Chapter 24

Amanda and Francine drew a small crowd around them as they fed the twins their bottles. Aunt Lillian parked herself as close to Francine as she could, making Francine very uncomfortable under her constant scrutiny. "She's my namesake, you know," Aunt Lillian smiled. She stroked Lily's soft, light brown strands as the infant focused on Francine's hand holding the bottle.

"Francine, you'll need to burp her soon," Amanda reminded her friend.

"Excuse me?" Francine blinked. "I need to do what?"

"Burp her. Put her on your shoulder, pat her back and make sure she burps before she finishes that bottle," Amanda explained with a straight face.

Francine looked down at Lily and paused, "Okay, I guess this is how this is going to work." She gently tugged the bottle free from Lily's suction and put it on the table. She started to lift her onto her shoulder when Aunt Lillian interjected, "Don't forget that cloth. You don't want that beautiful blouse ruined by baby spit-up." "No, we don't want that," Francine muttered through clenched teeth. She adjusted the towel on her shoulder and glanced over to watch Amanda, who was actively talking with Aunt Edna while she patted DJ's back. After a minute, the baby emitted a loud belch, and Amanda shifted her back into the crook of her arm to continue to feed her.

"I have to say, I was very disappointed to hear you weren't breastfeeding, Amanda," Aunt Edna scolded her as Francine adjusted Lily on her shoulder.

Amanda shook her head and replied, "Well, if you remember, I tried with both boys, but I guess I just wasn't meant to be a milk machine because nothing happened. No matter what we tried and believe me, I think we tried every trick in the book, but it just didn't happen." Francine continued to pat Lily's back as the conversation around her continued.

"Well, I know your generation wasn't given that formula stuff. It must be something in the water nowadays because we never had those kinds of problems," Aunt Edna began.

"I also think the accident I had last year may have made things difficult as well. They said the scar tissue alone-" Amanda tried only this time it was Francine's turn to interrupt, "Scar tissue is very difficult to break down. In fact, even a good plastic surgeon could have a hard time with it." Amanda, Aunt Edna, and Aunt Lillian turned and gave Francine a puzzled look. Suddenly uncomfortable with the attention, she patted the baby's back harder, earning a solid, juicy-sounding burp. She cringed as she felt wetness on her shoulder, and she even shuddered slightly as she felt it traveling down her back.

"I'll get that for you," Aunt Lillian smiled. Francine shifted the baby back into her arms as the older woman moved the towel and blotted the back of Francine's shirt. "If you get some dish detergent mixed with water on this in the next few minutes, you won't even smell it later," she assured her.

Francine held Lily's bottle against the baby's lips as she blanched, "I'll do that."

"I am so sorry, Francine. She must have drank just a little too much. She rarely does that. Well, I guess I can't say that she almost never does that. She only does it once or twice a day, but I really didn't think she'd do that now," Amanda rambled her apology.

Francine straightened her spine a little as she stated, "I can do this. I'll be fine. I'm glad I brought another shirt with me since I couldn't decide which one would look better later when it starts to get darker out." She looked down at the child in her arms and sighed as two hazel-grey eyes stared back at her. "It's okay, I'm not mad," she assured the baby softly. Francine couldn't help but smile. "I couldn't be mad at someone who shares my name, too." She adjusted Lily into the crook of her arm and propped the bottle back into her eager mouth.

Minutes later, Amanda was burping DJ again when the Colonel appeared in front of her. He smiled and asked, "Amanda, would it be all right?" He gestured his arms out, indicating he wanted to hold the baby.

Amanda smiled readily, "Of course, Colonel. Do you want to sit?"

Colonel Clayton grinned, "No, that's quite all right. Skip doesn't remember, but when he was a baby, I came to visit him at just about this age. I paced the room one afternoon, just to give Matthew and Jenny a break from his constant crying. You see, every time you stopped moving, he would start crying all over again." Amanda stood and cradled DJ's head in her hand until she shifted the baby into his arms. "Which one is this one?" the Colonel asked politely.

"That is DJ, Dorothea Jennifer, and I think she likes you," Amanda stroked her daughter's back softly as she nuzzled herself against the Colonel's shoulder.

Colonel Clayton peered down his nose to get a better look at DJ's face, "She looks so much like Skip as a baby. You know, I think I even have a picture of him at this age. I came across an old box of photographs in storage the other day. I should bring them over the next time I come to visit. I'm sure Skip would love to see pictures of his dad as a kid."

"I know he would love that," Amanda assured him. From behind her, she heard a muffled burp followed by Francine muttering, "Not again." "Excuse me, Colonel." She turned back to find Francine grimacing. "Need some help?" she asked Francine sympathetically.

Francine surveyed the line of baby vomit on her shirt and sighed, "I think it's a lost cause at this point."

Amanda shook her head, "It's not that bad. Here, let me take Lily. You mentioned you brought another shirt, so why don't you go change, and I'll clean that one up for you, so it doesn't get ruined." Francine sighed, lifted the baby out of her lap, and transferred her into Amanda's arms. Amanda looked down and commented, "You'll want to get that mustard out, though. That'll stain your white pants for sure."

Francine frowned, looked down at her thigh, and questioned, "Mustard? What are you talking about mustard? I didn't eat anything yet, never mind anything with mustard."

