There’s A First Time For Everything
October 3, 1988
Amanda balanced the stack of files in her arms as she opened the door to the Q-Bureau. The folders shifted, almost falling, and she struggled to keep them in order. “I could use some help.”
When she saw the empty room, she kicked the door closed and deposited the files on top of Lee’s desk. She glanced at her watch--almost five o’clock. Lee should’ve been back by now. She tapped her foot on the hardwood floor, the sound echoing in the room.
From the first moment they’d walked into the Q-Bureau, the day had been hectic. Lee had been called to a briefing with Billy, and she’d had a training class to attend. Odd they hadn’t crossed paths once during the day. They usually managed to at least have lunch together.
Maybe he had been here and left a message. One look at her tidy desktop answered that question. Picking up the phone, she dialed the operator and inquired if she had any messages, or if Lee had checked in. Nothing. Next, she called the Bullpen to see if he was there. Same answer. No one had seen Lee all afternoon. Perhaps she should leave? But then he’d have no transportation home. If she had to stay late, waiting on her husband, at least she could get some work accomplished. She turned on her computer and began typing a report.
Half an hour later, there was still no word from Lee. Amanda shut off the computer, picked up the pile of folders, and headed for the vault.
“Amanda, are you in here?”
“I’m in the vault, Francine.”
“Hi. The mail room delivered this down in the Bullpen.” Francine handed her an envelope. “I figured I’d bring it up on my way out.”
“Who’s it from?”
“I don’t know. I don’t read your mail. I have a hot date tonight, and, if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late. Ta ta.”
“Bye.” Amanda looked up as the door closed.
Turning the envelope over, she saw her name written on the front. Lee’s handwriting. She’d know his distinctive scrawl anywhere. After picking up the letter opener from her desk, she slit the seal and pulled out a sheet of white paper.
Sweetheart,
There’s a 35% chance of rain, and I need you to pick up a package for me.
Love,
Lee
Thirty-five percent chance of rain? What in the world was that all about? Why would he be concerned about the rain? What package? And, more important, where? Sometimes the spy business made no sense at all.
She sat down at her desk and stared at the paper, willing it to reveal more than it did. ‘There has to be a clue here. I need to look at this logically, take it apart piece by piece. Now what does the first part mean?’
“Oh my gosh!”
The first place they met--when she dropped off Dean because of a chance of rain. She bit her lower lip. Why didn’t he just say the train station? Glancing at her watch, she noted the time--a quarter after six. She hoped the commuters would be long gone by the time she arrived.
********
Union Station bustled with arriving and departing passengers. So much for hoping it wouldn’t be crowded. For a few seconds, Amanda stood on one of the platforms, debating which way to go. Then it dawned on her. She needed to be on the next platform, the one where he ran up to her asking for help.
Okay, now where? A train pulled into the station and hundreds of passengers disembarked. Surrounded by people trying to make their way home, a voice to her left said, “Walk with me.”
Amanda turned and saw Billy Melrose next to her, holding a package.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Hand it to the man in the red hat,” he said, shoving the box into her hands.
“What?” Amanda took the box, finally finding her voice. “The man in the red hat?”
“No time to talk. It’s a matter of life and death.” With those words, he drifted into the sea of passengers.
Amanda stood there, flabbergasted. A burly man jostled her as he went by. “Excuse me.”
Was Lee in trouble? He couldn’t be, or Billy would’ve told her. Wouldn’t he? She smiled, remembering boarding the train--only to find everyone wearing red hats--and then taking the package home with her. Spying an empty bench, she sat down and turned the small box in her hands. She carefully opened it and found a small music box inside. As she lifted the lid, music began to play. She recognized the song instantly--“Somewhere Over The Rainbow.” A note nestled against the red velvet, again in Lee’s handwriting.
My love,
Go see the pirate at Moby’s Dock. He has a message for you.
Love,
Lee
Pirate? Moby’s Dock? The gaudy, nautical-themed, fast-food restaurant with the huge whale hovering over it? She couldn’t recall ever having been there. Then she remembered; she had taken the kids there to eat after Little League practice. It had been where they wanted to go. He had put his card under her windshield wiper and told her to call him. How in the world had Lee known she’d be having lunch at that particular spot? She hadn’t even known she’d be there until after the game. One day, she’d ask him.
********
Twenty minutes later, she parked the ‘Vette in front of the fast-food restaurant. A minute later, a man dressed in a pirate uniform asked her for her order.
“I don’t want anything. I’m supposed to pick up a message.”
The pirate knelt next to the open window and lifted his eye patch.
“I know, Mrs. King.”
“Leatherneck, what are you doing here?” She grabbed his arm.
“Please, Mrs. King, don’t ruin it. You won’t be disappointed.”
“Ruin what?”
