For personal use and select distribution only © February 2002 by Amber Stockton Any Number Can Play - tagalogueWritten by Lynne Kelsey (excerpts from the episode belong to her)
The doorbell rang and Philip announced, "I'll get it." Amanda and Dotty sat on the couch facing each other, talking about Harry. "Amanda, let me give you some advice. If you ever find you have a good thing going ... don't hesitate." Amanda smiled and reacted when she heard Lee's voice. "Hi, you must be Philip." "And you work with my mom?" was Philip's reply. "Yeah, Lee Stetson." "Philip King." She stood and walked to the doorway by the stairs to greet Lee, holding out her hand to briefly clasp with his. "Hi, come on in." She smiled when she saw his left hand behind his back and hoped that everything would go smoothly. They had agreed to slowly get her family used to their relationship. This was the first step of many to come. "Mr. Stetson!" Dotty greeted as Lee stepped down into the den, hiding a bouquet of flowers behind his back. "I'm surprised ... I mean, I'm delighted..." she stammered, gesturing with her hands. Lee approached her, then held up a hand to stop her flow of words. "Would you please call me Lee?" Dotty looked momentarily surprised, but recovered quickly. "Oh, of course ... Lee." "All right. These are for you." Lee brought his left around front to present the bouquet of flowers to Dotty. The shine in her eyes showed her delight. Amanda smiled at the exchange, noting that Lee's gesture was met with success. His idea of flowers earned him quite a few points tonight. Not that he needed any. Amanda knew her mother already thought very highly of Lee. Dotty smiled and nodded. "Well, thank you!" Lee walked back to join Amanda. "You ready to go?" "Yeah, just let me grab my coat." Amanda turned and left the room to head for the closet. "Is this uh ... another premiere?" she heard her mother inquire. "No, just dinner," Lee replied. Amanda smiled at the pleased look she knew would be on her mother's face at Lee's words. After all of the attempts to get her to go out more, Lee was certain to pass inspection and earn her mother's approval tonight. "Dinner. Dinner, that's nice." Lee turned as she came back. "Okay," she said and held her coat. "Have a wonderful time," Dotty called as they turned to leave. "See you later, Mother. Bye, sweetheart." "Bye," Lee echoed with a small wave at Dotty, before turning to face Philip. "Bye, Philip," he added, following Amanda to the front door. "Bye," Philip said to them both. Outside, Lee placed his hand at the small of Amanda's back and chuckled. "What?" Amanda inquired, looking up at him and the smile on his face as they walked to his car. "Oh, nothing." Lee sighed. "No, come on," Amanda pressed. "What is it?" She stopped as they reached his car and turned to face him. "Oh, well, it's just that your mother is so predictable." "Predictable? How?" Amanda wanted to know. "Well, a few kinds words, some nice manners and some flowers, and you've won her over." He reached down and opened the passenger-side door, then took Amanda's hand as he helped her into the car. "Mother always has been the romantic," Amanda said once she was seated. "She's just like her daughter," Lee said with a knowing grin. "You really think so, huh?" Amanda challenged. "Actually, no, I take that back. Her daughter was much easier!" he retorted, firmly closing the door and cutting off any reply she would have made. She saw his smile at her reaction and watched him walk around the front of the car to the driver's side, open the door, and fold his long legs into his seat. No sooner had he closed the door and she let him have it. "What do you mean, I was easier? I'll have you know that it takes a lot more than some sweet words and flowers to get me interested, so if you think you've won me over, you've got another thing coming!" Lee smiled and put his key in the ignition, then placed his foot on the clutch and started the car, the engine roaring to life. "Say what you like, Amanda, but we both know how you really feel," Lee said with assurance, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her lips. She gave him a quick peck, then turned and faced forward, reaching back to pull her seatbelt over her shoulder and fasten it. "Just drive, Stetson!" she commanded, fighting hard not to smile. She knew Lee was right, that he had won her over, but she wasn't about to admit it to him and let him get the upper hand. Lee fastened his seatbelt as well, then glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and chuckled. She watched him out of the corner of her eye and turned her head ever so slightly. He turned his head toward her and winked. She let out an exasperated sigh, but