Blue
By: Mindye McKinster
In response to DeEtta Leaton-Crawford's guilty pleasure challenge.
Disclaimer: Any of the characters you recognize are not mine. They simply took a walk through my mind, so I took them on an adventure.
Lee Stetson woke slowly. The first thing he noticed, as he rolled over was that his wife's side of the bed was empty. After a brief moment of panic, he remembered that it was Saturday. She and her mother were helping with a community rummage sale today. He knew that she had set an alarm, but she must have woken early and turned it off so that he could sleep in. Getting up, he stretched before heading into the bathroom to take care of his morning routine.
Freshly showered, Lee went into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. Beside the coffee maker, was a plate of fresh blueberry muffins and a note.
Lee,
Mother and I have gone to the rummage sale. We made muffins for the girls but left a few for you. Edna Gilstrap is providing lunch and there will be a potluck dinner at the community center after the neighborhood meeting this evening. You should come introduce the neighbors to the handsome stranger they're so curious about. Joe already picked the boys up for the weekend. Come join us if you get bored or enjoy the chance for some peace and quiet.
Amanda
Lee grinned to himself as he took his coffee to the couch. He'd met most of the neighbors before, while undercover as Lee Sampson. Not long after Lee had moved in with his family, they had discussed an explanation. It had been decided to tell them that he'd been working on a documentary about suburban social interactions. Section Chief, Billy Melrose, had even gone as far as to have the Agency's fabrications department put together such a documentary, in the event anyone insisted on seeing it. Lee knew that the neighborhood gossips had been straining their necks to see Amanda's new husband. Maybe he would go check out the rummage sale... later. Right now, there was no reason not to take advantage of the rare opportunity to indulge in a couple of guilty pleasures that he hadn't enjoyed since moving to Maplewood Dr.
The community rummage sale was off to a good start. Several families had contributed unwanted items to the cause of putting in a new pool at the neighborhood park. As soon as they got the chance, Amanda and her mother took the opportunity to browse. The first table they stopped at was loaded with men's and boy's blue jeans. Among the selection, they found several like-new pairs for the boys. She only chose 2 pair for Lee, as she wasn't sure he'd actually wear second-hand clothing unless it was part of a cover. Having a clothing allowance from the Agency meant being able to buy brand-new clothing whenever something wore out. It was a luxury Amanda had only been enjoying over the last couple of years, since becoming a full-agent.
"Oh! Look at this!" Cried Dotty, holding up a camcorder, "If it works, this can't be the right price!"
"Oh, it's the right price, alright," assured Mrs. Killian, "A few days ago, I caught Hayden and Royce under the bleachers, using it to film up girls' skirts. I told them then and there that I would be selling it. Their father thought I was overreacting and told them that they could have whatever I sold it for. Fine! I'm selling it for $20. That will give them $10 each. Haggle with me, and I'll sell it for $10."
"Ooh," cringed Amanda, "Jamie is into photography. I hope he never gets into that sort of thing. Maybe I'll have Lee talk to him, just to be safe."
"Lee?"
"My husband. I thought everyone knew I'd remarried."
"My family has been on a mission trip to Africa for the past two years... remember? I'm kind of out of the loop. When did you remarry?"
"This past February, but he only moved in with the family a few months ago. He was going to ride out the lease on his apartment, but a fire in a neighboring unit damaged his and allowed him to get out of it early," said Amanda, reciting the story they'd concocted to explain the time-gap between their wedding and Lee moving in.
"Oh! Goodness! He wasn't injured, was he?"
"No. Fortunately, it was one of the nights we were working late in the editing room."
"Then you met him at work?"
"Yes. We worked together for a few years before we got married."
"He isn't here today, is he?"
"No. He may show up later, but I turned off the alarm so he could sleep in. It's not often that he gets the chance to enjoy the peace and quiet of an empty house. I'll give you the $20 you're asking for the camera. Of course, no one said you had to tell them you sold it for $20."
"I like how you think. Introduce me to your husband, sometime."
"You've met him."
"I did?"
"We were working on a documentary about community involvement in the suburbs, so he rented the Cooperman house and went undercover as a part of ours."
"Not Mr. Sampson?! That man was gorgeous!"
