Chapter 4

Christmas Eve Morning-Heathrow Airport

Well, there it was, the morning of Christmas Eve, and Lee had just walked off the plane after landing in London. With all the numerous delays he'd suffered throughout the trek to get back home, he knew this was the last leg of his journey before he'd be able to see his family. He was utterly exhausted in every way a person could be. He was also greatly depressed because he hadn't heard his wife's voice in two days. In each place he landed, whether it was Stockholm, Prague, or Lisbon, he couldn't get a hold of her. She was either in the field, in transit, asleep, or the phone was busy at home every time he tried to call. All he knew was he totally missed Amanda, her encouraging words and his family.

He hated the fact he was going to miss all the festivities later that night. He was crushed. He was totally looking forward to all of it for the first time ever. As much as he told Dotty to continue on with everything, deep down, he actually hoped they wouldn't. However, he knew that it would be absolutely unfair, unreasonable and ultimately selfish on his part. With a frown on his face, he thought, A person can dream, right?

Before he headed to the nearest set of phone banks, he glanced down at his watch and noted it was half-past eight in the morning London time. As he tiredly trudged along, he was mentally calculating the time in Arlington. It was half-past three in the morning there, so it was definitely too early to call home. Even though his heart ached to hear his wife's voice, he decided it would be better not to wake her up. Besides, he knew if the phone rang at that hour, it would scare everyone half to death. Bad idea, Stetson.

When he made it to the payphones, he heavily flopped his lanky body down in front of one of them. Before he fell asleep on the flight from Lisbon, he'd come up with a possible plan. As he picked up the phone, he prayed his idea would come to fruition. After all, his next flight wasn't supposed to leave for another sixteen plus hours. He certainly didn't want to be stuck at Heathrow the entire time, especially after his previous day spent in Lisbon. Not to mention the day before that spent in Moscow. Besides, if it worked out, he'd be able to see a dear old friend. A big smile appeared on his face for the first time in days when he heard Emily's voice.

Finally, something was going his way. Emily was home and was excited to hear from Lee. She always thought of him as a son. So, he wasn't surprised when she insisted he come and spend his layover time with her. He'd explained everything to her and her heart went out to him. She instructed him she would send him a limo immediately, 'no ifs, ands, or buts.' He told her repeatedly it wouldn't be necessary because he could just as easily hail a hackney. He finally relented once she finished scolding him.

Lee decided to check one more time to see if he could jump on an earlier flight before his limo arrived. But, alas, it was to no avail. Between the weather and the holiday season, there were absolutely zero seats left onboard anywhere. So, with nothing but sadness in his eyes, he made his way out of the airport, where he found a chauffeur holding a sign which read 'Stetson.'

Four hours later, 4247 Maplewood Drive

Philip and Jamie were just sitting down for their breakfast before they headed off to go sledding with a group of their friends from school. They were excited because it was their first full day off from school for their Christmas break. It also meant the next day was Christmas, and they wouldn't be going back to school until the beginning of January after the holidays. Of course, some of their happiness was being hampered because Lee still wasn't home, which left them feeling somewhat bummed out. Even though it'd taken Jamie a lot longer to accept his stepfather, he grew exceptionally close with Lee as time went on.

Once everything was on the table, Amanda, Dotty and Aunt Lillian sat down to join the boys. After all, breakfast was the most important meal of the day. The room was silent for several minutes before Jamie spoke up.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"What are the chances Lee will get home early enough today, so we can do everything together?" he asked with the saddest expression in his eyes and on his face.

"Ohh, honey. We've discussed this before. When Lee spoke to Grandma last time he called, things didn't seem favorable, so I don't hold out much hope."

"Yeah, Wormbrain. She already told us that!" Philip snapped at his brother.

"Shut up, Doofus! I just wanted to make sure," Jamie yelled back.

"Fellas! Stop your fighting! Philip, I've told you a million times not to call your brother names. And Jamie, it's not nice to tell anyone to shut up. Listen, I know you're both upset about Lee not getting home today, but you don't have to take it out on each other." Amanda's patience was wearing thin as she rubbed her temples while she was trying to remain calm for all their sakes. She was just upset as the boys and Dotty.

"I know, I'm sorry, Mom. I just feel really bad…" Jamie let his words trail off.

Amanda grabbed Jamie's hand, stood up and brought her son into her warm, motherly embrace. "I know you are, Sweetheart! All of us are! We're going to have to make the best of it. Like I explained to Lee, you just have to believe. After all, Christmas is the time for miracles. If Lee doesn't make it home today, then we need to believe he will be home tomorrow. I know he is awfully devastated he won't be home for tonight. He told me so himself. He definitely was looking forward to everything. Don't forget, this has always been a terrible time a year for him. He's never had a family before. He was originally counting on being here for everything. This year he absolutely went all out with planning our family Disney trip and buying presents as well. No one could've foreseen this blizzard in Europe." Amanda kept trying to console her sons while attempting to do the same for herself.

"Dang, blizzard! It's just not fair," Philip mumbled under his breath.