couldn't keep the small smile from forming on her lips. Oh, how she loved this man! * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * About two hours later, their plates cleared and napkins in their laps, they sat across from each other at a secluded table towards the back of the restaurant. Her left hand was joined with his right on the table as they sipped from their respective glasses of wine. The lone candle on the table created a soft and romantic effect that matched the mood shared between them both. "You know, I really feel bad for Mother, sitting at home now that Harry's gone." Amanda set down her glass. "She really was attracted to him, and I haven't seen her that happy since the time she was spending with Captain Kurt." "Well, she seemed to be all right when we said goodnight earlier this evening." Amanda grinned. "That's because you brought her a large bouquet of flowers!" She pulled her hand from his to draw little circles across his fingers. "When a woman's feeling depressed or upset, flowers will go a long way towards making her feel better." "I'll keep that in mind." "Oh, no! You won't get away that easy! You forget, Stetson, that our relationship is no longer new, so you'll have to be a lot more creative than that to get my attention." "Ohh, I don't think that will be a problem," he replied with smug assurance. A moment later, his hand lightly squeezed her leg just above her knee. She jumped in reaction to his touch and almost upset her glass of wine. His hand come back above the table as he reached again for his wine glass and took a sip, a teasing grin on his lips. "I'm serious!" She gave his other hand a slap, trying very hard to regain control of her erratic breath. "Mother really was upset tonight. I really think she fell hard for Harry, and I don't like seeing her like that." Lee's hand clasped hers and gave it a squeeze. "Amanda, I'm sure your mother can take care of herself. She's a big girl, remember?" He tightened his hold. "I have a feeling she'll bounce back from this just like her daughter does. The more I get to know her, the more I realize just how alike the two of you are ... and, that's a good thing," he added. She smiled and squeezed his hand as well. "You know, Mother made a comment pretty close to that a couple of days ago." "Oh?" "Yeah, when she came home from her date early, and you had to beat a hasty departure?" "What did she say?" "Well, after I closed the door behind you, I grabbed a book off the bookshelf and sat down on the couch to read, pretending that everything was normal. After Mother told me about her evening, she asked me how mine was. I told her it was quiet night with my popcorn and my book." She gave him a sheepish grin. "She glanced at the table and told me I was just like her, that I loved to read a good dictionary," she finished with a chuckle. Lee laughed at the remark and shook his head. "You mean, you didn't take the time to realize what book you grabbed?" "Lee, Mother was coming in the door. I barely had time to get you in the back yard!" "An experience I don't wish to repeat tonight." His voice dropped to a husky whisper as he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a tender kiss on her fingers. Amanda felt her heart race in reaction to the smoldering look in Lee's eyes and the suggestive grin on his lips. It wasn't easy to find her voice, so she swallowed several times to moisten her suddenly dry throat. "Well, you won't have to. Mother now knows that we're dating, so you won't have to disappear when she or the boys come home." He lowered her hand back to the table, then methodically stroked her fingers with his thumb and pinned her with a look. "Dating, huh?" "Well, you know it's just the first step." She took a deep and calming breath, trying hard not to be affected by his touch. "We couldn't exactly come right out and tell her we're engaged." "True." "I'm really looking forward to at least the beginnings of honesty with Mother. It really hasn't been easy lying to her all this time, although I always did my best to be as honest as I could." She grinned. "Anyway, now you'll be able to come to and leave by the front door." He winked and smiled. "I know it hasn't been easy, but you've done an admirable job." Pausing to drain his wine glass, he shifted his gaze back to her again and patted her hand. "So, how about we settle our bill and start down that path towards being somewhat normal in our relationship?" Amanda smiled. "I think that sounds like a good idea!" She lifted her glass and took a final gulp, also emptying the contents, then reached for her purse and slid out of the booth. As soon as they were both standing, she slung her purse over her shoulder, then placed her hand in his