Nightcrawler

***************Someone was knocking at the door, as I started to clean up the den. Phillip and Jamie had a sock hop in the middle of the den and there were 45's all over the place. I was thinking about my daughter and the fact she hasn't called all morning. I haven't actually seen my daughter in a few days. That blasted film company called the house and said she had an emergency out of town and would be home sometime at the end of the week. I walked to the front door and there was a gentleman dressed in a suit. He was very handsome and tall. He stepped inside and I put my hand up.

"Uh oh…Wait…wait …wait…if you are the termite man, we can't possibly afford what you must charge!"

He smiled and said " No, I'm Lee Stetson, Mrs. West. I work with Amanda."

My eyes must have been as big as saucers. This was Amanda's co-worker! This was the one she ran off with! Well, she certainly has marvelous taste! This man is gorgeous! His hazel green eyes were absolutely beautiful to look at! No wonder Amanda wanted to keep him to herself!

"Oh yes!"

He reached to shake my hand " We've talked on the phone"

I started to shake his hands and remembered I had on my cleaning gloves. I quickly took it off my hand and said " Oh I'm sorry. Hello. How are you? You look vaguely familiar." I closed the door and continued " Well, I was just picking up the den. Well I wasn't picking up the den…I was picking up things from the den!" I must have sounded ridiculous. Here I was rambling on and on about the den and he didn't even seem phased by it. It was like he was used to it.

He nodded and smiled "Yes, I understand"

I looked around the room and said " Well, won't you come in? Um, what's the occasion?" We walked into the den. He seemed nervous. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Just a social call. It's a very nice house you have."

' Well, it's a little cramped. Amanda's sons, Jamie and Phillip had a sock hop here this afternoon. 45's all over the place."

I stopped picking things up and looked at Mr. Stetson. He seemed like he was in a trance. "That drop dancing they do…I'm surprised they don't break something." I watched him and then it dawned on me. Lee Stetson was in love with my daughter. You could see it all over his face.

" Why is it you say that you were here?" He wasn't paying a bit of attention to me. He was thinking about my daughter. I just knew it.

I cleared my throat and that made him snap out of his trance. " What?" He said to me, I smiled and said " Why is it that you said you came by?"

He rubbed his forehead and laughed. " Oh I am sorry. I was just thinking." I smiled. This young man had it bad for my daughter. "I was just staring. You have no idea how many times I've wondered about you."

He smiled and his dimples came out in full force. Amanda must love those I thought to myself. They could be dangerous. " Well, it's mutual," he said. He then went on a rant about how Amanda would be at least another day out of town. The phone rang and while I was hoping it was my daughter, it wasn't. It was someone for Mr. Stetson. I handed him the phone and went about cleaning the den as he chatted. He still seemed very nervous and awkward. I watched him as he finished his call and hung up the phone. He turned to face me and nervously said it was the office. I nodded. It was clear to me that he was nervous so I tried to calm his nerves…maybe I could get a bit of information out of this man if I did!

"Would you like some coffee, Mr. Stetson?"

He smiled and hesitated. He looked like he wanted to run out of the house as fast as he could but then he relaxed and nodded. "Sure, I'd love some. If it's not too much trouble?"

I put down the records and waved my hand. "Of course not! I would love to sit down with you and have a little chat! I now know why Amanda has kept you to herself all of this time! Well, let's go into the kitchen and talk!" I linked my arm in his and shuffled him into the kitchen. I told him to sit down at the table and he awkwardly took his place. I poured two cups of coffee and asked him what he took in his and his reply was just cream. I smiled thinking that Amanda would know that.

I sat down and sighed. How was I going to do this I thought to myself. Here was the man in my daughter's life and I had about a million questions to ask him. I decided to let him off the hook for the most part. He seemed very distracted. Like things all over the house remind him of Amanda.

" So, Mr. Stetson, since my daughter never tells me anything about her job. Or more importantly you, why don't you give me some insight?"

He almost choked on his sip of coffee. I smiled at him. He cleared his throat. "Um, what would you like to know about Mrs. West?"

"Oh wouldn't you like to know! I have about a million and one questions to ask you and my daughter…but I think I would like to know the big question."

He weakly smiled at me. "What's that?"

I put my mug down and smiled at him. He really did have beautiful eyes. He was an eleven in my book. "Well, Mr. Stetson, I was just wondering why you decided to come to the house for a visit when you know for a fact that Amanda is out of town. Does she even know that you are here?"

He chuckled "No, Amanda doesn't know that I am here. I honestly wanted to finally meet you. She talks about you and the boys all of the time, and I figured it was time that I introduce myself. Amanda is…" He stopped mid sentence. He was going to tell me something but he changed his mind.

"Well, Amanda is very important to me. She's my best friend and I care about her, but I am guessing you are figuring that out."

I nodded " Of course! I mean you two work so closely together. I can see that you would be dear friends….maybe even something more?" I pushed too far. I knew it the minute I said it. But I needed to know what he was thinking. I may not get another chance…especially since Amanda was so secretive regarding him.

He sat there and looked at me. "Well, we have gone on a few dates…and yes…I would like to see her outside of work more. If she'll let me. Is that what you wanted to know?"

I nodded. It was enough for me to hear him say that. This was definitely something to look forward to. "Well, son, I think it's a wonderful start! And don't worry about Amanda. I wont say a word about you coming to see me! It can be our little secret. Now, young man, I think that once Amanda comes back from her out of town trip you should come over for dinner. You can meet the boys and we can all get to know one another! I won't take no for an answer!" I grinned at him and felt that set him at ease. He agreed and stood up. He said he needed to head out and go pack. He was most likely heading to meet up with my daughter. That didn't surprise me in the least. He promised to have Amanda call me.

I walked him to the front door and he shook my hand. " It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. West. I look forward to seeing you again." And with that the handsome man my daughter had been hiding walked towards his very fancy silver sports car. I crossed my arms and smirked to myself. " OH, Mr. Stetson, I know we will be seeing a lot more of you in the near future."