After the third time Francine had to rescued from her cooking task, Amanda thought that it might be better if she and her mother finished making dinner.
"I think we can take it from here, Francine. Why don't you go join Harry and Lee in the living room and enjoy a glass of wine by the fire?"
Francine looked at Amanda and Dotty, hair mussed, her face smudged with flour, her apron stained from the unsuccessful attempt to free the cranberry sauce from its steel cage and a band-aid on her finger to cover the cut she gave herself while peeling potatoes.
"Are you sure?"
"YES! Oh yes, yes!" Dotty blurted out in quick response to the question. "Amanda and I can finish up. You go and relax for a bit. After all, you are the guest!"
"Well, if you're sure."
Amanda handed Francine a glass of wine and shooed her into the living room. Once she was safely out of sight, Amanda and Dotty looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Oh, Mother…..I have never seen anyone so incapable in the kitchen! I thought we were going to have to bring her to the emergency room if we asked her to do one more thing!" Amanda whispered in a very hushed tone.
"I know! Who opens a can of cranberry sauce like that? Good thing we had two cans!"
Lee strolled out of the living room and into the kitchen. On his face he wore an ear to ear grin.
"What did the two of you do to Francine? She looked better after being traded from the Russians!"
"Lee! We didn't do anything to her! The woman is an absolute wreck in the kitchen! How a woman got to be her age and not even know how to open a can of cranberry sauce, I will never know!" Dotty ranted.
"I think it was good for her! Helped her to see the other side of the coin. I am sure it will make her appreciate her meal all that much more." Amanda declared.
Lee looked at Amanda with one eyebrow raised.
"Probably not, huh?" Amanda said.
"Nooo, probably not!" Lee replied back.
"Oh! She was only in here for 20 minutes! Will you just LOOK at the mess she made! Flour all over the floor! All she had to do was measure out two tablespoons! Amanda, hand me the broom! Lee, dear, dinner is about 15 minutes away. Do you want to open the wine that Francine brought?"
"Sure! I can do that!"
Lee scooted up behind Amanda and reached for the bottle opener on the counter. In so doing, he gave her a light kiss on the neck.
"Love you, sweetheart." She responded. "Oh, and by the way…..I have decided what I want to wager for this evening in our game of trivial pursuit."
This made Lee's face light up in anticipation.
"Oh? Really? And what would that be?"
Lee brought his head in close to Amanda's so that only they could hear the bet.
"Well, when you lose…..you need to give me a full body massage complete with candles and the lavender oil. And full body also includes feet and hands!"
Lee made a low moan in his throat.
"Mmmmm…we don't need to place a bet for me to do that for you! But, if that is what you want to bet, then that is what you want to bet. I still haven't come up with my proposition yet."
"Well, you don't really need to, because you are going to lose!"
"We'll just see, won't we!"
Lee swatted Amanda playfully on the behind as he crossed to the fridge to retrieve the wine.
Harry and Francine used the time alone to catch up.
"So, I hear good things about the new agent training that you have been heading up, Francine. I always knew that you were going to go places in the agency! I could tell even when you were a young, freshman agent! Hard to believe how much time has passed and how many things have changed!"
"Thank you, Harry! I think there are some good things happening with the training program. And well, things are going just great! I miss seeing Billy everyday but he is happy in his new position and I am THRILLED to not have to see Dr. Smyth anymore! That man had all the charm of a Tasmanian Devil."
Francine chortled as she sipped her wine.
"Well, that's just great honey! But don't forget that there is more to life than that agency! You need to take some time for yourself! Look at Lee. It took him forever to realize that the best thing that ever happened to him was right under his nose. But once he smartened up and married Amanda…..well I have never seen him happier. And you deserve that happiness, too! You gotta get out of that building more often. I am glad you came here today. These West women are sure something special. I am sure that dinner is going to be amazing, especially since you helped!"
Francine glanced at the cut on her finger.
"Well, I am not sure how much I did to help!"
Lee walked into the living room to announce that dinner was ready. Francine made her way first to the bathroom to freshen up before dinner. Although he would never say so, Lee thought that was an excellent idea given her present state! She soon joined them in the dining room: hair fixed, flour wiped clean from her face and the stained 'Kiss the Cook' apron back in the kitchen.
Francine marveled to herself at how wonderful the Thanksgiving table looked: so many delicious looking dishes, a perfectly browned turkey and softly glowing candles made everything look so inviting. Amanda and Dotty looked perfectly quaffed. No hair was out of place, no stains on their clothing and no bandages on their fingers. How did they make it look so easy? Harry pulled out the chair for Francine and then took his place beside Dotty. Lee poured everyone a glass of the Pinot that Francine brought and poured some sparkling cider for Amanda. Before they began the feast, Lee stood and asked everyone to join him in a toast.
"I have never enjoyed Thanksgiving because it never had meaning to me, but this year, I have so very much to be thankful for. My beautiful wife, our beautiful family", Lee looked to Dotty and smiled. "Our home and a new baby on the way and of course, our friends. I hope that this Thanksgiving is the first of a very long line of happy Thanksgivings where we all continue to count our many blessings."
