Chapter 3

The drive to Arlington was quick despite the time of day. As they entered the house, Amanda called out, "Mother? Are you home?"

"In here, Amanda," they heard drifting from the family room. Amanda led the way, Lee just steps behind her.

Dotty was sitting on the couch, flipping through the new Rebecca's Fantasy catalog, sipping a cup of tea. Amanda just shook her head at her mother's reading material. Hoping Lee didn't see it, she sat beside her and slid another magazine over the catalog.

"Oh, hi Lee, I didn't hear you come in too," Dotty looked up and smiled. Seeing Amanda and Lee together made her happy. She had been worried about Amanda being alone for so long but since she had started openly dating Lee she could see the change in her daughter.

"Hi Dotty. Read any good articles lately?" Lee teased. He had seen the catalog before Amanda covered it, hoping Amanda would order something for him as well.

Dotty looked down to see Amanda had covered her catalog with People Magazine. Partially thankful for her daughter's quick thinking she replied, "No, nothing that interests me."

"Mother, Lee and I have to go to Virginia Beach for a few days for work. We just found out today. If Joe could pick the boys up tomorrow afternoon, would you be able to get them ready for school in the morning?" Amanda asked. She knew that probably wouldn't be an issue but she still had one more request and she wasn't sure how Dotty was going to respond.

"Tomorrow morning is fine. The boys will be fine. Have you talked to Joe yet? I know they are working on wedding plans this weekend with the boys too. Carrie wants to keep them involved. I think she said they were going to take them for the cake testing and food tasting. Let them help decide the menu. Good luck! We'll probably be eating pizza and hamburgers if they have their say," Dotty laughed.

Amanda laughed with her, then got serious for a minute. "No, I haven't talked to Joe just yet. I wanted to check with you first about the morning. Let me call him now," Amanda moved toward the phone.

Dialing Joe's work number, he answered on the second ring. "Hi, Joe, its me. Listen, I know this is last minute but Lee and I have to go on assignment for the next few days. We just found out today. I just remembered the boys don't have school Friday and I know you and Carrie had plans for them this weekend. Would it be possible for you to pick them up from school Thursday afternoon and keep them Friday too? Maybe Carrie could bring them for their tux fitting during the day?" she said in one breath. She listened for a minute to his response then replied, "Aw thanks Joe, that's great. They boys will be excited to spend the day with both of you. I'll let them know to have their bags packed for you to pick up at the house. Thanks again. I'll talk to you soon. Yes, I'll leave Lee's car phone number with Mother just in case. Bye bye."

Hanging up the phone she turned to Dotty and Lee, "Joe said it isn't a problem. He even has Friday off himself and is looking forward to spending the day with the boys."

"That's settled then. I'll make sure the boys are off in the morning and Joe has them until Sunday night. What time do you need to leave? I can get up earlier to help you," Dotty asked.

"Well, that's the other thing Mother," Amanda started. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Lee first then her Mother. "We'd like to get an early start so I think it would be easier for me to spend the night at Lee's apartment," she said nervously. She didn't know why she was so anxious about this. She was a grown woman for crying out loud.

"Amanda, I think that's a wonderful idea," Dotty smiled at her daughter. It's about time. "Why don't I go help you pack your bag."

Amanda was relieved but slightly confused. She thought her mother would give her a hard time about being gone another night considering they weren't technically going to be working. "Thank you, Mother. That's awful nice of you to help out another night. I know it's been a lot for you with the boys and well, Captain Curt."

Getting up, she gave Amanda a hug, "Amanda, darling, don't give it a second thought. Captain Curt can come have dinner tonight and since you and the boys will be gone all weekend we can have some of our own alone time. Alone," she punctuated her sentence with a nod of her head.

Lee watched their exchange and smiled. Amanda was very lucky she had a mother like Dotty. Clearing his throat he added, "Thank you Dotty. We can definitely get an early start in the morning without waking anyone else up."

Looking at Lee, Dotty smiled again. She could see the relief in his face as well as in Amanda's. "Let's get that bag packed before the boys get home. They ran over Tommy's house to play basketball for a bit. They should be home in less than an hour."

Amanda smiled at Lee and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes. You want a drink while you wait?"

"I can get it. You go get packed. If you don't mind, I'm just going to use the phone to check messages at work," Lee replied.

Amanda looked at him, narrowing her eyes, "Just messages, remember."

Lee raised his hands in surrender, "Hey, I know, I know. I just want to make sure Harry didn't change anything for our meeting tonight."

Amanda ran up the stairs, Dotty just steps behind. Pulling out her overnight bag, she quickly put together clothes for the next few days, mostly jeans and casual tops, adding two skirts and sweaters in case they went out for dinner. Amanda had noticed Dotty hadn't followed her into the bedroom initially. She went into her bathroom to gather her cosmetic bag and a few other essentials. Walking back into her room, she jumped seeing Dotty standing at the end of her bed. "Mother, you scared me," Amanda put her hand to her chest.

"Amanda, here, take these with you. You might…. Need them…." Dotty handed her a small brown bag.

Looking inside the bag, Amanda saw it contained a box of condoms. "Mother! What do you … what are you doing with these?" she asked slightly embarrassed.

Dotty looked at her daughter, "Amanda, you are a grown woman. You know what these are for and I hope for your sake, you and Lee have a reason to use them. I've said it before….On a scale of one to ten…"

Amanda shook her head, "I know, Mother, he's an eleven. But why… why do you even have those…"

"Amanda, please. Don't play coy with me. I've seen how you two look at each other. If it hasn't happened yet, well, maybe this time away, it will. I'm just saying…" Dotty gestured with her hands.

Laughing, Amanda put the bag with her toiletries. "Happy now?" she said.

Dotty nodded, "I will be when I see how happy you're going to be by Sunday night…" Dotty left the room smiling at Amanda's stunned face.