Notes: Apologies for plot contrivances and any inaccuracies in the settings/situations that were shoehorned in and/or made up to suit the story. In my defense, those failings feel in line with the original charm of SMK! And I have a couple of characters using lines from 'The Princess Bride,' which came out a couple of years after Season Two of SMK… oops!
Day One - Vail Lodge
AMANDA
The historic Vail Lodge featured a towering two-story wall of windows in its open-beamed lobby. The intended impact was achieved, Amanda was gaping. The snow-covered mountains lushly patterned with pine trees and cultivated ski runs zigzagging here and there were stunning.
"Amanda!"
She turned to see an excited face and open arms. "Jodie!"
"I'm so glad you could make it!" the petite brunette said while squeezing Amanda close.
"It's not everyday your baby cousin is suddenly all grown up and having a bridal shower weekend."
Jodie linked her arm through Amanda's as they crossed to the lodge's registration desk. Despite similar features and coloring, the five or so inches Amanda had on Jodie would always cast her as the older cousin, no matter how grown-up Jodie had become.
"The Virginia hills have nothing on the Rockies, do they?" Amanda nodded to the view.
"They certainly don't."
Amanda got her room key from the clerk and Jodie helped her juggle her suitcase and snow parka to the elevator. "Don't let me forget! I have a small gift for your mother to thank her for braving Phillip and Jamie alone while you're here."
"Oh, she'll just love that."
Amanda had planned to nap following the two-leg plane journey and hour-long shuttle drive from Denver up to Vail. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed transfixed by the view. She'd craned her neck the whole ride up to take in the grandeur of the mountains but it still wasn't enough. They weren't purple, but they certainly embodied mountain's majesties.
Amanda had always been close with Jodie, having spent many childhood and teenage hours watching her during summer vacations at Great Uncle Herman's. They'd had all sorts of adventures. The creek turned into a moat around a besieged castle, the woods were an elfin forest where Barbie dolls ruled over their subjects. Amanda taught Jodie how to fish, catch and raise tadpoles, and whistle.
They'd exchanged frequent letters and occasional phone calls as Amanda entered adulthood and Jodie's teen years no longer made babysitting necessary or family vacations appealing. Their paths in life were very different - Jodie had earned her PhD at Berkeley and was now a researcher in thermonuclear technology - their affection and camaraderie remained steadfast.
Over dinner in the lodge's restaurant, Jodie's maid of honor tapped her fork ceremoniously on her wine glass to get the attention of the bridal party. All five of them. Who were already sitting together in the relatively quiet restaurant.
"Ahem… I'm Kathy, Jodie's maid of honor. We met on my first day of work at Lawrence Livermore - that's the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory," she looked around, clarifying for anyone not in the know. "Now, let's all introduce ourselves and share one fun fact. My fun fact is… um... I once met Donny Osmond and he said I was adorable!"
Introductions had been sorted out hours ago and conversation had been lively through their wine and appetizers. Amanda loved Jodie, but this Kathy was a bit too delighted by her position of relative power for her taste.
Joyce and Darlene - identical twins who'd gone to grad school with Jodie - told how they'd met their husbands. "People kept saying that we had to meet the Vasquez twins. We must've avoided about a dozen blind dates with them. It just seemed too clichéd," Joyce began before Darlene took over.
"Then I met this smart, handsome guy in line at the bookstore and we went for coffee. I joked about him having a brother… And the rest is history!"
A high-spirited debate broke out between Darlene and Joyce as they rehashed a long-standing disagreement over the merits of hyphenating their last names as Ahn-Vasquez or Vasquez-Ahn. The sticking point seemed to be how any future children would be situated in school relative to the ubiquitous alphabetical sorting. Joyce and Felipe had opted for Ahn-Vasquez while Darlene and Martin went with Vasquez-Ahn.
"Okay ladies, let's get back on track," Kathy admonished. "Janet…"
Janet introduced herself and as she talked, Amanda remembered Jodie chattering enthusiastically about her oldest and 'bestest' friend when she was in grade school.
"I was going to talk about how my grandmother took me to see Liberace in Las Vegas when I was eight and how I begged for fingers full of rings like he had, but to keep the theme going, my fun fact is that I'm expecting twins!" She ran her hands affectionately over her burgeoning belly.
Darlene and Joyce opened their mouths to speak but Janet cut them off. "I know, I know. No matching outfits."
The twins laughed and nodded.
"Okay, Amanda, you're next!" Kathy wasn't about to let them get off topic again.
"I'm Amanda, Jodie's older cousin-"
"Amanda…" Jodie sighed. "You're only six years older than I am!"
"Well, now everyone knows my age! Can that be my fact?"
"No way!" Kathy insisted with the support of the others.
Amanda chewed her lip and had a brief fantasy of springing it on them that she was an intelligence agent in training, but moved on quickly. "Okay… a year-and-a-half ago, I broke my ankle showing my sons' little league team how to do a hook slide."
