Unfinished Business, Unresolved Feelings chapter 27
Dotty was standing by the kitchen sink, cleaning up after the impromptu snack that she'd served Lee, when she saw Amanda through the window. Amanda was slowly walking along the perimeter of the yard. This time I've got the upper hand and I intend to get some straight answers from her. Dotty dried her hands and watched as Amanda began to search the yard more aggressively. Dotty quietly opened the back door, stepped outside, and closed the door as quietly as she'd opened it.
"Amanda", she called out, startling her preoccupied daughter.
"Yes, Mother", Amanda replied as she turned around to face Dotty.
"You won't find him out here, darling", Dotty stated nonchalantly.
"Find who, Mother? What makes you think that I was looking for someone", Amanda replied as calmly as she could.
"Okay, maybe I was mistaken, but if you were looking for someone you'd find him in the house", Dotty responded; thoroughly enjoying having the upper hand this time.
"Who's in the house", Amanda asked even though she was sure she knew the answer that she'd receive.
"Lee", Dotty answered, fully intending to make Amanda squirm.
"What's HE doing in the house", Amanda exclaimed in a voice that made it obvious that she was aghast.
"Calm down, Amanda. You're making it sound as though he weren't house broken."
"That's not funny, Mother. You know what I meant", Amanda replied sharply. "What is Lee doing in the house", she continued in a deliberately calmer voice.
"At the moment, he's taking a nap in the family room. He almost passed out at the kitchen table", Dotty explained in a more caring tone.
"Oh my gosh, I've got to go check on him", Amanda said as she tried to move past her mother.
"No, let him sleep, he needs the rest", Dotty advised. Amanda remained where she was standing, looked down at the grass, and then took a deep breath and looked directly at her mother.
"Mother, I can see that I've got a lot of explaining and apologizing to do, but right now can you just tell me what happened to Lee?"
"I know you were with him earlier so you must know about his injuries", Dotty began her reply.
"Yes, he seemed to be okay when I left him", Amanda answered as she started to feel guilty about hurling accusations at him instead of taking care of him.
"He may have seemed to be okay but he wasn't. Lee lost a lot of blood, has had very little sleep, and all that he's eaten since yesterday morning was a muffin and half of a cereal bar."
"How did you know that something was wrong with him?"
"We were sitting at the kitchen table and talking about his childhood. I started to notice that his face was paling but I thought that it was because of the painful topic that we were discussing but then his hands started to shake. He said he wasn't feeling so good so I got up and helped him to put his head between his knees."
"Oh, Mother, what happened next", Amanda asked as she began to twist her hands.
"He started to feel a little better after a couple of minutes; that's when I found out about his injuries and that he hadn't been taking care of himself. I insisted that he eat something right then. Lee was falling asleep as he was eating the snack I gave him. I insisted that he take a nap; and I suspect that he wanted to refuse but he was so tired that he agreed to stretch out on the sofa in the family room."
"Thank you for taking care of Lee for me. You have no idea how much he means to me", Amanda said as she reached out and hugged her mother. Dotty briefly accepted the hug but then pulled back to face Amanda.
"You're right, Amanda, I don't know what Lee means to you. Did you ever intend to tell me about him?" The hurt and anger that Dotty was feeling were evident in her voice and on her face.