Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.
Lee stood fidgeting nervously on Amanda's front steps, large bowl of his homemade guacamole dip clutched tightly in his hands. What was he thinking in agreeing to this, a day with the kids and Dotty AND her nosy sister, Lillian. He had to admit though, he hadn't had a bad week for the holidays. He'd spent Christmas evening with them and contrary to his fear that they'd be wondering what he was doing there after five minutes, no such thing had happened. They'd been happy...even excited to have him there. Even Amanda's ex had welcomed him as if he were a friend.
He took a deep breath and finally rang the bell as he thought of how the next two days had gone, his surprise visit from his fiancée' in her sexy Santa outfit, the resulting interlude by the fire, exchanging gifts and the ultimate gift of all, their decision not to keep their future marriage hidden. He breathed a sigh of relief over that and was actually grateful for his future mother-in-law's meddling as it had led to Amanda sparking a conversation that he'd been trying desperately to figure out a way to begin on his own. Then there was the next day, when he'd come home with Amanda to greet the boys upon their return...
December 26, 1986
Much as he had on Christmas Eve, Lee halted on Amanda's front step and clutched agitatedly at her arm and fearfully whispered, "I can't go in there."
Amanda rolled her eyes, gave him her best "mom" look and linked her arm firmly with his. "Yes, you can!"
"Amanda...what if-" The words were too horrifying to even voice aloud.
"What if what?" Amanda probed gently.
He pulled his arm from her grasp, clutched both of her hands in his, desperately clinging to her. "What if...what if all this planning we've been doing is for nothing and your kids just tell me to go straight to hell...that they don't want me as their stepfather."
"Lee, you're being ridiculous! First of all, the boys would never tell you that because I raised them better than that." She pulled one hand from his and tenderly caressed his face. "You know that, don't you?" When Lee nodded, she continued. "Second, they don't get a choice in the matter. I promised to marry you and I'm going to keep that promise."
"So, you don't care if you give the boys a stepfather they hate? Come on, Amanda, you're a better mother than that," Lee scoffed.
"And marrying the man I love doesn't make me a bad mother now," she countered. "Besides, Phillip and Jamie don't hate you. They just don't know you that well yet. It's going to take time for them to get used to you. Not to mention, part of being a good mother is knowing what your children need when they don't and what they need is a good, stable male role model..." She smiled warmly at him. "And that's where you come in. I know how much you've looked after them over the years and how much you already love them even though you've just now met them face to face."
He looked down at their joined hands, squeezed hers lightly and mumbled, "Yeah."
Amanda hooked one finger under his chin to urge him to look at her. "Trust me. I know my boys and once they get to know you, they will love you just as much as I do." Once she saw the fear dissipating from his eyes, she nodded firmly. "Now, come on, before we freeze to death out here." She reached for the door, but was stopped by Lee once more.
"Wait!" When she turned, he grinned broadly at her and a hint of playfulness in his voice, tentatively said, "Kiss for luck?" Without waiting for a reply, he used the hand he still held in his to pull her to him, wrapped his free one around her waist and kissed her soundly.
Amanda let out a low moan of pleasure as Lee's mouth crashed down on hers, his tongue teasing her lips. She pulled back breathlessly and gasped, "Lee.." in a slightly scolding tone.
"What?" He questioned, amusement dancing in his eyes at the flustered expression on her face.
"Well, as nice as that was and as much as I enjoy kissing you, I do have neighbors and I'll just bet Mrs. D'Angelo across the street is having a field day right about now."
"Let her," Lee stated adamantly. "She and all your other neighbors are going to have to get used to it." He nodded toward the front door of the house. "We're about to go in there and announce our engagement, aren't we?"
"Yes, but-"
"That means that we'll be planning a wedding soon," Lee reminded her. He then pulled her closer so that her hips were flush against his. He then leaned in and dropped his voice lower. "It also means we'll soon be newlyweds..." His low voice in her ear sent a shiver of anticipation up Amanda's spine as he carried on, "...and we'll be giving the neighbors a whole lot more to talk about, won't we?"
"Mm-mm," was all that Amanda could manage in reply before she found herself immersed in her fiancé's demanding kisses again. She'd just opened her mouth beneath his when the door opened behind them.