"It's actually Stetson," laughed Amanda, "But yes, that's my husband."
"In that case, I just have to know. As the song says, does he love as good as he looks?"
"Better."
"Wow!"
"Plus, he cooks and brings his mother-in-law flowers," added Dotty, "I used to say that on a scale of 1-10, Lee is an 11, but I was wrong. He's at least a 15."
"Mother!"
"I'm serious!"
"You're going to give him a big head. Talk to you later, Doris."
Continuing on, they found some material and yarn, along with some wooden knitting needles. A group of tables along the wall was covered with all kinds of movie and cartoon memorabilia. Amanda selected a framed Wizard of Oz film cell featuring Dorothy and Scarecrow, a boxed set of Wizard of Oz figurines, and Dorothy and Scarecrow dolls.
"Amanda, I didn't realize you were so into the Wizard of Oz," commented Dotty.
"Oh?" Replied Amanda, pointedly, "I thought you knew how much I love the Scarecrow."
"He hasn't got a brain, Dear."
"But he's got a big heart, and he's certainly not a coward."
"True enough, but I still prefer Jack Haley to Ray Bolger."
Amanda chuckled as she realized that Dotty wasn't making the connection.
"Mother," she said, leaning in to avoid being overheard, "Lee's codename is Scarecrow," she reminded her.
"That's right! You did tell me that! So, does that make you Dorothy?"
"No. Dorothy was long before my time. She's dead now, but she was someone very special to Lee. It's up to him if he wants to tell you about her, but do not pry. She's a very personal and very sensitive subject for him. I just thought I'd get these things to let him know that I respect what she meant to him and that just because we're married, doesn't mean that I expect him to forget all about her. She helped make him the man I fell so deeply in love with."
"I understand."
"Mother, I'm going to take these things to the house and see if Lee's up yet. Maybe I can talk him into putting in and appearance."
"Ooh, I hope so. The ladies of the community bridge club and the garden club have all been pestering me for months about meeting your new husband."
"I know. The ladies from the PTA and the Civic club have been hounding me, too. They're in for a surprise when they realize that most of them have already met him."
"They have?"
"You had met him before I introduced you to him, too."
"I had?"
"Remember Mr. Sampson, who rented the Cooperman house?"
"Oh! My gosh! That was Lee! So, how are you going to explain that to the neighbors?"
"He was undercover for a documentary about suburban community involvement."
"I suppose what he was really doing is classified?"
"I'm afraid so, but we did stop the threat to national security."
"In our neighborhood?"
"I found it hard to believe, myself. I'll be back in a bit."
The first thing Lee did was fix himself a large bowl of Lucky Charms. He also poured a large glass of milk, adding a generous amount of chocolate syrup. He then took both into the den and turned on the television. He spent the next hour watching Bugs Bunny and Road Runner, followed by Tom and Jerry. When they ended, he got himself a refill on the cereal and chocolate milk, then turned the channel to his favorite cartoon, The Smurfs. He was so engrossed in the show and singing along, that he never heard the car pull up or the back door open. It wasn't until a commercial came on and he got up to use the restroom that he realized that he wasn't alone in the room. Amanda was behind him with a video camera!
Amanda pulled into the driveway, a bit surprised when Lee didn't come out to greet her, as was his habit. Thinking that maybe he was taking advantage of the quiet to sleep in even later, she gathered her purchases and headed in. As she approached the back door, movement caught her eye and she couldn't help but chuckle. In the den, the big, tough, top intelligence operative know as Scarecrow was watching cartoons. Placing everything on the picnic table, she picked up the camcorder. It had a fresh tape in it, so she slipped into the house as quietly as possible and hit record. It took everything in her not to laugh when he started singing along with the little blue creatures. The look on his face when he realized she was there was absolutely priceless!
"Amanda!" He finally managed, "What are you doing here?"
"I live here," she reminded him.
"I thought you were helping with the rummage sale."
"I took a break and bought a few things, so I brought them home. I picked this camcorder up for $20, and was just testing to see if it works."
"Does it?" He asked, silently praying that it didn't.
"Very well, actually," she grinned devilishly.
"And just what is that tape going to cost me?"
"Come to the rummage sale and meet the neighbors?"
"Done. Anything else?"