“No questions. Here. Take my card.”
“But, Leatherneck, what . . .”
Before she had a chance to ask him, he ran to the side of the building, lifted a hand in farewell, and disappeared.
She stared at the card in her hand. Lee’s business card, his phone number the only thing printed on it. Turning it over, she saw his handwriting once again.
Sweetheart,
I need you. Go to place where I first put my arms around you, and we danced.
Love,
Lee
Amanda sat there for a few moments, wondering why she’d been sent on this wild goose chase, because that’s what it seemed like. What did Lee have in mind? He was up to something. She was sure of that. And he’d recruited accomplices to help him--Francine, Billy, now Leatherneck. The morning paper, on the floorboard of the ‘Vette, caught her eye. She picked it up and, for the first time, realized what day it was.
October 3, l988.
Oh my gosh!
Five years ago today, she’d first met Lee and been introduced to the world of espionage. Memories flooded her mind--breaking into the post office to look for the package, her first introduction to Francine and thinking she’d had a nose job. She giggled at that thought. Wait. She was recalling events out of sequence. The costume party had been where they first danced.
She started the car and backed out of the parking space. Instead of heading toward the hotel, she aimed the ‘Vette toward Arlington. Lee had help setting up whatever he planned, and she intended to interrogate her mother. For some reason, she knew Mother had a hand in today’s events.
********
“Mother!” Amanda yelled, as she opened the back door. Seeing no one and not hearing a response, she hastened to the staircase.
“Mother, I need to talk to you. Phillip! Jamie!”
Her calls were met with silence. Then she remembered the boys were spending the evening with Joe and Carrie. Placing her hands on her hips, she returned to the kitchen. Something wasn’t right. She rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. Then she noticed the note on the refrigerator.
Amanda,
This is not where you were instructed to go. Now do as you’re told, young lady.
Love,
Mother
She knew it; her mother was part of the plan. It seemed Lee had recruited everyone into his master plot. She grabbed her purse and hurried back to the ‘Vette. ‘I might as well see what he has in store for me.’
*******
After guiding the car into a parking space, she turned off the engine. ‘I hope I’m dressed for the occasion.’
As she walked toward the entrance, Amanda recalled the last time she had been here. She had been surprised and more than a little embarrassed to discover it was a costume party, for which she was hideously underdressed. When she saw Lee in his tuxedo--so debonair in black--her heart skipped a beat. He’d taken her breath away. She’d lost her heart that day, but it would take her a couple of years to realize it--even longer for Lee to give his to her.
Before entering, she smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt. ‘I should’ve changed at home.’ Thankfully, there were no signs of a party this time. She marched up to the concierge desk.
“Excuse me. I believe you have a message for me.”
The woman manning the desk turned around.
“Mrs. Marston! What are . . .?” Was everyone in on it? “Oh, never mind. I’m sure I’ll find out what’s going on soon enough.”
“Yes, you will.” Mrs. Marston replied, handing her a piece of paper. “Bye.” She scurried through a door marked ‘Employees Only.’
She opened the message and read. ‘My love, your journey is almost over. Go to the place where I told you I didn’t have a life, that I was a loner. I love you. Lee.’
That week had been so hectic. She tried to remember all the places she’d met him. Okay, Amanda, think. Remember.
********
Sitting in the car, she rested her elbow on the windowsill, while her fingertips massaged her forehead. Memories surged forth like a floodgate opening to relieve built-up pressure. Mother had mailed the package, and they’d been caught when they tried to retrieve it from the post office. No, that wasn’t where he wanted her to go.
The following day, she’d gone to the Agency for the first time. Not there, either. She snapped her fingers. Of course! If she’d been a drawing in a cartoon, a light bulb would be over her head. She chuckled at the image. There could be only one answer.
The Jefferson Memorial.
Heading toward the Tidal Basin, she didn’t have to worry much about traffic. Rush hour had long been over, and most of the tourists were now having dinner, or in their hotel rooms.
At the base of the steps, she looked up and saw Thomas Jefferson’s statue, bathed in soft blue light, standing majestically in the middle of the rotunda.
A few tourists climbed the steps along with her. At the top, Amanda scanned the area. Not seeing Lee, she walked to the center of the memorial and gazed up at Jefferson. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a young boy scurrying around the pillars. Jamie? No, it couldn’t be him. When she looked again, the boy had disappeared. She must have been mistaken.
As she strolled around, images of Lee flashed through her mind. He’d told her a little about his life that day. And, for the first time, she’d glimpsed the man beneath the inscrutable mask he usually wore--a vulnerability few people had ever witnessed.
“Okay, I’m here. Where do I go now?” She said out loud. A couple of tourists turned and looked at her like she’d gone mad, then quickly moved away.