"Here! Here!" Harry bellowed.
Lee raised his glass and clinked with Amanda and Dotty. The clinking traveled around the table until finally, Amanda clinked glasses with Francine and offered her a warm smile.
"I am so glad you could join us, Francine!"
Francine smiled and felt herself blush. She was actually feeling a new appreciation for Amanda and her family, and to her won surprise, she was very glad that she was there celebrating with them.
SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK
Dinner was delicious. Everyone ate to their stomach's content. Lee insisted that Amanda go relax by the fire while he picked up the dishes. Harry tried to do the same for Dotty but she would hear nothing of it. Francine also offered to help, but Dotty also told her to go relax with Amanda.
"It will take us three times as ling if she 'helps' us" Dotty whispered to Lee.
Amanda, Harry and Francine sat in the rarely used living room and enjoyed the warm glow of the fire place. Amanda couldn't remember a recent Thanksgiving where she felt more content. It had been a great day and she was glad that Francine had joined them.
"Mom! Dad! We're home!"
Philip and Jamie burst in through the front door. Francine took notice that the boys were calling Lee dad. This struck her very funny. She had thought of Lee as many things and heard him called by many a name, but dad? This was going to take some getting used to!
Amanda quickly whispered to Francine, "Remember, the boys don't know anything about the agency. As far as they know, we work for IFF."
"Right!" Francine answered back.
Amanda got up and met her children in the family room offering each of them a tremendous hug.
"Oh fellas! We missed you! Did you have fun with your dad?"
"Yeah, it was ok. The football game this morning was awesome!" Philip exclaimed. "One kid broke his leg! It was so cool!"
"Now, Philip. I told you that we don't know if he broke his leg. We should be hoping for his sake that he didn't!" Joe corrected Philip.
Joe walked into the family room and greeted Amanda. Behind him was a tall, well-built man with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Hiya, Amanda! I hope you don't mind me dropping by!"
"Sam? Sam Ashford? Oh my gosh! I haven't seen you in years! How are you?"
Amanda flung her arms around the stranger and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Lee had witnessed the exchange and made his way over to Joe.
"Hi, there. Lee Stetson, Amanda's husband. Nice to meet you."
Amanda could recognize the jealous tone in Lee's voice even if it wasn't obvious to others.
"Lee, this is Sam Ashford. He and Joe went to law school together. Sam, how is Lauren? Is she back at the house with Carrie?"
"No, Amanda. Lauren and I got a divorce about 4 years ago."
"I am sorry, Sam. I didn't know."
"It really was for the best. I actually just moved to the DC area a few weeks ago and got in touch with Joe. He called me up last night and invited me over for dinner. I hope you don't mind that I tagged along to some say hi. I just had to see how you were. You look amazing!"
"Aww. Thanks Sam." Amanda sensed Lee's uneasiness with Sam's complement. "I guess marriage to Lee really agrees with me. Sam, do you remember my mother, Dotty?"
"Dotty! Dotty I didn't know I would get to see you, too! Oh how are you?"
Sam picked up Dotty and swung her around.
"Oh Sam! How wonderful to see you! It has been years! You look wonderful! You will stay for coffee and dessert, won't you?"
"Oh I don't want to impose. I just wanted to say hi."
Amanda leaned over to Lee and whispered, "Sam and Mother used to get along famously! Sam would be over our house all the time with Joe when we were dating. Sam was like a son to Mother."
"Ah, I see." Lee replied coldly.
"It's no imposition! Besides I want you to meet my boyfriend, Harry! Harry, dear? Come out to the kitchen! There is someone I want you to meet!"
"No, no Dotty. I really should be going."
Harry came out into the family room with Francine in tow. Sam immediately noticed Francine and smiled. Sam's good looks were not lost on Francine. She glanced him over and smiled back.
"On second thought", Sam said while looking at Francine, "One cup of coffee can't hurt!"
"Wonderful! Sam, this is Harry. Harry this is Sam, an old friend of Amanda's from way back!"
"Pleasure to meet you, Harry. And who is this gorgeous creature?"
Sam and Harry shook hands. Sam then walked over to Francine and kissed her hand.
"Sam Ashford. And you are?"
Francine wasn't quite sure of what to make of Sam. She was very flattered by his affections and taken with his striking good looks, but she wasn't used to men being so blatant about their attraction to her. At least not lately.
"Francine. Francine Desmond. Friend of Lee and Amanda's"
Amanda immediately noticed a slight blush begin to glow from Francine's cheeks.
"Well any friend of Amanda's is a friend of mine." He said with a chuckle.
"Why don't you all got have a seat in the living room and Lee and I will get the coffee and desserts ready?" Amanda suggested.
Lee almost began to protest and then caught Amanda's eye that seemed to say that she wanted to talk to him alone.
"Yes! Great idea, Amanda! We will get everything ready and we will call you when it's ready."
Dotty brought the gang into the family room to chat by the fire. Amanda brought Lee to the kitchen.
