Disclaimer: I have no rights to Scarecrow & Mrs. King or any of its
characters
Background: Post season 4 Marriage and jobs still secret. (mentions
characters from Three Little Spies)
Lee started to wake up. He felt his wife's warm body next to him in bed. Lee would never tire of that, he was starting to wish they had never decided on keeping their marriage a secret from everyone. Lee felt Amanda jump under his arm.
"Oh my gosh, Lee!" Amanda exclaimed.
"What is wrong sweetheart?" Lee asked as he pulled her closer for a kiss.
"Lee, we fell asleep, how are we going to get you out of here without Mother and the boys knowing you stayed all night?"
"I'm sorry Amanda, I hate having to sneak around to make love to my wife. I guess I enjoyed lying here holding you too much. It feels so comfortable, so right." Lee said as he thought back to last night. The boys went to bed at nine and Dotty retired to her room shortly after that in order to give Lee and Amanda a little time alone. They had snuggled on the couch and talked and kissed for two hours. Neither one of them wanted the night to end, so they snuck up to Amanda's room. They agreed that Lee would leave before anyone realized that he had stayed. Lee and Amanda were startled by a knock at Amanda's bedroom door.
"Amanda," Dotty was opening the door and peeking her head in. Amanda turned onto her side facing the door. Lee ducked under the covers and tried to become one with the mattress, trying to hide behind Amanda. "Captain Kurt is picking me up early, we are going to get some breakfast before my flying lesson. Amanda tried to keep her cool, but knew that her cheeks must be flushed from her embarrassment.
"Ok mother, have fun." Almost before Amanda could finish talking, the door opened wider and Jamie's face appeared. Amanda was trying not to be distracted by Lee's hot breath on her back.
"Mom, can you please pick up some more fuses for my science project on your way home from work? I want to be prepared, I don't want to blow a fuse at the last minute like last year."
Amanda smiled at her youngest son as she replied. "Sure thing sweetheart. I can pick some up today."
Just then the door swung all the way open and Phillip stepped in. ""Hey mom, can you ask Lee."
Phillip was interrupted by Dotty's sharp intake of breath and an 'Oh my." Amanda, Phillip and Jamie all looked at Dotty, and then followed her gaze to the floor. Lying all across the floor near Amanda's bed was Amanda's blouse, her jeans and her panties. Amanda's bra was dangling over the chair next to a sport coat and one argyle sock. The matching sock was lying on top of a pair of Khaki pants. A red tie was hanging from the edge of Amanda's dresser. On the floor, by the foot of the bed were a white dress shirt and a pair of blue boxers. If Amanda's face wasn't red before she knew it was now. The group at the door slowly looked back at Amanda with their jaws dropped. All Amanda could get out was "Uhhhh"
Phillip was the first to speak. "Uh, Lee?"
Lee knew there was no hiding now. He slowly emerged from under the covers. "Yeah?" Lee replied weakly.
"Uhm, I was able to get an extra ticket to the sports banquet on Friday, would you like to come?" Phillip asked.
Lee was surprised that everyone was being this calm about finding him in Amanda's bed. "I would love to come Phillip, Thank you."
There was a silent pause broken by a horn honking outside. Dotty recovered from he shock and took control of the situation. "That's Mrs. Thompson, you boys get going. Don't make her wait."
"Ok" replied Jamie, "Bye mom, bye grandma; uh, bye Lee."
Phillip piped in also. "Bye Grandma, bye Lee, bye mom."
Lee couldn't help but smile. "Bye guys, have a good day at school."
Amanda called after the boys as they ran down the stairs. "Bye fellas, be good at school."
Amanda and Lee looked toward Dotty. Dotty met their eyes saying. " You know, if you want some privacy you really ought to lock your door dear." Looking at Lee she asked. "Lee, you will be joining us for dinner tonight won't you?"
Lee nodded as he replied, "Yes, I shouldn't have to work late, so I should be able to make it. Thank you."
"Good" replied Dotty as she backed out of the room and closed the door.
Lee and Amanda both flopped back onto their pillows, turned toward each other and asked. "Now what do we do?" in unison.
Lee turned to his side facing Amanda. "Well they seemed to take finding me here pretty well."
"Yes, but what about when the shock wears off. We will have a little explaining to do. You know it isn't much like me to be having casual sex."
Lee kissed his wife. " There is nothing casual to making love to you."
Amanda rolled her eyes at Lee, "You know what I mean. I guess my 'wait until you are married' speech I gave the boys has no credence now."
"Amanda, but we are married."
Amanda leaned closer to Lee as she replied, " You know that, and I know that, but they don't know that." They snuggled close for a few minutes each quietly pondering what had just transpired.
Lee finally broke the silence. "Well, I guess we can't stay here all day. We ought to get to work. Maybe we can get away for lunch so we can get prepared for the inquisition tonight at dinner."
Amanda gave Lee a quick kiss. "That sounds like a plan Scarecrow."
************************************************
The ride home was a quiet one. Both Lee and Amanda were thinking back to what happened that morning. They had been married for eight months and the sneaking around to spend time together was wearing very thin, this very morning they had let their guard down. Lee and Amanda had snuck up to her room after everyone else had gone to sleep. They had done this before, but this time Lee fell asleep. As they were lying in bed, holding each other they were brought out of their reverie by a knock at the door. Dotty Phillip and Jamie had walked in on them. Now they were silently preparing for the inquisition they were sure was coming.
Amanda was the first to break the silence. "I guess we can't delay this any longer. Sitting in the car in the driveway is not going to solve anything."
Amanda and Lee looked at each other and leaned in for a quick kiss. Lee started to open his door. "I guess it is time to face the music. Amanda, I love you." Lee came around the car, opened Amanda's door and reached his hand out to help her out of the car.
Amanda took Lee's hand and grasped it tightly, trying to draw strength from his touch. "I love you too Lee."
They paused outside of the front door, looked at each other, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Lee and Amanda walked into the kitchen finding Dotty busy trying to finish dinner.
"Hi mother." "Good evening Dotty." The nervous pair remarked.
Dotty smiled at them, she could tell that her daughter and Lee were very nervous. They had every right to be nervous. Dotty knew that they were in love, they had spent a lot of time together, and Lee had also become a regular fixture around the house. Dotty enjoyed having Lee around, she knew that Phillip enjoyed Lee's company; Jamie had taken a lot longer to warm up to Lee, but had come to accept that Lee was an important part of his mother's life, so therefore a big part of theirs. Finding Lee in Amanda's bed this morning was a big shock. Dotty had been wondering for a while how close Lee and Amanda's relationship had become, they certainly had a lot of all-nighters at work, or where they really working? Dotty wanted to get Amanda alone for a few minutes so she sent Lee outside with the boys and enlisted Amanda's help in the kitchen. Dotty broke the awkward silence. "So how was work today dear?"
