Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. This story was written for entertainment purposes only.
Author's note: This story is a sequel to "Acceptable Risks". It begins on the evening of December 31, 1985; two weeks after the events of "Acceptable Risks". I'd like to thank Lanie Sullivan for thinking of such a clever title for this tale.
New Years Revolution, chapter 1
Amanda rushed through her backdoor with her arms full of grocery bags. She had expected to find her mother getting ready to prepare dinner, but she was greeted by her ex-husband instead.
"Hi, Amanda, I'm glad to see you. You're late; I was starting to get worried about you," Joe said as he moved to help Amanda to place the grocery bags on the counter.
"Hello Joe, thanks for the help with the bags, what am I late for?"
"Don't you all usually have dinner between six and six- thirty; there is no way that you'll have dinner ready by then if you're just starting now. What's in all these bags…we can't possibly need any more food here," Joe concluded judgmentally. Amanda turned her back on Joe, took a deep breath and slowly removed her coat and hung it over a chair back. She turned back to Joe who was impatiently waiting for her to respond to him.
"Mother is more than willing to get dinner started by herself on days when I'm running late but even if dinner is late the boys are in no danger of starving. As for these bags of groceries that WE don't need; they aren't for us. Where is Mother by the way?"
"Your mother has a date tonight…she invited me to spend the evening keeping you and the boys company. If these groceries aren't for the family who are they for," Joe questioned oblivious to Amanda's irritation with him.
"I wish Mother had discussed her plans with me before she invited you to spend the evening with us," Amanda said as she began to take things out of the refrigerator so that she could throw together a quick dinner.
"You're making it sound as though you don't want us to spend the evening as a family. The best thing for the boys-"
"Joe King, don't you dare talk to me about what is best for our sons, I have been here doing my best for them every day of their lives," Amanda said more angrily than she had intended.
Stepping back from Amanda, Joe responded," Calm down, Amanda, I'm simply suggesting that the boys need to get used to our being a family again." It may take Amanda longer than I expected to get over this spy fantasy of hers but I know that she'll come to realize that the best thing for all of us would be for us to go back to the way we were before. The momentary silence in the room was shattered by the arrival of Phillip and Jamie.
"Hi, Mom," they said at the same time.
"Grandma said Dad is having dinner with us," Phillip said excitedly.
"What are we having," Jamie asked.
"I'm making cheeseburgers and French fries. We'll have dinner together and then you and your dad will spend the evening together. I'm going to go visit a friend for a few hours."
"Amanda, you can't-", Joe began only to be interrupted by Amanda.
"Excuse me, Joe, boys please go upstairs and get washed up for dinner. I'll call you when it's ready." The boys, who sensed the tension between their parents, reluctantly left the room.
"Joe, you are the boys' father and I will do everything that I possibly can to help you repair the damage that you did to your relationship with them but WE are no longer one big happy family. I have plans for tonight and you have a choice to make. You can spend the evening with your sons or you can leave after dinner and I will arrange for someone to stay with the boys until I get home from visiting my friend. What'll it be?"
"I'll stay with the boys," Joe replied as Amanda resumed her dinner preparations believing that their conversation was over. Joe, unwilling to have his views be so quickly dismissed continued, "I think that you're setting yourself up for a major disappointment. Men like your 'friend' don't sit at home on New Year's Eve the way that we do; they take glamorous dates to ritzy parties."
"Joe, the burgers are almost ready and the fries will be done in a few minutes. I'm leaving now…I hope you and the boys have a good evening together." Amanda grabbed her coat and one of the grocery bags that she'd left on the counter and sped out the backdoor. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just walked out on him…I guess it's my turn to pursue a dream. Amanda stopped long enough to put her coat on and then she continued to her car determined not to allow Joe's admonition regarding Lee to discourage her.