"Lee! Did you see the way that he and Francine were looking at each other?" Amanda said as a smile overtook her face.
"No, what do you mean? They just met!"
"I know, but they obviously like each other! Isn't that great?"
"Amanda, don't go looking for something that isn't there. I am not sure I like him anyway. It's bad enough that Joe is here."
"Oh, don't be jealous, sweetheart! Sam was a good friend and Mother loved him. It is nice to just say hi. They will be leaving soon. And then I can get to beating you in Trivia Pursuit. Did you come up with your bet yet?"
"As a matter of fact, I did! I wrote it down and put it in this sealed envelope and I am not telling you what it is until after I win!" Lee produced the envelope from his pants pocket and showed it to Amanda. Amanda tried to grab the envelope from Lee's hand.
"Uh, uh uh….no, no! You will have to wait until later to open it. And you will be opening it because you will be losing the game!"
"So sure of ourselves, aren't we Scarecrow?"
"Yup!" Lee said as he stole a kiss from Amanda.
Everyone sat around the dining room table enjoying coffee, pie and conversation. They all were able to find things to talk and laugh about. Even Francine found herself laughing and contributing to the conversations happening at the Stetson dining room table. Sam filled them in on the last few months of his life. He had moved to the DC area to work for an international trading company as the head of their corporate law division. He had been traveling a lot through Europe and Asia and was looking forward to being in one place for at least a little while.
"I just moved into my condo a few days ago. Life has been kind of crazy. And of course, will all this going on, my car picked this week to need to go into the shop. Joe here was kind enough to drive all the way out to Forest Hills to pick me up for dinner today."
"Forest Hills?" Francine inquired. "That's where I live! What street are you on?"
"I love over on Seven Oaks Lane."
"Really? Wow that is only a few blocks over from me!" Francine beamed. "It's a small world, huh?"
Sam smiled back at Francine. "yes, it certainly is."
Amanda looked at Lee and smirked.
"Well, everyone, I hate to be a party pooper but I have to get back to Carrie. Guess we better get going, Sam."
Everyone at the table began to stand.
"Yes, Amanda, darling. I think Harry and I are going to get going, too. I will be home tomorrow and we can start our Christmas shopping!"
"Ok, Mother. Love you! Good night Harry!"
Amanda kissed them both good-bye and Lee walked them to the door.
"Amanda, thanks for letting the boys come have dinner with us today. I know you really wanted them here. I appreciate you sharing them today."
Joe leaned in and kissed Amanda on the cheek.
"You're welcome, Joe. It was hard but it is important that you see them, too."
Amanda yelled up to the boys to come say good night to their father. The boys came racing down the stairs and said good night. Francine and Sam slowly made their way into the hall.
"You know, Joe? If it's easier for you, I would be happy to give Sam a ride home, since I am going that way anyway."
Sam looked at Francine and smiled.
"Oh, yeah, Joe. That is a great idea. As long as you are sure you don't mind."
"No, don't mind at all."
"Well, ok Francine. Thanks! You sure you don't mind?"
"No, Joe. Not at all."
Amanda elbowed Lee and gave him an "I told you so" look.
Joe and Sam said their goodbye's to Lee and Amanda. Francine hugged Lee and then hugged Amanda. Before she let go, she whispered into Amanda's ear:
"You're right. Great things can come your way when you least expect it! Wish me luck on the ride home!"
Amanda whispered back, "Good luck! He's a great catch!"
Lee and Amanda watched the last of their company walk down the front path and into their cars. They shut the door and walked into the living room to enjoy what was left of the fire.
"So I guess it's too late to start a game of trivial pursuit." Amanda said.
"Yeah, I guess. Too bad cause I was going to win." Lee taunted back.
"Well since we'll never know, why don't you just show me what your bet was in the envelope?"
"No way! The only way you are going to see what is in there is by losing a bet to me."
"Ok, fine! How about a cut of the cards? I could use a nice massage tonight after you lose."
"You're on!"
Lee ran into the kitchen and came back with a deck of cards. He shuffled them until he was satisfied.
"OK, you first. Cut the cards and flip over the top card."
Amanda cut the cards and quickly flipped over the top card. Jack of Spades.
"Huh! Beat that, Stetson!"
Lee reached over to the deck and chose not to cut the cards but to rather take the next card on top. He flipped over the card to reveal an Ace of Diamonds.
"I believe I just did, Mrs. Stetson!"
Lee looked at Amanda and smiled ear to ear. Pulling out the envelope from his pocket, he placed it in her waiting hands. Amanda stared at the card in disbelief.
"Remember, before you open it, you promised to do exactly what is on that paper!"
"Ok, fine."
Amanda ripped open the envelope and took out the paper that waited inside. She unfolded it and began to read it aloud: "I agree to let Lee give me a full body massage complete with candles and the lavender oil. And full body also includes feet and hands. And I must comply with this debt tonight."
Amanda placed the piece of paper on her lap and began to laugh.
"You are too good to me, you know that, Lee?"
Lee leaned over and kissed Amanda delicately on the lips and pulled her into his arms.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Amanda."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Scarecrow."
The End