped Ephraim would be OK if Francine got into one of her moods.

In the den, Lee was bouncing his daughter, Katie, on his knee. She clapped her hands and laughed, while he made silly faces at her. After a few minutes, she started rubbing her eyes and Lee brought her up to his shoulder. He realized pretty quickly that his baby girl was ready for a nap.

“Amanda!” Lee called out to her in the kitchen. “Can you bring me a bottle for Katie? She’s getting a little fussy.”

Amanda opened the refrigerator and grabbed a prepared bottle, then proceeded to warm it up, while placing Sarah on the floor to play with a plastic bowl. When the bottle was ready, Amanda swooped Sarah into her arms and walked into the den where Lee sat, rocking Katie.

“Here you go, Daddy,” Amanda cooed. Sarah clapped her hands at Lee then laughed. Amanda sat on the floor and put Sarah down on the blanket they’d spread on the floor and watched as Sarah toddled over to her and climbed back into her lap, sucking on her Sippy cup.

“I guess someone else is tired, too,” Lee smiled at Amanda, then glanced down at his daughter. She was so beautiful, with dark brown hair just like her mother and hazel eyes just like her dad. Lee still wasn’t sure how he’d gotten so lucky, but he was thankful every day for the family he’d been given. He smiled at Amanda, who grinned back.

Just then, the doorbell rang. “I got it!” Phillip called out as he ran for the door. “Hi, Ms. Desmond. How are you?”

“Fine, Phillip. How’ve you been?” Francine answered.“Oh, good. I’m heading out to play catch before dinner. Catch ya later!” Phillip bolted out the door as Amanda called out to Francine, telling her to come into the den.

Francine stared at the scene before her. Amanda was sitting against the sofa with a toddler cuddled up in her lap and Lee was sitting in a rocking chair, with Katie wrapped up in his arms. “Well, I see we’re all cozy in here,” Francine grinned. “Where’s Dotty? Do you think she needs me to help with dinner?”

“No, Francine, she’s fine. You know Mother, she’s in her element. Come sit down with us. The girls will be down for a little nap in just a minute,” Amanda motioned for Francine to sit on the couch.

“Um, Francine, I, uh, need to warn…” Lee began, but was cut off by the doorbell.

“I got it!” Jamie called out, apparently on his way to join his brother. “Hi, Mr. Beaman. How are you? Mom and Lee are in the kitchen, I think. I gotta go catch my brother!” Jamie bolted out the door, calling, “Hey, Phillip, where’d you go?”

“Ephraim?” Francine whispered to Amanda, alarmed. “I thought we were having a quiet night? You didn’t tell me you’d invited…Ephraim, how nice to see you again…so soon.” Francine glared at Amanda, then turned to give Ephraim one of her sickly sweet smiles.

“Hey, Beaman, glad you could make it!” Lee said. “Sorry I can’t get up right now, but I’m a little occupied.”

Ephraim took in the scene before him. An obviously agitated Francine was giving him that look she always got before she went into full interrogation mode. Ephraim glared at Lee, obviously a bit off-put by Francine. Lee looked at Amanda, who shook her head. Amanda glanced down in her lap and realized that Sarah was nodding off.

“Francine, would you mind taking Katie from Lee and helping me put the girls down in the nursery?” Amanda whispered. Francine went over to Lee, glaring at him, then gingerly took Katie from him and followed Amanda up the stairs. As they left, Lee motioned for Ephraim to come over to him.

“Look, man, I had no idea that Amanda invited Francine over until about an hour ago. Just stay cool…I don’t think Francine will be a problem,” Lee confided.

“Lee, she thinks I’m an imbecile. I’ve tried to back off, but she’s just not going to look at me as anything other than a friend, if that,” Ephraim countered. Ephraim was mortified. Francine would never see him as anything other than the drunk idiot who’d hit on her at that Christmas party three years ago. He would never get her to see him for the man he really was.

Meanwhile, in the nursery, Francine attacked. “Amanda, why didn’t you tell me Ephraim would be here? I thought you wanted me to relax! Now, I’m going to have to deal with him all evening! I wish you would quit trying to fix us up!”

Amanda shushed her as she laid Sarah down in the portable crib they kept for her overnight visits. Then, she took Katie from Francine and placed her in her crib. She then motioned for Francine to follow her into the hallway.

“Francine, I didn’t know Ephraim was coming, alright? Lee invited him without telling me, and he didn’t know you’d be here. It’s all a big misunderstanding. For your information, Lee told me that Ephraim is really down on himself right now and thought he could use some friends tonight. Why don’t you try being just that, instead of worrying about him mooning over you? If you haven’t noticed, he’s stopped doing that, and he’s been trying to be your friend. Maybe you should try to be his friend for a change!” Amanda stared her friend down, obviously upset by Francine’s attitude. Francine stared right back, then shrugged and sighed.

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot…but no more matchmaking, deal?” Francine held out her hand.“Deal,” Amanda agreed.

