Lee Vs. Dotty

Chapter 5

Lee and the boys came through the kitchen door around 6 PM, and Amanda, coming out of the den, greeted them, and seeing all the bags, remarked bewilderedly, "Hey! There's no army here tonight...What did you do? Buy out the store?"

Lee chuckled, and coming over to give her a warm kiss, answered, "Not at all, Sweetheart. But you did say to get anything anybody wanted,so I just went for it."

Dotty, coming down the stairs at that moment, saw the amount of food the boys were helping put away, and shook her head, giggling, and responded, "Oh, my! How's your credit card, Lee?"

Lee sighed answering in a mock gesture, "Begging for mercy, Dotty...Begging for mercy."

Then remembering something, Lee turned around to head out the back door again, commenting, "Forgot something...Be right back."

As he went out the door, Dotty stated as she helped her grandsons put things away, "Well, I guess the grocery bill will have to be adjusted here as well-"

Phillip, shaking his head at her comment, responded sullenly, "Aw, just lay off, Grandma-"

With that, Dotty and Amanda jerked their heads at Phillip in shock, and Jamie standing near Phillip, whispered to him, "Hey, Bonehead! Knock it off-"

Phillip then sneered at him, answering, "NO! Maybe she was the reason Dad left-"

Amanda put up a hand firmly remarking, "Phillip Thomas! I know you're upset, but you need to apologize to Grandma this minute-"

Phillip, putting the now empty bag he was unpacking down on the counter, sighed, and shrugged, answering, "Never mind! I'm going upstairs..."

As Phillip went up the stairs quickly, and closed the bedroom door, there was a moment of silence in the kitchen...

-SMK-

Lee came back in, carrying a bag with flowers and wine, and presented it to Dotty, giving a warm smile, and answering in a slight accent, "For you, Madame...Please enjoy..."

Dotty swallowed at the kind gesture, but then replied sadly, "I- Thank you, but I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me..."

With that, Dotty hurried upstairs, and as they all heard her bedroom door close, Lee, still holding the bag with flowers and wine, stared at Amanda and Jamie, and asked, "Okay, what happened to the time I left, to now?"

Jamie sighed and stated with a gesture towards the upstairs angrily, " Oh, Big Mouth Phillip had to go say something stupid, and he upset Grandma-"

Amanda stated quickly then, "Jamie! Honey, why don't you leave the rest of the groceries for Lee and I to put away, and you go wash up, because the pizza's gonna be here any minute, alright? Now, c'mere..."

Jamie went to his mother as she held out her arms to hold him and Amanda queried quietly, "Sweetie, I guess there's a lot of stuff that your brother...and maybe you-didn't completely work out in therapy, huh?"

As Jamie was about to protest, Amanda shook her head commenting, "It's-It's okay, Sweetheart...That's really what tonight is about anyway. You see, if we work out this stuff now, then it'll just make things easier down the road, huh?"

Kissing his cheek, Amanda then motioned for him to go and answered, "I promise you we'll be okay...Go on now..."

As Jamie then slowly went upstairs, Amanda sighed and said to Lee, going to the counter, "Well, let's get all this put away, huh? We'll need room for the pizza, and-"

Lee, with a hand up, stopped her, replying, "Wait, Honey...Let's sit down, and try and figure some stuff out first, huh?"

But Amanda shook her head, and commented, "No, let's wait a bit, and see if Phillip feels like talking about it."

Lee sighed then, and strode over to the couch, sitting himself down, as he remarked sarcastically, "Okay...When you're still standing there at midnight, waiting for Phillip to come downstairs to apologize, then-"

Amanda narrowed her eyes at her husband, and responded tartly, "What do you mean by that?"

Lee then stood up, and began to pace, commenting, " I mean that this whole problem was just about Dotty and myself essentially. Then, Phillip was starting to show signs of resentment towards Dotty? I don't know what started that...And then because Jamie is basically following his older brother, he's somehow confused about whose side to be on. Do you understand?"

Stopping his pacing, and his speech as he saw the surprised look on his wife's face, he stated gently, "I'm-I'm sorry to be so blunt, but, Sweetheart, I'm the new guy here, and for the life of me, I don't get what's unfolding here, so, if you can, help your hubby out here, please?"

The front doorbell rang just then, and Amanda, swallowing, answered, "I will, okay? But first, please go get the pizza, and I will try to bring everyone down here, huh?"

Going to Lee, she kissed him and hugging him, commented, "I'm sorry. You are new to the family dynamic here, and we have to remember that..."

Lee, shaking his head, went to the front door as Amanda made her way up to the boys' room...

-SMK-

Amanda knocked, asking, "Hi Guys...May I come in?"

Jamie responded, "Sure, Mom..."

Amanda came in, and answered, "Pizza's here, if you all are hungry...But first...Let's talk a second here, alright?"

