Lee and Amanda sat on the couch in the den together. The house was quiet, as Jamie and Phillip had gone with Dotty to the grocery store. Amanda had her legs across Lee's lap, and they had their arms wrapped around one another. A carton sat on the floor by the bookshelves, its flaps open, waiting to be unpacked. It was only the middle of the afternoon, but Lee had declared that it was time for a break. "After we finish here and make dinner, we should go back to my place."
"I don't imagine we'll be packing when we get there."
Lee nuzzled Amanda's neck. "Probably not."
"Pretty soon we won't have your place."
"That's why I want to enjoy it while we can."
"Any regrets?"
"None. We still have the cabin."
"You're impossible. You know what I mean."
"Seriously? I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. How about you?"
"I feel the same way. Especially when Mother made me breakfast this morning. That was a good sign. She's mostly forgiven me, I think."
"How was the breakfast?"
"Well, oatmeal is the only thing that appeals to me in the morning right now, but I picked at the eggs and had a little toast. Mother is starting to suspect something."
"We'll tell them in a few days."
"We can concentrate on moving your stuff over here when the boys get back from Joe's on Saturday."
"Yeah. Let's just spend the day at my place tomorrow. We can pack a little, relax a little…"
Amanda craned her neck so she could see fully into her husband's face. "Are you not in a hurry to move, Scarecrow?"
"I don't have that much stuff left to pack, really. You cleaned out my closets last fall. I want to enjoy time alone with my wife." He kissed her neck again.
Car doors slammed outside and young male voices could be heard approaching the front door.
Amanda swiveled her body so her feet were on the floor. She stood up and offered a hand to Lee, who got up off the couch, too.
"Time's up, Mr. Stetson. Mother will need help with the groceries. You sure you're ready for this domestic, suburbia thing? No regrets?"
Lee placed his hands on Amanda's waist. He drew near and kissed her just as Phillip walked past with two bags of groceries. Jamie did his best to pretend he hadn't seen anything.
"You two need to get a room." Phillip rolled his eyes at them, but smiled to himself when he turned away.
"Phillip, that's enough of that talk, young man. Show some respect." Dotty shooed Phillip the rest of the way into the kitchen, before pausing to look back and smile affectionately at her daughter and son-in-law.
Lee laughed a little and looked into Amanda's eyes. "No regrets at all, Mrs. Stetson."