"There you two are," Dotty's voice cried excitedly. "I was wonderin-" She broke off abruptly as she realized that she'd interrupted a private moment. "I-I-I'm sorry. I'll just...you know..." She gestured to the stairs behind her.
"No, Mother, it's okay," Amanda reassured her while Lee cleared his throat loudly and shuffled nervously beside her. She opened the door fully and tugged on Lee's hand to urge him across the threshold with her. "It was...um...it was just a kiss for luck."
Dotty looked at the embarrassed expression on the pair's faces and couldn't resist teasing them as Amanda closed the door behind them and they removed their coats. "Must be needing a lot of luck, I'd wager," she quipped.
"Mother, really," Amanda replied in exasperation as she took Lee's coat and her own, hanging them on the coat rack inside the front door.
"Well, just what is it that you're needing all this luck for," Dotty questioned, her blue eyes sparkling in anticipation of the news she was hoping to hear. Upon getting only silence in response from her daughter who still had her back to her and was taking what seemed like twice the normal time to remove her gloves, she tried again. "Amanda?"
"Uh...Mrs. West," Lee interjected. "You wouldn't happen to have any coffee made, would you? It was a bit chilly out there." He nodded toward the kitchen.
"Oh, yes! You must be freezing after all the time you two spent out there," she replied as she made her way across the staircase landing and into the kitchen.
Amanda shot Lee a grateful look just before he followed her mother who winked in return, then replied to Dotty, "Yes, it is cold out there."
"Well, I'm surprised you noticed since it seemed that you and Amanda pretty well had a handle on keeping one another warm," she teased as she reached into the cupboard for coffee cups.
Clearing his throat again, he stammered, "I-I...I guess you could say that."
"You take just cream, right?"
"Right, " Lee answered with a smile, pleased that she'd remembered.
"Mother, honestly, it was just a kiss," Amanda said breezily as she entered the room and linked her left hand with Lee's right.
"Oh, I know, Dear, but you also didn't come home all night. I assume that was your doing too, Lee?" Dotty queried as she handed him his cup and began to fix a second one with sugar for Amanda.
"Mother, it was my choice. Besides, weren't you the one who was encouraging it?"
"I was just surprised that you listened to me for a change," her mother replied as she handed her a cup.
Amanda took a sip of her coffee, then set it down on the counter, exchanged a nervous look with Lee, "So, when are the boys going to be home?"Dotty asked her keen eyes spotting the looks passing between Amanda and her gentleman friend.
"Oh...um...Joe called me at Lee's and said he wanted to keep them a bit longer so he'll be bringing them back home for dinner time. Apparently, he's been seeing someone for a while now and he wanted to take the boys out to lunch with her. I guess they met her last night. Of course, I know nothing about her, but it sounds pretty serious if he's introducing her to the boys."
"It sounds like it," Dotty smiled at her waiting patiently for her daughter to overcome her shyness about whatever it was that she was being shy about, though she had her suspicions with the way she was hiding her left hand behind the countertop.
Knowing there was no way she'd be able to hide her engagement ring from her mother for long, Amanda set her coffee cup down, released Lee's hand, took a deep breath and began, "Um...Mother?"
"Yes, Dear?"
"Speaking of things getting pretty serious...Um..." She sighed. Why was this so hard? "Well, you know that Lee and I have been seeing each other for a while now too."
"Yes, I know, but why it took you so long to bring him home to meet us is something I will never understand. Especially when it seems to me that you finally found a good one." She beamed at Lee.
Lee flushed slightly and said politely, "Thank you, Mrs. West."
"I insist that you call me Dotty," she responded with a shake of her head. "If my daughter's trying to tell me what I think she's trying to tell me...maybe even...Mom?"
"Mother, Lee asked me to marry him," Amanda finally blurted out and showed her mother the ring she now wore.
Dotty squealed in delight, hugged her daughter tightly, then just as quickly released her and exclaimed, "I knew it! Let me see that ring!" She grasped Amanda's hand as she gazed at the sparkling diamond. "Oh, Lee, it's gorgeous...just stunning. You have excellent taste."
"Thank you," Lee replied with a warm smile as he slid a hand to Amanda's back.