outstretched one. He tossed a few bills on the table for their tip, then led them to the front of the restaurant. When they pulled up in front of Amanda's house, she noticed the front porch light was on. She thought she detected a light coming from the living room, but she couldn't be sure. It would be just like her mother to wait up, even though it wasn't all that late. Placing her hands in her lap, she waited for Lee to shut off the engine and get out to open her door for her. He reached his hand down to help her out, then closed it behind her and gestured with his right hand towards the front gate. His left found its familiar place at the small of her back. When they reached the gate, he reached in front of her to unlatch it and hold it open for her. "Thank you." She stepped in front of him, then waited for him to close the gate and join her again as they headed up the brick walk to her front door. "This sure feels a lot different!" She detected a teasing lilt to his voice. Glancing up at him, she saw his grin. When his gaze found hers, he winked. "Yes, but I think it's a nice kind of different, don't you?" "Yeah, I could get used to this." She smiled, then reached out to place her hand on the doorknob. "Would you like to come in for some coffee? I'm sure Mother put a fresh pot on for the evening." "What, and face the third degree from your mother?" He chuckled, then paused, as if reconsidering the invitation. "Nah, I think I'll pass tonight. One thing I will accept, though," he said and placed his hand over hers on the doorknob to draw it back and hold it between them, "is a goodnight kiss." "Mmm, that's something I don't mind giving you," she whispered and raised her chin as he lowered his head. When their faces were mere inches apart, she smiled. "Mother told me earlier that when I have a good thing going, don't hesitate." He smiled and whispered, "I second that," then closed the final gap between them. Their lips touched and blended together in a lingering kiss that was both sweet and tender. A pleasant ending to their evening. All too soon Lee pulled back, giving her another tender kiss on her lips before placing a quick peck on her nose and lifting his head to gaze down into her eyes. She could see the desire in his eyes to continue their embrace, but the knowledge that her mother would definitely know they were home and be waiting in the living room helped her to control her own desires. Besides, she may open the door at any moment, and Amanda wanted to have Lee all to herself as long as she could. "You know, this almost seems like a fairy tale instead of our real lives. We've had to sneak around for so long and do things in such an obscure manner, I almost feel like being able to be somewhat normal is just a dream." Lee sighed and leaned his head down against hers. "Well, Cinderella, this Prince Charming should say goodnight. You won't exactly be facing the ugly stepmother, but I have a feeling you'll be inundated all the same." "You're not kidding!" "See you tomorrow?" "Yeah." After another quick kiss, Lee stepped down from the front porch. His hand held hers until the last possible second before he lifted it to his lips and blew her a kiss, walking backwards towards the gate. When he reached it, he let himself out and walked around his car to lower himself into the driver's seat. The engine roared to life, and Amanda watched him put it in gear, then give her a final wave before he took off down the street. She sighed, happy to have been able to spend a normal evening with him, but feeling somewhat disillusioned by it all. For some reason, acting and being normal just didn't seem to fit what she had come to expect out of their relationship. While it was certainly a nice change from how they had been, there just seemed to be something missing. Perhaps he had felt it too. Then again, perhaps he didn't want to face her mother and the interrogation she knew she would receive once she went back into the house. That thought alone made her smile. It really did feel good to be able to be honest with her mother and start down the path of complete honesty. Although she knew they would have to take things slowly and gradually to help her family become comfortable with Lee, it didn't seem to be a very daunting task. Now, getting their coworkers used to the idea may take a bit more. Billy didn't seem to have a problem, but somehow, she had a feeling Francine would do her very best to throw a wrench in her plans. Well, she would just have to be ready. Lee had come a long way from the man she met at the train station three-and-a-half years ago. She now felt sure about their relationship. No one, not even Francine, was going to convince her otherwise. (THE END) |
