Chapter 7

The car ride to Virginia Beach wasn't as bad as Amanda expected given Lee's current mood. She managed to talk him into letting her drive after she convinced the boys to bring their Walkman's. She turned on a soft rock radio station and Lee soon found himself rocked to sleep by the music and the motion of the car. He woke up slightly confused two hours later when she pulled into a gas station. Dotty brought the boys into the coffee shop next door to use the bathroom.

"Feel any better?" Amanda asked tentatively. She was almost afraid to ask. Lee snapped at everyone as they finished packing the car. Jamie managed to forget his new camera at the house and when he asked if they could turn back to get it, Lee, who'd originally been driving at the time, slammed on the brakes. Lee gave him a look that he usually reserved for the likes of terrorists and the KGB. Jamie sunk lower in his seat as Lee turned the car around and steered back toward the house. When he screeched to a halt in front of the house, Amanda followed Jamie inside, Philip practically on their heels.

"Mom, if Lee is going to be like this all weekend, I'm not going!" Philip declared when Jamie ran to their room to get the forgotten camera.

"Philip, I'll talk to him. He's had a tough week with very little sleep so Lee is pretty short tempered right now," Amanda explained. "I'll see if he'll let me drive and he can sleep during the ride. Why don't you go get your Walkman and have Jamie get his too?"

Philip ran up the stairs with a roll of his eyes and the two boys returned minutes later, Walkmans and camera in hand. Outside, Amanda opened the car door and asked Lee if she could have a word with him in the house. He slammed the steering wheel once as he complained, "We're going to end up in so much traffic if we don't leave -"

"In the house now, buster," Amanda commanded firmly.

Both boys shot each othera surprised look as they were both quite familiar with her tone. They suppressed a giggle when Dotty whispered, "Uh oh, he's in trouble now."

Lee slammed the car door and each time he tried to say something, Amanda just pointed toward the front door or cut him off with the word, "move". Amanda held the door for him and closed it with a solid bang. Lee stood and looked at her, his arms folded tightly across his chest, the muscle in his cheek twitching wildly.

"Amanda, you realize the longer we stand here, the longer it's going to take to get -" he groused, but Amanda raised an eyebrow that stopped him immediately. Lee could tell by the look on Amanda's face she was angry and he figured out pretty fast that she was angry with him.

Amanda took three slow breaths before she spoke. She chose her words carefully, "Lee, I love you, my boys love you, my mother loves you but right now, no one likes you. I understand it's been a long, tough week for you, but with your attitude right now, we will have a lousy weekend. Now, give me the keys and I'll drive. The boys have their Walkmans and my mother has her book. Just get in the car, close your eyes and take a nap. Otherwise, you can expect the cold shoulder from everyone this weekend, including me. Is that understood?"

Lee's mouth gaped open, shocked she was reprimanding him as as if he was one of the boys. "Amanda, I -" he started, but she cut him off with one finger in the air.

"You didn't answer the question. Do you understand?" she asked again, more firmly than before.

Lee dropped his chin and nodded, "Yeah, yeah I understand. And I'm sorry, I just want everything to be perfect and the way this week has been..."

"I know. Now take yourself outside, apologize to everyone and take a nap," she replied. Smiling, she placed her hand on his chest as she teased, "if you behave, I'll see if I can convince my mother to take the boys for ice cream later, so we can have some time alone."

Lee leaned forward and kissed her lightly as he asked, "Promise?"

Amanda kissed him two more times then said, "Ready now?"

"Yeah, I'm ready if you are," Lee replied as he handed her the keys. Together they walked back to the car, Amanda climbed into the driver's seat. Lee sat and twisted around to face Dotty, Philip and Jamie as he said, "Hey, I'm sorry. I was a little out of line. I'm still more tired than I thought, so Amanda's going to drive and I'm going to try to sleep it off a little."

Jamie nodded with a smile and slipped his headphones on as Philip replied, "It's okay, Lee, we all get grouchy. We'll leave you alone and try to be as quiet as we can."

Dotty patted Philip's leg and stated, "That also means keeping your volume low, young man. I don't know what it is you're listening to, but sometimes it's so loud I don't know how you can even think."

"I get it, Grandma," Philip bobbed his head as he dropped the speakers over his ears and hit play. Light strains of a drum beat could be heard from the headset he wore so Dotty tapped his hand. Immediately, he turned the volume dial downward, the noise disappeared. She smiled at him as she opened her book and began to read. Amanda steered the car away from the house and toward the highway.

Two hours later, Lee woke, confused, groggy but his mood was much better than before. As Amanda held the fuel dispenser from the gas pump, Lee stood and stretched his arms above his head. He rubbed his face with his hands and yawned. "Feeling any better?" Amanda asked from across the car.

"Actually yeah, yeah I am. I think I'll grab a cup of coffee, you want one?" he replied with a smile.

Amanda could see the stress lines already softening around his eyes when he smiled before he crossed the parking lot. He passed Dotty and the boys with a smile and pushed the glass doors open, as he disappeared inside.

"Lee seems like he's in a better mood now," Dotty commented.

"It's amazing what a nap can do for your mood sometimes. We're about halfway there so maybe I'll let Lee drive the rest of the way there and we can play some car games. What do you think boys?" Amanda asked.

Philip rolled his eyes and said, "Mom, don't you think we're getting too old for stuff like that?"

Amanda put her arm around his shoulder and replied, "Too old to go to the beach with your mom, too?" She ruffled his hair with her hand. "Remember when you boys were little and we went to that beach with your dad. I forget the name of it, but Philip you wouldn't go in the water because you were afraid of the seaweed touching you," she recalled with a laugh.

Philip scrunched up his face and denied, "I wasn't afraid of it, I just didn't like the way it felt touching my legs in the water."

Jamie laughed at his brother loudly as Lee walked back to the car, carrying a tray of coffee cups and a box of donuts. "You were too afraid! You thought they were eels trying to bite you!" he chuckled.

"Shut up, Bozo! At least I'm not afraid to talk to girls! And I'm sure there will be some mighty fine specimens at the beach this weekend, right Lee?" Philip said. Lee didn't reply, he just handed him the box of donuts. "Oh, thanks! Did you get the creme filled ones? I love those!" He opened the box and exclaimed, "Wooohooo! Two of them! And, they are all mine! Come to Papa!"

"Hey, share some with your brother, too," Lee scolded him lightly.

Jamie peeked in the box and saw his favorite kinds, "Jelly and chocolate frosted? Thanks, Lee!"

Amanda handed Lee the keys while she accepted the cup of coffee he held out, "Thank you, Sweetheart. That was a nice surprise."

Lee passed Dotty a cup as well and said, "It's decaf. I remembered, no caffeine after three or you won't sleep a wink."

Dotty took the coffee with a smile and a wink. "You keep spoiling us like that, Lee, you never know what's going to happen."

"I'm pretty sure I still owe everyone an apology for earlier. So, are we all ready to go? The Neptune Festival awaits!" he declared as he held Amanda's door open for her before he climbed into the driver's seat. They sped towards their destination just catching the tail end of the rush hour traffic.