CH22

Rick was in the kitchen trying to decide on what to make for lunch when he heard Alexis yell up the stairs "DAD! We're home." And then he sees her and who must be Amanda walk up the stairs.

"In the kitchen pumpkin." Rick calls out.

"Dad, this is Amanda, Amanda this is my dad, Richard." Alexis makes introductions.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Crystal. This is a really big house. Alexis said it was big, but, …"

Rick comes around the counter and wraps his arms around Amanda. "I'm glad to finally get to meet you. Alexis hasn't stopped talking about you since she got back. And please, call me Rick." Rick lets go of her and takes a better look at her.

A little taller than Alexis. With long blonde curly hair, she's very pretty bordering on drop dead gorgeous. Her legs reminded him of Kate's, nice, long , and toned. Her complexion is almost a match for Alexis. Maybe a hair bigger in chest size than Alexis. Her voice was just a tone off of Lucile's. He could see what caught his daughter's eye.

"Has Alexis given you the tour on the way up?" Rick asks. "You can put her bag in the spare master suite; Kate and I thought you two might like the extra space. It has a nice big tub. Not really sure what women see in huge tubs. Oh and the bed is a lot bigger too."

"DAD?" Alexis's complexion starts to match her hair.

He totally is not getting it. "What? It is bigger, soft too. … Our other two daughters will be here tonight and you'll get to meet the boys when they get out of school. …. Do you have a big family Amanda?"

"Amanda-Jeanne Labrosse, and no, I'm an only child," she tells him.

"Well if we get to be too much for you, just let us know. I'm not sure where the dogs, Guinness and Maggie, are right now. The roof possibly. Well I'll let you two get settled."

Lunch will be ready in about an hour. … I think?" Rick pulls the recipe up on the display panel in the kitchen. "Yea, about an hour." Rick is convinced. "I hope." Now not so convinced.

Chicken and Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto

2 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup(s) carrot or diced red bell pepper

1 large (about 8 ounces) large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into quarters

1 clove(s) (large) garlic, minced

5 cup(s) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) dried marjoram

6 ounce(s) baby spinach, coarsely chopped

1 can(s) (15-ounce) cannellini beans or great northern beans, rinsed

1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup(s) lightly packed fresh basil leaves

Freshly ground pepper to taste

3/4 cup(s) plain or herbed multigrain croutons for garnish (optional)

"Sounds great, thank you Mr. Crystal. I mean Rick, sorry." Amanda sounds embarrassed.

"If there is someplace you want to go or something you want to see while you are here, let me or Kate know and we'll see if we can make it come true," Rick offers.

"Come on Amanda I'll show you around." Alexis takes the bag Amanda is carrying and heads for the stairs.

By the time Alexis and Amanda come back upstairs lunch is almost ready. As they reach the top of the stairs, Guinness and Maggie spot Amanda and start running her direction. They get to her and start shoving their noses all over her.

"It's okay, they are just trying to figure out if they like you or not." Alexis tries to calm Amanda who looks a little tense.

Finally the dogs start rubbing up against her in an attempt to get her to pet them. "Where's the ball?" Alexis asks them. And they are off in search of the elusive tennis ball.

"Lunch is ready girls." Rick calls out.

After a few spoons-full, Amanda remarks, "This is pretty good Mr. Crystal." She shakes her head. "Sorry, Rick."

Guinness has found the tennis ball and brings it over to the girls and tries to place it in Amanda's lap. "You have to throw it," Alexis tells her.

Using just two fingers Amanda takes it from her lap/dogs mouth and throws it for the stairs. Guinness and Maggie are off like a shot. Soon Guinness has returned with the ball and is again trying to place it in Amanda's lap.

"All right you two, let her eat first then play, SIT!" Rick tells them. Guinness drops the ball and both dogs sit. Rick leans over and whispers. "The longer you eat, the longer they won't bother you. But if you get up, play time is back on again," Rick explains. "The boys get home from school in about three hours; they'll take over for you and keep these two busy."

"They are actually pretty smart," Alexis tells her. "Here watch." Alexis sticks out her forefinger and raises her thumb, then brings her thumb down while pointing at Guinness. "BANG!" Guinness immediately drops to the floor and lays his side. "BANG!" Alexis shoots him again and he flips over onto his other side. "BANG!" And again Guinness flips over onto his other side and lies perfectly still each time. Alexis holds out her other hand. "Dad?"

Rick retrieves a biscuit and hands it to Alexis. "UP." Guinness gets up and Alexis gives him the biscuit.

Rick pulls out another and hands it to Amanda. "Here you try."

Amanda takes the biscuit and points at Maggie. "BANG!" Maggie drops to the floor and lies on her side. "Bang!" Maggie flips over onto her other side. "BANG!" And she flips back to the other side. "UP." Amanda gives Maggie her biscuit.

"This is your doing isn't it?" Amanda is looking at Alexis. Alexis just smiles.

"Where's Mr. Bill?" Alexis asks the two. And they are off searching for Mr. Bill.

"Mr. Bill?" Amanda questions.

"It's a dog toy we found on-line one day. If they squeeze it just right it'll say 'OH Nooooo,'" Rick explains.

Amanda is now giggling.

"Well I'm going to go get some writing done then go get the boys from school. Dinner is at 6:30. Alexis knows where everything is. There is a hot tub on the roof if you are brave enough, or just plain insane. She also knows where the guest swimsuits are in case you didn't bring one." Then Rick kisses the side of Amanda's head and hugs his daughter. "I love you pumpkin."