SMK SMK

Once Francine settled down, dinner went well. Everyone had something to talk about, whether it was who they thought would be in the upcoming World Series, or the recent upheavals in Eastern Europe and China.

After dinner, Lee and Ephraim took the boys to the park for a little two-on-two basketball while the women straightened up the kitchen and sat in the living room with a glass of wine. Dotty enjoyed hearing about the different dignitaries Francine had mingled with over the past week, and Francine regaled them with hilarious stories of some of the little peccadillos that had made their way into the Washington gossip columns.

Around 8:30, Sarah woke up and Amanda brought her down to the den. Dotty excused herself to her garage apartment, pleading exhaustion from a busy week. Dotty winked at her daughter as she left, and Amanda knew that her mother was trying to give her a little alone time with her friend. Amanda popped in a video and she and Francine sat and played with Sarah while commenting on the movie.

“I’m sorry for getting so angry earlier, Amanda. This has turned out to be a really nice evening. Who knew sitting at home could be a fun Friday night?”

Amanda laughed. “Yes, it must be as strange to you as it once was to Lee. I know it’s not exciting or glamorous, but it is very relaxing. And, see, I told you that Ephraim wouldn’t be a problem. He really does want to be your friend, Francine.”

“You’re right, Amanda. I was wrong about Beaman. He really has changed…for the better,” Francine admitted. “And, I’ve thought more about what I want at work. I’ve decided I am definitely going to talk to Billy about going back into the field as a fulltime field agent.”

“Are you sure, Francine? You are indispensible as Billy’s assistant and, well,” Amanda hedged. “I’d really worry about you in the field on your own.”

Francine smiled. It meant a great deal to her that Amanda cared about her. She’d been alone for so long, since her mother lived in California and her father had walked out on them when she was a teenager. Although Francine had resented Amanda at first, she’d grown to respect and care about her fellow agent and had finally allowed Amanda to become a close friend.

“I thought about that, too, Amanda, and you’re right. You’re not the only one who remembers how Lee used to be,” Francine grinned. “So, I’m going to ask Billy to assign me a partner, although I’m going to insist that it not be Fielder!”

Amanda laughed. “Heaven help us from that! You’d eat him alive!”Francine laughed as well. The idea of being partnered with the great bumbler Fred Fielder would be a fate worse than death, in her opinion.

“Alright, Francine. I see you’ve given it a lot of thought, so I’m behind you 100%, as long as you have a good partner. Let me know if you want me to go with you when you talk to Billy,” Amanda assured her. She was beginning to get an idea of where Francine could be placed, but knew her friend well enough not to mention the proposed Q Bureau expansion. Although Amanda would love to have Francine working with her more closely, Francine didn’t like to do anything unless it was her idea first.

“I really appreciate it, Amanda.”

SMK SMK

Later on, Lee and the guys came home, ready for drinks and to cool off after a close game. Phillip and Jamie had prevailed, and mercilessly rubbed it in Lee’s face.

“Mom, you should’ve seen my last shot! It was awesome! Lee couldn’t even get close!” Phillip exulted. Lee shook his head and Amanda laughed.

“Congrats on the win, boys,” Francine added. “I wish I’d been there with my camera!”

Amanda and the boys laughed and Lee shot her a warning look. Jamie patted Lee on the back and said, “It’s OK, Lee, you can’t win ‘em all!” With that, he and Phillip took off to their rooms. A minute later, Jamie came back down, holding a restless Katie.

“Mom, I heard her beginning to fuss,” he said as he handed her over.

“Thanks, Jamie. I think she needs to be changed. I’ll be right back,” Amanda said as she headed up the stairs.

Francine turned back to see Lee on the floor next to Sarah, who was contentedly playing with some fabric blocks.  Ephraim sat on the sofa, away from Francine and sighed. “I think I’m getting too old to play with teenagers, Stetson,” Ephraim sighed. “How do you keep up with them and a baby?”

“Practice, Beaman, lots and lots of practice. Though, babies seem to be a lot easier than teenage boys!” Lee laughed as he picked up Sarah. “Isn’t that right, Sarah?”

Sarah put her hands on Lee’s cheeks and pressed them in. She babbled and began to laugh.

“Looks like it’s easier, Scarecrow,” Francine smirked. “Of course, when Katie is a teenager, I’m sure you’ll be singing a different tune.”

Sarah threw her arms around Lee’s neck and grabbed his hair. “Ow, Sarah! No, no!” Lee protested.

“Looks like you still have a way with the ladies,” Ephraim chortled and Francine joined in.

“What’s going on in here? Sounds like a party,” Amanda said as she walked in with a freshly clean and happy Katie.

“Amanda, can I hold her?” Francine asked. Lee and Amanda exchanged a look, then Amanda  smiled and handed her over. “Aren’t you just the most precious angel there ever was?” Francine cooed at Katie. “You know, I never thought I liked children, but these two seem pretty nice.”