Amanda, still sounding nervous replied "Work was fine, just a lot of paperwork."
"Amanda I think we need to talk a little bit about this morning."
All Amanda could do was lower her eyes, she felt like a teenager having 'the talk' with her mother.
"Honey you know I don't mean to meddle into your sex life." At the phrase 'sex life' Amanda looked up at her mother, a little shocked hearing those words out of her mothers mouth. "You are an adult, you can make your own decisions." Dotty stopped talking and looked at Amanda.
"Mother, I am sorry, we really didn't intend..."
Dotty interrupted Amanda; "To have sex with him, or to get caught by you son's, naked in bed with him"
"Oh Mother, this is so complicated."
Before either of them could say anymore, Jamie and Phillip silently walked in followed by Lee. Lee and Amanda caught each other's gaze, trying to gain some strength from each other. Dinner was quieter than usual, filled mostly with small talk, after dinner Lee and the boys were in the living room while Amanda and Dotty cleaned up dinner. Lee could feel the discomfort in the room, and felt like he needed to say something, but what?
"Umm, fella's?" the boys looked at Lee. "Things have been pretty awkward tonight." Phillip and Jamie just nodded. " I guess that is my fault huh?" This is hard thought Lee. "About this morning."
Phillip interjected when Lee paused. "Lee we are sorry we barged in on you and mom this morning. I mean Jamie was already in there when I came in. "
Jamie quickly piped in "Hey it's not my fault, Grandma was in there first. Lee, are you mad at us for barging in on you?"
"I am not mad at you, either of you. I have to admit I was very embarrassed that you guys saw me there in your mom's bed. I guess I didn't intend to fall asleep."
Jamie was still pretty quiet, taking it all in. Phillip wasn't quite as embarrassed as his younger brother. "I guess you are adults, the rules are different for you guys.."
Lee couldn't tell if it was confusion or anger in Phillips voice. Now it was Lee's turn to sound confused. "What do you mean by different rules?"
Phillip looked down while he answered. "Well mom always told us how important it was to wait. to wait until you are married. And well you and mom aren't married, and well. I guess. I don't understand why it's not ok for us to, well you know, until we are married, but you and mom can. well, you know."
Lee was a little shocked, He couldn't just blurt out to the guys that he and Amanda did wait until they were married. But Lee couldn't stand the thought that Amanda's boys might have lost some respect for their mother. Lee stood up quickly. "I have to talk to your mom." And hurried to the kitchen, grabbed Amanda's hand and led her outside. "I have to talk to you." As soon as they got outside Amanda looked at her husband quizzically.
"What is this all about?"
Lee took both of Amanda's hands in his, looked into her beautiful eyes and answered her. "Amanda we can't do this anymore."
Amanda stared into Lee's eyes trying to read his emotions. "You can't do what anymore? Amanda asked.
"This" Lee replied motioning toward the house. That is when he saw Jamie and Phillip standing with their arms on their hips, with a look of pure anger.
Jamie was the first to speak. "What can't you do anymore? Pretend to like us just to get our mom into bed? You want her but not us."
Phillip continued where Jamie left off. "Does she have too much baggage, is that it. You got what you wanted now you are going to leave mom, is that it? You never loved or respected our mom, you were just being selfish, you didn't think of anybody but yourself." Phillips voice had gotten very loud by that point.
"Phillip don't yell at Lee." Amanda scolded.
"But mom, he is breaking up with you, we don't want him to hurt you."
Lee broke in before Amanda had a chance. "Boys, I do love your mom, more than I ever thought was possible. And I do respect her. But you were right about one thing. I was being selfish." Lee turned to Amanda and took her hands into his. "Amanda, I don't think I can keep up the charade anymore. Please Amanda, I don't want to keep the secret anymore." Amanda gently nodded her head and that was the affirmation Lee was looking for. Lee turned back to the boys. "Please sit down." Lee motioned to the bench on the patio. Lee looked toward the patio door. "Dotty, you had better come out also."
"Phillip, Jamie, I love your mom with all of my heart. I am not breaking up with her, and I will never leave her."
Jamie started to interrupt. "But you said."
"Jamie please let me finish." Lee turned to Amanda. "I think I need to start at the beginning, 5 years ago. Is that ok?" Amanda again nodded to Lee. "Guys, I first met your mom 5 years ago. We don't exactly work for a film company. We work for a very secret counter intelligence agency. It is known as The Agency. Some Russians were chasing me through the train station. I had a package that I had to deliver. I saw your mom and asked her to walk with me. I asked her to get on the train and give the package to the man in the red hat. The problem was that there were about 25 men on that train with red hats. After that your mom started to work for the Agency part time as a civilian aide. Our boss kept putting us together on cases. Eventually your mom started to work fulltime as my partner. We became best friends as well as partners at work. I eventually also fell in love with your mom. Love really scared me. My parents died when I was 5 and my uncle in the military raised me, he didn't know much about showing love. Then as an adult, the people that I loved the most also died. I was afraid to let your mom know how much I loved her. I didn't want to lose her also. I asked your mom to marry me last fall, and she said yes. But you guys didn't know who I was. We didn't want for me to suddenly pop into your lives as your mom's fiancé, so your mom started to bring me over to spend time with you, so we could start to get to know each other. We wanted to get married so much. I wanted to be a part of your family. But then we got scared. Scared for you boys. A friend of mine had his son kidnapped, we got him back, but we worried that if we got married, that someone might kidnap or hurt one of you, in order to get to me. So we decided that we needed to keep our marriage a secret. On February 13th of last year, your mom and I got married. We thought that it would keep you safer if no one knew that we were married." Lee looked into the eyes of his stepsons, seeing shock and confusion, before he continued. "Lately we have started to realize that it is not only the people that I have put in jail that we need to worry about, your mother is a very good agent and together we have put a lot of people in jail."
Amanda interjected "We don't want to scare you. A lot of what we do is paperwork and research. There is some danger in our jobs, but we are very careful"
Lee continued. "And we have gotten tired of sneaking around to spend time together, and I love you guys, I hate not being a part of your every day lives."
Everyone just sat there staring at each other for what seemed like hours. Phillip was the first to open his mouth. "You are spies?"
Jamie quietly spoke next. "You are married?"
All Dotty could say was "Oh my gosh"
Lee walked up to Phillip and Jamie kneeling in front of them. "Fella's, I don't want you to ever think that I do not respect your mom. Phillip, the rules were not any different for us as they are for you."
Phillip looked up at Lee, locking eyes. "Really?"
Lee let a small smile grace his lips. "Yes really."
Jamie quietly spoke up. "Why didn't you tell us? I don't understand why you couldn't' trust us. Didn't you trust us enough to keep the secret about your jobs? I don't understand why you couldn't just get to know us, then get married like normal people."
