Another Christmas story. Merry Christmas, all!
Christmas Comes But Once a Year
Christmas Eve, 1988
Another Christmas party at the Agency. Someone had commandeered the PA system to play Christmas music over it and obviously chosen some kind of Christmas Best Of album by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Francine had to admit it added a nice festive atmosphere to the occasion. She was scanning the crowd, both to see who was here and looking for a certain person she hoped to avoid. It probably wouldn't work. It never did. But that wouldn't keep her from trying. If she only kept trying she would have to succeed some day, right?
She spotted Billy unwrapping this year's Christmas gift. Leatherneck brushed past her casting glances at the decoration. Suddenly, he whipped out a hammer and set to fixing one of the garlands that was threatening to come loose. Amanda and Lee weren't here, yet, but Amanda had promised to come and drag along Lee even if he fought her every inch of the way. Francine didn't actually count on seeing him here but was ready to be surprised. If there was anyone who could make him come to the Agency's Christmas party it was Amanda. So far, no sign of that other person but that was bound to change. She didn't think her luck would hold out much longer.
The trick, Francine thought to herself, was to keep moving. To keep slowly circling the room, exchange a few words with people here and there but never stop long enough for him to spot her and catch up with her.
Just keep moving and don't look like you're trying to get away from someone.
Of course Billy had her all figured out. She could tell by how he grinned and winked at her across the room. She almost stuck her tongue out at him.
"Looking for someone?" somebody said behind her.
She jumped and nearly dropped the glass of punch she was holding.
It was him. She recognized his voice. Of course. She should have known.
"You're not supposed to do this", she told him and slowly turned round to face him.
Effrom Beaman stood behind her, his hands clasped on his back, and smiled at her. This year, he was wearing a green sleeveless sweater over his shirt. Francine wondered where he got those things. Some knitting aunt or other relative maybe? She herself had opted for red this year. Her favourite red dress. She glanced past him to see if she couldn't just politely excuse herself because Amanda finally had arrived or so but she was having no such luck. Of course not.
"Nice music."
Beaman made a vague gesture towards the speakers.
"Yes, very nice."
Something was different about him. It took Francine a moment to figure it out. And when she did she had to take another closer look to make sure she was right.
"You're not drunk", she said.
And that was exactly the problem. He had kept telling himself for the past two weeks that, this year, he wouldn't get drunk and act like a complete idiot again. That, this time, he would stay sober and try to really talk to Francine. That she wasn't any more likely to bite his head off today, at the office party, than she was the other 364 days of the year. What was the worst thing that could happen? She'd just ignore him.
No, actually, the worst thing that could happen was that she laughed at him. So maybe it would have been better to get drunk, like every year, and have her annoyed at him rather than laughing at him. At least, being drunk, he wouldn't have noticed either.
Maybe he shouldn't have approached her.
"Yes, well, I thought I'd try being a complete idiot while being sober for once", he said.
And couldn't believe he had actually said that. He mentally kicked himself. Hadn't he been determined to – well, not impress her because Francine Desmond was pretty darn hard to impress and he wasn't the right kind of guy. But he had wanted to come across as at least half intelligent.
She looked at him – and then, she laughed. But it was a nice laugh and not directed at him but rather at what he had said.
"Well, if it doesn't work you can always go and get some punch", Francine said. "Though you might want to wait until Leatherneck has manage to slip the vodka into it. Right now, it doesn't have a lot of – well, punch."
She made a face at the half empty glass in her hand and looked up to smile at him.
Beaman returned the smile. He didn't know what to say. Everything he could think of seemed either lame or stupid. And Francine obviously didn't want to say anything, either, or else she would have done so.
See? She doesn't want to talk to you.
Well, she was still here, standing by him instead of moving on.
She's just too polite to leave you standing there.
There were, of course, perfectly polite ways to excuse oneself, so maybe –
Don't count on it. She's looking at the other people, see?
True enough Francine kept glancing at the crowd and especially the bullpen's entrance, even though she didn't turn away from him.
There you go. She's waiting for someone.
Suddenly, Francine straightened. Beaman knew that she had spotted whomever she was looking for and expected her to wish him a Merry Christmas and leave. Oh well. He had tried. And as she had said he always could go get some punch.
What he did not expect was for her to seize his arm and pull him around and away from the entrance.
"Quick, before he sees me", she said in a low voice.
"Who?"
Beaman matched his tone to hers.
"Davis. From Internal Affairs."
She glanced over her shoulder.
"There he is."
