Chapter 15

Amanda visited Dr. Joyce again the next day. She felt better after seeing her family. She had a nightmare the night before of Addi Birol staring into her eyes again, so she had trouble sleeping. Unfortunately, the sleeping aids made her really groggy the next day and did not really stop the nightmares so she stopped taking them. She decided the continued therapy the Dr. Joyce would be the best route. However, the best therapy was sleeping with Lee as he knew how to comfort her. Another reason to come clean as to their relationship.

She then returned to the Q Bureau where Lee was wrapping up some loose ends with the Karbala matter. Addi Birol was in custody and his arraignment date would be coming up shortly. Lee knew that Amanda could be required to testify or face him in trial but he was trying to find a way to avoid it for his arraignment. The prosecuting attorney would need to meet with Amanda, so Lee wanted to prepare her.

"Hi," Amanda said, walking over to give me a kiss.

"How were the boys?" Lee asked.

"Phillip was unfazed, as expected." She explained. "Jamie's still mad at his dad and still a little uncertain of you. I think you meeting them again when Kristen is there is a good idea. She has a way of putting them at ease."

"Good," Lee said. "I'd like to see how she relates to them."

"So what's on the agenda today?"

"Well," Lee said, looking a bit reluctant. "The prosecutor for the Birol case needs to meet with us."

Amanda looked concerned.

"I know," Lee said. "It can't be helped."

"I don't have to face him, do I?" She asked.

"Not for this meeting obviously." Lee said. "I will be honest, for the arraignment, you won't need to be there. However, if there's a trial, you may have to face him."

"I was afraid of that."

Lee came around the desk to hold her.

"I know," Lee said. "We'll just take it a day at a time. For now, let's concentrate on our life, okay? We need to figure out who we're going to tell about our relationship, and when."

"I think my family needs to know first, before anyone at work."

"I agree. Maybe after a few visits, the boys would feel more comfortable. Maybe then we can start doing some real planning"

"I like that."

"Let's keep it a light day for you, okay?" Lee said. "I don't want you overdoing it."

"Okay," Amanda agreed. "It will allow me to get home earlier to get dinner ready."

"It's so strange," Lee said. "I'm actually a little excited about suburbia." He laughed. "I've got to admit, the Betsy Ross estates opened my eyes to the weird that can be the suburbs."

Amanda laughed with him, hugged him and went in for a real kiss.

Then a knock at the door.

"It's just me," Kristien said, cracking open the door. "Everyone decent?" She joked.

"Come on in," Lee laughed.

"Lee, I was told to have you sign off on the expense account for my jacket. You know, the one with the hole in it."

Lee signed off on the form.

"6:00 tonight ok?" Kristen asked Amanda.

"Yeah, both you and Lee will be there tonight." Amanda told her.

"Great," she glowed. "Lee has been training me on how to be an agent. Tonight I will teach him about teenagers." She laughed.

"Will there be a test?" He joked.

"Yep. But I won't be the administering it." She said. "Carry on, you two. Should I lock the door?"

"No," Amanda laughed. "See you this evening." Turning back to Lee. "Let's get this meeting with the attorney over with."

That evening, Lee arrived shortly before Kristen. He knocked on the door and Phillip answered the door. "Hi, Mr. Stetson."

"Hi Phillip," See greeted him. "You know, you can call me Lee. We don't need to be so formal."

"Cool, Lee. Come on in."

Lee made his way toward the kitchen.

"Hi there," Amanda said, greeting him with a little kiss.

Jamie was sitting at the table, working on homework.

"Hi, Jamie," Lee called over.

"Hi, Mr. Stetson," he replied unenthusiastically.

"He said we could call him Lee," Phillip announced.

"Ok, if he insists," Dotty said as she entered the room. "Hello Lee, it's good to see you again." She said planting a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, Mrs. West, good to see you too."

"Well, as long as we are being informal, please call me Dotty."

Lee smiled as they heard a knock at the door.

"Kristen's here!" Jamie yelled bolting for the door.

"Wow," Lee said to Amanda, "she really has found the magic key, hasn't she?"

"Yeah," Amanda smiled. "She's great with kids."

