Chapter 17: Now Let the Weekend Begin!
"Hi fellows," Amanda said as she and Lee walked into the house. She stopped to kiss each of them on the cheek. "Hello, Mother!"
"Hi, Dear!" Dotty said. "Hi, Lee!"
"Hi Dotty, boys!" Lee said.
The boys greeted Lee in return and then they all sat down to eat the pizza that Lee and Amanda had picked up on the way there.
"Okay, boys do you have everything?" Amanda asked after everyone had finished.
"Yes!" Came the reply in unison.
"Toothbrushes, sleeping bags, pajamas, toothpaste?" As Amanda started naming things, Philip jumped up and ran up the stairs, then Jaimie behind him.
Lee smirked at the boys as they dashed up the stairs.
"And don't forget your underwear," Amanda yelled up after them.
"Mom! Lee is here!" Philip stated exasperated.
"Lee, see how it's going to be once you're a part of this family? You sure you're ready for it?" Dotty questioned.
"Mother! What are you talking about?" Amanda looked at her mother.
"Dear, I'm just thinking about what if…you know…about what might happen in the future." She said with a mysterious smile then turned her attentions to the stairs.
Amanda turned to Lee, who only smiled and shrugged as he got up and put his plate in the dishwasher.
"Come on boys, we have to get out of here, so I don't miss my train and you boys don't miss the Trailblazers bus." Dotty said.
Amanda looked from the two of them with a raised eyebrow; then headed towards to the door with her entire family in tow behind her. After a few last minutes of Philip running back in the house to grab something, everyone was packed in rather tightly in Amanda's station wagon; Lee and Amanda in the front, Dotty and Philip in the middle and Jaimie in the back seat.
/
Having Lee with her to help with dropping off her family felt so good; and even with things not officially settled between them, it already felt like Lee was a part of her family. Hell, Amanda thought, as Lee pulled the wagon away from the train station after dropping Dotty off, even the hecticness of it and all, it could not get much better than this! Hell, with Joe, it never felt anything like what she was feeling with Lee in such a short time.
"Lee," Amanda said as they drove towards her house.
"Yes Amanda?"
"Thanks so much for helping out with the boys this morning and going with me to drop Mother and the boys tonight," she said and reached over and touched his right hand.
"You're welcome Amanda! It's my pleasure."
No, it's mine. She thought to herself. "I thought you said I was going to be your chauffeur today."
"Well, partner, you were the chauffeur earlier today and now it's my turn. Isn't that what partners are for?" He turned to her slightly for a moment, gave her one of his amazingly dazzling smiles, and then turned back to the road.
"Yes, I guess it is."
As they headed towards her house, they passed by Washington Park. "Amanda, are you awfully tired?"
"I am, but what did you have in mind?"
"A walk in the park?"
"Sure."
/
A black Bentley was headed down the street when he pulled up to a stop light and his eyes moved towards the park and spotted a couple holding hands. Seeing that they appeared familiar, Dr. Smythe, the driver of the car, rolled down his window more and attempted to look more closely towards the couple. "What do we have here? That can't be-Jack and Jill or is it Little Bo Peep and Jack Be Nimble that I see?" A car horn from behind startled him and he resumed the movement of his car at a snail's pace but then pulled over to the curb. He glanced back at the park, but the couple was gone. Perhaps he was wrong, but he was never wrong—but Mrs. King wasn't Stetson's type and even if she was, she was too smart for his ways. But still-he would have to keep his eyes and ears open. If there is something going on between them, he may be able to use their relationship to his advantage. He pulled away from the curb and headed back down the street—unaware that while he had been looking for the couple in the park, someone in a limo was also watching him.