"It certainly isn't," Aunt Lillian agreed.

Dotty jumped in with, "Amanda, Jamie, sit down, please." They both pulled back from one another, and Amanda brushed away the one lone tear rolling down Jamie's face. Once they were situated again, Dotty continued.

"Boys, Amanda, Lillian, I know we've been discussing this for a while now, but we need to make a final decision here. Lee kept telling me we should carry on like normal. However, this needs to be a family decision. Here is my idea. I think we should go to church tonight like usual, and wait until tomorrow to do everything else. Lillian and I can get all the food prepared today, which would only leave the goose to be cooked tomorrow. This way, we can unwrap our presents, sing some carols, eat our goose, and you guys can watch your silly football games without interruption. I don't know about anyone else, but I would just be too upset if we left my new son-in-law out of all our other traditions," Dotty finished her ramble with a sniffle.

"Ohh, Mother…" Amanda reached over, lovingly placed her hand on Dotty's forearm and squeezed it. She then took her free hand, wiped away a few of her own tears and sniffled.

Before another word was spoken, Philip groaned, "This really stinks."

The whole group nodded, agreeing with Philip's sentiments. A few seconds went by before Amanda cleared her throat, "Alright, troops. Let's take a vote. All in favor of Grandma's idea, raise your hand."

Immediately and without any reservations, the whole family raised their hands. Deep down, the group all knew there wasn't any other choice. There was no way they would allow Lee to miss out on anything. He'd become a large part of their family, and it just wouldn't be right or the same without him.

"Boy, is Lee gonna be surprised or what?" Jamie piped out.

Amanda smiled at her two amazing sons. She was so extraordinarily proud of them. She was well aware it would take some time for them to accept Lee, but she never thought it would go so well and so quickly, even in her wildest dreams.

"Fellas, you're growing up so fast. I'm so proud of you! Thank you, and you're right. Lee is not only going to be surprised but extremely happy as well. He loves you both very much!" Amanda beamed with great pride and joy.

"Thanks, Mom!" they replied as they high-fived each other. Jamie added in, "We love him too!"

All of this made Jamie and Philip realize how important Lee was to them. Over time, they looked up to Lee as more of a second dad than just a stepfather. Lee spent a lot of time with them. He helped them with their homework and made sure he'd gotten involved with everything, which included their sports, school functions, and their interests like cars and photography. Lee even became a 'Bomber father' willingly, much to his own chagrin. It'd become a secret running joke between him and Amanda.

"I'm glad we all agree, darlings. I certainly have a wonderful family. Now, we just have to believe like your mom asked us to. It's going to be a great Christmas as soon as my wayward son returns home from his travels." Dotty smiled, then clapped and rubbed her hands together.

The family finished their breakfast feeling a little lighter with all their plans in place. Although they still missed Lee a lot, they were all determined to make it their best Christmas ever. Especially for Lee!

"Oh, Mom. I still have to finish wrapping my gifts," Philip remembered.

"Me, too," Jamie chimed in.

"Don't worry, fellas, you can finish wrapping when you get home from sledding. After all, you won't be with your friends all day."

"We know," they happily replied with huge smiles on their faces.

"Okay, rinse off your dishes and put them in the dishwasher, please. You have to grab your stuff and get ready; your ride will be here in a couple of minutes."

They jumped up and did as they were asked. The boys grabbed their things, threw on their coats and hugged all three women good-bye. When their friend's car honked its horn, they ran to the door, opened it, waved and slammed it shut on the way out.

Dotty shook her head and remarked, "I don't know many times we've told them about slamming the front door."

Amanda chuckled before she spoke, "Boys will be boys! But at least we settled everything about tomorrow."

The rest of the day was spent getting everything prepared for Christmas. Little did they know, with all the activity going on, most of the day went by with the phone slightly knocked off its cradle.

Heathrow Airport

Later in the evening, Lee made it back to the airport in plenty of time for his flight; however, he was still feeling frustrated. His cheeks were twitching ninety miles an hour because he hadn't been able to reach his wife and family throughout the day. He'd not gotten through once. All he kept getting was a busy signal.

Overall, he felt a little better mentally and physically because of Emily but was still very depressed he'd missed everything with his family. However, he did enjoy his visit with Emily. She was a great hostess and friend. It wasn't the same as being home with his wife, but at least he wasn't completely alone in a stupid airport all day. She fed him two great meals, he took a nice long hot shower, slept several hours, and was able to catch up with his old friend. Emily even got one of her staff to wrap all his Christmas gifts for the family. Thanks to Amanda's influence, Emily pointed out he'd drastically improved his gift-buying and giving skills this year. Lee's response to her comment was to shake his head, blush and chuckle.

After Lee stowed all his gifts and belongings above his seat, he sat down, buckled himself in, and leaned his head back. As he closed his eyes for another nap, he felt fortunate and blessed he was one of the two people able to snag the last seats available on standby. He was initially worried because thirteen people had been waiting for seats. He'd followed Amanda's advice and just believed…