"I love you too dad." Alexis tells him while hugging him back. And Rick heads for his study.

Two and a half hours later Rick goes up to the living room level to check and see if Alexis and Amanda are there. He finds them on the sectional no longer paying any attention to the movie they have on. They're only paying attention to each other. So he retreats silently as possible down to the garage to pick up the boys from school.

When Rick gets back he makes sure to make enough noise so that the girls can hear them. "Guinness, Maggie." Rick calls out. Soon the dogs are greeting everyone, trying mightily to get petted.

"Alexis, Amanda?" Rick yells in order to find them. "Upstairs" is the response from Alexis.

"Hi you two. Amanda these are my sons. This is Levi Nathaniel Crystal or Levi for short. And this is James Asher Crystal or James for short. Boys this is Alexis' friend, Amanda."

"You're the lady that Alexis had for a roommate," James asks?

"Yes, we went everywhere together it was a lot of fun." Amanda tells him.

"Do you swim," Levi asks?

"Levi is a human fish," Rick explains.

"I didn't see a pool. Is it on the roof," Amanda asks?

Looking downcast. "We don't have a pool. We have to go to pool complex." Levi answers sounding sad.

"Well I do swim but I prefer to go to a beach." Amanda explains.

"We were at a beach a couple of months ago," Levi tells her, perking up.

"We went to the Caribbean before school started last year," Rick clarifies.

"Oh that sounds fun. Montreal is frozen; it would be nice to be on a beach." Amanda would like to get out of Montreal winters for a while.

"We do have a house on the Caribbean. You two could use it when you have the time," Rick offers.

"It's big and has a pool." Levi tells her.

"Thanks dad, we'll have to talk about it." Alexis is excited.

"Ok boys go wash up I need some slicing done for dinner," Rick tells them.

Amanda turns and looks at Alexis puzzled. So Alexis leans in and explains. "OH!" is Amanda's response, grinning big.

"Dinner should be in about an hour. Kate should be home any minute and the girls should be right behind her."

Peanut Noodles with Shredded Chicken and Vegetables

1 pound(s) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup(s) smooth natural peanut butter

2 tablespoon(s) reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoon(s) minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) chile-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon(s) minced fresh ginger

8 ounce(s) whole-wheat spaghetti

1 bag(s) fresh vegetable medley

Just as he says that, Guinness and Maggie take off for the stairs. "Hi you two." Whimper, whine, bark. Then Kate makes it to the top of the stairs. "Hi boys, I see you survived school again. …You must be Amanda?" As Kate walks right up to her and gives her a hug. "Alexis has told me a few things, it's good to put a face to the name."

"Ms. Crystal, Alexis has told me a lot about you, too. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Amanda tells her, her hand still in Kate's grasp.

Kate lets go of her. "Please call me Kate. I hear Ms. Crystal at school all day long. It kinda gets tiring after a while." Kate smiles.

Suddenly Guinness and Maggie take off for the front door and soon come back with Caesar and Zoe with them, soon followed by Jenn with Alex and L with Allie. "Hi mom are we late?" Jenn asks.

"Amanda these are my daughters Jennifer with baby Alex, and Emily with baby Allie. Girls this is Alexis' new friend Amanda." Kate gives the introductions.

"Hi we're glad you were there for Alexis; I'm sure her trip was a lot more fun with you along." L speaks up first.

"Actually I feel like the lucky one. I was convinced my roommate was going to be a witch and show up with a suitcase full of toad toe nails and skunk eyes along with a portable potion pot," Amanda teases.

"Oh, she's a witch all right; she just skips the potion part. Alexis has these little dolls. She hasn't gotten any of your hairs or finger nails has she?" Jenn teases.

"Oh funny Jenn, very funny. I have a very special pin just for your doll."Alexis teases back, getting grins and snickers from most of the girls.

"If we get to be too much for you sweetie you let us know and I'll crack the whip on them." Kate states looking at Amanda.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. It'll be fun to see what a large family is like," Amanda tells them.

"Ok but this is only about half of our family." Kate tells her. Kate gets a shocked look from Amanda.

"We include their husbands and their parents; they're two of our best friends. I know the stories about in-laws but in this family that is not the case. I take it you don't have a big family?" Kate asks, curious.

"It's just me. My parents died in a car accident. A truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and t-boned their car killing them instantly. I was only 9 and at home with a baby sitter." Amanda confides.

Kate immediately moves in and wraps her arms around Amanda. "Oh sweetie I'm so sorry. I lost my mother when I was 19. So trust me when I say I know what it feels like. It's painful. You let us any of us know what you need and we'll find a way." Kate swears.

Jenn and L step while Kate still has a hold of Amanda. "We'll help you, we girls have to stick together."

"Eewww!" comes from the boys.

Kate lets go of Amanda. "Okay you two aren't you supposed to be helping your dad with dinner? You know what happens if you don't watch him," Kate tells them. This got their attention and they were in the kitchen helping dad in a heartbeat.

Amanda was standing there with a puzzled expression. Alexis takes this moment to explain to her. Getting an "OH!" from Amanda followed by a giggle.

"Come on sit down, tell us about Montreal. Most of us have never been there." Kate offers.

Old Montreal (Vieux-Montreal)

Pointe-a-Calliere Museum

Montreal Botanical Gardens (Jardin Botanique de Montreal)

Olympic Park (Parc Olympique)

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musee des Beaux-Arts)

Notre-Dame Basilica

St. Patrick's Basilica

Biodome de Montreal

Plateau Mont-Royal

Musee d'art contemporain de Montreal

Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum