Changes
Chapter 8
Lee parked at the curb and getting the bag he brought along, got out of his car.
Lee told Amanda he had to run an errand before coming to dinner so he'd be right behind her.
He also had to shower and change anyway, using the time then also to calm his nerves.
He knew her mother somewhat but it was the boys he'd been worried about since Amanda had set up the dinner.
He remembered standing in the video store looking at all the movies he thought boys of their age might like, thinking they might enjoy watching something after dinner.
Walking up to the door he winced and shaking his head went back to the car to get the flowers.
Phillip and Jamie had been watching him from the den window and yelled to Amanda, "Mom! He's here...We think."
Amanda puzzled by their comment went to the door and opening it shook her head as Lee came to the door laden with the bag and queried softly, "What are you doing? I told you that you didn't have to bring anything-"
Giving her a sidelong glance he asided, "These aren't for you..."
As Amanda showed him in he gave the flowers to Dotty stating, "Hello, Mrs. West. Thought these might look good for the table tonight."
Dotty smiled warmly taking them from him and answered, "Oh, my! Of course they will. Come in."
The boys came out of the den and Amanda went to stand behind them and commented, "These are our boys. Phillip and Jamie."
To the boys she remarked, "This is Mr. Stetson, Fellas. Say hello."
As Lee smiled and shook hand with them he replied warmly, "Hi, Guys. Call me Lee, please."
Dotty then answered to him, "And you call me Dotty, all right?"
Then she stated, "Well, shall we all head to the dining room? Everything's ready..."
When the boys went to sit down Lee cleared his throat as if to tell them something.
From the look in his eyes they were aware that he was hinting at something by gesturing to the other chairs.
The two sighed realizing they should then help their mother and grandmother by seating them.
Amanda smiled as she was seated by Jamie stating, "Thank you, Sweetheart. That was very nice."
Dotty mimicked the same to Phillip answering, "My, what a gentleman! Thank you, Darling."
Lee winking at the boys commented looking at the food, "It looks delicious, Mrs.-um...Dotty. Thank you."
Dotty smiled and answered, "Well, it's nothing special. We have it at least two times a week-"
Jamie chimed in, "Yeah! Unless Mom's late with work and then we have pizza or Quickie Chick. Right, Grandma?"
Dotty admonished her grandson gently stating, "Jamie, continue eating and don't interrupt. It isn't polite, Dear."
Amanda nodded and replied, "Your grandmother's right, Honey. Uh, Lee. The other item you brought with you in the bag. May I ask what it was?"
Lee smiled looking at the boys and commenting, "Oh, it was a movie I thought they'd get a kick out of...You fellas heard of the "Transformers" movie, right?"
Phillip and Jamie were excited until Lee mentioned the name and Phillip answered, "Well, our friend's dad rented it the other night and we watched it already with him...Sorry, Lee."
Jamie nodded and responded seeing the crestfallen look in Lee's eyes, "B-But we'll watch it again if you want. Honest. It was a good movie..."
But Lee knew they'd be bored stiff and shrugged offhandedly, "Ahh...It's okay, Fellas. Tell you what. The next time I come by, I'll take you to the video store and we'll pick something we all haven't seen, all right?"
Phillip studied Lee's face asking, "Are you sure? Like we wouldn't have to see "Sound Of Music" Or "Gone Out The Window" again?"
Dotty and Amanda chortled as Dotty commented, "Th-That's "Gone With The Wind", Dear! And no, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourselves having to watch those again!"
Amanda shook her head responding, "C'mon. Guys! It's not that bad! So, I've seen "The Sound Of Music" seven times. I don't have to see it again!"
Jamie groaned answering, "No! Because you know all the songs by heart!"
Phillip stating to Lee, "It's not bad, until she starts singing, "You Are Sixteen, I Am Seventeen". Who cares?! "
Jamie nodding remarked, "Right! And "Climb Every Mountain"? What does "ford every stream even mean?"
The three adults laughed as Lee stated, "Well, I guess you'll have to look it up in the dictionary or...watch it again to get the meaning of it, right?"
The boys groaned and Phillip responded, "Oh, man! You're as bad as they are!"
Amanda looked at both boys and replied, "All right! Just finish your dinner and maybe we'll play Monopoly when you're done, okay?"
Phillip smiled and remarked, "Sure. Because you still owe me five hundred dollars from the last game we played, Mom!"
Jamie added, "Yeah! And you owe me three hundred and fifty for Boardwalk alone!"
Lee smirked at Amanda stating, "You forgot about getting five hundred for Free Parking?"
Amanda shook her head and replied, "That isn't in the rules..."
So then it was a full scale discussion on how to play, but Lee didn't care. He was having a good time anyway with this family and hoped it would continue for the rest of their lives as he felt they had all the time in the world as long as he and Amanda were together...
The End