‘Great! I’m scaring people talking to myself. Might as well give them further proof I’m crazy.’
“I’m looking for a man who says he’s a loner and doesn’t work with partners.”
“That man doesn’t exist anymore.” Lee stepped from behind a pillar, dressed in a suit, with a trench coat over his arm.
He looked exactly like he did the first time they were there. She didn’t know why she recalled that. Maybe because during the first week, she couldn’t get over how handsome he was. How exciting it was to be around him. After making her way to his side, she leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips. “I know that. Why all the cloak and dagger to get me here? And how did you talk everyone into going along with you? Billy, Leatherneck--”
He placed his fingers on her lips. “Because I wanted to tell you I was wrong about being happy as a loner. That I needed no one. I do need someone. I need you. The day I met you, my world changed.”
“I know, sweetheart.” She took his hand in hers. “You don’t have to tell me. I’m still confused. Why have me go to all these places?”
“Amanda,” a voice said, from behind her.
“Mother! What are you doing here?”
“I think I can help Lee explain. A couple of weeks ago, he told me the story of how you two first met. The whole story. He wished he could take back some of the things he’d said to you that day, and I told him there was a way he could.”
“I don’t--”
Mother held up her hand. “Let me finish. I told him, why not revisit the same places, but this time make the outcome different.”
Lee placed his arm around Amanda’s waist and drew her near. “Then I talked to Billy, Leatherneck, and everyone else. They agreed to help me plan today’s events. On one condition.”
“And that is?”
“That they could all witness the occasion.”
“Surprise!” Phillip and Jamie yelled, as they came out from their hiding places-- along with Billy, Francine, Mrs. Marston, and Leatherneck.
“I thought I saw you earlier, Jamie.”
“I know. I was on sentry duty, keeping a lookout for you. I had to hide quick, so you wouldn’t see me.”
“Yeah, Dorkface almost gave it away.” Phillip nudged his brother.
“Don’t call your brother names,” Lee, Amanda, Mother, and Billy said, at the same time. Realizing what they’d done, Amanda joined in their laughter.
Lee took her hand in his. “Our lives are forever woven together. You’re my wife, my partner, my world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know I did my best to discourage you when we first met. To keep you out of my life. I want to replace those memories with happy ones.”
“The past is the past, and we needed it to get to where we are today.” Amanda placed her hand on his cheek.
“I know. I wanted to give you this on the anniversary of the day we first met.” He removed a long box from inside his jacket and opened it.
A bracelet with two diamond hearts entwined nestled inside the box. She lifted it from the bed of red velvet. The diamonds sparkled in the setting sun.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Just like my wife.” He clasped the bracelet around her wrist. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Her lips brushed his.
At the sound of clapping, she realized they weren’t alone, and she drew back.
Amanda smiled, while Francine and Mother admired the bracelet, and the men congratulated Lee on a job well done.
“I hate to break this up, but I really do have a date tonight. I’ll see you both in the morning. Bye.” Francine pivoted in her high heels and toddled down the steps.
“And I promised the boys I’d take them to see ‘Beetlejuice’ tonight.” Mother waved to the boys to join her.
“Wait a minute, it’s a school night.”
“Mom, please,” Jamie pleaded. “We have our homework done.”
“Yeah,” Phillip agreed.
“I’ll make sure we don’t stay out late.”
She glanced at her boys. It wouldn’t hurt them to go to a movie during the middle of the week. But she didn’t want to let them know that.
“Well . . .”
“Come on, let them go,” Lee whispered in her ear.
His breath tickled her neck. “Okay.”
“Yeah! Come on, Jamie, last one to the car is a rotten egg.”
The boys pounded down the steps.
Mother kissed first Amanda, then Lee, on the cheek. “I better catch up with them.”
“We’re off, too.” Billy said, hugging Amanda. “I knew putting you two together would work out. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. The look on your face at the train station was priceless.”
“Night, you two. Be good.” Leatherneck said, as he and Billy left.
Amanda shivered in the night breeze. “Here. You’re cold.” Lee wrapped his coat around her shoulders.
“Thanks. You really didn’t have to go to all this trouble to give me a gift.”
“I wanted it to be special.” He kissed the back of her neck and nuzzled it.
She shivered again, not from cold this time, but from the feel of his lips on her skin. “Everything you give me is special.”
“Shall we go home?”
“Not just yet. I want to watch the sunset. It’s rare when we get to see the city in this light.” They walked around the memorial. Lee stood next to a pillar, with Amanda wrapped in his arms. In silence, they watched the colors shimmer on the Potomac River. Reds, pinks, and purples blazed across the water.
“Let’s go.” Amanda turned around in his arms.
Lee planted a kiss on her lips, then took her arm and led her around the memorial.
