Chapter 9
Lee pushed his chair away from the table, tossed his hands in the air and groaned, "That's it…I forfeit."
"Aw, Sweetheart, don't you want to play one more round?" Amanda asked as she shuffled the cards once more.
Lee looked down at the score sheet beside him and said, "I'm losing by almost a hundred points. There's no way I'm gonna catch up. Besides, when you said you guys wanted to play gin rummy, I didn't think it was going to get high stakes."
Jamie laughed loudly and jabbed his elbow into Philip's ribs. "I bet Mom forgot to tell him Grandma was the one who taught us to play and we've been playing since we could hold cards ourselves," he teased.
"Ha ha, very funny," Lee joked. "And where did you learn to play, Dotty, Vegas?"
"You know, as a matter of fact, Lee, I learned back in Topeka. We used to play in the storm cellars during tornado season. Sometimes we'd be down there for hours, just waiting," Dotty explained as she winked at her grandsons. "But it's getting late, and I have an early morning flying lesson with Curt, so I think I'm going to turn in."
"Goodnight, Mother," Amanda replied as she tilted her head.
Dotty leaned down and kissed her cheek and said, "Goodnight, Darling. Don't stay up too late." She ruffled Jamie and Philip's hair as she walked by before pausing in the doorway. "Goodnight, Lee," she called back softly with a smile then headed up the stairs to her room.
Philip stifled a yawn and looked at Jamie then said, "I don't know about Junior here, but I'm tired too. I think I'm going to head up. But before I do, did you think about what I asked earlier, Mom? Can we invite a few friends to the house and trick or treat together?"
Lee looked at Amanda and without waiting for her reply, said, "I think that's a great idea. Your friends haven't seen the house yet, so I don't see why not. And since it's a Saturday night, why doesn't everyone just spend the night here."
Philip jumped up excitedly and gave Lee a quick hug before he said, "Thanks, Lee! I can't wait to tell the guys!" He grabbed Jamie by the arm and quickly dragged him toward the stairs.
"Hey…let go..." Jamie sputtered but something about the look on Philip's face made him stop talking immediately. He followed Philip to his room and all Amanda and Lee heard was the quiet click of the door.
"What just happened?" Lee asked Amanda, completely confused.
Amanda shook her head as she slipped the cards into the box and said, "I'm not sure. I think, somehow, you just told the boys they could have a party of their own."
"A party? I didn't tell them they could have a party. I said they could invite a few friends over to spend the night," Lee clarified.
Amanda laughed, patted Lee on the arm and confirmed, "In teenage language, that's a party. On the way to school tomorrow we will set down the rule on exactly how many friends they can each invite and you have to be here to help supervise."
Lee shook his head and cleared away the drink glasses left on the table, "Why do I have to be here? I'm usually on the Duty Roster for Halloween."
"Not this year. You have a family now and since you do, Mr. Melrose has made a point to give you holidays off this year," Amanda announced.
"Well, isn't that convenient. And who gave Billy that idea, huh?" Lee folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter. Amanda raised her shoulders and shook her head as if to imply she had no idea what he was talking about. Lee narrowed his eyes at her and stated, "Don't even try to play that with me. You were behind that little trick, aren't you?"
Amanda put her hand on Lee's chest and said quietly, "He asked me if we were still unpacking and I said yes. I can't help it if he thought you needed more time off to help with that."
Lee captured her hand under his as he stopped her from moving away. "Well, I guess, Mrs. Stetson, you're going to have to help me Saturday night because I don't know the first thing about a kid's sleepover party, never mind what they actually do on Halloween."
"You mean you never dressed up and went trick or treating?" Amanda asked, surprised.
"Amanda, I lived on base, remember. There weren't too many kids around, so Halloween was like any other day to me. And living in the apartment and working, I've never even had a trick or treater stop by."
"Not one?" she asked.
"Not one. So, what do we need to do to make this a great first Halloween for the boys in our new house, in a new neighborhood with me new to the family?" Lee grinned, his dimples deep.
Amanda looked into his hazel eyes and asked, "You're sure you really want to do this?"
Lee put his arms around her lightly and nodded, "I'm sure."
"You know I was only teasing. I would never expect you to take on a bunch of teenage boys on your own," Amanda hugged him back.
