Karen Delfs Redux
Jessica sank gratefully into the comfortable chair as Aubrey gallantly pulled it out for his wife.
"Oh, Superman, you have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this belated anniversary dinner! The stresses trying to examine remains online, helping Rachael navigate seventh-grade geography, untangling Molly's fourth-grade math questions, and keeping the twins quiet enough that the two older ones can concentrate are more than one person should have to juggle!
"That, my dear green-eyed beauty, is why I had Dr. Brennan finagle us a table at Magnifique Festin. I knew if I needed use a break from negotiating this Covid lockdown, you most assuredly do too, since you've been stuck at home more of the past few months than I have. Thank goodness we decided to live in a smaller town outside the Beltway; the commute is a pain, but it insulated us from the worse of the outbreak," Aubrey told his wife.
Jessica beamed at her thoughtful husband. "Silver Spring's city councilors have been particularly prescient in their handling of the pandemic. Dr. Brennan and I were musing the other day about whether the presence of the National Museum of Health and Medicine in town may have influenced citizen awareness of sound public health practices over the decades."
"It's been around since 1862 when U.S. Army Surgeon General William A. Hammond wished to collect battlefield specimens of military surgery, examples of morbid anatomy, extracted bullets and projectiles, and examples of morbid anatomy for preservation and study. Of course Dr John Hill Brinton furthered its development; and later chaired Philadelphia's Mutter Medical Museum-"
Accustomed to his wife's scholarly asides, which seemed to increase the longer she knew Temperance Brennan, Aubrey interjected, "I agree, dear, Montgomery County has handled this crisis as well as they could, but my current objective is forgetting Covid-19 and focusing on us…just us."
Jessica grinned and readily acquiesced, "Sorry, James, no more science talk tonight. Jamie grossed out Savannah 'dissecting' a worm on the patio this afternoon…"
"Jess! Are you trying to destroy my appetite for dinner?" Aubrey groaned.
"Sorry, love. What sort of repast do you propose we order this evening?"
The agent smirked at his wife. "I cheated a bit. Booth consulted his chef buddy Gordon Gordon Wyatt, who suggested a seafood platter for one of us, and their prime rib supreme for the other. Care to guess which was for whom?"
"No contest, Aubrey! I know you'll snarf down a steak any day, and I love seafood! Do we even need to see a menu?" Jessica replied as a smiling tuxedo-clad waiter approached their secluded table.
"Welcome to Magnifique Festin! My name is Jeffrey and I'll be taking care of you tonight. May I bring you a cold beverage or perhaps a certain tea to begin your dinner this evening?"
"Thank you, sir," Aubrey began. "I'd like whatever craft beer you have on hand. We've heard that your chef prepares excellent seafood and delicious steaks. Can you suggest an entrée in those two categories for my wife and me?"
"And for you, Madame?"
"Nothing alcoholic for me, Jeffrey, but I'd like an iced tea, please."
"Of course; let me get your drinks, and I'll come back with our specialty menus," the waiter replied. He returned a few minutes with long slender ivory cards printed in a graceful dark gray script. Handing them to the couple, he pointed out several menu items and gave them a few minutes to consider their choices.
As he stepped away, a flash of bright purple caught Jessica's eye. She instinctively glanced toward the restaurant's entrance; then turned quickly back to her menu.
"Aubrey, don't gawk, but I think Karen Delfs just arrived," she murmured softly to her spouse.
Aubrey rolled his eyes, not bothering to steal a peek. "Good grief, Jess. I don't need to catch even a glimpse of that woman. I don't wish her ill, but if I never laid eyes on her again, it wouldn't bother me one iota," he commented in a low voice. "Besides that, I thought she transferred to the Cincinnati office five years ago."
Just then, Jeffrey returned to their table with an expectant expression. "Do you have any questions I may answer; are you ready to order, or do you need a few more minutes?"
"Nope, Jeffrey; I think we're ready and your advice was excellent…Jess?" I'd like the baby back ribs/prime rib roast combination platter," Aubrey told him.
"I'll have the rainbow trout filet, sweet and spicy green beans and garlic mushroom quinoa, please." Jessica replied.
Aubrey didn't hesitate to place his order the moment his wife finished speaking. "I'll have the baby back ribs/prime rib roast combination platter, roasted root vegetables, zucchini fritters, spaghetti cacio e pepe, and sweet slaw, please."
Like the good veteran waiter he was, Jeffry didn't bat an eye at Aubrey's huge order.
"Madame, would you like a salad as well?"
"Yes, a Caesar salad, please, with dressing on the side," Jessica answered.
"Excellent choices, I'll be back in a moment with some dinner rolls and fresh churned butter," Jeffrey said.
Once they were alone again, Aubrey pinned his wife with a stare. "Mrs. Aubrey, what's with you asking for tea this evening? Are you trying to tell me something, like another little Jessica on the way?"