Phillip shrugged from his bed stating, "No offense, Mom, but I'm kind of talked out, so if you don't mind-"

Amanda shook her head and commented firmly, "No! I do mind, because in order to be "talked out" as you put it, you would have to have been talking the entire time you were downstairs! But all I witnessed down there was you being belligerent to your grandmother, which I don't appreciate! Now, you will go apologize, and then, Young Man, we will all go downstairs and work our family adjustments out! Do you understand me?"

Phillip argued back, "Hey! I didn't start it! She did with Dad-"

Amanda, pointing her finger at Phillip replied tersely, cutting him off, "Hey! Watch that tone, Mister! At least let her explain what happened that day, alright?! And she is still your grandmother, and deserves your love and respect! After all, she has done nothing but shower you and Jamie with love and kindness since the two of you were brought into the world, and she wouldn't hurt you for anything, and you know that!"

With a sigh, Amanda then gestured towards the hallway, "Now, go talk to your grandmother. Jamie and I will head downstairs..."

Phillip answered quietly, "Yes, Mom...", and begrudgedly left the room...

Watching his brother go down the hall, Jamie asked his mother, "Mom, what did happen with Grandma and Dad? I don't remember it..."

Amanda, hugging him, stated quietly with a gesture, "I'll tell you later, Sweetheart. C'mon, let's go join Lee now, hmm?"

-SMK-

Phillip, coming to his grandmother's bedroom door, knocked slowly, responding, "Grandma? It's Phillip. Can I come in?"

After a few moments, Dotty opened the door, and as she stood there not moving, Phillip replied with a swallow, "I want to apologize. I shouldn't blame you for Dad leaving, but the day I heard you and Dad talking or yelling-it seemed like you were both really mad, and-"

Dotty, with a deep sigh, answered, "Okay, Honey...Come in and let me try to explain it."

Closing the door, Dotty joined Phillip on the bed, and taking his hands in her own, Dotty commented softly, "I'm so sorry! I was unaware you heard any of that discussion, Darling. But when your mother told me that she and your father had decided to get a divorce, I was shattered! I mean, you and your brother were here at home, with your mother, and your father decided to join the EAO, to help other families in other countries? It-It just made no sense! Your father did ask your mother to go along, but her first priority has been and always will be you and Jamie! She told him that you boys were far too young to be traveling to other countries. Your father assumed I had talked to your mother, to keep her from leaving."

Phillip asked, "But was Dad blaming you then for making Mom stay?"

Dotty shook her head and commented, "Oh, he tried to, but I pointed out to him that no one makes your mother do anything she doesn't want to do! No, Sweetheart, your mother knew deep down that this was her home, and this is where she was meant to be, alright?"

Phillip nodded, but then asked, "Mom and Dad seem to get along now, but what about when it first happened?"

Dotty sighed as she stroked her eldest grandson's hair, answering, "Well, after your dad left, the four of us went to therapy because you boys were confused and unhappy, and your mother was unhappy..."

Phillip queried, "And you, Grandma?"

Dotty lightly scoffed and remarked softly, "Well, I was unhappy of course also, but also angry at your mother-"

Phillip asked concernedly, "Why?"

Dotty stated, "Because deep down, I felt she should have waited to marry your father-only because they were still in college, their heads full of the future- and as it turned out, if they had talked more-"

Phillip softly asked, "Then they wouldn't have gotten married?"

Seeing the sad look in Phillip's eyes, Dotty cupped his chin, answering, "Maybe not, but then, I wouldn't have had the two best grandsons in my world, would I?"

Phillip hugged her commenting, "I love you, Grandma."

Dotty, hugging him back, stated, "I love you too, Sweetheart."

Then, bringing him up from the bed with her, Dotty gestured, "Okay...Let's go down and have some pizza, and do a little rapping-"

Phillip, surprised, asked her, "Grandma! You know about rapping?"

Dotty chuckled teasingly answering, "Of course, Sweetheart! I do it all year long...Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries..."

Phillip groaned as they went down the stairs, commenting as she giggled,"Aw, Grandma..."

-SMK-

The family was now seated in the family room, with TV tray tables and the dinner pizzas and drinks, and Lee, after taking a sip of his beer, stated as he looked around, "Okay...Now that we're all here, who'd like to start this meeting of the minds?"

As everyone around him stayed uncomfortably silent, Lee thought, Wow...Summit meetings go way better than this!

Then, looking at Amanda, seated next to him, Lee asked, "C'mon! You, who was blessed with the "Gift For Gab" suddenly has nothing to say?"

Amanda smiled at him, remarking, "I'm just letting you lead, Sweetheart...Isn't that what a good dance partner does?"

Lee, clearing his throat, answered lightly, "Thanks a lot, Honey..."

Lee thought as he looked around at his new family, I'm sunk! What do I do now?

TBC