Lee tried to blink away a tear that came to his eyes. "I would love to just be a normal person."
Amanda came over putting a hand on Lee's shoulder. Lee reached up and put his hand over hers. Dotty finally spoke. Lee and Amanda had almost forgotten that she was there. "This is a lot to digest. Let's all go to bed and we can talk about this more tomorrow after the sports banquet.
Good nights were said and the boys and Dotty headed to bed. Lee and Amanda sat quietly on the patio just holding each other then decided that Lee had better go back to his apartment, and let everyone think about the revelation that he had just made. "I love you Amanda," whispered Lee.
"And I love you Lee. It is going to be all right. They will get over the shock and they will come around. I know it."
"I hope so, I hope I haven't ruined things with the boys. I do love them so much; I want to finally be their step dad. I don't want them to hate me." Lee told his wife trying to blink back his tears.
"They may take a little time to get used to it but they will not hate you. I promise." Amanda gave Lee a gentle kiss and they decided that he should leave.
Phillip and Jamie were up in their room, the window was opened and they could just barely hear what Lee and their mom was saying. They pretended to be asleep when Amanda checked on them. After she was safely in her room the boys sat back up in their beds and talked about what they had just learned. Phillip was more interested in talking about their mom and Lee's occupation; Jamie was more interested in the fact that they were married. "Phillip, they have been married for almost a year and never told us. I can't believe that mom would get married and not at least tell Grandma."
Phillip looked at Jamie and whispered so that their mom wouldn't hear. "Did you hear him out there, he said that he loves us?"
"Yeah, he doesn't want us to hate him either. Do you hate him Phillip?"
"No I don't think so. I don't know what to think. What about you?"
"I don't hate him, I don't know if I trust him, but he does love mom, and mom loves him. Do you think he is going to move in here now?" Jamie asked nervously.
"Well they are married, so I guess he will. That won't be that bad, he is a pretty fun guy to have around."
"Yeah, but now he will be around as our step dad, not just mom's boyfriend. He will be here all the time, making sure that we finish our homework, and that we do our chores."
Phillip pondered the ideas that Jamie had brought up. "I guess that might not be too bad, it might be nice to have a guy around here. I think it would be ok with me if he moves in. What do you think Jamie?"
Jamie thought for a few moments "I guess if that would make mom happy, I can live with that. It will be kind of weird for a while."
"Yeah. I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow after the banquet and talk some more about it, like grandma said." Both boys lie back down in their beds and continued thinking about the night's revelation.
The next morning had the King household bustling. The boys had to get ready for school, and Amanda ready for work. The conversation was a little quieter than usual.
"Hey mom?" Asked Phillip. "Is Lee still going to come to my sports banquet tonight?"
"Do you want him to?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, if he still wants to come." Phillip was still unsure of his thoughts about this whole marriage thing, but one thing he knew, he still did like Lee.
"I think Lee would feel honored that you still want him to come. Fella's, he really does care about each of you. You are both very important to him. I know that you might need some time to get used to all of this. I want you to know how much he wants to be a part of your lives." Amanda hoped she wasn't saying too much, she didn't want to start any big discussions just before the boys left for school.
"Mom" Jamie's voice quietly interrupted Amanda's train of thought.
"Yes sweetheart?" Amanda answered cautiously
"Is Lee going to move in? I mean you are married and all, and . well, I guess usually married people live together? Does he want to move in with us?"
"Lee will only move in here when you both are ready for that. He . we both want you to feel comfortable with Lee's presence in our family." Amanda looked at her son's, trying to know how to comfort them during this insecure time, while also dealing with her own feelings about the last twenty-four hours. Just then a horn honked outside announcing the boys' ride. "Bye guys, have a good day at school. I love you."
Phillip and Jamie each hugged their mom and said their I love you's and good byes. Dotty came downstairs, told her grandson's good-bye and sat at the table looking at Amanda. "Well this morning seemed to go pretty well with the boys, you know they stayed up and talked for a while after you went to bed, I think they were pretending to be asleep when you checked on them. This was quite a shock, but I think they are going to be ok with it."
"Yes mother, I wondered if they were still awake. I wanted to let them have some space to sort out their feelings. I am glad that they still want Lee to come to the banquet tonight." Amanda was enjoying this talk with her mother, but wondered when her mother was going to show her displeasure about missing her wedding.
Amanda didn't have to wait very long. "Amanda, I really wish you could have told me you were getting married, you know I would have been happy for you. I would have loved to help you plan a wedding, instead of some quicky little elopement."
"I know mother. All I can say is I am sorry. I knew that you would be thrilled, but I was so worried about the boys, and about work. There are rules about partners having a personal relationship. Lee and I didn't want to be split up at work. We might even get fired when they find out that we are married."
Dotty was shocked at the ramifications that work held. "How could they fire you for marrying the man you love. That just isn't right. Not that what you did was right, but that just is not fair. Amanda dear, maybe they will not be so hard on you and Lee. You haven't let your marriage interfere with your work in the last year have you?" Amanda shook her head. "Then why should they care about it now. You have proved yourselves haven't' you?"
Amanda smiled, "Mother, you are right, we have done our jobs just as well, if not better in the last year, they should be able to look at our record and see that our jobs have not suffered. Oh Mother, I love him so much. I am glad that this is all finally out in the open. I just hope that the boys are ok."
Dotty walked over and hugged her daughter. " You heard them, Phillip still wants Lee to come to the banquet tonight and Jamie was asking about if Lee was moving in. They still have a lot of questions and it will be an adjustment. But I think that they are as glad that you married Lee as I am."
Amanda pulled away and looked her mother in the eyes. "Are you really glad for me?"
"Oh Amanda of course I am, any fool can see how much you both love each other." Looking over Amanda's shoulder to the back door Dotty called out to Lee. "Lee come on in and give your wife a proper greeting."
Lee stepped through the kitchen door. "Good morning Dotty."
Dotty walked over and gave him a hug. Whispering to her son in law "I am still mad at you for not letting me give you a wedding, but I still love you. Welcome to the family, Lee." Lee gave her a quick squeeze. "But if you ever break my daughters heart I will hunt you down and kill you."
Lee smiled at Dotty, "You will never have to worry about that."
***************************************************
It was Friday evening; Lee and Amanda were on their way to the boy's sports banquet being held in the middle school gym. As they pulled into the school parking lot Lee thought back to the last couple of days. A lot had transpired since that fateful morning being caught in Amanda's bed by her family, no, by their family. Dotty and the boys now knew about their jobs and about their marriage. It had been quite a shock. Lee was very excited that the boys still wanted him to come to their banquet.
Lee and Amanda walked into the gym and saw Dotty, Phillip and Jamie sitting at one of the tables toward the stage. Lee placed his hand in that familiar area on her lower back and led her through the crowd toward their family. Lee loved that thought.. Their family.