"We could use some help building the set for the community play next month."
"I'm not much of a carpenter, but I'll gladly do what I can. You don't even have to blackmail me into it."
"Who says I'm blackmailing you? I simply asked if you were coming to the rummage sale and told you that we need help with the set. I never said I'd give you the tape in return."
"Amanda!"
"Relax! I'd never show it to anyone, except for maybe Mother and the boys. I think they would get a kick out of it."
"I'm sure they would," he grumbled.
"Here," she said, tossing him the tape, "I'll let you make the decision. It does my heart good to see you enjoying Saturday morning cartoons. You don't take nearly enough time to just relax. I'm certainly not going to blackmail you with it when you do."
"I appreciate that. I rarely got to watch cartoons growing up. It was the Colonel's TV, so we watched whatever the Colonel wanted to watch. That certainly, was not cartoons. I only got to watch those, when Barney was watching me. You've met Barney. He's just a big kid at heart, anyway. With him, Saturday mornings meant cartoons, Lucky Charms, and chocolate milk with extra syrup," he told her nostalgically.
"Well, cartoons are definitely not taboo around here. When the boys are home on Saturday mornings, cartoons are on. You'll also be happy to know that they love the Smurfs, and they would be thrilled to have you watch it with them."
"Good to know," said Lee in relief, holding up the tape, "Maybe I will show this to them one day. Until then I'll just go put it away and use the restroom. After that, I'll give you and Dotty a hand at the rummage sale."
While Lee was in the restroom, Amanda took the camcorder and the rest of the purchases upstairs. As she was placing the memorabilia on the bookshelf, Lee joined her in their bedroom.
"What's that?" He asked placing his hands on her shoulders and kissing her neck.
"Someone was selling a bunch of collectibles. I got these things for my favorite Scarecrow."
"You got Dorothy too!?"
"She was important to you, Sweetheart. This is my way of letting you know that her memory is not unwelcome here. She's a part of the heart of the man who holds mine."
"Thank you, Amanda. That means a lot to me."
A month later, Lee and Amanda were working a stakeout in Arlington. A known assassin had been reported in the area, and they were tasked with verifying the information with video surveillance. Two hours into the stakeout, the video camera they were using quit working.
"Damn!" Cursed Lee, "Leatherneck told me he fixed this thing! Now we'll have to go all the way back to the Agency for another one."
"Or you could just run to the house and grab the one I bought at the rummage sale," Amanda pointed out, "That's the Bombers booster club having the bake sale over at the supermarket. I can go give them a hand and keep a lookout while you're gone. I have a still camera in my purse that I can try to get a shot with if I see him."
"Great idea," he said, giving her a quick kiss, "Just make sure he doesn't realize he's the one you're taking a picture of."
"Will do."
At 4247 Maplewood Dr., Lee got the camcorder and checked it for battery life and a tape. The battery was full, but there was no tape, so he grabbed one off the shelf near where it had been sitting. When he returned to Amanda, she hadn't seen their guy yet, so they resumed their regular surveillance. Not fifteen minutes later, they spotted him, meeting with another man. They recorded until the men were both out of sight, then returned to the Agency, where the task-force they were a part of gathered in a conference room to review the tape. At the front of the room, Francine rewound the tape and pressed play. Seated beside Amanda, Lee immediately turned bright red, as the room erupted into laughter at the sight of Scarecrow singing along to the Smurfs.
"Alright, people!" Announced Billy, clearly trying very hard not to laugh along with them, "Let's get back to the matter at hand! Care to explain this, Scarecrow?"
"The Agency video camera quit working, so I used ours," Lee forced out in embarrassment, "I clearly forgot to rewind the tape before I started recording."
"Obviously. I want to see you in my office when this meeting is over. Francine, fast-forward to what we need."
"See you upstairs," Lee told Amanda half an hour later, after the meeting had ended.
"Amanda can join us," said Billy, "I assume she is the one who did the recording?"
"Yes, sir, I did," she admitted.
Billy was glad he was in front of his agents as he led them into his office. Otherwise, they would have seen how hard he was fighting not to burst out laughing at their solemn demeanors. In the office, he used the time it took to close the blinds to get control of his facial expression before being seated at his desk. Before he could say anything, however, Lee went on the defensive.
