Chapter 21

Lee tossed the stack of Motor Trend, Car and Driver, and Auto Trader magazines along with several local newspapers onto the kitchen table. He hesitated making eye contact with Dotty, who was sitting at the island with Charlie.

"Lee," Dotty acknowledged.

"Hi, Dotty," Lee mumbled.

Dotty brushed Charlie's hair off his forehead and gave him a chunk of banana. "Not all in your mouth at once, young man." She focused on Lee and asked, "Does that stack you just tossed there have anything to do with why Amanda is downstairs furiously organizing the clothes the girls have outgrown the last few weeks?"

"Probably," Lee confirmed sheepishly, still avoiding eye contact with his mother-in-law.

"Uh-huh. And is that stack also the reason you are not driving Amanda's car? Her pride and joy? The car for which she scrimped and saved every penny for the down payment for over a year?" Dotty pursed her lips and narrowed her gaze on him.

"Yup," Lee choked out. He cleared his throat and added, "It wasn't entirely my fault. There was a construction zone… and a crazy driver… and I was forced off the road…" His voice trailed off as he struggled to find other ways to describe the accident.

Dotty checked on Charlie again before staring at Lee intensely. "Are you hurt?" she probed. "Or anyone else for that matter?"

Lee could feel her eyes on him. "No. Francine and I were on our way back from our interview and neither one of us got hurt." Lee thumbed at the corner of one of the magazines.

"Well, I suppose no one getting hurt is a silver lining in this situation. However, I gather by the look on your face and the stack of magazines and such, that the car cannot be repaired?" Dotty broke off another piece of banana and placed it in front of Charlie while watching Lee fidget.

Lee coughed nervously. "Definitely not. The whole underside… um… transmission, brakes, axle, something else I don't remember… it's all beyond repair."

Dotty waved her hand nonchalantly. "Philip and Jamie took the girls into the other room to entertain them while I gave Mr. Piggy here another snack. Dinner should be ready in a little bit, so you better head down and face the music."

Lee swallowed hard as he glanced toward the steps leading down to their basement family room. Suddenly, the collar on his shirt felt too tight and his palms became sweaty. "Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?"

"You might as well get it over with, Lee. She'll be angry for a while, I'm sure, but you know Amanda." Dotty's face morphed into a sympathetic gaze. "Go on. She doesn't bite."

"It's not her bite I'm afraid of," Lee joked half-heartedly. He sighed loudly and dropped his head before turning toward the stairs. He slowly descended into their basement, his heart hammering in his chest.

He found Amanda sitting on the edge of the couch, piles of little girl's clothes stacked on the table. She was aggressively folding each piece of clothing before slapping it onto a sorted pile.

Lee rubbed the back of his neck and hesitantly asked, "You want some help?"

Amanda snapped the small dress she was holding so hard, Lee could hear the sound from across the room. "No. What I need to know is that Leatherneck can repair my car." She folded the brightly flowered material, lifted an eyebrow, and leveled her angry stare on Lee.

Lee crossed the room slowly as he explained, "Unfortunately, Leatherneck said it can't be fixed. And before you say anything, I've already spoken to the insurance company and the Agency's insurance department and between the two, the entire cost of the vehicle's total value is covered and then some." He chuckled softly and added, "It's a good thing you got a car that holds its value."

"And how much is our insurance going to increase because of your little driving stunt?" Amanda snapped back.

Lee raised his hand and shook it. "Nothing, thanks to the guys at the construction site who told the police we were run off the road. They even gave them a description of the car, although no one caught the license plate. Only a letter or two. So not enough to find out who was driving but enough information so we weren't at fault. And, thanks to the noise of the machines they were using, they didn't even hear the gunshots, so we didn't have to tell the insurance company any part of it. But that's why the Agency is covering the damages also."

"I guess we can be thankful for that then, can't we," Amanda replied sarcastically.

Lee closed the gap between them and sank to one knee. He took Amanda's hands in his and pleaded, "Amanda, please. Let it go. If there was anything I could do to change what happened, I would but I can't."

"Lee, do you remember how you felt when your Porsche rolled off that cliff?" Amanda stiffened her spine and squared her shoulders.

"Yeah." Lee bobbed his head. "And you said to me, 'I'm sorry. I know how much you loved your car.' Well, I know how much you loved your Wagoneer. And your mother reminded me how hard you worked to save up the money to buy it."

Amanda's shoulders slumped slightly as she lowered her hands to her lap and toyed with the small, flowered dress she was still holding. "It wasn't just how much I loved my car or how hard I worked for it. It was the first big thing I bought completely on my own. Joe and I bought the station wagon together and even though I took over all the payments on it, it was still something we both picked out and bought together, like the house on Maplewood. But the Jeep… It took me a long time…" Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Oh, Amanda. I'm sorry." Lee slipped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Without warning, Amanda slapped at his shoulder. "I'm still mad at you!"

Lee couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped his lips. "And you can be mad at me. If it would make you feel any better… any better at all… I'll do whatever you tell me to do."

As Amanda leaned back to wipe her tears away, Jamie appeared on the stairs holding Lily at arm's length. "Um, Mom… Lee… I don't know what happened but both Lily and DJ just exploded poop out of their diapers. It's everywhere and I'm not cleaning it up."

Lee made eye contact with Amanda and cringed as a sly grin appeared on her face. "You don't even have to say it. I'll do it." Amanda brushed away the final tear trying to snake down her cheek as he added, "And after dinner, maybe we can go through the auto magazines I brought home."

"You mean after you give the girls a bath, feed them dinner, and get them ready for bed?" Amanda tossed back.

Lee rose to his feet, pursed his lips tightly, and nodded. He neared Jamie and Lily and gagged. "Amanda! What in the world did they eat today?"

Amanda lifted her eyes and tapped her lips with one finger. "I believe Mother gave them some prunes and oatmeal with lunch today."

Lee gingerly took his daughter from Jamie's outstretched arms and gagged again. "Come on, you. Let's find your sister."