Lee Stetson slowly moved along the backyard of 4247 Maplewood Drive. He stopped to absorb his surroundings. Looking into the empty house, through the familiar kitchen window of his former partner, Lee sighed. His mind processed the onslaught of memories from years past.
'Things are so different now. This place is lifeless without her.' Evaluating the condition of the now quiet house, he briefly wondered how long the "For Sale" sign would remain out front.
This house was once a home for a very special family. A house that came alive with the energy of the occupants that used to live there, was now an empty shell. With no physical change to the outside or surface of the structure, the house was different. This was Amanda King's home.
In his mind he could see Amanda on one knee reprimanding her sons for the "Volcano disaster of ‘84" in the kitchen and for the "Gnarly" outcome. Then the time she had to console a very sad Jamie, after getting chicken pox for his birthday. All Jamie wanted was a party and some crazy clown to show up, but Amanda was always there for her boys when it mattered.
Lee now thought of the smile that came to Amanda's face when he first showed her the keys to his new Corvette. He remembered how he felt like a kid showing off a new toy.
Amanda was always there to share in his joys. But she never stopped there. She would take on his pain and sorrows just the same. And that is why he loved her.
Stepping back from the window, Lee walked to the back door. As he reached for the doorknob, lock pick in hand, he reconsidered entering Amanda's old home. There was nothing left to see. All that would be left were the old ghosts of the past.
Lee Stetson was a different man now. Much different than who he was before meeting a certain Arlington single mother. He didn't need to re-examine the past anymore. He had his whole future ahead of him. A wonderful future, complete with a family of his own.
Whenever his thoughts ran to his family he couldn't help but smile. His beautiful wife of five years, a daughter on the cusp of a fourth birthday and another on the way.
Amanda was the reason all this was possible.
Hearing the sound of rustling leaves behind him, Lee quickly spun around and rolled to the ground. Looking up at the figure standing above him, Lee found himself staring back at a pair of hazel eyes that mirrored his own.
"Daddy! You’re so funny!" an eruption of laughter followed the words of the brunette pixie standing in front of him.
"Oh, I am - am I?" Crawling forward on his knees, Lee picked of the little bundle of laughter and proceeded to tickle her. "I thought I told you to stay in the car, Emily. You are getting more and more like your mother everyday."
Unable to control his own bout of laughter, Lee fell back to the grass with a squirming, retaliating tickler pinning him there.
"Okay, okay! Truce!" out of breath, Lee's words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"Goat-she-ate!" said the little pixie.
"What!" Inquired a winded Lee.
"Goat-she-ate! Whenever you or Mommy want something, I hear you say you have to goat-she-ate to get what you want. So, goat-she-ate!"
Fighting a new wave of laughter Lee said, "Oh, you mean 'negotiate'."
"Yeah, n-n-goat-she-ate!" she said brightly.
"Alright, how about I let you call your brothers tonight and you can talk as long as you want?" Lee felt very secure in his offer. Ever since Jamie and Philip moved out to go to college, they missed spoiling their little sister. They adored her and love the chance to speak to her.
"Yes! Yes, and we can go have pizza at Pizza Palace, too! Mommy said we could if you say yes! Please, daddy! Please can we go?"
"A-ha!" said a voice from behind them, "Just like I suspected. You two seem to have forgotten a couple of things."
"Hi, Mommy!" said Emily, now sitting Indian-style on her father's stomach.
Twisting his neck to get a better view of his lovely wife, Lee beamed. It never surprised him how much stronger his feelings for her had become. From the moment he knew he was in love with Amanda, his life could never go back to what it was. He was certain that Amanda was his gift for doing something right in his former life as a loner. "Oh, really what did we forget?"
"One, we don't live here anymore. And two, never leave a pregnant woman in a car for that long." Shaking her head at the two grass-stained people at her feet, Amanda couldn't help but laugh. "Next, time you stay in the car. Now, it's getting late and I had a very large glass of lemonade an hour ago, so we better get a move on."
"Yeah! We 're going to Pizza Palace!" screamed Emily.
"Excuse me, Princess Emily, but we haven't finished our 'goat-she-ate-tions' yet." Lee reminded her, smiling.
"Please, Daddy! Can we go to Pizza Palace?" the jumping little held on to Lee's hand while she pleaded.
"All right, all right, we can go." Lee said.
"And, we can still call Jaime and Philip, right?" asked Emily.
"Sure we can." Lee smiled down at his daughter. She was the other wondrous source of happiness in his new life. He would never forget the day Amanda told him he was going to be a father. It was in his apartment after closing up the Kruschev List situation with Harry. He and Amanda were having a rough time. Amanda had found out she was pregnant, but was waiting for the right time to tell him. Before she could do that, she found his list of things that bothered him about her. They had both agreed on making the list, but six pages was a bit exessive. In the end they made up, and she sprung the news on him. It was one of the most happiest day of his life. Looking down at the hazel-eyed face, Lee was reminded of what was important. "I think we better hurry before your Mommy gets really uncomfortable, huh?"
"Some 'negotiator' you are, you didn't even get anything with that deal," said Amanda.
"That's where your wrong, Mrs. Stetson. I get the most important thing of all." Standing up and placing a feathery kiss on his wife's lips, Lee looked into Amanda's eyes.
Staring back at her husband, Amanda smiled and said, "Oh, yeah? And, what's that?"
"I get to spend time with my two favorite girls," he kissed her again, then completed, "and I'll have them all to myself."
"Lee, did anyone ever tell you that you have a way with words?" Amanda moved her hands to lock them behind Lee's neck.
Lee slide his arms around her growing waist, then brought his left arm back to place it on Amanda's midsection. "Hmm, you just did and… "
"Mommy? Daddy? Could you stop kissing so we can eat now?" said a very impatient little girl.
Laughing, the Stetson trio started walking back to their car, with Emily walking ahead. Squeezing Amanda to his side, Lee whispered in to her ear, "Do you know why I love you?"
This question caught Amanda by surprise, but she smiled nontheless. "Maybe," after a beat, "Why?"
"I love you because you gave me exactly everything I needed or ever wanted out of life." Lee sealed his words with a kiss to Amanda's temple.
With tears of joy gathering in her eyes Amanda looked at Lee and said, "What a coincidence. That's why I love you."
THE END
Story Notes:
Disclosure: I do not own "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" or their characters. I am not making any money from this writing. I am only doing this for fun and enjoyment.