Chapter 19

Lee escorted Dotty through the lobby outside. The sun was bright and warm despite the time of year. "We've been lucky with the weather this weekend. I feel like it's a sign of good things to come," Dotty commented as she squinted in the sun. She stopped, rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.

"I wish I remembered mine," Lee commented. He looked around and spotted a pushcart vendor with a small selection of sunglasses. He chose one pair, tried them on and laughed when Dotty shook her head in disagreement.

Dotty selected another pair and handed them to Lee as she said, "Try these. Much better. They remind me of that movie… you know the one about the assassin that comes back from the future to kill that woman?"

"Terminator?" Lee laughed. He paid for the glasses and as they walked away he commented, "I hope I look better than Arnold Schwarzenegger."

"Well, you definitely don't have all the muscles he has but I think that's too much, myself," Dotty said thoughtfully. Lee just shook his head and laughed at her honesty. "Besides that, I think my daughter likes you just the way you are."

"Thank you, Dotty, I think," Lee replied. "The beach looks so empty today," he said, looking out over the expanse of sand to their right as they walked along the boardwalk.

Dotty hugged his arm as a family with three young children passed close to them on the narrow walkway. "But some people still forget their manners," she commented. "But not you. You've been a perfect gentleman. Thoughtful, kind, firm with the boys when they've needed it. Your uncle must be very proud of you."

Lee looked down at their feet as they walked, before he replied, "I don't really know. My uncle doesn't say much and until recently, most of the time when we were together we were butting heads."

"It must have been tough for him too, raising his nephew with no woman in his life. Well, I assume there was no woman in his life," Dotty corrected herself.

"No, you're right. My uncle didn't date much that I know of, he was a career military man. He loved his job first, everything else was a distant second, me included," Lee confirmed with a sharp nod of his head.

"But yet, you turned out to be such a gentleman, so he must've had some influence somewhere along the line," Dotty probed. She wanted to get to know Lee better and she figured this was the only way.

"Well, I've had a few lady friends…." Lee began and chuckled when Dotty inserted "Uh huh" casually. "But, I had Emily when I first started working for IFF. You've met her. She's the foreign…. correspondent I met in England. She took me under her wing. She taught me a lot about who I was and who I could be. She showed me I possessed a lot of qualities I didn't even know I had."

"Emily… Emily Farnsworth? She's such a lovely woman. Will she be at the wedding?" Dotty asked as they continued to walk.

Lee nodded happily, "Yes, Emily will be there. I wouldn't have it any other way." They walked for another minute before Lee spoke again. "Then a few years ago, I met Amanda. She taught me things… well, you know Amanda. She has such an insight to people, natural instincts."

Dotty smiled. She could hear the love in Lee's voice as he was describing Amanda. "I didn't realize when I first met Amanda how special she really was. That is until I met you, Dotty."

Dotty stopped walking and looked up at Lee. She was taken by surprise with his comment. "Lee…" she began but didn't know what to say.

Lee stopped and leaned on the railing beside them. "Dotty, you've welcomed me from the first day I've met you. You've made me feel like a part of this family in so many little ways. Take the other night for example, when Amanda and I got home in the wee hours of the morning. You made sure I took two aspirin, drank a full glass of water and checked to make sure I didn't have a temperature," he explained as he held her hands in his. "You understood when we explained about our jobs and why we didn't tell you everything up front."

"Lee, you don't have to-" Dotty tried to interrupt, but Lee stopped her.

"Dotty, I do. I've never been great with words when it comes to relationships. Actually, before Amanda, I never had a relationship quite like this. Thank you for raising a wonderful, loving, caring daughter that opened my eyes to so many things. Thank you for helping her raise two amazing boys. And, I need to say thank you for being the kind of mother I never had."

Dotty raised her hand to her mouth in surprise. Her eyes filled with tears and she was thankful she was wearing sunglasses, so Lee couldn't see them.

"Dotty, I know there are usually traditions at weddings and with Mr. West gone, Amanda won't have a father-daughter dance, but I'd like to continue the mother-son dance, with you, if you'd agree," Lee watched her face. She was holding her hands to her mouth still and he could see her blinking rapidly behind the darkened glasses. "I'm not much into popular music, but I heard one song recently that reminded me of you. Have you heard of James Taylor?" Lee asked. Dotty nodded rapidly, still unable to speak. "Well, I think the song was called 'How Sweet It Is' and when I heard it I couldn't help think how sweet my life has been since you've welcomed me into your family. So, will you dance with me?" Lee asked again.

Dotty tossed her arms around his neck as she cried, "Oh, Lee! I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do!" She held him close for a long minute before she stepped back and threw her hands in the air declaring, "I can't wait to tell Amanda!"

Lee laughed loudly then offered his arm to Dotty again to continue their walk. "That souvenir shop is just up here," he pointed to a storefront not far from where they were.

"Oh, Lee! I don't care about any souvenirs, now! You've given me such a wonderful gift. How could I possibly top that!" Dotty exclaimed.

"Well, let's not disappoint the boys and Amanda," he stated as he steered her into the store.

Back on the beach, Amanda was watching the boys laughing as they played in the waves. The sun was warm on her back, but it felt so nice and relaxing. She was thinking about the weekend and how they'd really connected as a family. Her reverie was broken when she heard Jamie yelling, "Philip! Hey, Philip!" She watched as Jamie threw seaweed in Philip's direction then quickly paddled away, his brother in chase.

"Jamie! I'm gonna get you for that!" Philip called out loudly. He tried running after Jamie but slipped on a rock and fell under the water. He came up sputtering, the saltwater burning his nose.

"Come here, boys," Amanda called to her sons. "You two need a break for a minute and Philip, you look like you need a towel." She watched as they trudged out of the surf happily and dropped into the sand beside her.

"Thanks, Mom!" Jamie stated as he slipped his glasses on and shook the water from his hair.

"Yeah, thanks, Mom," Philip copied his brother as he used the offered towel to wipe his face and chest. "This is the best. I wish we lived closer and could come here every weekend."

"Well, maybe we can make this an annual thing. Come down every year for the festival. Think of this year as our first family tradition," she smiled at the idea.

"Kind of like Tuesday night dinners," Jamie offered. He leaned forward on his knees and looked out over the water. "Mom?" he called her name softly.

"What's up, Sweetheart?" Amanda asked as she touched his cool skin.

Jamie looked at Philip then asked, "Philip and I were talking out in the water. We'd like to do something for Lee, you know, to thank him for bringing us here. I mean I know it was both of you, but he's done stuff with all of us and we want to do something nice for him."

Amanda shook his wet hair with her hand and replied, "That's awfully nice of you boys, but you don't have to. I know you don't remember the vacations your Dad and I used to bring you on, but that's what you do as a family. Just being together, spending time together, that's what it's all about."

"Well, we still want to do something," Philip agreed with his brother.

Amanda stood and brushed the sand off her pants as she said, "Well, right now we can start by heading back up to the hotel and showering. Your grandmother and Lee should be back any time and we still have a long ride back to Arlington."

"Can we get lunch for the ride home?" Philip asked, his eyebrows high and hopeful.

Amanda put her arm around her sons' shoulders and teased, "Of course. I wouldn't want you to starve on the way home."