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Chapter 4: A Family Affair
It was 4:30 PM on a perfect April day. Usually, Friday afternoon at Dulles International Airport would be the last place Lee Stetson would want to be. But not today. Today the handsome agent was delighted to be here. For he normally would still have been on his overseas assignment. Fortunately, the debriefing had finished up earlier than expected, and Lee was able to arrive back in D. C. a whole day earlier than planned.
He looked at his watch repeatedly while waiting for the luggage carrousel to eject his bag. It had been a long two weeks and he couldn't wait to get home. It wasn't so much that his empty apartment held such appeal, but he couldn't wait to wrap his arms around his beautiful wife and feel her squirm when he hugged her too tightly. He smiled as he imagined her lovely face staring up at him from the depths of his embrace, her brown curls gently caressing her neck, her dark eyes sparkling with love for him, and her soft smiling lips waiting to be kissed. She would bring her arms up around his neck and pull him to her… A sharp jostling brought him out of his daydream as a woman next to him tried to lift her suitcase off the carrousel and accidentally bumped him. He lifted it for her and barely noticed her grateful "thank you" as he spied his own bag circling toward him. Jerking it off the rack, he headed out to the taxi waiting area.
Lee's first thought had been to call Amanda to pick him up. But she wasn't expecting him till late tomorrow afternoon, so he thought he would surprise her. Besides, she might be busy with her family since she wasn't expecting to see him. He knew she had cleared her schedule so they could be together tomorrow night, but wasn't sure how his unexpected arrival would fit into her plans for tonight. Dotty and the boys knew they were "dating," but were not aware that the couple had sealed their marriage vows two months ago.
At his apartment, Lee quickly shaved and showered, changing into blue jeans and a casual shirt. Traffic from the airport had been miserable and it was now after 6 PM. Unpacking could wait. So could dinner. Seeing Amanda could not. He grabbed his keys, tossed his leather jacket over his shoulder, revved up the Corvette, and made the familiar trek to Arlington.
Pulling up near 4247 Maplewood, he parked and observed the neat white home. No signs of life from the front, but Amanda's car was parked in the driveway. He traced his usual path to the backyard. Over the years he had learned a lot by his observations through Amanda's back window. Tonight he would take a peek inside to see if she were alone. He hoped she would be so he could tap on the window to get her attention. Then she would come out to be with him. His arms ached to hold her again.
Everyone was gathered in the kitchen and den area. No window tapping tonight. In spite of his disappointment, Lee smiled at the peacefully chaotic scene that greeted him from the back window. Philip was "plugged in" to headphones with textbooks spread out in front of him on the kitchen table. Dotty was busy at the sink presumably cleaning up the supper dishes. Jamie was wielding a spatula covered with chocolate frosting as he helped his mother frost cupcakes.
And Amanda…beautiful Amanda… time slowed as Lee's eyes devoured her. She was removing cupcakes from the oven while she and Jamie frosted the treats that had already cooled. Her movements were fluid as she seemed to do three things at once. She looked divine dressed in snug-fitting jeans and a white blouse, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and collar open to reveal her diamond heart pendant nestled into the hollow of her throat. Lee could hardly wait to get his hands on her. After he kissed her mouth and nibbled his way to her throat, he would slowly make his way to that tiny spot behind her ear. The spot that drove her wild. Lee rubbed his hands together as though eager to begin a feast. Then he remembered that there would be no feasting, since he wasn't likely to even be able to talk to her tonight as she was busy with her family. The window was open to take in the cool evening air, so Lee could hear the family's conversation as he observed their activities.
"Amanda, darling, I'd be glad to pick up the movie when I'm through here. That way you can finish up with the baking and Philip can have a few more minutes for his project. Would that work?"
"Thanks, Mother, that'd be great. I'll write down the second and third choices in case `Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' is already taken. My mind usually goes blank when I get to the video store. There are so many choices. Of course, it probably doesn't matter that much since the boys have seen all of the movies at least three times, right fellas?" She smiled affectionately at her sons.
"Grandma, I'll go with you, OK?" Jamie questioned. "I know what we want to see, so you won't need Mom's note. I could help you look for the movie, OK?"
Dotty looked to Amanda who was frowning at her younger son. "Now wait just a minute, young man. Do you plan to leave me with all these cupcakes to finish up by myself? These are for your photography club bake sale if I remember correctly. When you double the recipe, you get lots of cupcakes."