"Look, Billy," said Lee, "I know the meeting was disrupted by that tape. What I don't know is why you're calling us into your office over it. If the Agency equipment had been working properly, we wouldn't have had the need to use our own. What was on that tape was recorded in our own home, on our own time. What we do in the privacy of our home is our own business. You have no right to reprimand us for it."
"When you brought it to the Agency, it became Agency business, but in this instance, I did not call you in here to reprimand you."
"You didn't?"
"No. Amanda, would you mind opening that cabinet below the bookcase behind you?"
Amanda slid the door open and laughed in delight at the collection of little blue figurines displayed inside.
"I brought you in here to tell you that I'm a fan, too, though I don't usually sing along. I prefer instrumental to vocal."
"I don't believe it!" Laughed Lee.
"Believe it," said Billy, "I watched it with my grandkids one morning. As I watched, certain little blue guys reminded me of certain agents. I've been hooked ever since."
"They remind me of the people around here, too."
"I've labeled the figurines with the agents they remind me of. See if you agree."
Lee and Amanda had to laugh as they looked at the collection. Billy had chosen Papa Smurf for himself, Smurfette for Francine, Sassette had Amanda's name, Nanny Smurf was Mrs. Marsden, Leatherneck was Handy Smurf, Beaman was Brainy Smurf, Dr. Smyth was labeled Vanity Smurf, Harry Thornton was Grandpa Smurf, Fred Fielder was marked with Clumsy Smurf, and TP Aquinas had been labeled Poet Smurf.
"This one is made of something different," noted Amanda, holding up a tuxedo-clad figurine.
"Clay," smiled Billy, taking the figurine from her, "My granddaughter, Felicia, is a huge Smurfs fan, as well as an artist. She's met pretty much everyone at birthday and Christmas parties over the years, so she got quite a kick out of me comparing agents to Smurfs. There was just one that I was having trouble pinning down until she made this guy and gave him to me. Say 'hello' to 00 Smurf."
"And who is he supposed to represent?" Asked Lee.
"The best spy in the business, of course," replied Billy, turning the figurine to where they could see the label, "You."
"Me? I would have just used Farmer, because he dresses like a scarecrow."
"The thought had crossed my mind, but the personality was all wrong. Besides, Felicia thought you're much to handsome for Farmer. Don't tell her I said so, but she's quite enamored of you. You'll notice that she also made this one just a little taller than the rest and just a touch darker blue."
"Oh! Tall, dark, and handsome is Lee to a T," smiled Amanda.
"I agree with all of these," said Lee, after looking at the rest of the collection, "Truth be told, I have several of these, myself."
"Where?" Asked Amanda in surprise.
"In my left cowboy boot, tucked safely away in a boot box, in our closet. My Scooby-Doo figurines are in the right one."
"That's going to change when we get home. You're going to take them out of your boots and display them on the bookcase, where they belong."
"Yes, ma'am," chuckled Lee, before sighing, "You do realize that I'm about to be the butt of every blue joke or prank they can think up, don't you?"
"So, let them. The less they get a rise out of you over it, the faster it will all blow over. I personally love the fact that you have a guilty pleasure or two."
"And you're the only one whose opinion of me really matters."
"Both of you call it a day," ordered Billy, "Tomorrow, I want you back on surveillance. See if you can find out where he's staying and if the opportunity presents itself, do a sweep and plant a bug. Coordinate with me by phone as much as possible. Maybe if we can keep you in the field and out of the office for two or three days, most of it will blow over."
"From your mouth to God's ears," said Lee.
"I'll also have Leatherneck splice the tape so that you can have the personal part back."
"Thanks Billy."
Fortunately, the jokes and pranks did run their course quickly. Even Lee had to admit that a lot of them were creative and most were even funny. He had been amazed that someone had managed to completely fill the Q-bureau and vault with blue balloons, and his car with blue ping pong balls. The blueberry desserts that had been sent had been delicious. Billy's granddaughter had even sent Lee his very own 00 Smurf figurine to add to his collection. The best thing of all to come from being caught indulging in his guilty pleasure was that he no longer had to feel guilty about it. Cartoons, Lucky Charms, and chocolate milk rapidly became a Saturday morning family tradition.