Amanda pulled into her driveway and was relieved to see that Joe's car was gone. She knew that she would have to have a serious talk with him concerning his recent behavior but talking to her mother was her top priority. It was shortly after eight o'clock, and on an ordinary morning she was certain that her mother would already be in the kitchen but she was hoping that if she'd stayed out late she might still be asleep. I can't believe that I'm sneaking into my own house again. Mother knows that I've been out all night but I'd prefer not to have her see me in last night's clothes. Get over it, Amanda…what I'm wearing is the least of my problems. She silently closed the front door and crept towards the stairs carrying her high heels.

"Amanda, Dear, is that you?" Dotty rushed from the kitchen effectively stopping Amanda in her tracks. "I've been worried sick…where were you all night? No don't answer that; you won't tell me the truth anyway. Thank goodness Joe was here with the boys when I got home; he told me that you are involved in a very destructive relationship."

"Yes, thank goodness for Joe," Amanda responded sarcastically when Dotty stopped to take a breath. "Mother, we have a lot to talk about. Let's keep our voices down…I don't want the boys to overhear us. I don't know where to start; I regret some of the choices that I've made recently."

"You don't need to be embarrassed, I understand, every woman needs to be a little rebellious occasionally. Amanda, you've been without a man in your-"

"Moth-er," Amanda groaned.

"A man in your life, Amanda; I remember how I felt after your father had been gone for a long time. I began to have…yearnings…but I knew that I'd never find anyone that I could love the way that I loved your father so I sought out men that were as different from him as possible. When I think about some of those men now I can't believe that I had anything do to with them; but back then they made me feel alive and desirable again. You shouldn't feel ashamed of what you've done," Dotty concluded as she put a comforting arm around Amanda.

"Ashamed," Amanda questioned more loudly than she had intended, shrugging off Dotty's arm. "I haven't done anything to be ashamed of and as far as Joe is concerned; how I choose to live my life is none of his business. It seems as though he has enlisted your help with his campaign to get me to take him back. I told him and now I'm telling you, it's not going to happen…I've moved on with my life."

"You've moved on? Is sneaking around and having an affair with a totally unsuitable man your idea of rebuilding your life?"

"I am not sneaking around…well I guess I have been, but that's one of the things that I regret doing. I didn't tell you that I'd met someone special because for the longest time I was convinced that he and I would never be anything more than friends. He isn't like anyone I've ever met-"

"That's precisely why Joe is concerned," Dotty interrupted. "He doesn't want you to get hurt so he checked out your 'friend'."

"I suspect that most of what Joe told you was based on gossip. He may even believe some of it but that is beside the point. Joe doesn't like it when he doesn't get what he wants." Amanda put down the shoes she'd been holding and walked into the kitchen with Dotty following close behind.

"I admit that he did ask me to secretly arrange for him to spend last evening with you and the boys. I agreed to go out and not come home until well past midnight." Dotty explained while taking two mugs out of a cabinet. "When I did get home he was sitting in the living room with the lights off; he startled me because I wasn't expecting anyone to be there. I could see that something was troubling him but he said that he didn't want to worry me by discussing it. I asked Joe why you hadn't stayed up with him and that's when he told me that you had gone out and not come back. Naturally, I asked him where you had gone and-"

"He was suddenly willing to share all the dirt he had dug up about Lee."

"Lee? Your boss?" Dotty stopped filling the two coffee mugs she'd placed on the stove and glared at Amanda. "You've been dating your boss while you've been telling me that I was wrong to suspect that you were involved with someone at work."

"Mother, it's a very complicated situation, I never planned to lie to you about my feelings for Lee and I didn't expect to fall in love with him."

"Darling, I know you've been lonely but how could you allow yourself to fall in love with your boss? Joe said he has a reputation for womanizing. He has a string of women in the workplace and in DC society circles"

"Lee is not my boss…he's…he has seniority at work and he trained me but Lee is definitely not my boss," Amanda clarified indignantly.

"Alright, Amanda, he isn't your boss. Is he a womanizer?" Dotty tapped her well manicured nails on the countertop as she waited for Amanda's response.

"That is an ugly word; I wouldn't use it to describe Lee," Amanda replied in as even and unemotional voice as she could muster. A determined Dotty continued to pursue the matter.

"Do other people use that word in reference to Lee?"

"Yes, Mother, some people do," Amanda answered angrily. "Is that what you wanted to hear?" She looked at the floor, took a deep breath, and then faced her mother. "I'm sorry that I wasn't honest with you about Lee in the past; I can't change that but I promise to be honest with you about my relationship with him from now on."

"That's all I ask of you; I want what is best for you. I am simply trying to find out what type of man you are carrying on with?"

"I am not carrying on-"

"Wait one minute, Missy," Dotty interrupted, "you left here at dinnertime last night and tried to sneak in after breakfast this morning. Joe said that…Lee…has a very unsavory reputation."

"Are those Joe's words? It sounds as if he is lifting his characterizations of Lee from a bad novel. Lee dated aggressively in the past but there is nothing unsavory about him. He could give Joe lessons in character and personal responsibility. I know Lee far better than the people who Joe has been talking to."

"How long have you known Lee? You're very trusting…he could be hiding his true nature from you. Have you met his parents?"

"Lee's parents died in a car accident when he was five years old; he was raised by his uncle. I met the Colonel last year."

"The Colonel? Is that how he refers to the person who raised him," Dotty challenged with a raised eyebrow.

"Colonel Clayton is a career Air Force officer. He and Lee love and respect each other but they've always had a strained relationship. I suspect that they would get along better if they weren't so much alike; they both have trouble discussing their feelings and they're terribly stubborn."

"What about the rest of his family?"

"They only have each other. Lee's been a loner for most of his life but he'd desperately like to be part of a family again."

"May I assume that since you're telling me about him now that you'd like him to become part of our family? I'd like to meet this man who has become so terribly important to you. I want to-"

"Interrogate him," Amanda interjected.

"That sounds so harsh; I can't imagine why you would use that word. I just want the chance to meet him and reach my own conclusions about him. Is that too much for me to ask?"

"I'll arrange for you and the boys to meet Lee soon." I'd be worried about Lee if he hadn't been interrogated by the KGB and the Chinese in the past. Heck, I'm still worried about how he'll fare with Mother.