"What do you want?" Lee said tersely.
"Well, good morning to you too," Francine answered breezily, not letting his surliness get to her, as she pushed past him without waiting to be invited in, her arms laden with bakery bags, walking through his living room and into the dining room.
Lee's mouth dropped open as he stared after her wondering what she was up to. He shook his head, closed the door and caught up with her, just as she was setting her burden down on his dining table. "What's all this?" He said with pointing back and forth between the bags.
"Breakfast," Francine replied caustically as if it should be obvious.
Lee took a sip of his coffee, then shook his head and said, "I appreciate that thought, Francine, but I can take care of my own breakfast. Lifelong bachelor, remember?"
"Get over yourself," Francine said acidly as she began unpacking the bags. "I didn't do this for you. I did this for Amanda." As she began to empty the bags of their contents, piling the bakery boxes on the table, she couldn't help noticing the empty ring box on the dining table and added, "Besides, if you were serious yesterday in what you said, you won't be a bachelor for much longer." She nodded toward the ring box, and then fixed him with a curious eyebrow.
"No, you're right," Lee said with a smile. "I won't be."
Francine looked at the elated smile on Lee's face when discussing his future marriage to Amanda and said, "Look at you. You're glowing. Are you sure you're not the pregnant one?"
"I'm just happy, Francine," Lee said simply. Their conversation was interrupted by the shrill whistling of the teakettle. Lee went to the kitchen to get it, Francine hot on his heels, abandoning her project for the moment. Hearing her behind him as he removed the teakettle from the stove, and poured hot water into a cup over the tea bags he'd set up for Amanda, he said, "Coffee?" He hadn't really been expecting her, but he figured she was making a nice gesture so the least he could do was be a gracious host.
"That'd be nice," Francine answered. Lee nodded as he walked to the cupboard to get a cup for Francine. As he prepared Francine's coffee cup, she inquired curiously, "So, you're really serious about marrying her?"
"Yes, Francine," Lee said in irritation as he set her cup down on the counter in front of her more forcefully than was necessary. "Do you think that I'd have spent an entire afternoon running all over this damn city, scouring four different jewelry stores looking for the perfect diamond for her if I weren't? Why do you act so surprised by this?"
Francine sighed. "I guess because I've seen your less than stellar history with women. I've seen the kind of women you gravitate toward and Amanda is far from your usual type."
"Did you ever think that maybe that what appeals to me about her?"
"Hmm, I guess that could be true, but my real concern is what happens down the road. You're happy now, but with your history-"
"History is exactly what it is," Lee interrupted her. "Look, I know that I've made some mistakes in my past when it comes to women, but do you really think I'm such a lowlife that I'd propose to woman without intending to follow through on it?"
Francine thought carefully for a moment at seeing the hurt look on her friend's face and replied, "No, I don't think that you're a lowlife. That thought never entered my mind, but what did enter my mind is that even though you may have just found out that she's pregnant, on some level you had to have known that it was a possibility and I don't know, maybe you thought about the idea of marrying her just in case because you know she'd expect it if she got pregnant. While we're on the subject, how exactly did that happen? I mean, you've never, ever been a guy to let your guard down like that in that past."
"Well, here's a news flash for you, I bought that ring for her before we ever made love and the fact that I did let my guard down with her once we did should give you just one more clue that things are different with Amanda and that my past is just that, past."
"Okay, maybe it is, but for how long? I mean, come on, Lee, you're a guy who used to have four black books for crying out loud and some of those...er...ladies...were into some pretty wild things. How's the den mother of the year going to compete with that long-term?"
"She won't have to." Lee sighed as he tried to explain it in a way that Francine would understand. "Comparing the women of my past to Amanda is like comparing a child's finger-painting with the paint just flung everywhere with no rhyme or reason to an intricate Monet with the colors perfectly balanced and layered. There's just no contest." He then gave Francine a devilish grin and added, "Besides, you don't know Amanda as well as you think you do, not as well as I do."
"Oh?" Francine questioned with a bemused look on her face. "And just what is it about her that I don't know that you do?"
"I wouldn't answer that question if I were you, Scarecrow," Amanda's scolding voice sounded from the doorway.
"I had no intention of doing any such thing," Lee replied smiling at his fiancée' wearing the robe he'd bought her as she leaned in to kiss him.
"Good morning."
"Mmm, morning," he replied as the pair shared another sweet, lingering kiss.
"A Monet, huh?" Amanda questioned a look of amusement on her face. Francine watched the whole interaction in silence marveling at the way Lee's eyes lit up at seeing Amanda enter the room, how he kissed her so tenderly and seemed to come alive just being in her presence. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she'd never have believed it. Lee Stetson had fallen in love.
"Mme-hmm," Lee replied with a smile as he handed her the cup he'd prepared for her. "I made you some herbal tea. I wasn't sure if your stomach could handle coffee yet."
"Thank you, Sweetheart," Amanda replied with a smile as she took the cup from him and took a sip. "That was very thoughtful of you." She then turned to Francine and nodded to her. "Good morning, Francine. What brings you here?" As she said this, Lee slid his left arm around her from behind and Amanda instinctively laid her free left hand over his and leaned slightly against him as she sipped at her tea.
"You do, actually," Francine answered suddenly feeling very out of place with the affection they were showing one another.. "I wanted to check on you, you know, see how you were doing after your...um...ordeal." She nodded toward the diamond ring prominently displayed on Amanda's hand, "And...I...Um...I guess to congratulate you two."
"Thank you, Francine," Amanda replied with a glowing smile leaning back further to give Lee a soft kiss.
"She brought you breakfast too," Lee told her. He then looked at Francine, and asked, "What did you bring her?"