Beaman looked the way she indicated. Davis was standing by the entrance craning his neck. Francine kept pulling Beaman through the crowd and away from him.
"He said he was going to come and rescue me from this horribly dull affair. Probably to drag me to another even duller affair. I told him I didn't need rescuing but of course he didn't listen."
Francine threw another glance over her shoulder.
"I think we lost him."
"He doesn't seem to know you very well if he really things you need rescuing", Beaman said. "I mean – you're perfectly capable of rescuing yourself."
Francine rolled her eyes.
"Yes, he thinks he knows me oh so well but in fact, he doesn't know me at all. He only knows what I want him to know."
Beaman nodded.
"I see.
"And besides, I don't want to leave. It's Christmas, and for once we don't seem to have to deal with some kind of near-disaster. That's rare enough."
Beaman caught her looking at the entrance again.
"And you're waiting for someone else", he said.
Francine gave him a surprised look. Then she smiled.
"Yes, I'm waiting for Amanda. She said she'd come by later and bring Lee – though I'm afraid that latter part might not be as easy as it sounds."
"Scarecrow at the Christmas party?"
Beaman shook his head.
"Inconceivable!"
"Just like you being sober enough to actually talk to me in a sensible way?" Francine asked in a teasing tone.
Beaman laughed.
"Touché."
He was starting to enjoy this little chat. It wasn't as difficult as he had thought. And Francine didn't seem to mind talking to him either. At least she didn't seem to be looking for a way to get away from him.
"There they are."
She nodded at the entrance.
Beaman turned and saw Mrs. King and Scarecrow approach the bullpen. Scarecrow stopped. Said something. Started to move away again. He saw Mrs. King talking to him.
Francine sighed.
"Yes, that's what I thought", she murmured.
She turned to Beaman.
"Would you please hold this for me?" she asked handing him her glass. "I'll be right back."
She flashed him a quick smile and went for the entrance. Davis saw her and tried to get her attention but she just swept past him. Beaman couldn't help grinning. She most definitely didn't want to talk to that guy.
He watched her approach Mrs. King and Scarecrow who were still talking. Scarecrow was trying to move further away down the corridor, towards the elevator. Francine joined them. He tried to talk to her too but in vain. She just grabbed his right arm. Mrs. King seized his left arm and together, they pulled him back towards the bullpen. Scarecrow had to yield if he didn't want to look like he was being dragged to the party by two women. Of course, he did. By the time they stepped through the door into the bullpen – only moments later – he was pretending to enjoy the attention by his partner and his friend. Francine and Mrs. King guided him over to Mr. Melrose. Mrs. King held on to him while Francine went to fetch him some punch. Beaman saw her exchange a few words with Leatherneck and that Leatherneck pulled a flask from his jacket and poured something in the punch-glass.
Ah, the vodka. Yes, that should work.
It also explained how he himself had always managed to get totally drunk on little more than one glass of punch all the previous years. He had always wondered.
Francine gave the glass to Scarecrow, patted him on the shoulder, said something and smiled at him and then she started back towards Beaman. Davis tried to stop her. She only looked at him and stepped around him and continued towards Beaman.
She only wants her glass back, that's all, he thought.
Still, it was nice to see Davis' face when he realized where she was going. First, a frown. Then, an incredulous stare. Then, he turned on his heel and vanished in the crowd.
"Is he gone?" Francine asked when she reached Beaman.
"Who, Davis?"
"Yes. – Thanks."
She took her glass back. That man was beyond annoying. She had dropped enough hints during the past two weeks to let him know she wasn't interested. At least she had thought so. Obviously, he was one of those guys who either wouldn't take no for an answer or were denser than a block of teak. He was handsome, she had to give him that, and a year or two ago that might have been enough for her to give him a chance. But somehow good looks alone weren't just good enough anymore.
She took a sip of her punch.
"Right, where did we stop?"
Beaman seemed surprised that she was staying rather than joining Lee and Amanda. She was a little surprised herself but so far, this chat had gone really well. So why not continue for a bit? It was Christmas after all.
"Well …"
Beaman frowned.
"I think around this time I usually ask you to run away with me to some far-away country to make a living of some really strange occupation."
He sounded just a tiny bit nervous as if he weren't sure how she would react.
Francine snapped her fingers.
"Right. So, what's the plan?"
Beaman pretended to think hard for a moment.
"How about – Iceland?" he finally asked.
"Iceland. What would we be doing in Iceland?"
"Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?" he said, matching her playful tone. "We'd earn our living as fairy hunters."
"Fairy hunters."
Francine laughed.
"Yes. With your talent for languages you should be able to learn theirs in no time. And I'm sure I can come up with some kind of apparatus to catch them."
He clasped his hands on his back again. He even smiled a little.
"Ah, but I heard that you don't want to mess with fairies", she told him. "And capturing them sure would make them very angry. And then, they'd make things go wrong for us and – no, I don't think I'd want to be hunted by angry fairies for the rest of my life."
"You're sure about this?"
"Yes."
"Too bad. As far as I know Iceland is a beautiful country."
"Oh, I didn't say I'd never go there", Francine said. "Just that I wouldn't go there for hunting fairies."
Beaman nodded.
"Fine. Plan B, then."
"Plan B?"
Despite herself Francine noticed she was starting to actually enjoy this talk. And she was also starting to wonder where this might lead. At least it was interesting.
"Africa", Beaman said.
"Africa?"
Francine pretended to think for a moment, then nodded.
"Ah, yes – King Solomon's mines, right?"
"What else?"
Beaman tried to remain serious but didn't quite manage. A tiny smile escaped him. He appeared much more at ease now than when they had started talking.
"Diamonds are a girl's best friend, after all, and there's supposed to be plenty of those in King Solomon's mines."
"Hmmmmm …"
Francine stepped back and pretended to take a thorough look at Beaman. He raised his eyebrows.
"Well, you're not exactly Allan Quartermain", she said, "or Indiana Jones, but with a bit of re-styling it might work."
It was his turn to look surprised.
"You know Indiana Jones?" he asked.
She laughed.
"Of course. Who doesn't?"
"Well –"
Beaman put his hands in his pockets and shrugged.
"And here I thought –"
"That I only like European movies? Yes, everyone seems to think that, for some odd reason."
Beaman smiled and shook his head.
"So – no Africa, either?" he asked.
"I don't think so, no", Francine said.
Not that she would have dismissed it as a potential destination for a vacation altogether. She had been to the north of the continent – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia – but hadn't dared, so far, to venture further south, towards central Africa, which was completely different. But maybe one day, she would get there. Come to think of it, Iceland sounded pretty interesting, too, and not just because of the fairies.
"So is there any Plan C?" she asked with a small smile.
"Let me think."
Beaman frowned and made a great show of it.
"I'm afraid not. But talking about Indiana Jones – did you know there will be another movie out in May?"
"Really? I didn't know – that's great!"
She had actually quite liked the other two movies – even the second one, once she had managed to ignore that nagging feeling she was way too much like Willie Scott.
"I'm definitely going to watch that."
"Yes, me, too."
Beaman looked at her.
She looked at Beaman.
He glanced away, down at his shoes, back at her.
"You know –" he started and immediately shook his head. "No. Forget it. Probably not a good idea."
"What?" she asked.
He didn't answer but instead, glanced away again. He had seemed more relaxed during the past few minutes but now, he acted all nervous again.
Francine smiled at him.
"Come on, tell me. It can't be any worse than that thing about Greece and raising goats."
Beaman winced.
"Yes, that … That was just – ugh."
He sighed.
"Fine. I thought since we're both going to watch that new Indiana Jones movie anyways we could maybe go watch it together? I mean, movies are usually more fun when you're not watching them alone and –"
He gave a nervous little laugh.
"I know. Stupid idea."
Why wasn't she saying anything? Why wasn't she laughing? Why did she keep looking at him like that?
Beaman wished he were a hundred thousand miles away. Anywhere but here. He should have got drunk on the punch, as usual. He could have blamed it on the alcohol, then. One didn't just ask Francine Desmond to go see a movie together. And Indiana Jones, too. Bergman. Ingmar Bergman would have been suitable, perhaps. Or Fassbinder. Or maybe a French or Italian one. But Indiana Jones?
Well, at least she's not laughing at you …
Yes, because she most likely was rendered speechless by his audacity.
She didn't look angry, though.
"You know", she said and he braced himself for the inevitable rejection, "that's actually not such a bad idea at all. I've had worse ideas that I went through with, like getting engaged to a certain person who shall not be named."
Right, that guy. Beaman had heard about it – not much, just the bare bones of the whole story. It had been the topic of every conversation for about two weeks or so back then. If anyone had asked him, he'd have told them without hesitating that guy was an idiot and didn't deserve someone like Francine.