Jamie was the first to see them approaching. "Mom, Lee, you made it. We were starting to get worried that something happened at work."
"We wouldn't miss this for the world." Lee replied as he held out Amanda's chair for her to sit down next to Phillip, and then took the seat next to Amanda. As soon as he sat down the food started to be served and the Vice Principle, Mr. Johnson took the stage welcoming everyone to the banquet.
As the plates were being cleared by the cheerleaders Mr. Johnson again welcomed everyone and they started to give out the awards. Jamie had been recognized as one of three student athletes who had been able to keep a 3.75 GPA. Amanda was very proud. As they got to the last award of the evening, Lee was surprised that Phillip hadn't received any awards yet. He had been working with Phillip a lot over the last few months and had seen quite an improvement in his athletic skills.
"Our last award for this evening is for the most improved player in any of our sports programs. This young man has worked hard over the last year, both athletically and scholastically. He has not only raised his GPA over the past year, but also has shown great improvement in both baseball, and in basketball. The recipient of the most improved player award goes to Mr. Phillip King."
As Phillip stood to walk up and receive his award, Lee grabbed him for a quick hug before letting him walk up to the stage. "I am so proud of you" Lee whispered as he let go of Phillip.
After the awards had all been passed out, Lee and Amanda wondered out into the common area by the office. Mr. Johnson came up to them to offer Amanda his congratulations on her boy's success. "Amanda, you must be very proud of your boys."
"Yes, Mr. Johnson, they both have worked so hard." Amanda replied with pride in her voice.
Mr. Johnson turned toward Lee. "I don't think we have met, I am Andrew Johnson, the vice principal. You must be Amanda's boyfriend. I saw your picture in Jamie's photo essay."
"Photo essay? What photo essay?" Asked Amanda.
"Oh I am sorry, I guess Jamie was keeping it a secret. There was a school wide contest, and Jamie's photo essay was voted to represent the school in the district wide contest. It is on display by the office, if you would like to see it."
"Yes, Mr. Johnson, we would love to see it." Replied Lee.
Mr. Johnson left them alone after leading them to the display case where Jamie's photos were displayed.
Lee read the title in the middle of the display case. "Family, by Jamie King" The display case was filled with pictures and short paragraphs. Lee started at the top and saw pictures of Amanda with each of the boys, One of Amanda teaching Phillip the hook slide. Over to the right of that was a picture of Lee and Phillip washing the 'vette. Lee drew in a breath; he was in a picture, a picture in the photo essay on family. Lee looked at more pictures, seeing some of Dotty, and some of Joe with the boys. Lee looked back to the middle of the display, right under the title. Tears came to Lee's eyes as he read the caption. A family is more than the common DNA that runs through your veins, it is also the time that is shared, the kisses on skinned knees, playing ball together, building a snowman, learning something new together. Family is a feeling, and attitude. Family is trust. Family is love. Family is doing everything you can to protect each other. This is my family. Surrounding the caption were four pictures, the one on the upper left was of Dotty, Amanda and Aunt Lillian all cooking in the kitchen last Christmas. On the upper right were Phillip and Joe playing basketball. On the lower right were Joe and Carrie at their wedding. The last picture, on the lower left was of Lee and Amanda, they were sitting on the couch, Amanda was leaning back onto Lee's chest looking down to where Phillip and Jamie were doing a puzzle. Lee had his arms around Amanda, and was looking at the corner of the scar that could be seen peaking from the edge of Amanda's blouse. You could see the love in Lee's eyes as he gazed at Amanda. Lee remembered the last words in the caption. This is my family And there was a picture of Lee.
Lee was brought back to his surroundings when he heard a voice behind him. A woman's voice that he didn't recognize had asked someone "Who is that with your mom?"
"That is my step dad" he heard Jamie reply. Lee slowly turned around and faced Jamie; the tear in the corner of his eye started its slow trek down his cheek as he locked eyes with Jamie.
"Thank you" was all Lee could say as the tears started to run faster down his cheeks.
Dotty and Phillip chose that time to join the group. There was a brief silence that was finally broken by Phillip. "Lee do you think you could let Mom and Grandma take your car and you could take us in the Jeep? We thought maybe we could help you run by your apartment and pick up a few things? At least get what you need for tonight, until we can start moving your things home tomorrow? If that is ok with you."
"That sounds great to me, are you both sure?" Lee asked looking between Phillip and Jamie.
Jamie was the one who answered this time. "Lee, it is time for this family to get home."
The family didn't notice anyone else in the room staring at them, they all had tears in their eyes as Lee pulled Phillip and Jamie into a hug. "Thank you for letting me be part of a family again." Lee let go and this time pulled Amanda into his embrace. "Thank you for making me part of your family. I love you."
"This is so embarrassing, you are making a scene, can't you at least wait until we get home to get all mushy. Let's go Lee. We need to get your stuff and get home, we all need some good sleep, we have a big day tomorrow." Phillip said as he pulled Lee away from Amanda.
*****************************************************
Sunday evening.
Dotty was upstairs taking a well-deserved bubble bath. Amanda was finishing up some cookies to bring into work the next morning. Lee was trying to distract Amanda from her cookies, while Phillip and Jamie sat at the table working on homework.
"Hey Lee, How much to you know about the Soviet Union?" Jamie asked
"Uhm, quite a bit actually, I have spent a few months there, and can speak Russian pretty well. Why?" asked Lee, a little nervous of why his stepson wanted to know about Russia?
"Well in social studies, my group was assigned the Soviet Union to do a research project on, and I thought you might know a little more about it than what I can find in the library. I know that a lot of what you know about the USSR is probably classified, but maybe you could tell me a little bit more than what I can find in the encyclopedia."
"I can do better than that. Just a minute." Lee ran out into the garage and a few minutes later came back with a box. "Let's see what I still have in here." Lee pulled out some photos from Moscow and handed them to Jamie. I took these when I was in Moscow for a few weeks. Lee also pulled out some other souvenirs that he had brought back from his various trips to the USSR.
"Lee, this book is in Russian, do you know how to read it?" Phillip asked, now interested in his step dad's very interesting life.
"Of course" Lee replied taking the book back. "This is The Wizard of Oz in Russian."
Amanda started laughing, "Who in the world gave you that?" Asked Amanda
"A certain pair of KGB spies that we both know." Replied Lee with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Nadine and Isaac Petrovich?"
"Yep, they sent it to me after that case. I sent them a box full of rock music tapes."
Phillip and Jamie looked at Lee and Amanda with a questioning look in there eyes. Turning to Jamie, Phillip said, "I guess we will have to get used to only hearing parts of their stories. I can't believe that they are spies and worked with the KGB. This is all pretty wild."
Jamie looked back at Lee and Amanda as Lee gave Amanda a gentle kiss. "Yes, it is all pretty wild. But you don't want a boring life do you? I definitely think our family will never again seem boring."