Jamie hung his head. "Yeah, OK, Mom. I'm getting tired of frosting `em, that's all."
"Well, why don't you take a break from frosting and do the sprinkles for now?"
Jamie brightened at that suggestion. He got the shaker and started sprinkling the cupcakes with multicolored candy bits. "Can I eat the extra sprinkles that fall on the plate?" he asked hopefully. Amanda noticed that more than half of the sprinkles seemed to land on the plate rather than on the cupcake. She sighed, but couldn't hide the grin that was forming as she knew her young son was trying to outsmart her.
"Yes, I suppose so. But please try to aim a little closer to the cupcake. That jar of sprinkles is the only one I have."
Philip seemed to perk up when Jamie began the decorating. "Mom, remember you promised a special cupcake for me. One with extra frosting and extra sprinkles. And I want you to make it, not Jamie."
Not to be outdone by his older brother, Jamie stuck out his tongue at Philip. "I don't want to make yours anyway. And Mom, if he gets a special one, I do too. I'll make it myself with lots of extras on it."
"Jamie, do not stick out your tongue. Philip, your brother is doing the decorating, so if you want extras, you'll need to ask him nicely. And Philip, please turn down the volume on those headphones. I can hear your music all the way over here, which means it's way too loud. You'll damage your hearing."
"Aw, Mom." Philip had heard this before. He shrugged resignedly and turned the volume lower.
Jamie agreed to make Philip's special cupcake. Then he pleaded, "Mom, can Philip and I each have two special cupcakes? Please?"
Lee chucked at the resourcefulness of the two boys.
"Come on guys! I give an inch and you take a mile." Amanda laughed and exchanged an amused look with her mother. "OK, two special ones each." She noted the "thumbs up" and grateful smile Philip threw Jamie's way and shook her head. "But that's it. We need to keep some for dessert tomorrow, and then I want to save a few for Lee." Her voice softened as she mentioned her husband.
Dotty noticed her voice inflection and inquired, "Amanda, when's Lee coming home?"
"Tomorrow afternoon." She sighed. She hoped she could last till then. Two weeks was such a long time for newlyweds to be separated. She missed him so much. She longed to touch him. For his strong arms to hold her. For the feel of his lips caressing her skin. Her imagination went a step too far and she placed her fingers on a sensitive spot behind her ear. It had not taken Lee long to discover this tiny bit of her anatomy. She blushed at the memories this action evoked.
Watching her still unobserved, Lee noticed her movement and her blush, and realized they were sharing the same thought. As his eyes remained fixed on her, Amanda involuntarily glanced to the window, the memories of all the backyard meetings swirling in her mind. Those encounters had been a microcosm of the events that shaped the foundation of their relationship. The moments they shared on the other side of that window paralleled the tiny steps in their daily lives that led their paths to merge at last in vowing to spend the rest of their lives together.
Lee gazed at the woman he loved and at her family members around her. He was related to these people now. He actually had a mother again after all these years! Dotty was always so warm to him—he knew they would get along great as they got to know each other better. And Philip and Jamie… the thought of two stepsons was a little frightening. But with Amanda to guide him, he would be able to fulfill this new role too. The boys were great kids, no small thanks to Amanda's skills as a loving and nurturing parent. With a little time and adjustment, Lee hoped they would accept him as a part of their lives. Little did he ever guess, that day at the train station so long ago, (or was it just yesterday?), that his chance encounter with a suburban housewife would lead him to find his soulmate and allow him to become part of a normal family once again. He was not the same man today he was at the train station, and his emotional maturation was a direct result of Amanda's influence. He hoped he had had a positive influence on her personality in some way as well.
Lee noted the look of longing on Amanda's face and knew his face mirrored her emotion. His pulse quickened just looking at her. He simply couldn't wait any longer to hold her. It became clear that there was only one way he would accomplish this goal tonight. He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and retraced his steps to the front yard.
Lee's nervousness caused his fingers to hesitate slightly before ringing the bell. He could count on both hands the number of times he had actually come to the front door when Amanda's family was home. Even though her family thought they were dating, it was still a strange sensation to stand openly on the front porch and ring the bell. Only seconds elapsed before Dotty opened the door to him, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.
"Hi, Dotty, I hope I'm not intruding, Amanda's not expecting…"
Dotty gave him a warm, welcoming smile. She drew him into the entryway with one hand and put a finger to her lips with the other gesturing him to be quiet.