"Impressive!" Janet said, raising her glass of seltzer water in toast.
"Great! Now, let's get to the fun games!" Kathy commanded.
Amanda handily won 'What's In Your Purse?,' was absolutely routed by 'Don't Say Wedding,' and tied for second in 'How Well Do You Know the Bride.' Things got competitive after dessert when Kathy announced the last game - a race of tying cherry stems with their tongues. When it was over, the other restaurant patrons wondered what the ruckus was as Amanda received loud applause for her record-setting time.
Day One - Washington D.C.
LEE
"Scarecrow, Francine." Billy leaned on the doorframe of his office and bellowed into the bullpen.
The two agents immediately understood it to be a request to come to his office.
Lee had been anticipating a quiet week, for two reasons. There'd been a recent lull in cases and Amanda was out of town, so things would literally be quieter. He'd been less than enthusiastic about a week of paperwork and wiretap reviews. Minus Amanda's eager assistance to keep him buoyed, the week ahead had been starting to feel somehow empty and lackluster. He didn't even have any dates lined up. Maybe Billy would have a good old-fashioned defector meet-up in Eastern Europe for them.
Billy gestured for Lee and Francine to sit as he leaned back in his chair, over which was slung the jacket of his three-piece suit.
"We just got word that the Kathy Bennington drop will be while she's at a bridal shower weekend in Colorado. The Lawrence Livermore Lab's Weapons and Complex Integration division just finished testing a new laser ignition system."
Francine leaned forward, focusing on what she considered to be the most important piece of missing information. "Aspen? Vail? Oooh, or Estes Park - I hear it's up and coming!"
"Vail."
"I just love Vail!" she gushed. "Of course, it's nothing compared to Gstaad, but I'll fit right in. I just got a new designer ski outfit."
Billy pressed his lips together and studiously did not look at Lee. Francine's enthusiasm for the resort life was as predictable to them as traffic jams on DuPont Circle.
"Sorry, Francine, this one's Lee's."
"Well, nothing wrong with being the backup," Francine said, keeping an optimistic view and smiling at Lee.
"That… won't be necessary. Amanda's already there," Billy said.
"Amanda!?" Lee and Francine said together. They exchanged confused looks, then turned to their boss for an explanation.
"She's in the bridal party. Her cousin, Jodie Palmer, is the bride. Jodie works in nuclear research at Lawrence Livermore - with her maid of honor, Kathy Bennington."
"Billy… does Amanda know I'm coming?" If she didn't like him turning up unexpectedly in places like the dairy section of her local supermarket, Lee didn't think she'd be thrilled by this interstate surprise.
"No, but as soon as you get there and get friendly with Bennington, Amanda will be in place as your backup. Cozy up enough to see who Bennington's drop is with, call it in, and we'll send in a team to pick them up. Amanda probably won't even need to get involved, and you can get in some skiing while you're there."
Francine scowled and slumped back in her seat with a quiet 'harumph.'
Lee thought something overseas or deep undercover might've been more exciting, but this domestic operation could still be amusing. He did love to ski. And seeing Amanda's reaction to his sudden appearance would be fun.
AMANDA
A relaxing and warm ambiance emanated from the massive river-rock fireplace in the lodge's bar where Jodie and her gaggle of bridesmaids had grabbed a prime spot after dinner.
They settled into the low chairs around a burl-topped table while Kathy went to round up drinks. White wine for most and hot chocolate for Janet.
Not five minutes later, Darlene nodded toward the bar. "She works fast."
They turned to see Kathy throwing her head back in laughter, easily holding the undivided attention of a barrel-chested man with a flop of golden blonde hair. An alpine sweater completed the look, which practically screamed Nordic GQ.
Jodie nodded knowingly. "She's got that 'it' factor. Happens all the time."
When Kathy returned with their drinks, she brought along Wally Richter.
"Wally's on his own here," she explained after making introductions. "I thought we could extend him some hospitality."
"As long as you don't mind hanging out with a bunch of married, about to be married, or formerly married women, including one who's pregnant," Jodie joked with her usual affability.
"I'm just glad you'll let me crash your party." Wally grabbed a chair from another table and positioned himself cozily next to Kathy, who leaned over so far that she was practically in his lap.
Amanda didn't understand how people met up like that. She got the meeting part, just not the instant cuddling. She'd always preferred to get to know someone slowly. Not too slowly. She tried not to judge people - it was their business who they got involved with and how fast. She just didn't work that way. She was more of a slow burn than a quick-start ignition.
In any case, Wally seemed nice enough. Jodie's warm welcome set the tone and he easily joined their conversations as they talked and joked.
Draining the last of her hot chocolate, Janet stood up. "I'm heading to bed. I'm not just eating for three, I'm sleeping for three."
"Being pregnant was exhausting, and I only had one at a time!" Amanda commiserated while stifling a yawn. "And I'm running on east coast time, so I think I'll turn in as well."