Lee started to wake up. He felt his wife's warm body next to him in bed. Lee would never tire of that, he was starting to wish they had never decided on keeping their marriage a secret from everyone. Lee felt Amanda jump under his arm.
"Oh my gosh, Lee!" Amanda exclaimed.
"What is wrong sweetheart?" Lee asked as he pulled her closer for a kiss.
"Lee, we fell asleep, how are we going to get you out of here without Mother and the boys knowing you stayed all night?"
"I'm sorry Amanda, I hate having to sneak around to make love to my wife. I guess I enjoyed lying here holding you too much. It feels so comfortable, so right." Lee said as he thought back to last night. The boys went to bed at nine and Dotty retired to her room shortly after that in order to give Lee and Amanda a little time alone. They had snuggled on the couch and talked and kissed for two hours. Neither one of them wanted the night to end, so they snuck up to Amanda's room. They agreed that Lee would leave before anyone realized that he had stayed. Lee and Amanda were startled by a knock at Amanda's bedroom door.
"Amanda," Dotty was opening the door and peeking her head in. Amanda turned onto her side facing the door. Lee ducked under the covers and tried to become one with the mattress, trying to hide behind Amanda. "Captain Kurt is picking me up early, we are going to get some breakfast before my flying lesson. Amanda tried to keep her cool, but knew that her cheeks must be flushed from her embarrassment.
"Ok mother, have fun." Almost before Amanda could finish talking, the door opened wider and Jamie's face appeared. Amanda was trying not to be distracted by Lee's hot breath on her back.
"Mom, can you please pick up some more fuses for my science project on your way home from work? I want to be prepared, I don't want to blow a fuse at the last minute like last year."
Amanda smiled at her youngest son as she replied. "Sure thing sweetheart. I can pick some up today."
Just then the door swung all the way open and Phillip stepped in. ""Hey mom, can you ask Lee."
Phillip was interrupted by Dotty's sharp intake of breath and an 'Oh my." Amanda, Phillip and Jamie all looked at Dotty, and then followed her gaze to the floor. Lying all across the floor near Amanda's bed was Amanda's blouse, her jeans and her panties. Amanda's bra was dangling over the chair next to a sport coat and one argyle sock. The matching sock was lying on top of a pair of Khaki pants. A red tie was hanging from the edge of Amanda's dresser. On the floor, by the foot of the bed were a white dress shirt and a pair of blue boxers. If Amanda's face wasn't red before she knew it was now. The group at the door slowly looked back at Amanda with their jaws dropped. All Amanda could get out was "Uhhhh"
Phillip was the first to speak. "Uh, Lee?"
Lee knew there was no hiding now. He slowly emerged from under the covers. "Yeah?" Lee replied weakly.
"Uhm, I was able to get an extra ticket to the sports banquet on Friday, would you like to come?" Phillip asked.
Lee was surprised that everyone was being this calm about finding him in Amanda's bed. "I would love to come Phillip, Thank you."
There was a silent pause broken by a horn honking outside. Dotty recovered from he shock and took control of the situation. "That's Mrs. Thompson, you boys get going. Don't make her wait."
"Ok" replied Jamie, "Bye mom, bye grandma; uh, bye Lee."
Phillip piped in also. "Bye Grandma, bye Lee, bye mom."
Lee couldn't help but smile. "Bye guys, have a good day at school."
Amanda called after the boys as they ran down the stairs. "Bye fellas, be good at school."
Amanda and Lee looked toward Dotty. Dotty met their eyes saying. " You know, if you want some privacy you really ought to lock your door dear." Looking at Lee she asked. "Lee, you will be joining us for dinner tonight won't you?"
Lee nodded as he replied, "Yes, I shouldn't have to work late, so I should be able to make it. Thank you."
"Good" replied Dotty as she backed out of the room and closed the door.
Lee and Amanda both flopped back onto their pillows, turned toward each other and asked. "Now what do we do?" in unison.
Lee turned to his side facing Amanda. "Well they seemed to take finding me here pretty well."
"Yes, but what about when the shock wears off. We will have a little explaining to do. You know it isn't much like me to be having casual sex."
Lee kissed his wife. " There is nothing casual to making love to you."
Amanda rolled her eyes at Lee, "You know what I mean. I guess my 'wait until you are married' speech I gave the boys has no credence now."
"Amanda, but we are married."
Amanda leaned closer to Lee as she replied, " You know that, and I know that, but they don't know that." They snuggled close for a few minutes each quietly pondering what had just transpired.
Lee finally broke the silence. "Well, I guess we can't stay here all day. We ought to get to work. Maybe we can get away for lunch so we can get prepared for the inquisition tonight at dinner."
Amanda gave Lee a quick kiss. "That sounds like a plan Scarecrow."
************************************************
The ride home was a quiet one. Both Lee and Amanda were thinking back to what happened that morning. They had been married for eight months and the sneaking around to spend time together was wearing very thin, this very morning they had let their guard down. Lee and Amanda had snuck up to her room after everyone else had gone to sleep. They had done this before, but this time Lee fell asleep. As they were lying in bed, holding each other they were brought out of their reverie by a knock at the door. Dotty Phillip and Jamie had walked in on them. Now they were silently preparing for the inquisition they were sure was coming.
Amanda was the first to break the silence. "I guess we can't delay this any longer. Sitting in the car in the driveway is not going to solve anything."
Amanda and Lee looked at each other and leaned in for a quick kiss. Lee started to open his door. "I guess it is time to face the music. Amanda, I love you." Lee came around the car, opened Amanda's door and reached his hand out to help her out of the car.
Amanda took Lee's hand and grasped it tightly, trying to draw strength from his touch. "I love you too Lee."
They paused outside of the front door, looked at each other, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Lee and Amanda walked into the kitchen finding Dotty busy trying to finish dinner.
"Hi mother." "Good evening Dotty." The nervous pair remarked.
Dotty smiled at them, she could tell that her daughter and Lee were very nervous. They had every right to be nervous. Dotty knew that they were in love, they had spent a lot of time together, and Lee had also become a regular fixture around the house. Dotty enjoyed having Lee around, she knew that Phillip enjoyed Lee's company; Jamie had taken a lot longer to warm up to Lee, but had come to accept that Lee was an important part of his mother's life, so therefore a big part of theirs. Finding Lee in Amanda's bed this morning was a big shock. Dotty had been wondering for a while how close Lee and Amanda's relationship had become, they certainly had a lot of all-nighters at work, or where they really working? Dotty wanted to get Amanda alone for a few minutes so she sent Lee outside with the boys and enlisted Amanda's help in the kitchen. Dotty broke the awkward silence. "So how was work today dear?"
Amanda, still sounding nervous replied "Work was fine, just a lot of paperwork."