"No, Lee...thank you..." Dotty said as she placed a light kiss to his cheek, then one to her daughter's. "...for giving me the best Christmas present you ever could have." She stroked Amanda's cheek lightly. "This smile on my daughter's face." Shifting gears again, Dotty bounced to the bottom of the stairs and called up them. "Lilly, you have to get down here! You'll never believe what's happened!" At getting no response, she called louder, "Oh, for God's sake, Lillian, get down here now!" She then turned back to the happy couple. "So, have you set a date yet? We have to start planning as soon as possible...I'm thinking a summer wedding myself..."
Lee's thoughts were pulled back to the present by the opening of the front door by Phillip. "Hi," he said cheerily and with much more confidence than he felt. "I come bearing dip."
"Cool," Phillip acknowledged. "Come on in. Mom and Grandma are in the kitchen and doofus is in the den."
"Phillip, do not call your brother names," Amanda called from the kitchen then to Lee, "Come on in, Sweetheart."
As he entered the kitchen, Dotty said, "So, that must be the famous guacamole dip."
"Yep, this is it." He held up the large bowl with both hands.
Sensing his nervousness, Amanda greeted Lee with a soft kiss. "Why don't you take that on into the den and then take your coat off and relax," she suggested. "We'll have the rest of your snacks ready in a minute."
"Yeah...okay," Lee said hesitantly.
"Go on," Amanda urged with a nod toward the den. She'd suggested that they do a trial run for incorporating his holiday tradition with theirs by having him come over for New Year's Eve to watch a bowl game with the boys. They'd be doing their usual party at the Soviet Embassy in the evening, but the daytime would be for family. Contrary to his fear that they'd tell him to go to hell, the boys had taken the new of their engagement pretty well.
Lee walked into the den to find Phillip sprawled on the couch and Jamie in the armchair in front of the French doors. He set the bowl down, shucked off his coat, draped it across the arm of the other armchair and then took a seat in it.
"So, what are we watching?"
"It's just all the boring pre-game junk before the real stuff gets started," Jamie answered with a noncommittal shrug.
"Yeah, that stuff can be pretty dry," Lee concurred. "So..uh...who are you rooting for? Virginia Tech or North Carolina?"
Jamie just shrugged again, but Phillip responded instantly, "Virginia, of course!"
"Oh...of course...me too," Lee replied with a smile "Good. At least we're on the same page there. I wouldn't have expected anything different."
"Here we are," Amanda said cheerfully as she and Dotty entered the room bearing trays of drinks, chips and other snacks. As they set their trays down, Amanda turned to Lee. "Sweetheart, why don't you move over to the sofa where you'll be more comfortable? Phillip, you sit up and make room. There are other people here, you know."
"Yeah, yeah," Her older son grumbled, but did as he was told. Amanda took Lee's hand and led him to the sofa and sat down beside him.
"I'll just take care of your coat," Dotty nodded to him as she picked up his discarded coat and left the room with it, but then quickly returned to occupy the seat that Lee had vacated.
"Thank you, Dotty," Lee gave his future mother-in-law a cordial nod.
"Oh, by the way, I picked up your tux from the cleaners for you for tonight. It's upstairs with my dress."
"Oh, Amanda, you didn't have to do that. I was going to get it later on my way home before I came back to pick you up for the party."
"I know you were," Amanda replied knowingly. She'd known all too well that that had been his escape plan if the day with the family had proven to be more than he thought he could handle. "But really it's silly for you to drive all the way back to Georgetown, then all the way back here to pick me up, then back into DC again to the embassy, then back here again to bring me home when the party's over. It's simpler just to have it here so you can change and then we can leave for the party from here after Joe picks the boys up, isn't it?"
"You know, that I have that party with Captain Curt tonight too at the VFW and you know how long those things can go on, so I may not even make it home tonight," Dotty added suggestively.
Phillip sat bolt upright and interjected, "Hey, the game's starting."
"Relax, Sweetheart," Amanda cooed in Lee's ear. "Just be yourself."
Lee nodded and settled in as the game began and before he knew it, he found himself amused at how exuberant the boys got at the game, booing when NC State made a twenty-seven yard pass in the first quarter. By the time halftime came around, they were all groaning because Virginia was down 21-10.
"I need a refill," Lee said as he rose from his seat, empty drinking glass in hand. "Anyone else want one?"
"Me!" Jamie chimed in
"Me too!" Phillip added.
"I think we could all use one," Amanda smiled as she watched Lee making himself at home as he'd done many times when it had been only the two of them, but now that their relationship was out in the open, everything was different.