"Hey Dude!" Lee heard Kristen greeting Jamie. "Buenos Dias, Señor Phillip."

"Hola, Kristen," they heard Phillip. "Es bueno verse."

"Muy Bueno." She replied. "Lista para estudiar?"

"Si, Senorita."

As they entered the kitchen, Kristen turned to Amanda, Lee and Dotty.

"Hi, for all of you, I speak English." She laughed. "Thank you for having me again."

"Thank you for all your help." Amanda said, "Phillip's grades are so much better." Kristen turned to Phillip.

"Estoy orgulloso de ti." She said. "Estudiamos afuera otra vez?"

"Si!" They walked with the study materials to the backyard.

"Wow," Lee said, "Is there anything that girl can't do?"

"Cook," Kristen called back to him as she walked outside, "I can't cook. That's why this is a perfect trade." They all shared the laugh.

As Amanda, Lee and Dotty were preparing dinner Kristen worked with Phillip while Jamie sat with them. After going through his lessons for the week she could tell he was making really good progress.

"Do you know swear words in Spanish?" Jamie asked.

"Yes, but I'm not going to teach them to you." Kristen laughed.

"Por favor!"

"No!" She responded. Kristen noticed that Jamie looked distracted. "You ok, Jamie?"

"Yeah, I guess go."

"He doesn't like Lee," Phillip said.

"En español, Señor Phillip."

"No le gusta Lee."

"Muy bien," Kristen said to Phillip, then turned to Jamie "Why don't you like Lee?"

"It's not that I don't like him," Jamie said. "I don't know. He's changing everything."

"I get that." Kristen said. "But maybe he's changing things for the better." Jamie considered it, but was not convinced. "Listen," she continued. "He's a great guy. He is so good to your mom. He really loves her and he makes her happy. Do me a favor, take a look in the window at her face when she's with him."

Jamie and Phillip both got up and stared in the window to see Amanda smiling and laughing with Lee and their grandmother.

"She does look happy." Phillip said. Before Kristen could correct him her turned to her and said slowly, "Ella luce feliz."

"Yeah," Jamie said. "I guess she does look really happy. " Just then they saw the adults look up at the window and the boys laughed and ran back to Kristen at the table.

"Just give him a chance," Kristen told Jamie. "Ask him some questions, you never know. You two could become really good friends. Having an extra father figure around could turn out to be a really cool thing."

"Yeah," Phillip said, "Dad has been really hard on you lately. Maybe Lee might be easier." He then turned to Kristen. "Lo seinto, no se como decir en espanol." Kristen replied to Phillip,

"Papa ha sido duro contigo últimamente." She then turned to Jamie. "I totally understand that. I told you before my dad and I don't have the best relationship either. My dad and I are working on it, but sometimes it's good to have someone else to talk to. Just give it some time. I also know that Lee really wants to get to know you guys better."'

Later at dinner, there was livelier conversation than the last time Lee had been there. Kristen definitely had the secret sauce for the boys. It was clear they adored her. She simply talked to them frankly on their own level. She didn't talk down or coddle them, she was just herself. Lee couldn't help but smile. He was surprised when Jamie addressed him.

"So, Lee, do you like going to sports games? You know like football or baseball?"

"Yeah," he responded. "My dad passed down baseballs signed to Ty Cobb and Harmon Killebrew." He said. "I also love going to Redskins games, when I can."

"Do you like the Orioles?"

"That's my team," Lee said. "Maybe we can go to a game sometime." Was this happening? Was he making progress?

"That would be awesome!" Phillip said.

"Do you ride skateboards?" Jamie asked.

"Not well," Lee responded.

"He used to play football in college," Amanda said.

"What position did you play?" Philips asked.

"I was a safety." Lee responded. "It was a lot of fun."

"That's kinda cool," Jamie said. "I play soccer, but I've been kind of messing up lately."

"It happens," Lee said. "I was once way downfield, I was right next to the wide receiver and I see the ball coming. I thought for sure I was going to make an interception. The ball was right there, I could almost touch it. Then I tripped over my own feet and fell on my face." Everyone laughed. "The wide receiver caught the ball and ran it in for a touchdown. It was really embarrassing."

"Ah man, is there tape? I want to see that.," Phillip laughed

"Oh God, I hope not." Lee laughed. .