"Amanda I think we need to talk a little bit about this morning."
All Amanda could do was lower her eyes, she felt like a teenager having 'the talk' with her mother.
"Honey you know I don't mean to meddle into your sex life." At the phrase 'sex life' Amanda looked up at her mother, a little shocked hearing those words out of her mothers mouth. "You are an adult, you can make your own decisions." Dotty stopped talking and looked at Amanda.
"Mother, I am sorry, we really didn't intend..."
Dotty interrupted Amanda; "To have sex with him, or to get caught by you son's, naked in bed with him"
"Oh Mother, this is so complicated."
Before either of them could say anymore, Jamie and Phillip silently walked in followed by Lee. Lee and Amanda caught each other's gaze, trying to gain some strength from each other. Dinner was quieter than usual, filled mostly with small talk, after dinner Lee and the boys were in the living room while Amanda and Dotty cleaned up dinner. Lee could feel the discomfort in the room, and felt like he needed to say something, but what?
"Umm, fella's?" the boys looked at Lee. "Things have been pretty awkward tonight." Phillip and Jamie just nodded. " I guess that is my fault huh?" This is hard thought Lee. "About this morning."
Phillip interjected when Lee paused. "Lee we are sorry we barged in on you and mom this morning. I mean Jamie was already in there when I came in. "
Jamie quickly piped in "Hey it's not my fault, Grandma was in there first. Lee, are you mad at us for barging in on you?"
"I am not mad at you, either of you. I have to admit I was very embarrassed that you guys saw me there in your mom's bed. I guess I didn't intend to fall asleep."
Jamie was still pretty quiet, taking it all in. Phillip wasn't quite as embarrassed as his younger brother. "I guess you are adults, the rules are different for you guys.."
Lee couldn't tell if it was confusion or anger in Phillips voice. Now it was Lee's turn to sound confused. "What do you mean by different rules?"
Phillip looked down while he answered. "Well mom always told us how important it was to wait. to wait until you are married. And well you and mom aren't married, and well. I guess. I don't understand why it's not ok for us to, well you know, until we are married, but you and mom can. well, you know."
Lee was a little shocked, He couldn't just blurt out to the guys that he and Amanda did wait until they were married. But Lee couldn't stand the thought that Amanda's boys might have lost some respect for their mother. Lee stood up quickly. "I have to talk to your mom." And hurried to the kitchen, grabbed Amanda's hand and led her outside. "I have to talk to you." As soon as they got outside Amanda looked at her husband quizzically.
"What is this all about?"
Lee took both of Amanda's hands in his, looked into her beautiful eyes and answered her. "Amanda we can't do this anymore."
Amanda stared into Lee's eyes trying to read his emotions. "You can't do what anymore? Amanda asked.
"This" Lee replied motioning toward the house. That is when he saw Jamie and Phillip standing with their arms on their hips, with a look of pure anger.
Jamie was the first to speak. "What can't you do anymore? Pretend to like us just to get our mom into bed? You want her but not us."
Phillip continued where Jamie left off. "Does she have too much baggage, is that it. You got what you wanted now you are going to leave mom, is that it? You never loved or respected our mom, you were just being selfish, you didn't think of anybody but yourself." Phillips voice had gotten very loud by that point.
"Phillip don't yell at Lee." Amanda scolded.
"But mom, he is breaking up with you, we don't want him to hurt you."
Lee broke in before Amanda had a chance. "Boys, I do love your mom, more than I ever thought was possible. And I do respect her. But you were right about one thing. I was being selfish." Lee turned to Amanda and took her hands into his. "Amanda, I don't think I can keep up the charade anymore. Please Amanda, I don't want to keep the secret anymore." Amanda gently nodded her head and that was the affirmation Lee was looking for. Lee turned back to the boys. "Please sit down." Lee motioned to the bench on the patio. Lee looked toward the patio door. "Dotty, you had better come out also."
"Phillip, Jamie, I love your mom with all of my heart. I am not breaking up with her, and I will never leave her."
Jamie started to interrupt. "But you said."
"Jamie please let me finish." Lee turned to Amanda. "I think I need to start at the beginning, 5 years ago. Is that ok?" Amanda again nodded to Lee. "Guys, I first met your mom 5 years ago. We don't exactly work for a film company. We work for a very secret counter intelligence agency. It is known as The Agency. Some Russians were chasing me through the train station. I had a package that I had to deliver. I saw your mom and asked her to walk with me. I asked her to get on the train and give the package to the man in the red hat. The problem was that there were about 25 men on that train with red hats. After that your mom started to work for the Agency part time as a civilian aide. Our boss kept putting us together on cases. Eventually your mom started to work fulltime as my partner. We became best friends as well as partners at work. I eventually also fell in love with your mom. Love really scared me. My parents died when I was 5 and my uncle in the military raised me, he didn't know much about showing love. Then as an adult, the people that I loved the most also died. I was afraid to let your mom know how much I loved her. I didn't want to lose her also. I asked your mom to marry me last fall, and she said yes. But you guys didn't know who I was. We didn't want for me to suddenly pop into your lives as your mom's fiancé, so your mom started to bring me over to spend time with you, so we could start to get to know each other. We wanted to get married so much. I wanted to be a part of your family. But then we got scared. Scared for you boys. A friend of mine had his son kidnapped, we got him back, but we worried that if we got married, that someone might kidnap or hurt one of you, in order to get to me. So we decided that we needed to keep our marriage a secret. On February 13th of last year, your mom and I got married. We thought that it would keep you safer if no one knew that we were married." Lee looked into the eyes of his stepsons, seeing shock and confusion, before he continued. "Lately we have started to realize that it is not only the people that I have put in jail that we need to worry about, your mother is a very good agent and together we have put a lot of people in jail."
Amanda interjected "We don't want to scare you. A lot of what we do is paperwork and research. There is some danger in our jobs, but we are very careful"
Lee continued. "And we have gotten tired of sneaking around to spend time together, and I love you guys, I hate not being a part of your every day lives."
Everyone just sat there staring at each other for what seemed like hours. Phillip was the first to open his mouth. "You are spies?"
Jamie quietly spoke next. "You are married?"
All Dotty could say was "Oh my gosh"
Lee walked up to Phillip and Jamie kneeling in front of them. "Fella's, I don't want you to ever think that I do not respect your mom. Phillip, the rules were not any different for us as they are for you."
Phillip looked up at Lee, locking eyes. "Really?"
Lee let a small smile grace his lips. "Yes really."
Jamie quietly spoke up. "Why didn't you tell us? I don't understand why you couldn't' trust us. Didn't you trust us enough to keep the secret about your jobs? I don't understand why you couldn't just get to know us, then get married like normal people."
Lee tried to blink away a tear that came to his eyes. "I would love to just be a normal person."
