He'd finally thought of the perfect way to get the boys back for their 'timely' April Fools joke. Since he'd arrived at work with some time to spare before the start of his shift, he'd been wracking his brain for the ultimate revenge. The idea hit him just as dawn crept into the window of the Q-Bureau. 'Oh, this was going to be sweet.' Lee thought, rubbing his hands together. He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The plan needed some tweaking, and he was going to need a little help executing it. He rose from his desk, and fixed a pot of coffee. Once it began it dribble out, he replaced the glass pot with his mug, swapping back once the mug was filled. Lee drank half the mug in one swallow, refilled his cup and sat back behind his desk.
Pulling the phone closer to him, he propped his feet on the end of the desk and dialed Amanda. It was a little early for her to be awake but she'd understand once he explained it to her. The next call he made was to Mario. The guy owed him a favor and it was time to collect. All the pieces were in place. Now, all that was left to do was sit back and wait. He may as well get started on the reports he needed to turn in.
He'd just completed his third report when Amanda walked into the Q-Bureau carrying an armload of spring blossoms. "Oh, Lee, I'm so sorry. I should have thought the boys would pull something. I just . . . "
"It's all right," He interrupted her. Going to her, he wrapped her in his arms. "It was just a little harmless prank. No one was hurt." He leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Crushing the blooms between their bodies. Their sweet fragrance filled the room to mix with hers making his head swim. Before he got too carried away, he reluctantly broke the kiss. "I'm sorry I squashed your flowers."
"I'm not." She winked at him and wiped her lipstick off his lips.
"So, tell me, how did it go? Is everything all set?"
"Oh, yeah, everything is set. I told the boys I had a late meeting and you'd pick them up after school. Phillip called shotgun and Jamie argued that it was his turn to ride shotgun. They argued in the car all the way to school. I think you should let Phillip ride up front. Something tells me their little prank was all his idea."
He threw his head back and laughed. "You are one devious person, Mrs. Stetson. Remind me to stay on your good side." He gave her another quick kiss, then took her hand and they went down to the conference room for the morning briefing.
~~~~
The time arrived for him to put his plan into motion. He walked over to his wife and kissed her. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck. I wish I could be there to witness this."
"I'll tell you all about it, at home." He kissed her again and left the office to exact his revenge. He drove his Corvette over to Mario's where he swapped it for a lime-green, Cadillac El Dorado, with lemon-yellow fur interior and a pair of green fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. He made arrangement for one of Mario's employees to follow in the 'Vett. Lee didn't want to be seen driving this flaming fruit of a car any longer than necessary.
He spotted the boys standing out side the front of the school along with about a dozen of their friends. Lee was laughing so hard he had to pull over and collect himself before enacting his revenge.
Once he was back in control, he drove as slow as possible up the main driveway, honking the horn as he went drawing as much attention as possible to the car. He thought the horn was a nice touch since it played the theme from the Godfather movie. He stopped in front of the group of kids, rolled down the passenger window and called out to his step-sons. As he expected, they ignored him, so he got out of the car and shouted out their names. The look on their faces was priceless. Phillip's jaw hung open so far, Lee was afraid he'd dislocated it. Jamie, on the other hand, went sheet-white. "Come on, guys, your mom's waiting for us," he yelled.
Shoulders slumped and heads down, the boys plodded toward him. He could hear them debating who was going to ride shotgun. Phillip said, "it was Jamie's turn to ride up front." While Jamie countered with, "since, Phillip was the oldest, he should have the honor of riding up front."
Lee agreed wholeheartedly, and held the doors open for them. Jamie climbed into the back seat and gave an exaggerated yawn. "Boy, I'm beat. I think I'm going to just stretch out back here and take a nap.
Phillip got into the front seat and slouched down as much as possible.
Lee smiled and waived to the other kids standing out side the school. He slid behind the wheel and before starting the car, made sure everyone was buckled in. Giving a final toot of the horn, he pulled out of the parking space and crawled down the drive.
Two blocks later, he pulled into the parking lot of a local supermarket. He could hear the groans of protest coming from both boys. "I just have to pick up something really quick. Why don't you guys wait here for me?"
"Ah, no, that's okay Lee, we'll come with you," Jamie said.
"All right, but take your books. I don't want to leave them in the car." He started to walk down the row of parked cars. The boys quickly caught up with him. The trio walked down three rows to find his Corvette parked in the lot next to a mini-van.
Both boys wore stunned expressions. He laughed and climbed behind the wheel of the sleek sports car. "Well, are you going to stand there all day, or do you want a ride home."
They scrambled into the car, Jamie squished in the storage space behind the seats and Phillip in the bucket seat next to him. Lee turned to his boys and said, "April Fools." before driving back to Arlington.
He made sure to honk the horn and waive as they passed a group of boys walking home from school.
End
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