"Amanda, someone's here for you!" she called backward over her shoulder toward the kitchen, still grasping Lee's arm.
"Coming, Mother. Who is…"
Dotty stood back a short distance from Lee. Both watched expectantly for Amanda's entrance.
"Lee!" Amanda fairly shrieked with joy as she caught sight of her husband at the front door. She ran toward him flinging her arms around his neck, and he caught her up in a big bear hug.
Dotty beamed and made her way back to the kitchen to give them some privacy. The chemistry between those two was so strong that she could see sparks between them. When were they going to realize that and do something about it? She had remarked once that Lee was an eleven. Now that she was getting to know him better, she had upped that rating even higher. She hoped one day to welcome him into the family. She shook her head in puzzlement and went to join the boys.
Lee held Amanda as closely as possible, his face nuzzled into her neck. God, she smelled so good. Why had he ever allowed Billy to send him overseas? The time spent away from this wonderful woman was unbearable.
Amanda wriggled in his embrace. "Lee, I can't breathe!" she protested laughingly.
Lee loosened his arms just a bit and looked down at her upturned radiant face. He whispered, "Mrs. Stetson, I love you," before his mouth descended to hers. Time stood still as they were lost in each other. The kiss expressed the longing each had felt and their delight at being together again.
When they finally broke apart, Lee was solemn, his fingertips tracing the features of her face as he spoke. "Amanda, you have no idea how much I've missed you. These last two weeks seemed like two years to me."
Amanda laughed up at him. "You silly, I know exactly how much you missed me because I missed you just as much. I didn't know how I was going to make it till tomorrow 'cause I was thinking of you every moment." She entwined her fingers in his hair and pulled him down to meet her lips again. "I love you too, Lee. I'm so glad you're home early!" The kiss they shared left Lee no doubt of her sincerity.
Amanda broke the kiss and grabbed his hand to pull him into the kitchen. "Come on, we should get back to the family. We're going to rent a movie and make popcorn. Did you have time to eat or should I heat something up for you? You must be starved."
"Amanda." He spoke quietly.
She stopped to look up at him. He grinned devilishly and pulled her back to him, murmuring in her ear, "I need one more kiss before I share you with everyone else."
She glanced over her shoulder. "But the boys might come in…"
"I think your mother will keep them corralled in the kitchen for another minute or two."
They smiled and held each other close. Lee kissed her gently at first, then slowly intensified the kiss. Amanda felt herself melting in the heat they were generating. This would have to wait till later, if only she could pull herself away from him. But she didn't have that much will power. Lee made his way slowly across her cheek and down her neck, and was headed to that little spot…
A small strangled cry escaped Amanda's throat as she gently pushed him away with all the self-control she could muster. "Lee Stetson, you stop that right now! You know what that does to me." She laughed up at him while caressing his cheek, and then whispered, "I promise we'll have time for that later."
"You're right, I'm sorry, Amanda," Lee answered contritely. "It's just so hard to keep my hands off you when we're together. I missed you so much. Forgive me?"
The dimples appeared and Amanda felt herself wavering. Maybe just one more little kiss…
Dotty's voice called out from the kitchen. "Amanda, why don't you and Lee go to pick up the movie? I can stay here with the boys to finish up the baking."
Lee brightened. "Did I ever tell you how much I like your mother?"
Amanda rolled her eyes. "It's only 5 minutes to the video store."
Lee teased, "So I suppose they'd be suspicious if it took us a couple hours to get back?"
Amanda smothered a grin and playfully swatted him on the chest.
He laughed. It was so good to be here with her again. He could relax completely in her presence and regain perspective on what was really important in life.
"Let's go in to see your family and then we'll get the movie. Okay with you?"
"No."
"No?" Lee asked in surprise.
She locked onto his gaze. "No, we aren't going to see my family. We're going to see our family."
Lee felt his throat tighten and he swallowed hard. He took her hand, interlacing their fingers, bringing her hand up to his mouth for a kiss. "You're right. Let's go see our family. I really like the sound of that."
They walked hand-in-hand into the kitchen, big smiles on their faces. As the boys greeted Lee enthusiastically, and Dotty grinned delightedly at the couple, Lee couldn't help but glance out the kitchen window into the backyard. It certainly felt different here inside the house than it did looking in from outside. It was a noisy, rather frenzied atmosphere from what he was used to at home, but filled with warmth, affection, and awfully good smells. He was glad he came in to enjoy the view.
The End
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