Jessica Warren looked at her husband like he was crazy. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Maybe my wife not ordering wine?"
"Good grief! No, Superman, I just want to save those calories for later tonight when we're alone. My brothers stopped by last week with several bottles of this year's select vintages and I've been hiding them from you for a special occasion."
"Ah, that sounds like a great idea! Not that I wouldn't welcome a chance to create another little munchkin, you understand," Aubrey said, smiling suggestively.
"Maybe down the line, Romeo, but I think we have our plate full enough for right now," Jessica retorted.
"But if it's fun and games you're after later this evening, I'll be all ears," she assured him.
"Ah, while I do consider your ears quite sexy, I have other body parts in mind, my dear," Aubrey muttered under his breath.
"Touche, Superman, you're on!"
Jeffrey came back just then laden with salad plates and a basket of warm fragrant rolls.
"Here you twp are for starters," he said.
"Ohhh, those yeast rolls smell heavenly; just like my granma's used to," Aubrey moaned happily.
"Most of our regular patrons take a box of these home for tomorrow's breakfast," Jeffrey told him.
"Remind me to do just that, my good man! No, on second thought, just add them to our order right now!" Aubrey requested.
"Consider it done."
JAJAJA
It was indeed Karen Delfs whom Jessica had noticed entering the restaurant. The scientist did not notice the tall man behind her. Harris Pendleton was a hands-on pharmaceutical research vice president for Abbott Laboratories these days. A Purdue graduate, he had spent his first six years with the company conducting mRNA experiments, and the next three developing SARS vaccine safety testing protocols. Impressed with his unusual talent for speaking plainly to non-scientists, his superiors had urged him to leave the laboratory for the executive suite. But Harris turned them down. His heart was in finding a cure for the next lurking virus. Twenty-two months later, his choice proved providential. Dr. Pendleton's multi-discipline team of scientists joined Pfizer associates to test a proto-type mRNA serum. Abbott Labs's brand new stand-alone laboratory in Columbus was dedicated to their efforts. When the corona virus appeared, their work schedules racheted up to fever-pitch. Karen Delfs had to content herself with phone conversations rather than dates with her soon-to-be husband.
JAJAJA
The FBI profiler had accepted her transfer to the Cincinnati field office with as much grace as she could muster, and worked assiduously for a year to re-establish her good name. Finding, however, that her heart was no longer in field profiling, Karen resolved to alter the path of her life. Refocusing energy once expended to attract James Aubrey's attention, she applied to the University of Akron's graduate school and earned a second Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology in record time.
With practicum hours completed and board certification exams aced, she began looking for more than a job; she sought a calling to offset her earlier professional missteps. Hired by the Cleveland Clinic, she found her niche in their satellite Adolescent Behavioral Health Department. Here in Columbus, she guided awkward teenagers through a labyrinth of psychological challenges; issues ranging from autism to anorexia.
Having been a high-strung, achievement-driven high school student, Karen found that she related to her young patients. Her forte was often not so much in a particular specialty as in establishing the rapport and connection so important in helping teenagers. Her office became a clearing-house for patients, parents, and fellow practitioners. Whether a youngster was in denial or uptight, a parent was nervous, worried, or irritated, another psychologist was wondering what approach to use; Dr. Karen Delfs seemed to have a magic touch.
Her knack for connecting with kids, calming parents, and assisting associates earned her appreciative accolades. Praise and recognition she never experienced at the FBI brightened her days and made her realize her past mistakes. She found herself 'relaxing into her own skin' as her father had once said. She finally knew he meant. Being herself without forcing relationships brought her new happiness.
JAJAJA
And one weekend at a scientific symposium coffee break, Karen crossed paths with a tall intriguing man. Her co-worker had been raving about a guy she needed to meet. Remembering the past D.C. debacle (as she called her FBI days in her head) Karen demurred. But her friend was insistent, and called to Dr. Harris Pendleton as he walked past their cafeteria table. Karen tried to suppress her urge to blush while noticing the red flush rising in his cheeks.
He came over, greeted his friend politely and acknowledged the introduction; shyly meeting Karen's eyes. Their mutual associate suddenly remembered an urgent appointment, and declared she didn't have time to drink the coffee order she had just placed. Penny Foster rose quickly, urged Harris to take her seat and disappeared. Sheepishly, he smiled at Karen.
"May I sit down?"
"Certainly; be my guest," the psychologist replied, feeling her heart in her throat and hoping it didn't show.
"Well, that was awkward. What did Penny order, anyway?" he asked wryly.
"Black coffee. I suppose you can doctor it however you like. They have a whole coffee bar over there with every creamer additive known to mankind," Karen replied.
The two of them missed both their next sessions, talking non-stop. The morning gave way to lunchtime and they ordered sandwiches without caring what variety were served. At 1:30 pm Harris had a lecture to present; Karen had a discussion group to chair. So the pair reluctantly parted after agreeing to meet for dinner.
