Unfinished Business, Unresolved Feelings chapter 26
Lee snuck into Amanda's backyard an hour after he had angrily suggested that she leave his apartment. If anyone else who knew about his past with women had jumped to the conclusion that Amanda had he wouldn't have been surprised. Lee was certain that Amanda knew him better than anyone else; how could she think that he would choose to play virtually no role in the life of his own child? Amanda had hurt him but he was determined to make things right between them. He had to talk to her and he wanted it to be in person.
Lee was exhausted and distracted as he took his usual path through the hedges so he didn't realize that he was making more noise then he usually did. Dotty, who was in the kitchen, heard the noise and decided that this time she would try to catch the person that she suspected Amanda had been secretly spending time with in the yard. When the backdoor opened Lee emerged from the bushes, spotted Dotty, and ducked back into the bushes.
"Don't you dare try to sneak away; I saw you this time", Dotty advised as she walked closer to where a shocked Lee was hiding. Lee wanted to meet Dotty but he'd wanted it to be on his terms but it was too late to worry about that now. Dotty's feet stopped in front of where Lee was hiding and she looked down at him. "You must be Mr. Stetson. I've wanted to meet you for a long time", she said with an unreadable expression on her face.
"Yes, ma'am, I'm Lee Stetson, I work with Amanda. I feel as though I already know you, ahh, Amanda talks about you often", Lee answered awkwardly.
"You've spent a lot of time out here; you must have learned quite a bit about us by now", Dotty replied pointedly.
"I know this must seem strange but I can explain", Lee said as he stood up and began shuffling his feet.
"That should be interesting to hear; why don't we talk about it in the kitchen. I assume you've been INSIDE the house occasionally", Dotty said as she led the way to the backdoor. Lee followed Dotty inside and glanced around nervously; hoping to see Amanda.
"She isn't home. You two must have had quite a fight", Dotty said to an increasingly agitated Lee. "Don't look so surprised; I'm not a fool, I know my daughter has been involved with someone from work that she won't talk to me about. Amanda wasn't expecting me to be home this morning so she was surprised to see me when she came in and slammed the door behind her. I asked her what was wrong but she said that she didn't want to talk about it. Amanda said that she was going to go for a drive to clear her head. I told her in no uncertain terms that she wasn't driving anywhere in the state that she was in. She was annoyed but she agreed to take a long walk instead."
"I'm glad that you stopped her from driving. We did have a misunderstanding", Lee responded. Now I know where Amanda picked up the tendency to ramble.
"Misunderstanding; is that what you call it", Dotty asked with an arched eyebrow. Dotty was sure that the man that was standing in front of her was the reason that Amanda had begun to behave strangely and keep so many secrets from her. She wanted to distrust and dislike him but she found that she couldn't.
"It was a misunderstanding; Amanda jumped to a mistaken conclusion and I let my hurt feelings keep me from setting her straight. I'd like to stay and talk longer but I don't think Amanda would be comfortable with the idea of me spending time with you. I'm not someone that most women would be inclined to bring home to meet their mothers", Lee confessed.
"I could easily blame you for the distance between myself and Amanda but I'd be fooling myself. Maybe she didn't want to talk to me about you because I tried to push her into marrying the last man that she had a serious relationship with. She didn't have to make up so many crazy stories about what she's been doing; she could have simply told me that there were things that she didn't want to discuss with me. I wouldn't have liked it but I could have accepted it."
"Amanda has told me many times how much she loves you. She hasn't liked the idea of being less than honest with you", Lee stated in hopes of diminishing the damage his presence in Amanda's life had caused. Dotty couldn't help but appreciate Lee's wanting to respect Amanda's desire to keep their personal relationship private but she wanted to get to know this man that was obviously so important to her daughter. She didn't want to let this chance slip away; she didn't know when or if she'd get another chance.
"Let me suggest a compromise that would allow us to get to know each other without betraying Amanda's wish to keep her personal life private", Dotty suggested hopefully.
"What is it", Lee asked warily.
"Would you be willing to tell me a little bit about your life before you met Amanda?"
"I guess that's only fair since I've had the chance to learn about you through Amanda", Lee replied. I don't want to lie to her. What can I tell her about my past that won't make her want to keep me away from Amanda and the boys at all costs?