Amanda carefully shifted Lily in her arms and tried to hold back the giggle. "Then, you'll want to come inside and use a wipe on that while I change Lily's diaper."

The color drained from Francine's face as the meaning of Amanda's words sunk in. "You mean that's…" Francine shuddered as her words trailed off.

"Sorry, Francine, but it looks like Lily christened you in more ways than one," Amanda stated. For added emphasis, she took a quick peek at Lily's leg, and sure enough, a healthy smudge of the yellow substance was sticking to her skin. "You must not have tightened her diaper enough," Amanda explained.

Francine looked down at her pant leg one more time and suddenly noticed the yellow smear on her hand. "Babies are nastier than I thought," Francine gagged. She grabbed the damp burp cloth and tried to wipe the yellow mess off her hand without spreading the baby vomit onto her palm. She shuddered and tossed the cloth back onto the table, and stood up. She was just about to snap when she glanced down into two hazel-grey eyes blinking back at her. She took a deep breath and sighed, "I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean that. It wasn't your fault." She reached up and toyed with her little foot. "Okay, Amanda, show me how to get… this… off… before I lose my appetite," she gestured her soiled hand at her soiled pant leg.

With a laugh, Amanda turned back to the Colonel and asked, "Do you mind holding DJ for a bit longer?"

Colonel Clayton nodded sharply and lifted the baby's arm to wave, "Don't let the uniform fool you, Amanda. When it comes to a little one like these two, I can't say no."

Amanda reached out and touched his arm, "I'm glad to see you didn't wear the uniform today. You look very… comfortable."

"I'm finding fewer and fewer reasons to wear it day to day now. I've started transferring most of my duties onto the Command Chief Master Sergeant, and I even started reading again. I forgot how much I loved to read," Colonel Clayton admitted.

"Well, I know Lee appreciates you being here today," Amanda smiled once more. "Come on, Francine. Let's get you and Lily cleaned up before anyone notices we're gone."

Twenty minutes later, Amanda, Lily, and Francine reappeared in the backyard. Luckily, Lily only managed to damage Francine's pants and not her own outfit. On the other hand, Francine was now wearing the extra blouse she packed in her car, along with a pair of long Bermuda style khaki shorts Amanda loaned her. Leatherneck approached, a confused look on his face, "Well, that's a new look for you, Francine."

Francine smoothed her hands down her thighs and stated, "I had to learn to roll with the punches today. Instead of leaving this wonderful party, I chose to make the best of things. I've done enough undercover work that I can survive a few hours in this outfit."

Leatherneck nodded appreciatively, "Uh-huh. Well, since you're making the best of it, maybe you can help me out. Lee asked me to get him some ice from the fridge in the garage for the coolers. The beers are going to get warm."

Francine rolled her eyes but nodded, "Of course. Lead the way." She followed Leatherneck across the yard and inside the garage.

Amanda lowered Lily into Aunt Lillian's arms as she stated, "I should probably go help, as well. Will you be all right with her for a few minutes?"

"Unlike your mother, I had six babies in my care at one time. I ran my own daycare for many years, you know. I can handle this precious little one," Aunt Lillian assured her.

Amanda turned and headed back into the house. She stopped in the small bathroom for a minute before she opened the garage door. She gasped when she saw Francine pressed against her Wagoneer, her arms wrapped around Leatherneck's back. The pair were engrossed in a very passionate kiss, oblivious to her presence. When she cleared her throat loudly, they nervously jumped apart. Leatherneck ran his hand through his hair and looked at the floor as Francine dabbed at her lip to be sure her lipstick wasn't smudged. Amanda simply smiled and thought back to the many times she and Lee had been caught in each other's arms.

"Amanda… we were just…" Francine stammered as she tried to explain.

An old memory passed through Amanda's mind. She made eye contact and deadpanned, "Don't bother to explain. It will only make things worse." Without waiting for a reply, she hurriedly turned and jogged back up the steps and into the house, closing the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, a blushing Francine and stone-faced Leatherneck exited the garage carrying three bags of ice. They filled the coolers and discarded the plastic bags before rejoining Lee at the grill. He and Billy were laughing loudly as he carefully removed the steaks and announced they were ready. From the back door, Dotty was standing and holding the cordless phone. "Lee? You have a phone call," she shouted across the backyard.

Lee squinted his eyes, "Who is it?"

"Paul Barnes. He said it's important," Dotty insisted. She waved the phone in her hand again.

Lee turned to Billy, "I thought Paul was in France, enjoying his retirement. Why would he be calling me… today?"

Billy clapped Lee on the back and stated, "I'm sure it's nothing. Go. Find out what he wants. I'll take care of bringing these steaks over."

Lee jogged across the grass and took the phone from Dotty. "Hey, Paul. What's going on?" Lee greeted his old friend and mentor.

"Scarecrow! I'm in trouble. I need your help," Paul stated grimly on the other end of the phone.

Lee sobered up immediately and made eye contact with Amanda across the yard. As Paul began to explain, the muscle in his cheek began to twitch wildly. "I got it," he nodded before he pressed the end button on the phone.

To be continued in "A Bump in the Yellow Brick Road"... (Coming January 2021)