When he returned with the tray of drinks and resumed his position cuddled up next to Amanda, he whispered to her, "Okay, you were right."
"Oh, I know I was," she crowed.
"Oh? Well, don't get cocky. We're going to be on my turf tonight," He reminded her.
"Do I need to remind you of the vodka incident two years ago?" she teased, "The borscht?"
"Exactly how long have you two been seeing each other?" Dotty inquired. The boys both looked at him expectantly at Dotty's question as well.
"Oh...um..." Lee hesitated, unsure of what Amanda might have told her mother.
"Oh, the party two years ago was work-related, Mother. We weren't dating then," Amanda explained quickly.
"Uh-huh," Dotty replied, not quite buying it. She'd known even then that there had been something that her daughter had been hiding from her.
"Hey, look..." Lee gestured to the TV to kill the awkwardness in the room, "Halftime's over."
As the game continued on, they chatted animatedly about North Carolina's complete lack of defense as Tech racked up fifteen more points against them leading to a final defeat by a slim margin of 25-24.
"That wasn't a loss," Phillip cried. "That was a narrow escape!"
"A win is a win," Jamie argued back. "Virginia still won. It doesn't matter if it's by one point or twenty-one."
"Says you, Bozo," Phillip countered. "They were THIS close to throwing the whole thing away."
"Hey, guys, come on," Lee interjected. "It was still a great game and Phillip, there's no need to call your brother names. You both make valid points..."
Amanda beamed at her men folk chatting as she surreptitiously slipped from her seat next to Lee and began cleaning up just as the doorbell rang.
"I'll get that," Dotty volunteered as she too rose from her seat, her smile just as broad as Amanda's as she glanced first at Lee and the boys, then at her daughter's laden arms, the shining diamond glowing in the lamplight. Yep, she definitely found a good one this time.
Two hours later with the boys packed off to Joe's for the night, Dotty descended the stairs while fiddling with the strap of her stubborn heel that just wouldn't stay straight and nearly toppled headlong into her future son-in-law who deftly caught her. "Whoa there," He chided her. "Let's get you safely down the stairs before dealing with your shoe."
"Thank you, Lee," she smiled warmly as he helped her down the stairs and couldn't help noticing the sparkle in his penetrating hazel eyes and reaffirmed her assessment that he was most definitely an eleven.
"You look beautiful, Mrs. W-" Off her look, he corrected himself, "Dotty...I'm sure your date won't be able to keep his eyes off of you. You just better make sure he's not involved with any of those crazy mob people like your last boyfriend." He gave her a wink.
"You just worry about your own date," Dotty scolded him as she gestured to the stairs.
Lee's breath caught in his throat as he watched Amanda descend the stairs, her hair swept up with just a few loose tendrils framing her face, the earrings he'd bought her adorning her ears to match the necklace from her boys, the black dress with the pearl buttons he adored her in hugging her curves. "Hi, you look beautiful," he said in a hushed reverent tone as he lightly brushed her lips with his own.
"You'd better look out, Amanda," Dotty teased in a mock warning tone. "He just said that same thing to me."
"Oh, well, he is known for having a way with the ladies," Amanda replied mirthfully without taking her eyes from Lee's.
"Well, you kids go on and have a wonderful time and don't you worry about me. Like I said, I'll be lucky if I get home before, you know, four, five in the morning..." Dotty hinted.
As he linked his arm with Amanda's, Lee fired back, "Maybe I should have a talk with this guy; find out what his intentions are. I mean, you are going to be my mother-in-law."
"You know, maybe Lee's right. After what happened with Harry, you just can't be too careful. Like you said then, we do work with a lot of government types..."
"Don't you dare," Dotty protested. "I know exactly what his intentions are and they are the same as mine so you two just leave well enough alone." All three laughed and the couple made their way to the door. "Oh and Amanda?"
"Yes, Mother?"
"Don't forget that I want details of every face you turned green with envy when they see you with that ring...and remember, I'll be home late...very late." She then winked at both of them.
"Happy New Year, Mother," Amanda replied as she hustled Lee out the door
"Happy New Year, Amanda," Dotty answered with a smile as she watched through the front window as they hurried down the walk and wondered just what the new year would hold for the newly engaged couple.