Chapter 34
When Lee arrived, Amanda said, "You, Stetson, are going to set a new record for lying and sneaking."
"And you just ruined yours for disobeying orders," he said. "I never expected you to still be sitting there."
"I've decided to enjoy being pampered. Just how did you manage all this, anyway, Lee?"
"It was Clay's idea. On the way over to pick the truck up on Wednesday, he suggested that he call Francine and see if she could organize moving-in party for us so you wouldn't have to do anything. He suggested that we recruit our friends from the Agency with the promise of beer, burgers and bratwurst. Francine loves to organize things like this, so we put her in charge of the overall operation. The furniture from your old house and my apartment is in place, Colonial Galleries delivered our bedroom set yesterday, and your mother was in charge of the ladies' committee that set your kitchen up the way you like it. We wanted to present you with a turnkey operation. I hope you like it?"
"Like it? Lee, I love it! When can I go in and look around?"
"Whenever you like."
"Then how about now?"
The last time Amanda had seen the Elmwood Drive house, it had been lifeless and empty, the rooms echoing as they walked through on the hardwood floors. Now, as she stepped through the front door, it looked like a furniture gallery showroom, but the furnishings were familiar and much loved. There was the couch from Maplewood Drive, but right next to it was Lee's favorite chair. In the dining room, the table and chairs from Lee's old apartment, polished to a mirror sheer and decorated with an antique lace table runner that she later learned had belonged to Clay's mother, the step -grandmother Lee had never known because she died a year before he was born, stood proudly, ready to host family gatherings of all types. The kitchen was completely arranged, right down to the spices in the rack Phillip had made the previous Christmas, and they were even alphabetized, thanks to shy little Agnes Snow.
Up in the master bedroom, the king-sized bed had been made up with new sheets and a comforter, and there were matching curtains, chosen by Francine with help from Jeannie Melrose and Mavis Marston. The bed from Lee's old apartment was now in Phillip's room, and their friends were busy setting up the beds they'd brought from the Denton house in Leeanne's and Jim's rooms.
"We didn't furnish the fifth bedroom," Francine explained. "When we got the word about the baby, we knew you'd want to go shopping for a baby bed yourself."
The downstairs rec room was also furnished, with the couch and television set from Lee's old apartment and the boys' bunk beds from Maplewood Drive. There was a full-sized refrigerator, one Billy and Jeannie had had in their garage but weren't using, and Leatherneck, the master constructor, had built an indoor basketball hoop setup so the boys and their friends could practice their free throws without breaking anything.
"Oh, wow. This is…." Amanda had to stop, take a deep breath, and swallow hard. "Thank you, all of you."
Leatherneck, who had driven Agnes Snow over in his truck, came through the door with the last box of the keepsakes Leeanne had packed so carefully in Denton, and right behind him were Austin Smyth and Elisa Danton; Smyth was carrying a case of wine and Elisa had an enormous fruit basket wrapped in cellophane and decorated with a red bow.
"Wouldn't you know it," Lee said. "You two show up when all the work is already done."
"Careful, Scarecrow; I still sign your paychecks, you know," Smyth said, but he was smiling. Elisa came over to hug Amanda and congratulate her on the baby, and when Amanda whispered a question, Elisa nodded almost shyly – not a word most people would use to describe the wealthy socialite -and Amanda hugged her again.
"The new barbeque grill I asked Curt to get for us is ready to be christened, people, and I've been told that the beer and sodas are cold, so let's move this party outside," Lee said. "I just need to turn the truck in."
"I'm on the insurance, Scarecrow; I'll do it, if somebody will follow me down to the rental place," Jeter said.
"Right behind you, man," Leatherneck said.
"Thanks, guys."
Their friends finally left about eight that night; Amanda was half asleep on her feet, but she'd resisted any suggestion that anyone leave early. Finally, though, Jeannie Melrose had taken matters into her own hands and said something to Billy, who chivvied his people - Smyth and Elisa had left before the party really got going because they had a diplomatic reception at the British embassy to attend and they had to go home and change into formalwear – out the door and away from the house, leaving only the family.
"Well, it's been fun, you two, but Dot and I aren't getting any younger, so we'll be going too," Curt said. Clay and Francine left right behind them, and the Stetson-King teens disappeared into the rec room for a Star Wars movie marathon that promised to last most of the night.
"And that's just fine with me," Lee said. "None of us have to be up early tomorrow, since we're both off work until Wednesday, so they can stay up all night and sleep all day if they want."
"They did so well on the drive up here," Amanda said. "I was so proud of both my boys. Having them take turns sitting with Clay up front helped, but I think having Leeanne around is a very good influence on them. She's so mature for her age, and she sets are really good example for them without being annoying about it."
"They're definitely growing up, and not just physically. You did such a good job with them for all those years, Amanda; I'm glad I get to help with the teenage and early adult years."
"And you do help; you help a lot." Amanda yawned. "This bed is like sleeping on a cloud."
"Yes, it is. What a week it's been, hmmm?"
"Yeah. We find out we're having a baby, we find out – well, I did, since somebody kept his new job a secret from me – that we have new jobs, Billy tells me that he's promoting Mavis into the Q as my administrative assistant and moving Judi Jessup into the gatekeeper job, and then I find out that Elisa Danton and Austin Smyth are all but engaged. Who'd a thunk it, as Bob Van Slaars would say?"
"I never saw it coming, but then I never expected my uncle and Francine to take an instant liking to each other, either."
"And to see Agnes and Leatherneck together…. Wow."
"I think we started it."
"You think we started it?"
"Sure."
"How do you figure that, Stetson?"
"Well, the Agency went for months, even years, without any interesting love stories…"
"If we don't count the Scarecrow working his way through the steno pool…."
"We won't count that. That doesn't count. As I told you before, it's all past history."
"Oh, I know."
"Then why bring it up again?"
"Just letting you know that actions have consequences, Stetson."
"Right. Where was I?"
"You were taking credit for the love in bloom at the Agency."
"Not just me, both of us. We fall in love and get married, but we don't tell anybody, but when we do tell them, all of sudden, we're living in an episode of that soap opera your mother likes so much."
"Hospital Romance?"
"Not that one, the other one."
"Oh, Love for a Lifetime."
"Right. Clay and Francine, Smyth and Elisa, Agnes and Leatherneck, Harry and Christina …"
"Wait, wait, you can't take credit for Harry and Christina. They'd been in love for years before she was able to get out of Russia."
"Yes, but they were reunited after we got married, so we get credit for it."
"That is really stretching it. Next thing you know you'll be telling me that you've found someone for Mavis, who's been a widow for twenty years since her husband was killed in Indonesia during a covert op."
"I don't have to find anyone – they find each other."
"So you really can't take credit for any of it."
"Sure I can."
"Why do I even try to argue with you?"
"Because it's fun, Amanda Panda."