Disclaimer:"Scarecrow and Mrs King " is the property of Warner Bros and Shoot the Moon Prod. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's note: My thanks to Lanie Sullivan for being my beta and a good friend!
Amanda stood in a corner of the elegant lobby of the Marriott Buckhead Atlanta hotel, watching Francine arguing with the desk clerk. She was torn between being amused by her colleague's attempt to throw a tantrum "discreetly" and the trepidation that she felt at the prospect of their having to share a room if Francine didn't prevail. Sunlight streaming through the grand hotel's large windows bounced off the diamond wedding set that she'd been wearing openly for the past three weeks, distracting her from the ongoing negotiations. It's just not fair; we thought that after we staged a public wedding we'd be together more, but here I am on an out of town case with Francine rather than Lee. Never being one to feel sorry for herself for too long, she began to study a rack of brochures from local restaurants, shopping destinations and tourist attractions.
The two women had been sent to the ultra chic Atlanta neighborhood to provide an additional level of covert security at an event at which Jordan's Queen Noor would be speaking. Born Lisa Halaby in Washington DC, the fourth wife of a Middle Eastern monarch, she occasionally stirred controversy by tackling issues that highlighted Jordan's disagreements with American foreign policy. The Jordanian government insisted upon providing for her security without American interference. Dismayed by the prospect of having something untoward happen on our soil, the Agency was tasked with sending two female agents to attend the event posing as wealthy American activists.
Francine came up behind Amanda, as she was thumbing through a brochure from Lenox Square Mall, the self described essential destination for legendary Buckhead shopping.
"Lenox Square is fine for having lunch, especially since it's connected to the hotel, but every serious shopper knows that Phipps Plaza has the finer stores."
"You and I have wildly differing definitions of what serious shopping constitutes, but we can discuss that later. Did you straighten out the snafu with our reservations, or are we going to be roommates?" Amanda shifted her weight from one foot to the other, regretting having given into Francine's admonition to dress the part she'd be playing.
"That man," she eyed the clerk coldly, "was beyond being reasoned with. I know how to deal with those kinds of people; I'm a world traveler but he wasn't interested in discussing creative solutions to our problem. He kept telling me that if our reservations for two rooms didn't show up in his computer then there was nothing he could do because the hotel is completely booked."
"It isn't the end of the world; I'm sure the room is quite large and well appointed. We'll only be here for two days and we won't be spending much time in the room anyway." Amanda smiled as memories of many of the rooms that she'd shared with Lee over the years crossed her mind.
"You're thinking about your husband…it's still kind of strange for me to think of Lee and the word 'husband' in the same sentence."
"Francine-"
"Don't get all worked up; I'm truly happy for both of you. So much in my life has changed lately…I'm still processing everything." She looked around the busy lobby and then back at Amanda. "Let's go up to the room and freshen up. My feet are killing me and I want to take off these heels. I wasn't born wearing stiletto heels you know." The easy camaraderie that had been developing between them returned as they laughed and headed to the elevator.
After checking in with Billy and calling the respective men in their lives, Francine and Amanda headed to Lenox Square Mall for lunch. They quietly discussed their plan to surreptitiously check out the banquet room where Queen Noor would be speaking the next day. Determining that they wouldn't be able to do anything until there were fewer hotel guests and employees walking around that area, they decided to linger over their meal and check out the ballroom later. As the busboy removed the dishes from their table, Francine watched Amanda casually observing the restaurant's other patrons with a contemplative expression on her face.
"Do you see someone suspicious," Francine queried, having developed grudging respect for the junior agent's instincts.
"No, why do you ask?"
"You looked so deep in thought; naturally I thought that there might be a problem." Amanda fidgeted with the napkin in her lap and didn't meet her gaze. "What were you thinking about?"
"You're going to think that this is silly." Biting back a number of possible acerbic responses, Francine remained silent so Amanda plunged on. "Even before I worked for the Agency," she whispered before continuing at a normal volume, "I used to watch people and imagine who they might be; people are often nothing like what they appear to be on the surface."
"That's an understatement!" The conversation stopped while their waiter placed their desserts on the table. As soon as the waiter walked away, they plunged their spoons into the chocolate mousse covered brownies that they'd agreed would be their reward for having had salads for lunch. They were both enjoying the dessert, but Amanda had expected Francine to comment on the chocolate concoction.
"Okay, Francine, now it's your turn…you look so far away…what are you thinking about?" Rather than answering the question, she placed another spoonful of mousse in her mouth. Realizing that Amanda was too stubborn to accept not having her question answered, Francine took a sip of white wine and then faced her companion.
"I was thinking about you and Lee…well more you than Lee." She traced the base of her wine glass with her fingertip. "We've gotten to know each other pretty well since we launched this friendship experiment, but there's one thing that I really can't figure out."
"What is it," Amanda asked, as she also lost interest in the mousse in front of her.
"You and Lee made a conscious decision to stage a second wedding rather than acknowledging your secret marriage yet you told me the truth. After you two told me the truth together, I went to Lee and asked him why you both chose to tell me the truth. He said that it was your decision."
"Francine, it took an enormous leap of faith for you to accept my offer of friendship, and then open up to me about your life. I didn't want to betray your trust by being less than honest with you."
"I wouldn't have known the difference." She took another sip of wine and tried to conceal how touched she was by Amanda's statement.
"I wasn't being entirely unselfish. I want a woman friend that I can talk to openly and I'd like that friend to be you. Sure, we're very different in a lot of ways but we have things in common as well. We both love chocolate and we both love shopping."
"Hey, you said before that we have very different ideas about what 'serious shopping' constitutes. I love to shop and you love to bargain hunt."
"I don't love bargain hunting…being able to stretch every dollar as far as I possibly can has been a necessity…and I take some satisfaction in being able to do it well. If I had endless time, I'd like to be able to wander through fancy stores and look at things that I usually only see in magazines or on other women."
"Really?" Francine finished her last piece of brownie and visibly perked up.
"Yes, Francine, really, you've been spending time in my world lately, so how about if you show me around in your world. We have three hours to kill and I'd like to spend it with you exploring the finer shops at Phipps Plaza. Are you game?"
Francine waved down the passing waiter and requested their check, while Amanda hurried to finish her dessert.