"No, no I want to do this. It was my idea and I should learn what it's all about, right?" Lee confirmed with a small squeeze of his arms, now slung low around her waist.
Amanda giggled as she replied, "You may regret this decision later, you know. But if you really want to do it, then the first thing you need to do is create a shopping list."
Lee puckered his lips and nodded his head, "Shopping list, got it. And what types of things are we putting on the shopping list?"
"Well, it depends. We can order pizza when they get back and have chips and soda and cookies," she began.
"Oh, all the stuff you told me I shouldn't buy the boys," Lee inserted with a grin.
"Exactly," Amanda agreed then continued, "Or you could make finger snacks for them… you know, cut up veggies, pigs in a blanket, mozzarella sticks with marinara."
"What about a firepit in the backyard and s'mores?" Lee suggested.
Amanda tipped her head to the side and asked, "Let me guess, you've never actually had a s'more either, have you?"
"No, I've had one before, but I didn't actually make it. Barney made me one over the open flame of the stove once. I'm not sure how it's supposed to taste but I don't think charcoal black was right," Lee admitted with a laugh.
"A firepit it is. Then that means you have to get an area ready for that. You know, dig a hole, fill it with sand, and gravel first, then stack some rocks over that. Then you'll also need to build a brick wall around the hole so it doesn't spread and burn the grass," Amanda explained.
Lee grimaced, then took a deep breath. "I wonder if Leatherneck knows how to make that?" he suggested.
Amanda laughed and replied, "I'm sure he does. And I'm sure he'll love to see the house, too. Why don't you talk to him tomorrow and if he can do it, invite him over Saturday afternoon? He can stay for dinner."
"All right then, I'll ask Leatherneck first thing tomorrow morning. Anything else I should know?" Lee agreed.
"That's just the beginning. You decide the menu, I'll make the list after we find out from the boys who's coming," Amanda declared. She looked around and noticed the dirty dish towel on the counter and added, "I'm going to get a load of wash started before bed. You lock up and I'll meet you up there." She pushed up onto her toes and kissed his cheek before she grabbed the towel and headed down the steps to the laundry room.
Lee looked around, checked the front door and the garage door before heading up the stairs. He heard the distinct sound of Philip's door closing again. Instead of continuing up, he walked down the hall and gently rapped on the door. "Come on in," Philip called out.
Lee pushed the door open slowly and found Jamie sitting at Philip's desk, rolling a soccer ball in his hands and Philip lounging on his bed. "Hey, fellas, it's getting late and tomorrow is a school day. A few more minutes and wrap it up, okay?"
"Thanks, Lee. We were just talking about Halloween and if you and Mom don't want to entertain, we understand," Philip replied.
Lee leaned against the door frame and folded his arms as he said, "Actually your mom and I were just talking about the same thing and we agreed it's a good idea. I'm going to see if Leatherneck can help me build a firepit out back and you guys can make s'mores. Have a spot to hang out."
Jamie's face lit up at the mention of the word s'mores. "Really? You'd do that for us?" he asked excitedly.
"I'm gonna try. I've never made a firepit before, but I'm sure if it's not too hard we can get it done. Maybe you guys could help out, too," Lee suggested.
Philip nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, we can do that. I don't have a game this weekend and I think Jamie's free, too. Just tell us what you need us to do!"
Lee smiled at his stepsons and their excited response, "Well, I'll see if Leatherneck can help us, too and we'll go from there." Lee heard Amanda on the stairs and added quietly, "Lights out in a few minutes." He closed the door and took the remaining stairs to their bedroom two by two. Amanda was brushing her teeth by the time he closed the door behind him.
"The boys all set for bed?" she asked around the toothbrush in her mouth.
"Just about. They're excited to help with the firepit this weekend," Lee informed her.
"Oh?" she replied with an arched brow.
Lee pulled his shirt off and walked into his closet to get his pajamas. "I was thinking about that raised fort for the boys, too. You know for the telescope we got Jamie on our honeymoon. Maybe we could start working on that too if the weather holds out. There's usually a few good meteor showers in November he might still be able to catch."
Amanda returned to the bathroom and after a minute of the water running called back, "Are you sure you want to tackle that too?"
"Only one way to find out!" Lee replied, laughing.