On the other hand, if that idiot hadn't decided to pull his great disappearing act, Francine probably wouldn't have been here now and she wouldn't have been smiling at him. She was really, actually smiling at him.
"You'll have to remind me in time, though, so I can make time in my schedule", she went on. "Okay?"
Beaman didn't trust his voice so he simply nodded.
"Great. – Excuse me, please. Lee's starting to look like he's going to make a dash for the exit any moment. I guess Amanda could do with some help."
Francine nodded in the direction of where Scarecrow and Mrs. King were still standing by Mr. Melrose. Scarecrow was casting glances at the exit, trying to inch closer to it while the other two were talking. Mrs. King caught his sleeve without looking at him.
Beaman watched Francine weave her way through the crowd, once more avoiding Davis who was still circling the room like a hawk, and join them. He blinked.
Did this just happen?
He wasn't drunk. Most definitely not. He wasn't dreaming. He had just pinched himself. Maybe Leatherneck had already put the vodka in the punch? But no, Francine wasn't drunk either.
Maybe he should talk to her again tomorrow and confirm this – what? Date? Nope. Not a date. Definitely not. Appointment. This appointment. He should talk to her again to see if she still wanted to go see that movie with him.
What, and give her the chance to back out of it? Are you nuts?
He only fully understood now what had happened.
She said yes. She actually said yes!
"What happened to him?"
Billy nodded at someone behind Francine.
"Who?"
She glanced over her shoulder.
"Oh, Effrom."
It was obvious Billy meant him. He probably wondered where that dreamy look and the face-splitting grin were coming from.
"Yes, Beaman. What did you tell him?"
"That I'm going to go see the new Indiana Jones movie with him in May."
"What?"
Lee stared at her with a half-smile that disappeared again.
"You're serious."
"Of course I'm serious", Francine told him. "If I weren't I wouldn't have agreed to it."
Billy looked her. He looked at the glass of punch in his hand. And back at her.
"Excuse me", he said. "I think I better have a word with Leatherneck."
They watched him leave.
When he had disappeared in the crowd, Lee shook his head. The smile was back on his face.
"And to think I nearly didn't come. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this for anything in the world. You going out with Beaman."
"We're not going out", Francine protested. "We're going to watch a movie together that each of us would have watched separately anyways. It's more fun that way than watching it alone."
"Of course."
Lee nodded and made a serious face but Francine detected just the hint of a laugh in his voice. She gave an exasperated sigh.
"Oh, just think what you want. – And you, don't give me that look."
She glared at Amanda who immediately hid her smile and assumed a big-eyed "Who – me?" kind of expression.
"I'm not falling for that doe-eyed show of innocence", Francine told her. "Not anymore."
"How did you two even end up having a normal conversation?" Lee asked.
Francine shrugged.
"He spoke to me first and I realized he wasn't drunk, so we talked a little and one thing lead to the other. – Stop smiling, Amanda King!"
Amanda laughed.
"I'm sorry but I can't. That was a really nice thing of you to do. I bet he's very, very happy now."
"Happy enough to get drunk."
Lee nodded at the punch bowl where Billy was talking to Leatherneck and Beaman was just emptying a glass.
Again, Francine shrugged.
"Well, it's Christmas. And going to the movies with Beaman is much, much better than getting dragged off by Davis to this party he's been harping on about for the last two weeks."
"Party?" Lee raised his eyebrows. "The one at Internal Affairs?"
"The one where the assistant director and Smyth are both bound to show up sooner or later", Francine said. "And I can do very well without either of them on Christmas."
Lee smirked.
"Poor Davis. It'll be an enormous blow to his ego when he finds out you spurned him in favour of Beaman."
"Good. His ego's way too big anyways."
Francine raised her glass to Lee and drained the rest of the punch. She glanced at Beaman over the rim of the glass.
She didn't know why she had agreed to go see that movie with him. She certainly hadn't planned to do any such thing. In fact, she hadn't even planned to talk to him at all but rather, avoid him at all costs. That had been before she found out he wasn't drunk again, of course. He still looked happy and maybe a little dazed as if he couldn't believe his luck. She couldn't blame him.
So – what will you do, come May? Go through with it?
It would be pretty easy to find an excuse not to go. When she had told Beaman to remind her in time so she could make room in her schedule she had been serious. Usually, her schedule was pretty crammed, even when she didn't go out a lot in the evenings.
That wouldn't be fair, though. A promise was a promise. And she couldn't help being curious what Beaman was like outside the job.
Maybe it really isn't such a bad idea.
Well, next May, she would find out.