As Francine cuddled with Katie, Ephraim watched her and a look of longing came over his face. He shook his head, but not before Lee noticed. Amanda saw the look, too, and quickly spoke. “Would anyone like to watch a movie? I have several here, Romancing the Stone, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Never Say Never Again…”

“Sounds good, Amanda,” Lee chimed in. “I wouldn’t mind watching Raiders again. What do you think, Ephraim?”

“I don’t have a preference,” Ephraim sighed.

“Raiders sounds good to me,” Francine said. “I can’t turn down a Harrison Ford movie.”

“Lee, why don’t you take care of the movie and I’ll pop some popcorn,” Amanda suggested and headed to the kitchen.

“Need any help, Amanda?” Ephraim asked.“Sure, come on and you can get the drinks,” Amanda responded.

As they entered the kitchen, Amanda got a couple of bags of microwave popcorn out of the cabinet and Ephraim sat at the breakfast bar.

“So, Ephraim, Lee tells me that you’re thinking of requesting a field assignment. What made you decide to do that? I always thought you were great as an instructor,” Amanda said, trying to get Ephraim to open up a little.

“Oh, I don’t know, Amanda. My life just seems so dull. I do the same thing day in and day out. I don’t get any satisfaction out of training like I used to. I left Fabrication to get more involved and, at first, I really enjoyed leading the freshman candidates. But, I’m ready for something different, and I think I could really do some good out in the field. What do you think?” Ephraim confessed. Ever since Amanda had become a full agent, he’d seen just how good her instincts were. At first, he’d thought she was giving carte blanche due to Scarecrow’s influence, but eventually realized she was a born agent.

“You know, Ephraim, I think you might be right,” Amanda thought about what she and Lee had discussed earlier that day and decided to press on. “Just between you and me, Lee and I have been talking to Billy about expanding the Q Bureau. There are a couple of offices up near us that are not being used, and we feel that we could use a couple more agents to help us out. However, we don’t want just anybody. We want an agent who can think differently than Lee does or I do, but can get along with us. We were thinking of looking for another partner team. What do you think?” Amanda shared, a brilliant idea forming in her head. Ephraim and Francine were as different as night and day, similar to her partnership with Lee. They would complement each other, which could result in a great team.

“Who would want to partner with me, Amanda?” Ephraim sighed. “I can’t see anyone at the Agency wanting to be partners, with the exception of Fielder, and please tell me I don’t deserve that headache!”

“Anyone would be lucky to have you, Ephraim. Regardless, think about what I said about joining us in the Q Bureau, OK?” Amanda reassured him.

“I will…and…thanks,” Ephraim whispered. Together, they gathered the popped popcorn and the drinks and headed back to the den.

SMK SMK

The night passed quickly, with the four friends watching the movie, playing with the babies, and talking about old cases. Eventually, Amanda and Lee put the girls to bed and convinced the boys to go to sleep.

Around 11:30, Ephraim stood up and stretched. “Well, guys, I think I’m going to call it a night.”

Francine stood as well. “Yeah, I’m getting tired myself. I think I’ll head home.”

As Amanda and Lee stood to walk them to the door, the phone rang. Everyone froze. As agents, they knew that when the phone rang this late, it was never good. Amanda went to the phone and answered it, “Hello?”

“Amanda, it’s Billy. I’m sorry to call so late, but…”

“What is it, Billy?” Amanda responded, realizing that Billy sounded somewhat ill at ease. The other three agents in the room exchanged looks, wondering what the new case would be. Lately, most of the urgent cases had involved the unrest in Eastern Europe and none of them wanted to deal with an overseas mission unless they had to.

“Um, Amanda, I don’t know how to say this, but I was notified a few moments ago that there’s been a serious car accident involving your ex-husband and his wife,” Billy confided.

“Oh my gosh!” Amanda dropped the handset as her hands instinctively went to her mouth and Lee rushed over and grabbed it.

“Billy, it’s Scarecrow. What’s going on?” Lee growled.

“Lee, it’s Joe. The Agency monitors caught a police call a few minutes ago about a car crash involving Joe and his wife. It isn’t good. They were taken to Galilee General. Lee, it was a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler,” Billy sighed.

“Thanks, Billy,” Lee answered and hung up. He grabbed Amanda and held her close. “‘Manda, it’s going to be all right…shh…it’s going to be OK…”

Francine looked at Ephraim and said, “What is it, Lee?”

“Sarah’s parents were in a head-on collision. The Agency monitors caught it and notified Billy, since Joe is on Amanda’s family list. They’ve been taken to Gali…”

“Go,” Ephraim interrupted. “Go now! Francine and I will stay here. We’ll take care of everything. Just go!”

Amanda looked at Lee, then ran to the kitchen where she grabbed her purse. She rushed back to the front and took Lee’s hand. He led her to the Corvette and they took off in the night.

“This isn’t good, Ephraim,” Francine whispered. She hung her head, thinking about the little girl and the not-so-little boys asleep upstairs, unaware of the night’s misfortune.

“No…it isn’t good at all,” he responded and put his arm around her waist, pulling Francine close to him. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and sighed.