Disclaimer: If you're reading this, than you know the drill. I don't own these characters, but I do enjoy continuing their adventures.
Amanda poured her freshly brewed cinnamon flavored coffee into an ice-filled tall glass. She wiped perspiration from her brow and sipped the beverage appreciatively. It was an unseasonably warm Saturday morning in September, and she unexpectedly had the house to herself. Her "boys" were at the ball field and her mother had gone away for the weekend with Captain Curt.
She could be doing something to pamper herself, or curling up with the new novel that she was dying to read if only she had the time, but no-being Amanda she'd decided to reorganize the closet and dresser drawers in their bedroom. Just thinking of what had for so long been merely her bedroom as "their room" filled her with contentment. She marveled at how much all their lives had changed in the weeks since they had put an end to the mystery marriage.
They'd spent the evening prior to their six month wedding anniversary at his apartment. He'd prepared a special dinner, but as they sat down to eat, their moods were more melancholy than celebratory.
"Everything is delicious," Amanda enthused. "The room looks beautiful," she continued, indicating the candles and fresh flowers that he'd strategically placed around the room. "Thank you for making this such a wonderful evening, I'm so lucky to have you in my life."
"We're two of the luckiest people in the world. Meeting and marrying you has changed my life in so many ways. The only thing that would make me happier would be…"
His voice trailed off, and she couldn't help wondering if he was thinking the same thing that she was. She watched as his shoulders slumped and his eyes were clouded by the inexplicable sadness that she too felt washing over her. If he wasn't going to say it, and she was fairly certain that he wouldn't, than she would have to speak up.
"We made a huge mistake-getting married in secret has to be the dumbest thing that I've ever done. I've already had one long distance marriage and it failed."
"Hey, we don't have a long distance marriage, I'm right here," he argued half-heartedly.
"That's the whole problem, you're here, but your family lives across the bridge in Arlington. I want you with us, I don't want to settle for anything less than the fulltime husband and family man that I know you can be-that I'm pretty sure that you want to be."
"Of course that's what I want too. I stupidly suggested keeping our marriage a secret, it seemed like the safest option at the time, but no one really believes that we aren't a couple so we really aren't protecting our family as effectively as we could be if we were together. I kept hoping that you'd see it that way also, and then you'd call me on my dumb idea the way that you'd called me on so many other bone-headed suggestions."
She reached across the table and clasped his left hand.
"I'm calling you on it now, Big Fella," she whispered huskily. "Tomorrow morning we're going to figure out how to tell our family the truth."
"Tomorrow morning? Why not now?"
"Because, Husband, now I can think of a more pleasurable way of celebrating our anniversary."
Although the family had accepted their revelations with a good deal of equanimity, they were still being rocked by occasional aftershocks. It would take time for her family to get accustomed to having a man living in the house on a fulltime basis again, but since they already thought of Lee as being "practically a part of the family", they'd welcomed him with open arms. For his part, Lee was finding adjusting to living in a home with four other people trying at times, but she was impressed by his determination to adapt and fit in. With her boys growing and changing so quickly, she was relieved that they now had a fulltime father-figure that they could turn to. Joe tries to be there for their sons she mused, although the only thing that he makes a fulltime commitment to is his career. She didn't doubt that he was trying to balance family and career, but she feared that their sons would rarely be his top priority. She was grateful that he had stepped in after her shooting. The boys had truly needed him, and he'd been their anchor while she and Dotty were in California. She was drawn from her ruminations by the sound of the doorbell.
She hurried to the door and opened it, only to find the man that she'd just been thinking about standing before her.
"Hello Joe, I wasn't expecting you. Is Carrie with you," she questioned; craning her neck to look past him to where his car was parked at the curb.
"No, she's not…with me," he replied while massaging the back of his neck with his right hand.
"C'mon in," she urged. "The boys aren't home-"
"I know," he interrupted, "I spoke to Phillip last night, and he told me that Lee would be taking them to soccer practice this morning. It's you that I came to talk to."
"Oh." He's here to talk to me, without Carrie, and knowing that the boys aren't home.
She studied him, thinking that if she didn't know him better she'd suspect that he was slightly hung-over.
"May I get you something to drink? I just made myself iced coffee, and the pot is still on if you'd prefer yours hot? Would you like to sit down?"
"Do I look as though I need a drink? Or do I look as if I've already had too many?"
"Joe, I didn't-" She tried to reply to his query as he followed her into the kitchen.
"No, I know you didn't mean to appear judgmental; I'm just hyper-sensitive, I did have more to drink than I should have." He pulled a chair out from the table and slumped into it. "I've had a tough week." Hell, I've had a bad month. How can I compete with your new husband?
"I'm sorry to hear that, is there anything that I can to do to help you?" She smiled warmly and sat down across the table from him.
"You could tell me what I'm doing wrong," he stated despondently.
He rubbed his eyes and successfully stifled a yawn that threatened to reveal how little sleep he'd gotten the night before.
"Excuse me? I don't think I understand what the problem is." I can't remember ever seeing him look so defeated.
"The problem is your husband. It was bad enough when it was just the boys that were singing his praises, but now MY wife is telling me that I should be more like him. He's had practically no experience being a part of a family, yet he's acing a role that I was born to play. What am I doing wrong," he asked again, this time more plaintively.
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this. Please stay tuned for the conclusion which will be posted as soon as real-life obligations permit.