Passageway
Chapter 14
Mike knew from what Pfaff had told him about Lee Stetson which was very little, that the man was for the most part closemouthed about himself and only discussed what was required of him meaning the agent part of himself.
Pfaff therefore had warned Mike before this evening's event not to expect Lee to be forthcoming with anything too personal.
But Mike had a sense that Lee did care about his new family and that he would be willing to share some insight in order to help them.
He remarked,"I know that it must be hard to adjust to a new family considering that you were a bachelor for so many years. You were labeled as a loner?"
Lee cleared his throat and responded, "Yeah well, my folks died when I was five and I moved in with my uncle when I was seven. I was alone even then. I got used to it though and loved it when I was finally able to move out from under his influence."
Mike queried, "Was he hard on you?"
Lee scoffed stating, "Col. Robert Clayton of the U.S. Air Force was no pushover. You marched to his tune and that my friend, was that."
Mike shrugged asking, "You must have had some good times as well?"
Lee chuckled commenting, "Few and far between. I had more fun in college with my frat buddies actually."
He then shook his head responding quickly, "Ah, don't get me wrong. He did what he could but he was basically stuck with me and he let me know it often enough, too. We had some blows at different times which didn't help the situation. Luckily, I had Barney Dorsey to hang out with most of the time-"
Mike asked, "A friend from school or-"
Lee shook his head again stating,"No. He was a mess cook at my uncle's bases wherever he was stationed. Kept me out of some trouble, I'll tell ya."
Mike changed the subject by questioning, "What did you think of Amanda when you first met her?"
Lee guffawed replying, "Wow, you just did a 180 degree turn there!"
Clearing his throat he shrugged commenting, "Ahh, Amanda. Well, she wasn't like any of the women I'd known before-"
Mike gave him a bewildered look and Lee nodded stating, "I'm serious. She was a dutiful daughter and mother who had her schedule down to a science. She would sometimes be calling her mother to let her know if she'd be late and checking in with her kids while on a case, mind you."
Mike remarked thoughtfully, "You sound as though it annoyed you at times."
Lee sighed answering, "Yeah. When we had to get something done and fast, she'd be asking where a phone was so she could call her mother. Okay, I get if it was about the kids. But sometimes it wasn't. That was when I appreciated what I had at the time. I had no one to check in with unless it was work and that was fine by me."
Mike responded, "But you've since changed your thinking."
Lee shrugged commenting, "Let's just say I've adapted to it. Once we got married, I realized I had to change somewhat or I'd never hear the end of it."
Mike nodded and queried, "You and Dotty. How has that been going?"
Lee sighed and answered, "All right. She brings up our work schedule a little too much saying that we aren't home enough. We then had to promise her we'd cut back on weekends so we could do family stuff. But of course the case came up and everything snowballed after Amanda and I decided to give each other space which is why we're all talking to you right now."
Mike asked finally, "How is it with you and the boys? Any problems?"
Lee shrugged commenting, "Uh no, not now. It was tense with Jamie for a while when Amanda and I started seeing each other but once we made it clear to him that I wasn't going anywhere and that she would always love him, it slowly became better. And Phillip? He's a great kid too, except when he messed with my car one time. It ran all right but I still had it checked out when Phillip announced that the fuel injector was screwed up. I never let him near the engine again."
Mike chuckled and stated, "I saw your car. The Corvette?"
Lee swallowed and nodded making a face at him remarking, "It handles like a dream. You'd love it!"
Mike asked finally, "No real regrets though, being a family man now?"
Lee shook his head and commented, "Not a one. We take things a step at a time as we're still learning about each other but Amanda and Dotty did an excellent job with them. They're really great kids..."
Now it was the boys turns. Phillip nervously went first...
TBC