JAJAJA
One meal became many, squeezed in between his lab research and her busy appointment schedule crammed with troubled teenagers. Sometimes early breakfasts, sometimes hurried lunches, more often late-night suppers of carry-out box dinners. Little did Karen Delfs know that these interactions mirrored those of Booth and Brennan earlier in their careers and relationship.
She and Harris found common ground in their over-achieving childhoods, comfort in similar mid-career realizations. He had intended to pursue teaching; yet loved working in the lab. She had intended a crime-fighting career, yet found her fulfillment working with kids. Who knew their strengths would turn out so different from their expectations?
Yet, as scientists do, they each accepted the truths they found in evidence and data, and followed new paths until theirs crossed. And one day, Karen Delfs decided to write a note of thanks to the one person in D.C. who had seen through her braggadocio….Dr. Jack Hodgins.
JAJAJA
He had emailed her to share a passage his beloved nanny had once given him; a treatise about accepting one's strengths and weaknesses; and recognizing one's individuality. This gift had arisen from Hodgins' comparing himself to his brilliant, famous, successful father who was outgoing, charismatic, and forceful. While Hodgins was no less intelligent than his Cantilever corporate scion pere, the son's personality was more reticent and quiet. Hodgins had spent his high school years agonizing over the comparison.
His kind and perceptive old nanny saw through his insecurities and wisely laid them to rest. "Jack, you are not your dad. Be yourself; find and pursue your own path in life. Your parents will be proud of your choices, your strengths and successes, your achievements…whether they are similar to or divergent from his."
"If quiet academia or research is your preference, so be it. If you want to head a board of directors, that's great; if not, that's fine too. You will most likely find greater happiness by discerning your own forte and pursuing that. Remember the Genie from Aladdin you liked so well in the Disney cartoon? What did he tell Aladdin? "Be yourself; right?"
" "Beeee yourself, he chanted as he transformed into that insect!" How funny you thought that was as a child!" Angelique had patted his head, taller than hers; hugged his shoulder she could hardly reach; and given him peace as she had as long as he could remember. Her ability to calm his fears, soothe his anxieties over perceived parental expectations had always been her greatest talent and gift to Jack.
And so, Jack Hodgins earned three doctoral degrees, all slanted toward the laboratory research he loved. And though his parents died earlier than they should have, before he reached his career pinnacle at the Jeffersonian; they saw and acknowledged his potential. Didn't say much, didn't gush since that wasn't their way, but let their son know they were proud of him.
So, when he observed Karen Delfs' floundering, Dr. Hodgins passed on to her that treatise, a nugget of wisdom he cherished from Angelique. And she found its truth, experienced its wisdom just as he had. Pursuing a different path than what she'd envisioned at the FBI, Dr. Delfs came into her own.
And when Dr. Harris Pendleton entered that university cafeteria, she was ready to meet the real man of her dreams. Very different from James Aubrey and all the others she'd thrown herself at. A soulmate who complemented and completed her.
JAJAJA
Karen and Harris, seated on the opposite end of the exclusive restaurant from Aubrey and Jessica, were also enjoying a sumptuous meal. When she excused herself to visit the ladies' room, she noticed the other couple dining across the room. Once she had finished, Karen Delfs calmly approached their table, greeted the surprised pair quietly, and requested that they meet her fiancé if they would agree to do so once they'd finished their meal.
It was hard to tell which partner was more surprised. Jessica spoke first; then Aubrey acknowledged his former associate. They'd be honored; they said. The conversation complete, Karen nodded to both husband and wife, and returned to her table.
For once, the normally loquacious StarTrek-loving couple were speechless. And then, they both talked at once.
"Can you beat that, Jess?"
"Who knew, James?"
"Booth and Dr. -"
Dr. Brennan and B—"
They both burst out laughing, then squelched their amazement.
"They'd both be as surprised as we are! But, good for Karen! I guess she found her way after all!"
"Should we ask them to share dessert?"
"Nope, nothin' doing, Jess! We've got strawberry shortcake and whipped cream at home, and I plan on drizzling those treats all over another of my favorites!"
His scientist blushed, her green eyes sparkling. "You're on, Superman!"
JAJAJA
Their entrees and salads consumed, the couple politely declined Jeffrey's offer of desserts, paid their bill and walked across the restaurant to where Karen had indicated her table was. They waited for a pause in the other couple's conversation, then approached and introduced themselves. The grateful smile on Dr. Delfs' face was reward enough for the delay in their romantic antics.
Dr. Harris Pendleton gracefully acknowledged them and chuckled heartily.
"I guess we four doctors, none of us medical, should get together for dinner the next time we come to D.C.; if that suits you two!" he remarked.
"Sounds like a plan! It was nice meeting you; Karen was a valued associate during her time at the FBI. Have a good evening."
When their formerly bombastic profiler smiled back at Aubrey and Jessica, her expression said it all. "Thank you both."