Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © April 2002 by Amber Stockton Relative Situation - tagalogueWritten by Joan Brooker & Nancy Eddo (excerpts from the episode belong to them)
Colonel Clayton took a sip of the wine the waiter had just poured and nodded appreciatively. "Not bad...excellent! You were right, Lee. '81 is a better vintage." "Now there's something to drink to!" Lee exclaimed. "I've got a better idea. Let's drink to family," Amanda countered. "Hear, hear!" Lee and the Colonel both replied, and all three took a sip from their glasses. "Why don't you two make a pact not to be such strangers?" Amanda suggested as soon as she lowered the glass from her lips. "You're right," the Colonel agreed and turned his head to the right to look at Lee. "We shouldn't let another three years go by between visits, Lee." "Agreed." Lee nodded. "So, why don't you come back to Washington during the holidays, stay at my place..." "Oh, no, no, no!" the Colonel interrupted. "You've already played host. Let's go back to the air base and uh, let me return the favor..." "Ah, no offense, but, uh, an Air Force base isn't exactly my idea of a vacation. Come on, my apartment will be much more comfortable," Lee continued to press. "There is nothing wrong with my bunk. You spent most of your life in one," the Colonel pointed out. "Yes, and exactly why I don't want to see another one again. Come on, you're not putting me out. I'll rent a rollaway bed..." "Oh no you don't...now there is more than enough room in my officer's quarters." Amanda's head went back and forth as she listened to Lee and the Colonel argue. She rolled her eyes. It was like watching a tennis match. Imagine, two grown men acting like children. "Now, listen..." "Family," she interrupted and raised her wine glass. "You w..." He stopped at Amanda's interruption. "Mmm." He smiled and gestured with his left index finger. Clayton looked back and forth between Lee and Amanda, then let out a little chuckle. Lee raised his own wine glass. "Hear, hear!" Lee and the Colonel smiled and clinked their glasses with Amanda's. After taking a liberal sip, she set down her glass and looked at the Colonel. She was about to take a big risk with her next question, so she took a deep breath and plunged ahead, hoping it wouldn't anger Lee or cause the Colonel to become out of sorts. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so she opened her mouth to speak. "So, now that things seem to be on better ground, are there any war stories you could share about life with Lee when he was younger?" She saw him hesitate, so she hurried to continue. "I know things haven't been the greatest between you, but there had to be something that stood out." She hoped he would interpret her request in the light in which it was asked, a silent plea to begin patching some of the wounds of both of their pasts. "Well, there was the time when Lee was about nine. We were at the Yigo base in Guam, and he got the bright idea that it would be fun to sound the civil defense drill alarm." Lee groaned. "Oh no." The Colonel continued as if he hadn't heard Lee. "It sent everyone at the base into immediate action. Good thing the commanding officer realized it was a false alarm and had it shut off before anything got too far." He sent a pointed look in Lee's direction. Lee shrugged. "Hey, I was only nine. I was into mischief. What do you expect?" "Well, how about when you snuck into that military personnel reception and hid under the table?" "Was it my fault the guy stepped on my hand and nearly crunched my fingers?" Amanda laughed as she thought of Lee hiding under a table. "How old were you?" Lee glanced across the table at her. "Ten, I think." "Well, what happened?" The Colonel jumped in to reply. "He jumped up and upset the punch bowl on the table, spilling the contents all over the commanding general who was standing behind it." "Phew, did I pay through the nose for that one!" Lee paused, then turned his attention towards his uncle. "Yeah, but you can't forget the reception I managed to save when the chef didn't show." The Colonel nodded. "You do have a point." "Good thing I had learned how to cook all those gourmet meals! That reception was a big success." "Yes, but you were also almost twenty years old. I would hope you wouldn't be hiding under tables and causing trouble at that point!" "All right, you two, enough of the war stories," Amanda gently scolded. "Now, if you had to name one thing that you appreciate about each other, what would it be?" She knew she was grasping at straws to encourage them to get along, but she also knew it was important to Lee, and she knew it would ultimately be important to the Colonel. They both appeared to consider her question with a great deal of thought, and she noticed them surreptitiously glance at each other from time to time, almost as if they were weighing their answers based on some private scale that only the two of them knew. Finally, the Colonel spoke. "I'd have to say it was the connection to my family. Although it wasn't easy having a kid around, it kept me in touch with them in a way." Amanda smiled and nodded in understanding, then looked across the table. "Lee?" He sighed. "Well, I may complain about it, but I do appreciate the sense of discipline instilled in me at a young age. That and the attitude of never quitting until you get what you want." Amanda folded her hands in satisfaction and rested them on the table in front of her. "There, see? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Both men only grunted in reply, and she grinned as she shook her head. The Colonel cleared his throat. "Well, I really should be getting back to the base." He stood, then held out his hand to Lee. "I'll be in touch." Then, he turned to Amanda. "Amanda, it was a pleasure." He lifted her hand and gallantly bowed over it. "You keep him in line, you hear? He needs a good woman like you!" Amanda glanced out of the corner of her eyes to see Lee shift uncomfortably and fought hard to keep her grin in check. It wouldn't do for the Colonel to find out Lee had lied, so she continued to subterfuge. "Yes, sir. It was very nice meeting you and sharing another meal." "Well, goodnight, then!" He tucked his hat under his arm, gave them a half-salute and left. "Goodnight, sir!" Lee said as he walked by. He released a long breath then turned to face her. "Well, I suppose we should go as well." "Yes, I told Mother I would try to get home in time to say goodnight to the boys." Lee stood and tossed a few bills on the table, then walked around to pull out Amanda's chair for her. She smiled at the pressure of his hand at the small of her back as he guided her from the restaurant. As soon as they were outside and walking towards his car, he spoke again. "Amanda, I wanted to thank you for dinner, and for what you did in there." He nodded his head towards the restaurant. "Oh, it wasn't..." she tried to protest, but he interrupted her, so she closed her mouth and continued to walk. "Now, before you try to pass it off as unimportant, I want to tell you how much it meant to me. It's no secret that the Colonel and I have been at odds for quite some time, most of our lives, in fact." His chuckle contained a distinct derisive note. "But, you're right. He's all the family I have, and although it might not be much, he is family." She placed a hand lightly on his shoulder in sympathetic comfort. "It must have been hard for you, losing your parents at such a young age. Then, being forced to go from base to base with a man who was so precise in everything, telling you that needed to be tough and not cry, no matter what ... I'm sure it had a lot to do with how you are, now." "Strict? You're not kidding! The man wouldn't even let me sneeze without asking permission first and standing at attention!" Lee was obviously exaggerating, but Amanda knew what he was trying to say. They reached his car, and Lee stopped beside the passenger door. "You know, I can't even begin to count the number of times growing up that I wished for a more normal life. Traveling and moving from base to base and visiting so many different countries *was* normal to me. I didn't know any different until I met some other kids on the odd chance we stayed in one place long enough." "Normal has its disadvantages, too, Lee," she countered. "Besides, despite all of your protests, I still say that you really didn't turn out all that bad. You may not have had the most stable life growing up, but you did manage to make the best of things and become a very honest and hardworking adult. That really does say a lot." He sighed. "Yeah, I suppose so." "I think the Colonel did a wonderful job!" She glanced up at him with an impish grin. "Who else could manage to successfully conform a wayward child and rebellious teenager into the responsible and dedicated man you are today?" "Very funny, Amanda!" Lee reached down to open the door. "Get in!" His voice was gruff as he closed the door after her, but she knew he wasn't really upset. It was merely his way of reacting when someone put him in his place. She watched his progress around the front of the car and realized that yet another brick or two had been chipped or removed in the wall Lee had so carefully built around himself over the years. Slowly but surely, she was making progress. She didn't know why it was important, but something about him kept her coming back. Maybe it was the little boy she saw underneath that was searching for a sense of stability. Maybe it was her mothering instinct that caused her to feel concern for him. Maybe it was the challenge of breaking through that wall. Then again, maybe it was a combination of all of them. When he opened the door and got in on the driver's side, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and grinned. Maybe it was just Lee. (THE END) |