Amanda came over putting a hand on Lee's shoulder. Lee reached up and put his hand over hers. Dotty finally spoke. Lee and Amanda had almost forgotten that she was there. "This is a lot to digest. Let's all go to bed and we can talk about this more tomorrow after the sports banquet.
Good nights were said and the boys and Dotty headed to bed. Lee and Amanda sat quietly on the patio just holding each other then decided that Lee had better go back to his apartment, and let everyone think about the revelation that he had just made. "I love you Amanda," whispered Lee.
"And I love you Lee. It is going to be all right. They will get over the shock and they will come around. I know it."
"I hope so, I hope I haven't ruined things with the boys. I do love them so much; I want to finally be their step dad. I don't want them to hate me." Lee told his wife trying to blink back his tears.
"They may take a little time to get used to it but they will not hate you. I promise." Amanda gave Lee a gentle kiss and they decided that he should leave.
Phillip and Jamie were up in their room, the window was opened and they could just barely hear what Lee and their mom was saying. They pretended to be asleep when Amanda checked on them. After she was safely in her room the boys sat back up in their beds and talked about what they had just learned. Phillip was more interested in talking about their mom and Lee's occupation; Jamie was more interested in the fact that they were married. "Phillip, they have been married for almost a year and never told us. I can't believe that mom would get married and not at least tell Grandma."
Phillip looked at Jamie and whispered so that their mom wouldn't hear. "Did you hear him out there, he said that he loves us?"
"Yeah, he doesn't want us to hate him either. Do you hate him Phillip?"
"No I don't think so. I don't know what to think. What about you?"
"I don't hate him, I don't know if I trust him, but he does love mom, and mom loves him. Do you think he is going to move in here now?" Jamie asked nervously.
"Well they are married, so I guess he will. That won't be that bad, he is a pretty fun guy to have around."
"Yeah, but now he will be around as our step dad, not just mom's boyfriend. He will be here all the time, making sure that we finish our homework, and that we do our chores."
Phillip pondered the ideas that Jamie had brought up. "I guess that might not be too bad, it might be nice to have a guy around here. I think it would be ok with me if he moves in. What do you think Jamie?"
Jamie thought for a few moments "I guess if that would make mom happy, I can live with that. It will be kind of weird for a while."
"Yeah. I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow after the banquet and talk some more about it, like grandma said." Both boys lie back down in their beds and continued thinking about the night's revelation.
The next morning had the King household bustling. The boys had to get ready for school, and Amanda ready for work. The conversation was a little quieter than usual.
"Hey mom?" Asked Phillip. "Is Lee still going to come to my sports banquet tonight?"
"Do you want him to?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, if he still wants to come." Phillip was still unsure of his thoughts about this whole marriage thing, but one thing he knew, he still did like Lee.
"I think Lee would feel honored that you still want him to come. Fella's, he really does care about each of you. You are both very important to him. I know that you might need some time to get used to all of this. I want you to know how much he wants to be a part of your lives." Amanda hoped she wasn't saying too much, she didn't want to start any big discussions just before the boys left for school.
"Mom" Jamie's voice quietly interrupted Amanda's train of thought.
"Yes sweetheart?" Amanda answered cautiously
"Is Lee going to move in? I mean you are married and all, and . well, I guess usually married people live together? Does he want to move in with us?"
"Lee will only move in here when you both are ready for that. He . we both want you to feel comfortable with Lee's presence in our family." Amanda looked at her son's, trying to know how to comfort them during this insecure time, while also dealing with her own feelings about the last twenty-four hours. Just then a horn honked outside announcing the boys' ride. "Bye guys, have a good day at school. I love you."
Phillip and Jamie each hugged their mom and said their I love you's and good byes. Dotty came downstairs, told her grandson's good-bye and sat at the table looking at Amanda. "Well this morning seemed to go pretty well with the boys, you know they stayed up and talked for a while after you went to bed, I think they were pretending to be asleep when you checked on them. This was quite a shock, but I think they are going to be ok with it."
"Yes mother, I wondered if they were still awake. I wanted to let them have some space to sort out their feelings. I am glad that they still want Lee to come to the banquet tonight." Amanda was enjoying this talk with her mother, but wondered when her mother was going to show her displeasure about missing her wedding.
Amanda didn't have to wait very long. "Amanda, I really wish you could have told me you were getting married, you know I would have been happy for you. I would have loved to help you plan a wedding, instead of some quicky little elopement."
"I know mother. All I can say is I am sorry. I knew that you would be thrilled, but I was so worried about the boys, and about work. There are rules about partners having a personal relationship. Lee and I didn't want to be split up at work. We might even get fired when they find out that we are married."
Dotty was shocked at the ramifications that work held. "How could they fire you for marrying the man you love. That just isn't right. Not that what you did was right, but that just is not fair. Amanda dear, maybe they will not be so hard on you and Lee. You haven't let your marriage interfere with your work in the last year have you?" Amanda shook her head. "Then why should they care about it now. You have proved yourselves haven't' you?"
Amanda smiled, "Mother, you are right, we have done our jobs just as well, if not better in the last year, they should be able to look at our record and see that our jobs have not suffered. Oh Mother, I love him so much. I am glad that this is all finally out in the open. I just hope that the boys are ok."
Dotty walked over and hugged her daughter. " You heard them, Phillip still wants Lee to come to the banquet tonight and Jamie was asking about if Lee was moving in. They still have a lot of questions and it will be an adjustment. But I think that they are as glad that you married Lee as I am."
Amanda pulled away and looked her mother in the eyes. "Are you really glad for me?"
"Oh Amanda of course I am, any fool can see how much you both love each other." Looking over Amanda's shoulder to the back door Dotty called out to Lee. "Lee come on in and give your wife a proper greeting."
Lee stepped through the kitchen door. "Good morning Dotty."
Dotty walked over and gave him a hug. Whispering to her son in law "I am still mad at you for not letting me give you a wedding, but I still love you. Welcome to the family, Lee." Lee gave her a quick squeeze. "But if you ever break my daughters heart I will hunt you down and kill you."
Lee smiled at Dotty, "You will never have to worry about that."
***************************************************
It was Friday evening; Lee and Amanda were on their way to the boy's sports banquet being held in the middle school gym. As they pulled into the school parking lot Lee thought back to the last couple of days. A lot had transpired since that fateful morning being caught in Amanda's bed by her family, no, by their family. Dotty and the boys now knew about their jobs and about their marriage. It had been quite a shock. Lee was very excited that the boys still wanted him to come to their banquet.
Lee and Amanda walked into the gym and saw Dotty, Phillip and Jamie sitting at one of the tables toward the stage. Lee placed his hand in that familiar area on her lower back and led her through the crowd toward their family. Lee loved that thought.. Their family.
Jamie was the first to see them approaching. "Mom, Lee, you made it. We were starting to get worried that something happened at work."
