Shortly after Dotty and Amanda left the kitchen, Mrs. Morris returned to the room to resume her cooking activities. She greeted Phillip and Jamie like old friends and quickly engaged them in conversation in hope of easing the residual tension in the room. Lee, feeling somewhat stung by Dotty's cool treatment of him, remained mostly silent while the others chatted. Mrs. Morris had been surprised when Lee told her where he learned to cook and she assumed that the boys would be too.
"Lee, did you tell the boys why you are so comfortable cooking for such a large crowd of people," she prompted in an effort to pull him into the conversation.
"No, we haven't had the chance to talk much yet…I'm not sure that they'd be interested in hearing about that," Lee answered self consciously. He tugged at the neckline of his pullover sweater and looked away from the boys who were eyeing him curiously.
"I'd like to know," Jamie volunteered, "you seem to really know what you're doing here. The food is very good…I snuck a few tastes." He offered a slightly guilty smile.
"It's funny that you should mention sneaking tastes because that is how I met the man who taught me to cook. Did your mom tell you that I was raised on military bases all around the world?" Lee eyed the boys as though if he looked closely enough he could get a sense of how much Amanda had told them about him.
"Yes, she said after your…that your uncle is an Air Force officer and you two moved around a lot. Did he teach you how to cook?" While Jamie questioned Lee, Phillip quickly tasted the chili he was scooping from a large pot into serving bowls.
"No, my uncle can barely cook for himself let alone cook for hundreds of men at a time," Lee replied with an easy laugh as he warmed to the topic. "His friend, Barney, ran the mess hall on one of the first bases that we were posted to after my uncle took me in. Early on, Barney caught me sneaking tastes in the mess kitchen where I shouldn't even have been. I was sure that he would be angry enough to report me to my uncle but instead he asked me what I thought of the food."
"You must have been surprised," Phillip ventured.
"I was surprised and very relieved; my uncle had gotten a couple of other complaints about my behavior that week already."
"You weren't a good kid?" Phillip looked at his mom's boyfriend with renewed interest. He might be more fun to be around than Dean was. Maybe Mom's taste in men has improved?
"Let's just say that I was a handful…I kept my uncle and most other authority figures on their toes."
"Barney, too," Jamie questioned curiously.
"No, Barney and I got along very well from the start. You know how some adults treat kids like they respect them even though they're children…they don't talk down to you and they want to know what you think about stuff. Barney is like that; he always listened to me. My uncle was more inclined to issue orders and expect me to blindly follow them as if I were one of his men."
"He sounds like a jerk," Phillip said with a shake of his head.
"Phillip," Jamie scolded.
"Don't worry, Jamie, that's what I thought too until recently. Your mom helped me to see my uncle's side of things. He took me in and did his best to raise me right despite the fact that he wasn't comfortable with kids. It cost him professionally as well because he had to pass up certain postings because he couldn't have taken me along. He's a colonel now but I'm convinced he could have risen further if he'd felt free to pursue every opportunity that came his way."
"I guess you were lucky. Our dad never let US get in the way of his career," Phillip said bitterly as he accidentally put the pot back on the stove with more force than necessary.
"You might be judging your dad a little harshly; your situation and mine are different. I only had my uncle but your dad left you guys with your mom and grandma. You've been loved and well cared for everyday…I bet he was counting on that."
"We love Mom and Grandma; they're great but sometimes a guy wants to have a dad around. Dad comes and goes as he pleases and he expects us to be thrilled to see him when he feels like coming around." Mrs. Morris quietly slipped out of the kitchen as the conversation grew more intense and found herself face to face with Dotty who raised a finger to her lips. The older woman kept walking as Dotty stood outside the kitchen eavesdropping on the trio inside.
"I understand where you are coming from but I've gotten old enough to see it from the adult side also. I think that your dad may regret some of the choices that he made when he was younger. I did things ten years ago that I would never do now; our priorities change as we get older. I've done some things-"
"Boys," Dotty called as she swept into the kitchen cutting Lee off in mid-sentence. "I think that you've spent enough time with Lee for now; I'd like to speak to him alone for a few minutes. Please go help your mother." The boys were sorry to have their conversation interrupted but they didn't dare ignore a direct order from Dotty so they reluctantly left the room.
"You're full of surprises and life experience has taught me that not all surprises are pleasant. I have some questions for you that I suspect won't get answered if Amanda has the chance to run interference so I'm going to ask them now while we're alone." Lee put his Scarecrow face on as the woman facing him no longer resembled the affable suburban grandmother he so often watched through the kitchen window.