Oh My Gosh

Chapter 12

Lee had been talking to Phillip, who had not taken Amanda's news about the baby well, so he called for Amanda and Jamie to come up to try and figure things out.

As Amanda and Jamie entered the room, Phillip, seeing them, shook his head, stating glumly to his mother, "I already told Lee I didn't feel like talking...Nice how he listens-"

Amanda, put off by her son's attitude, and seeing Lee's reaction as he tried to interject, put a hand up commenting firmly, "Wait a minute!"

Then, going over to sit by Phillip on his bed, Amanda cupped the boy's chin, and turning it to face her, answered crisply, "Young Man, I want you to apologize to Lee this minute! He came up here to see if he could possibly help you feel better! But since you can't or won't deal with him, you're gonna deal with me, now! So, start talking!"

Jamie piped up, "Man, Phillip, you're really being a jerk-"

But when Phillip angrily replied, " You mind your own business, You Little Dweeb-", and tried to rise from the bed to head for Jamie, Amanda firmly sat him back down, responding quickly, "Hey, hey! Knock it off, both of you!"

Lee patted Jamie's shoulder, answering with a gesture, "C'mon, Jamie, relax...Let's just sit down on your bed here, and let your mom talk to your brother for a second, huh?"

Clearing her throat, Amanda remarked to Lee, "Thank you," and noticing Phillip being quiet, asked, "Phillip? Don't you have something to say to Lee, first?"

Phillip heavily sighed, and responded irritatedly, "Sorry, Lee. I didn't mean to take anything out on you."

Lee, with a slight wince at Phillip's tone, stated, "It's-It's okay...You have something in your craw, and you lashed out at the first person you saw, which was me-"

Phillip, puzzled, queried, "Huh?"

Lee chuckled lightly, answering, "Sorry...I was raised by my uncle, who's an Air Force colonel, and that's an expression he used with me the first time we had an argument...But you go ahead with your mom."

Amanda, giving a wry smile to Lee, responded to him, "Thank you..."

Seeing Lee give her a wink, Amanda turned her attention back to Phillip, questioning, "Alright...What seems to be the issue here? Obviously, it's the baby, isn't it?"

Phillip replied, "Well, yeah...I mean, I can't believe you're in the same spot as last time."

Amanda, bewildered, asked, "What do you mean by that, Phillip?"

Phillip shrugged and getting up from the bed to pace slowly and commented, "After Jamie was born, and Grandma moved in, and...Dad left...For good...Remember?"

-SMK-

Amanda then realized what Phillip was getting at, and softly said with a gesture, "Please come sit here with me, Honey, alright? I want to explain something to you and your brother..."

As Phillip sat next to his mother, she gently kissed his temple answering with a sigh as she also glanced at Jamie and began, "I'm so sorry you and Jamie had to go through that...I-I love you boys with all my heart, and I tried to make things better for you both somehow. When your dad and I finally talked at the end, it was clear he wasn't happy any more, and neither was I. See, when he first told me about the EAO job, I assumed he could work from the D.C. area, and still offer the environmental law services he provided...But he explained it did involve some traveling to other countries...Now, he assumed that I would pack up the house and you boys, and go wherever he was needed, for however long that was. Sometimes it was weeks, sometimes months, at long intervals. But given your young ages at the time, I just couldn't allow it, you know? I wanted you both to have a stable home, and make lots of friends and get your education here-"

Jamie asked, interjecting,"But what about Grandma?"

Amanda nodded, answering, "Yes, I considered that, and felt that she shouldn't have to travel wherever we were at the moment, but he told me that she would accompany us as well...So I told him that maybe when you were older, it would be better...See, he thought if we were abroad, that I could get a position teaching the native children our language, and somehow blend our cultures for a better experience...You would learn from their people as well..."

Jamie queried, "But that sounds kind of lonely...I mean, they wouldn't understand us, and we wouldn't understand them...It'd be weird."

Lee, clearing his throat, answering, "Yeah, I know a little of what your mom is telling you, Jamie...See, my uncle, the Air Force colonel, was stationed in places all over the world, and me being an only child, had a somewhat rough time making any kind of lasting friendships because we moved around so much."

Amanda smiled then at Lee, commenting, "Which is why, when I met Lee almost four years ago, he was by then considered a loner...His thinking was that if you didn't get close to anyone, you couldn't get hurt..."

Lee sighed and nodded, adding, "Yeah, but your mom was different from the get go, and kept dogging me, until I finally realized how special she was, and wanted to actually keep her in my life...for good."

Phillip questioned, "Okay, the part about Dad I get, but what does that have to do with you and Lee, Mom?"

Amanda looked at Lee, who nodded for her to continue, and Amanda answered, "Well, remember when I told you that Lee and I had just recently began dating?"

As the boys nodded, Amanda replied, "Okay, that is the truth. Although we have known each other almost four years now, we took our time getting to know one another as colleagues, and then became friends."

Jamie asked, "How long did you and Dad know each other before you got married?"