"We wouldn't miss this for the world." Lee replied as he held out Amanda's chair for her to sit down next to Phillip, and then took the seat next to Amanda. As soon as he sat down the food started to be served and the Vice Principle, Mr. Johnson took the stage welcoming everyone to the banquet.
As the plates were being cleared by the cheerleaders Mr. Johnson again welcomed everyone and they started to give out the awards. Jamie had been recognized as one of three student athletes who had been able to keep a 3.75 GPA. Amanda was very proud. As they got to the last award of the evening, Lee was surprised that Phillip hadn't received any awards yet. He had been working with Phillip a lot over the last few months and had seen quite an improvement in his athletic skills.
"Our last award for this evening is for the most improved player in any of our sports programs. This young man has worked hard over the last year, both athletically and scholastically. He has not only raised his GPA over the past year, but also has shown great improvement in both baseball, and in basketball. The recipient of the most improved player award goes to Mr. Phillip King."
As Phillip stood to walk up and receive his award, Lee grabbed him for a quick hug before letting him walk up to the stage. "I am so proud of you" Lee whispered as he let go of Phillip.
After the awards had all been passed out, Lee and Amanda wondered out into the common area by the office. Mr. Johnson came up to them to offer Amanda his congratulations on her boy's success. "Amanda, you must be very proud of your boys."
"Yes, Mr. Johnson, they both have worked so hard." Amanda replied with pride in her voice.
Mr. Johnson turned toward Lee. "I don't think we have met, I am Andrew Johnson, the vice principal. You must be Amanda's boyfriend. I saw your picture in Jamie's photo essay."
"Photo essay? What photo essay?" Asked Amanda.
"Oh I am sorry, I guess Jamie was keeping it a secret. There was a school wide contest, and Jamie's photo essay was voted to represent the school in the district wide contest. It is on display by the office, if you would like to see it."
"Yes, Mr. Johnson, we would love to see it." Replied Lee.
Mr. Johnson left them alone after leading them to the display case where Jamie's photos were displayed.
Lee read the title in the middle of the display case. "Family, by Jamie King" The display case was filled with pictures and short paragraphs. Lee started at the top and saw pictures of Amanda with each of the boys, One of Amanda teaching Phillip the hook slide. Over to the right of that was a picture of Lee and Phillip washing the 'vette. Lee drew in a breath; he was in a picture, a picture in the photo essay on family. Lee looked at more pictures, seeing some of Dotty, and some of Joe with the boys. Lee looked back to the middle of the display, right under the title. Tears came to Lee's eyes as he read the caption. A family is more than the common DNA that runs through your veins, it is also the time that is shared, the kisses on skinned knees, playing ball together, building a snowman, learning something new together. Family is a feeling, and attitude. Family is trust. Family is love. Family is doing everything you can to protect each other. This is my family. Surrounding the caption were four pictures, the one on the upper left was of Dotty, Amanda and Aunt Lillian all cooking in the kitchen last Christmas. On the upper right were Phillip and Joe playing basketball. On the lower right were Joe and Carrie at their wedding. The last picture, on the lower left was of Lee and Amanda, they were sitting on the couch, Amanda was leaning back onto Lee's chest looking down to where Phillip and Jamie were doing a puzzle. Lee had his arms around Amanda, and was looking at the corner of the scar that could be seen peaking from the edge of Amanda's blouse. You could see the love in Lee's eyes as he gazed at Amanda. Lee remembered the last words in the caption. This is my family And there was a picture of Lee.
Lee was brought back to his surroundings when he heard a voice behind him. A woman's voice that he didn't recognize had asked someone "Who is that with your mom?"
"That is my step dad" he heard Jamie reply. Lee slowly turned around and faced Jamie; the tear in the corner of his eye started its slow trek down his cheek as he locked eyes with Jamie.
"Thank you" was all Lee could say as the tears started to run faster down his cheeks.
Dotty and Phillip chose that time to join the group. There was a brief silence that was finally broken by Phillip. "Lee do you think you could let Mom and Grandma take your car and you could take us in the Jeep? We thought maybe we could help you run by your apartment and pick up a few things? At least get what you need for tonight, until we can start moving your things home tomorrow? If that is ok with you."
"That sounds great to me, are you both sure?" Lee asked looking between Phillip and Jamie.
Jamie was the one who answered this time. "Lee, it is time for this family to get home."
The family didn't notice anyone else in the room staring at them, they all had tears in their eyes as Lee pulled Phillip and Jamie into a hug. "Thank you for letting me be part of a family again." Lee let go and this time pulled Amanda into his embrace. "Thank you for making me part of your family. I love you."
"This is so embarrassing, you are making a scene, can't you at least wait until we get home to get all mushy. Let's go Lee. We need to get your stuff and get home, we all need some good sleep, we have a big day tomorrow." Phillip said as he pulled Lee away from Amanda.
*****************************************************
Sunday evening.
Dotty was upstairs taking a well-deserved bubble bath. Amanda was finishing up some cookies to bring into work the next morning. Lee was trying to distract Amanda from her cookies, while Phillip and Jamie sat at the table working on homework.
"Hey Lee, How much to you know about the Soviet Union?" Jamie asked
"Uhm, quite a bit actually, I have spent a few months there, and can speak Russian pretty well. Why?" asked Lee, a little nervous of why his stepson wanted to know about Russia?
"Well in social studies, my group was assigned the Soviet Union to do a research project on, and I thought you might know a little more about it than what I can find in the library. I know that a lot of what you know about the USSR is probably classified, but maybe you could tell me a little bit more than what I can find in the encyclopedia."
"I can do better than that. Just a minute." Lee ran out into the garage and a few minutes later came back with a box. "Let's see what I still have in here." Lee pulled out some photos from Moscow and handed them to Jamie. I took these when I was in Moscow for a few weeks. Lee also pulled out some other souvenirs that he had brought back from his various trips to the USSR.
"Lee, this book is in Russian, do you know how to read it?" Phillip asked, now interested in his step dad's very interesting life.
"Of course" Lee replied taking the book back. "This is The Wizard of Oz in Russian."
Amanda started laughing, "Who in the world gave you that?" Asked Amanda
"A certain pair of KGB spies that we both know." Replied Lee with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Nadine and Isaac Petrovich?"
"Yep, they sent it to me after that case. I sent them a box full of rock music tapes."
Phillip and Jamie looked at Lee and Amanda with a questioning look in there eyes. Turning to Jamie, Phillip said, "I guess we will have to get used to only hearing parts of their stories. I can't believe that they are spies and worked with the KGB. This is all pretty wild."
Jamie looked back at Lee and Amanda as Lee gave Amanda a gentle kiss. "Yes, it is all pretty wild. But you don't want a boring life do you? I definitely think our family will never again seem boring."