A little sex in this chapter
Chapter 3
At three Amanda pulled into the driveway of Steve's house, located in one of the older sections of Edina, an affluent suburb southwest of Minneapolis. In the surrounding neighborhood many of the oldest homes had been torn down and replaced with newer and sometimes uglier homes. However in the cul-de-sac where his home stood on a large lot the homes were the original ones built back in the 50s, stately homes that had the look of careful professional care and upgrades and renovations through the years. The landscaping was mature, with huge oaks and maples, and did much to give each home some privacy from the houses next door. At first the single-story house looked small, but then she realized that it extended quite a ways into the property.
He opened the door before she could ring the doorbell and greeted her with a kiss and a hug. "You're here!" he said. It was warm for September so he wore a faded blue polo shirt, jeans and boat shoes. Yummy, Amanda thought.
"Of course," she replied. "Why are you surprised?"
"I don't know. Maybe in the cold light of day you had second thoughts."
"No. No second thoughts. What about you?"
"Ha. If you didn't come I was going to your place and throw myself at your feet and beg."
"Hmmmm. I would have liked to have seen that."
"Too bad. You blew it by showing up. You look terrific, by the way." Amanda wore skin tight jeans, a light cotton mock turtle pullover and cross training shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she wore just a touch of makeup.
"Let's get your things out of the car and get settled in."
Steven got Amanda's overnight bag out of the trunk and noticed some clothes on a hanger in the back seat. "Do these come in too?" he asked.
Looking a bit embarrassed Amanda said, "Well, ummm, they're for work Monday morning. I brought them along just in case ... you know, I stayed Sunday night too. Kind of presumptuous, wasn't it?"
Steven grinned. "Not at all. Very encouraging actually."
He showed her the master bedroom suite and where to put her clothing and cosmetics. The large bathroom had two sinks and ample counter space for Amanda. Steven then gave her a quick tour of the house, which was u-shaped. One wing had the master suite and two bedrooms with an adjoining bath. The other wing had a guest suite, the kitchen, dining nook and formal dining room. The center had a family room, parlor and den that Steven used as a home office. The center courtyard, which Amanda could see through the French doors, had a lap pool and paved patio.
Noticing a gleaming black grand piano in the parlor she asked, "Do you play?"
"Yes," he replied. "My one all-consuming hobby. I started lessons when I was five and continued all through college. I actually made money in school playing in local bars and clubs. Do you play?"
"Violin. All Korean American girls learn to play either piano or violin. A violin is much easier to move around so that is what I chose. I stopped taking lessons while in law school and I don't practice anywhere near enough. And I sing too. All African American girls have to learn to sing," she said laughing.
"You get it from both sides. We'll have to play together some time," he said.
"We can give it a try," Amanda said doubtfully. "Maybe you can play for me later."
"OK, but you have to sing too."
"Arghhh. You may regret that."
"We'll see. It's only fair that we both suffer equally."
Amanda looked at the framed photos on the wall. "This must be your parents. I think I'd recognize them anywhere. Is this your sister?"
"Yup -- Angus and Mary are my parents. And that's Caitlin and her husband, Vijay ... the doctors Patel. And that little heart breaker is Rani, six going on 35. She only has to bat her eyelashes at me and say, 'Uncle Steve, would you jump off that building?' and I'd be climbing the stairs."
"She's beautiful, Steven."
"Yeah and she knows it too. Those big brown eyes and that curly black hair. Poor Caitlin ... not too may Scottish-Irish genes in her, except for her temper, which is very Irish. I expect if we had kids they might look like her."
Then with a stunned look on his face, realizing what he just said, he turned to Amanda and said, "OK. Forget I just said that. Brain not in sync with mouth. Just blurted that out. Sorry."
Amanda laughed and said, "If you could only see the look on your face. It's priceless. Don't worry. I was thinking the same thing myself. Great minds, and all that ..."
"Thanks for helping me get my foot out of my mouth." Quickly changing the subject he pointed to another photo. "This is my brother Sean and his wife Heather and the two wild and crazy guys are my nephews Tommy and Bobby, the wrecking crew. After they've been here Sean gives me a blank check and apologizes all the way to their car."
"Oh good lord. Mischief is writ large all over their faces. They must be quite a handful."
"They are. Sean, who's six years older than me, said they remind him of me when I was their age. I guess I was a holy terror too."
"The calm, cool, collected Steven Clark? No way!"
"If nothing else the Army taught me self-control."
Regarding the Army, there were only two photos of Steven in uniform, one a formal portrait in class A greens and another obviously taken in the desert in full combat gear standing with a group of soldiers. Peering at the formal photo Amanda commented, "That's an impressive array of fruit salad," referring to the three rows of medal ribbons, jump wings and Combat Infantry badge.
"Ah, if you hang around long enough you get all kinds of stuff."
"You can't fool an Army brat. They don't hand out the DSC, Silver Star and Bronze Star to pussies," she said.
Looking uncomfortable he guided Amanda through the French doors and out on to the patio. The backyard sloped down to Minnehaha Creek in terraces with stone retaining walls. About halfway down was an arbor with another patio. The grounds were heavily landscaped with lush gardens.
"Oh, Steven, this is simply beautiful."