Amanda saw the Washington Monument in the distance. “Wait. I want to watch them light it.”
“It’s not dark enough yet.”
“It will be soon. Can we sit here and wait?”
“All right, but you aren’t sitting on the cold concrete.”
“Where will I sit?”
Lee sat down on a step. “On my lap.”
As they snuggled, Lee nibbled her earlobe, causing goose bumps on her arms.
“Stop that.”
“No,” he said, before he latched on to her neck and began sucking. His hands slid inside the coat around her shoulders and caressed her breasts through her blouse. She closed her eyes, savoring his touch.
When she opened them, she saw the Washington Monument illuminated proudly in the distance, a full moon gazing down on it. “Look at that.”
“What?”
“The monument.”
They sat there quietly for a few moments, basking in the splendor of the city before them and their love for each other.
“You know I never could figure out why they designed it the way they did. It doesn’t remind anyone of George Washington. Do you know what it reminds me of?” Lee asked, tightening his arms around her.
“What?”
“A male organ. Hard and ready.”
The moon shown on the tip of the monument, and it did indeed resemble a phallic symbol.
“Speaking of which, mine’s rock hard, too.”
“Maybe we should leave.”
“We need to wait. I don’t want to walk around advertising how horny I am.”
Of course, they could use the trench coat around her shoulders to camouflage his condition. The darkness would hide it, also, and it wasn’t like there were a lot of people milling around to notice. But she didn’t want to leave the comfort of his arms yet. In fact, she couldn’t help but squirm in his lap, feeling him grow even harder underneath her.
“That’s not helping it go down.”
“Sorry. I’ll try to be good. But it’s hard.” She leaned back in his arms and looked up at him through hooded eyes.
His mouth claimed hers, his tongue slid between her parted lips, and they danced to a primitive beat. Somehow, he unbuttoned her blouse, and she felt his fingertips brush against her nipples. His erection prodded her, threatening to burst through his pants. She snaked her hand between their bodies and unzipped his trousers. Her fingers swirled around his tip, causing him to moan.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Before she had a chance to reply, he moved her so she straddled him, ripped her underwear off, and pocketed it. He spread her skirt out around them, camouflaging their activity.
“We can’t! Not here. What if someone sees us?”
“They won’t. If they did, they won’t be able to tell what we’re doing. All they’ll see is two people kissing passionately.”
Amanda wrapped the trench coat around them both, holding on to his back and hiding his hands from any onlookers. She lifted up and slid down on his cock, sheathing him in her hot core. As she began to move, her lips locked on to his. She didn’t want her movements to attract attention. Using her vaginal muscles, she squeezed his cock, as she alternated gentle side-to-side and back-and forth rocking motions.
His hand ceased fondling her breast and moved to her clit, his finger rubbing hard, then soft, until she felt the onset of her orgasm. “I’m coming,” she moaned into his ear.
His lips locked on to hers, silencing her screams of passion, as she went over the edge and shuddered. Clenching her vagina, she felt his cock convulse as he came inside her.
“Wow,” Amanda said, once her breathing returned to normal.
“I think we need to go home and finish this properly.” He kissed her hungrily.
“Hey, you two. Get a room, for Pete’s sake.”
Amanda turned and saw two teenage boys walking around the pillars. She pressed her face into the hollow of his neck. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. They didn’t see anything.” Lee shifted and zipped up his pants.
“I hope not.”
“Okay, Romeo and Juliet, time to call it a night.”
“We were just leaving,” Lee replied to the Park Ranger, as they stood up.
“Good, I’d hate to have to arrest you. Have a good night.” He winked and left.
“He knows what we were doing.”
“Maybe he’s guessing. Either way, Mrs. Stetson, something is coming up again, and we need more privacy.” Lee moved her hand to the front of his pants.
His cock was semi-erect, and she licked her lips. “Let’s go.”
At the bottom of the steps, Amanda looked back up at the memorial. “I’ll never forget how you tried to get rid of me here. And now, five years later, we declared our love, in the very same place, and made love on the steps.”
She lifted her wrist, and the diamonds sparkled in the moonlight.
“There’s a first time for everything.” Lee took her hand in his and kissed her fingertips.
The End
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters belong to WB and Shoot the Moon Productions. No infringement is intended. This is written for entertainment purposes only. Please do not redistribute or reproduce this story without my permission.
Thanks to: Rita for being the best beta moll and TJ for finding my errors and coming up with a hell of a title.
Note: This story originally was told in chat for Lushy’s birthday. It took on a life of it’s on after that and begged to become a full-fledged adventure.
Thanks to: Rita for being the best beta moll and TJ for finding my errors and coming up with a hell of a title.
Note: This story originally was told in chat for Lushy’s birthday. It took on a life of it’s on after that and begged to become a full-fledged adventure.