Amanda thought carefully, and then stated, "We met towards the end of my junior year in college, through friends of ours, and seemed to hit it off immediately. I graduated with my degree in American Literature, and your dad graduated and went onto law school, eventually going into Environmental Law, which led to his EAO position..."

Phillip shook his head and queried, "Bet having us kinda messed things up, didn't it?"

Amanda surprised, responded slowly, "Phillip Thomas King! I can't believe you even let that enter your head!"

Then, looking over at Jamie, Amanda asked, "Were you thinking that as well, Sweetheart?"

Jamie shrugged and commented, "Well, sometimes, I think Dad's happier without us in a way-"

When a shocked Amanda then stared at Jamie and tried to speak, Jamie put up a hand remarking, "I-I mean, Phillip and I know Dad loves us, but sometimes when we have our weekend plans or vacation with him, it's almost like he doesn't really want to be with us ... Does that make sense?"

-SMK-

Amanda swallowing hard, took both sons' hands with hers, and commented gently, "Oh, My Sweet Boys! I can promise you that your dad does love you completely...It's just that in trying to save the world with the EAO, he forgot that his whole world was actually right here in this house with us! And I'm so sorry for all the pain that caused you! But listen to me very carefully...You two are not to blame for your dad and I splitting up, alright? No, we just hit a wall where we couldn't agree on anything any more, and it made us unhappy, and rather than have you two be witness to that, we ended it..."

Phillip then asked, "So, what happened with Dean? I wasn't too nice to him, but-""

Amanda shrugged as she glanced at Lee, who did a slight eye roll, and continued, stating, "Well, he was a very nice man, and very considerate of all of us, and I did enjoy spending time with him...But he didn't understand that I needed time after your dad and I broke up to even consider remarrying...No, that eventually ran it's course...Then, after a time, Lee and I began having lunches together at the IFF office, or on location scouts, and our friendship grew deeper, and then just a few weeks ago, he proposed to me...Fellas, I really do love him, and I really want to marry him, because he's different than anyone I'd ever known before. But you two are my entire world, so I need you to talk it over, and if you have any questions, or concerns, we'll cover it, okay?"

Phillip scoffed, answering with a shake of his head at Jamie, "What Mom really means is that she already accepted the proposal, and wants us to be alright with it..."

Amanda then quickly interjected with, "Phillip-"

But Phillip remarked, "Look, Mom...A new kid brother or sister, and a new stepfather? All at once? I don't know how Jamie feels, but I need some time, okay?"

Amanda nodded, and with a swallow, commented with a gesture, "Of course, Sweetheart...This is new for all of us...I understand...Lee and I will be downstairs, alright?"

Lee, clearing his throat, answered matter- of- factly, putting up a hand as he looked over at Phillip, "Wa-Wait a minute, Honey...Phillip... I want you to understand something...Baby or no baby, I have no desire to turn tail and run from this! Yes, it was unexpected, but this child came from love...The exact way you and Jamie did! So, if you're thinking I'll just be "visiting" now and again. you're wrong! Your dad and I are two totally different people. Now, I know it will take time getting to know me, but I'm hoping you and Jamie will at least meet me halfway, alright?"

Lee turned towards the door, gesturing to Amanda to head out ahead of him, and once going out into the hall, Lee closed the door, stating to Amanda in a tired tone, "I guess this talk wasn't a good idea after all..."

Kissing her cheek, he responded as he headed for the staircase, "I'm going for a drive, and then heading home...I'll call you later..."

-SMK-

Then as the two headed downstairs, and Lee left through the front door, Dotty, on the family room couch taking notice of this, asked Amanda, "Well, what happened?"

Amanda sighed as she went to fix herself some tea, replying sadly, "Phillip, in some way, feels that Lee might be like Joe was, and not want to stick around-"

Dotty answered, "Well, that's ridiculous-"

Amanda nodded, commenting with a gesture towards the stairs, "Oh, yeah? Tell that to my "nine year old" son upstairs-"

Dotty, bewildered, queried, "Nine? Phillip's fourteen...What...?"

Then, realizing what Amanda was saying, Dotty went over to the kitchen counter, and putting her arms around her daughter, said, "Oh, Panda...I'm so sorry, Darling! Is Lee alright?"

Amanda, pouring her tea into a cup, asked, "What's that old saying, Mother? Something like "Sins of the father", right? Phillip is afraid Lee will walk away from us just like Joe did...He said he needed time to think about Lee and I getting married."

Dotty then asked, "What about Jamie? Was he upset as well?"

Amanda shrugged responding, "He didn't say a whole lot, but I think he was kind of afraid to in front of Phillip, anyway..."

Shaking her head, she changed her mind about the tea, and dumping it into the sink, rinsed out the cup, throwing the tea bag away, answering somberly to Dotty as she headed for the stairs, "I'm gonna go lie down for a while..."

Dotty commented, "Alright, Dear."

As she watched her daughter go upstairs, Dotty was wishing she could fix the problem immediately...But how?

TBC