"Oh, I brought...um...bagels...English muffins...even some plain cake doughnuts. I figured her stomach couldn't quite handle the normal breakfast stuff like bacon and eggs, hash browns and stuff like that, and I know how you are about keeping real food at your place."
At Lee's affronted look, Amanda chuckled and said, "She makes a good point."
"I'll have you know that I have gotten much better about that since I've been dating you," Lee pouted.
"Yes, you have," Amanda agreed with a smile, "And about cleaning up after yourself." She then planted a quick kiss to his lips and made her way into the dining room with her cup to see what Francine had brought.
Lee followed behind her and countered, "Well, I have to with you around or I'd never be able to find anything."
"Oh, come on, it's just habit after cleaning up after two boys on a regular basis."
"Is that how it is?" Lee fired back with a mock pout. "I'm just one of your boys now?"
She grinned at him and fired back, "Well, I do sometime feel like I have three children instead of just two."
"Ooh, ouch," Francine said with a chuckle as she watched the banter from the doorway of the kitchen still in awe of how different Lee was with Amanda away from the office, how relaxed and there was just no other word for it...happy.
"You're going to have three children now," Lee reminded her as he shuffled toward her and laid a hand on her stomach.
"Well, You know...Uh..I...uh...I should probably go...uh...leave you two alone," Francine sputtered.
"No, Francine, it's okay," Lee replied. "You were nice enough to bring breakfast and from the looks of it," he said with a nod toward the spread on the table still only partially unpacked from the bags, "you brought way more than Amanda and I can eat. You should join us for breakfast, if nothing else."
"I don't want to intrude," Francine protested.
"You're not," Amanda insisted as she moved to finish unpacking the bags that Francine had brought.
Lee stopped Amanda with a gentle hand on hers and said, "Why don't you let me and Francine do that? I promised your mom I'd have you call her when I saw you. So why don't you go give her a call while we get breakfast ready?"
"Good idea. I should probably get dressed too," Amanda said kissing him quickly before heading off for the bedroom.
"Well, aren't you two already the picture of domestic bliss, playing house here in your cozy little apartment," Francine said once Amanda was out of earshot as she worked on pulling boxes out of the bags she'd brought with her.
"Can it, Francine, or I'll rescind my initiation to breakfast," Lee warned as he returned to the kitchen to retrieve plates and utensils walking back into the dining room with them to set the table.
"I'm just concerned about what's going to happen once you two get married. I mean, it's one thing to be relaxed and comfortable here, but her talking about her boys made me think about what's going to happen later on. By marrying her, you're not just getting her and your kid, you're getting her kids with her ex too."
"Don't you think I've thought about that, Francine?" Lee sighed.
"So what are you gonna' do, move to the suburbs, raise a houseful of kids, join the PTA, become a Little League dad and all that jazz?"
"Look, to be honest, I don't know how I'm going to handle all of that, being their stepfather or being a father myself for that matter, but none of what you just said sounds horrible to me the way it used to. I just met the boys yesterday, so I know that's going to be a challenge, but one thing that I do know is that I won't be doing it alone. I'll have Amanda there with me every step of the way and I trust her to tell me if I'm not doing it right. I've learned in the three years that I've known her that there's no challenge we can't face together."
"Wow," Francine said impressed. "You're really committed."
"Yeah, I really am," Lee replied. "I can't see the rest of my life without her in it." He paused for a beat, looked Francine square in the eye and said sincerely, "I love her," then added for emphasis, "really, really love her."
"I certainly hope so," Amanda said from behind him as she re-entered the room. "Otherwise you wasted an awful lot of money on this ring."
"You seem like you're feeling better," Francine commented. "Getting your sense of humor back."
"Speaking of which, what exactly were you two laughing about yesterday?" Lee inquired, looking at first Francine then Amanda.
"Oh...um...well... it was like Francine said, just a little girl talk," Amanda answered. "Boy, this looks good."
Amanda nodded toward the table as Francine exited for the kitchen saying, "Please tell me you have butter in your fridge."
"Yes, Francine," Lee called back as he held out Amanda's chair for her.
When Francine returned with the butter, Lee said, "Now, I'm gonna' go get dressed. You ladies go ahead and get started and don't talk about me while I'm gone."
When both women gave him a who-are-you-kidding look, he winked and then left the room.
"I just can't believe this," Francine said with a shake of her head as she reached for a bagel. "Under your influence, Lee's doing his own housework, keeping his fridge stocked, not living like a frat boy anymore."
Amanda laughed and replied, "You should have seen this place before I started spending more time here."
Francine took a deep breath and grudgingly admitted, "You've been good for him. You make him happy."
"He makes me happy too, Francine."
"Good," Francine said with a firm nod. "You listen to me, Amanda King, if the day ever comes that he stops making you happy and needs a good ass-kicking, you come see me and I'll take care of it."
Amanda couldn't help laughing at the imagery that Francine's words created and amid her laughter answered, "Oh, I think that's something I can take care of all by myself, but if I ever need any backup, you'll be the first person I call."
Lee returned to the table and shook his head. "What is it with you two and the giggling when I'm out of the room?" He then turned to Amanda and asked, "Did you get a hold of your mom?"
Amanda shook her head. "Answering machine. She's probably not up yet. It's just as well though. I don't know that I'd be able to hold off telling her that we're engaged and that's something I should really tell her in person."
"Why?" Lee asked, looking worried. "You think she'll take it badly?"
"Oh, no, I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Amanda assured him. "She's been after me to get married again since before the ink was even dry on my divorce papers and even more so since you start calling the house more often."
Lee laughed and was just about to sit down when there was another knock on his door. "Who could that be?"
Amanda shrugged. "I don't know, Billy, maybe. If Francine decided to come by to check on me, maybe he did too."
Lee made his way to the door and upon opening it, his good mood instantly faded. "Get the hell out of here," He growled.