The conversation remained light and Jamie, while still a bit cautious, was opening up a bit. The evening was going well. After dinner, the boys went to do their homework and the adults worked on clearing the table and doing dishes. It felt relaxed and casual, until the phone rang.

"Hello," Dotty said. "Oh hi, Joe" she said. Amanda could see Lee stiffening up.

"It's ok, I'm here this time." she said quietly to Lee.

"Phillip, Jamie," Dotty called upstairs. "Your dad is on the phone."

Phillip came downstairs with Jamie following slowly. Phillip talked for a few minutes, then passed it to Jamie.

"Hi Dad," Jamie said. "Yes. I am trying. It's just really hard. I'm taking harder classes than Phillip." Jamie started to cry.

"Oh heck, no." Amanda said. "Jamie, give me the phone."

"Come on," Kristen said guiding Jamie out to the backyard. "Lee, Phillip, come with us outside. Let's give her some privacy." Once they walked outside Jamie started bawling.

"He hates me!" He said. "He says because I usually get all A's I need to take harder classes. But they're too hard. I don't understand the teacher and Dad just yells at me."

"It's ok," Lee said. "Sometime, no matter what we do, we can't please some people."

"Yeah," Jamie said. "But you're a grown up."

"I wasn't always," Lee continued. "My uncle was so hard on me growing up. No matter what I did, it wasn't good enough. He still does the same thing to me even now. He was so hard on me that I became a completely screwed up adult. But you know who made me a better person? Your mom."

"He's right," Kristen said. "I've heard the stories."

Jamie continued to sob, but he seemed to soften a bit with Lee.

"Look at your mom in there." Lee said. "She is fighting for you. If you can, listen to her." They became really quiet got close to the window to and listen.

"Joe, do you know he thinks you don't even like him?"

"Yes, that's true, you are always supporting Phillip, which is great, but you are so hard on Jamie.."

"Yes, he's been an A student, but that doesn't mean he's going to excel at every class. Give him a break."

"I don't care. I'm going to let Jamie change classes. He's in middle school, he can take whatever electives he likes."

"Fine"

Amanda slammed down the phone. Lee turned to Jamie. "Remind me to never get your mom mad at me." This elicited a laugh from both Jamie and Phillip. "Let's go back inside. I think your mom could use a hug." Kristen held Lee back as the boys went inside.

"That was good, Stetson," Kristen said to Lee as the boys walked in ahead of them.

"Thanks," Lee said back. "I had no idea what I was doing."

"You just helped him realize he has people in his corner," she said smiling. "Even more importantly, you shared a piece of yourself. It's going to help him relate to you. Unfortunately, I'm sure his dad is well meaning, but I don't think he did realizes the harm he's causing. Jamie's coming into a really difficult age where it's easy to lose yourself. Keep encouraging him to be himself. I think you just passed your first test,"

"That makes a lot of sense," Lee said. "I think I tried to over-compensate for my insecurities and became a womanizing asshole. These boys are so lucky to have Amanda."

"I have a feeling they will be lucky to have you too." Kristen smiled as they walked in the house.

Amanda hugged the boys. "I'm sorry I yelled at your dad," she said. "It will be ok. We'll work it out. Jamie, do you want to change science classes?"

"Yeah Mom, I do. I hate it."

"Ok, we'll talk to the counselor. For now, get upstairs and finish your homework."

"Hey guys," Kristen said picking up her materials. "Thank you for dinner. I need to get heading home. I'll see you next week."

"Thanks, Kristen," both boys hugged her and Kristen said her good byes and headed out.

Later that evening, Lee was getting ready to leave as the boys were getting ready for bed. As he was standing on the landing at the foot of the stairs Jamie called down.

"Lee," Jamie said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lee said.

He walked out with Amanda.

"Did I just make some progress tonight?" Lee asked her.

"Yeah," she said. "What did you say to him."

"I just told him about my relationship with my uncle. How I could never do anything right and it turned me into a totally messed up adult. Then I told him the truest thing I've ever said. I told him you were the one to save me, and you were there for him."

Amanda's smiled.. "I love you." she replied and they stood in front of the house kissing good night.