Her mind wandered as she arranged the bouquets for their biggest order of the season. Thoughts of Archie in a tux and her in a white dress crept up in her mind, and these days it was getting harder and harder to push them away.

"Madam Lovestruck? Reminiscing I suppose?" Her boss asked, chuckling to herself as she joined her in the back room to prep the arrangements.

"Naturally." Anna laughed back, cheeks reddening slightly. It was becoming increasingly easier for her to see herself as Archie's wife, but as soon as these thoughts came they were coupled with shame at how childish she was being. She'd lost count of how many times she had to keep reminding herself that they were here to do a job, not get lost in a fantasy that she was almost entirely sure was only in her own head.

…

"Ah you're here," Archie said as soon as she walked in that night. "We have a date with Bridget tonight."

"Oh? Where?"

"A small tavern in Nadine. La Louisiane. Get dressed quickly."

She complied, but suddenly felt suspicious of the whole set up. Why was Bridget so eager to betray her own country? What other plans could she possibly have for them tonight? She'd never questioned an agent before, and she was ashamed to admit that what the major said the other day brought much of her suspicion on.

"Can we really trust this German movie actress?" She asked hesitantly.

"What'd you mean? It's perfectly sound." Archie protested. "Most of its patrons are French anyway. The last place she would have us meet is a den full of Nazis."

"I suppose you're right, but it's always better to assume the worst isn't it? Think about it."

"I understand your concern, but she's been a trusted agent of the British government for nearly two years. She practically planned Operation Kino singlehandedly." A silence fell between them. One that Archie could not bear. "What other options do we have?"

"Fair point." She conceded. "Let's just hope we don't end up fighting in a basement."

When they got to the tavern they were greeted by a lovely blonde haired, blue-eyed woman who was even more beautiful than Anna could have imagined. She began to fidget and nervously fix her hair as her insecurity got the better of her.

The mission. She reminded herself. We're here to talk about the mission. That is all.

The tavern was incredibly slow that night, which she supposed was normal for a weeknight in a village filled with working people. In any pub you could always expect the drunks to be sitting at the bar, but other than that it seemed they had the place to themselves. Which meant they had to be even more discreet than normal. Bridget greeted them both with a warm hug and kisses on both cheeks. She ordered drinks for them and began the small talk as she waited for attention to be drawn away from them long enough to relay her message. A spark of jealousy flashed in Anna's eyes as she watched the intimate way he leaned forward to light Bridget's cigarette. Being a film critic, she was sure he was a true fan of Von Hammersmark's work, and anyone with eyes could see she had the look of an angel, but that didn't make seeing him lose himself in conversation with her any easier.

"There's been a new development," Bridget began once the pleasantries were out of the way. "The cinema venue has changed."

"We knew that actually." Archie said, smiling proudly.

"How could you possibly know?"

"Anna has gotten acquainted with a German major. Hellstrom I believe is his name."

"Oh. I see." Bridget said cautiously.

"I'm not sleeping with him if that's what you think." Anna said, her tone sounding sharper than she meant it to. "No matter how badly he might want me to." She forced a laugh and they followed suit. "It seems he was so desperate to impress me that he invited us to lunch with Joseph Goebbels."

"Well then," Bridget laughed in slight amazement, "It seems you do not need my help at all."

"That is very untrue, fraulein." Archie interjected. "There was a girl there. Emanuelle Mimieux – what do you know of her?"

"Nothing. That's the point. It's very odd to move to this location. She's a nobody with no credit to her name aside from the fact that she has a pretty face and runs the cinema."

"It appears the star of Nation's Pride is quite taken with her."
"Ah," Bridget smiled as she looked at Anna. "It seems these Nazis will stop at nothing to try to get a woman into bed." She laughed.

"Trust me, I wish that wasn't the case." Anna laughed, taking a sip of her drink. "But as it is, this may work in our favor. We just want to know if this girl, Emanuelle, would benefit from…a mutual partnership of sorts."

"Meaning will she allow you to blow her cinema to pieces?" Bridget said taking a drag of her cigarette. "It's too risky. We can't take a chance on her. If she blows the whistle, the entire mission is compromised and all our hard work will have been for nothing."

"I agree." Archie said. Anna was surprised. When they'd spoken just the two of them, he seemed all too eager to ask Mademoiselle Mimieux for help, but now as the actress in front of them spoke his tune changed very quickly. She tried to force herself to be as objective as possible despite her growing jealousy.

"That makes sense," Anna confirmed. "But you have to admit if we did have someone on the inside working for us, it would make our job a hell of a lot easier."

Just then they were interrupted by the bar hand pouring another glass of champagne into Frau Von Hammersmark's glass. She thanked him, and he offered to refill all of their glasses. Not wanting to seem rude or suspect, Archie ordered two more whiskeys in order to toast their friendship.

"To old friends, and new beginnings under a thousand year German Reich." Archie toasted, making sure he was loud enough to be heard. The whiskey tasted bitterer than normal following his toast, but they were quick to get back to business.

"Your job, as you put it, is now going to be even more crucial," Bridget leaned back in her chair, but lowered her voice. "This next piece of information is colossal. Try not to overreact…the Fuhrer –"

"Marie, is that you?"

Anna turned around and saw none other than Major Hellstrom standing before them with a bootleg full of beer. She forced her shock to turn into a pleasant surprise as she greeted the major. He smiled at her as if he'd just caught his prey in a trap.

"I thought I heard your voices." He smiled smugly at Archie. "May I join you?"

"Oh, of course." Anna replied, quickly faking a smile and gesturing to the seat next to her.
"Major, may I introduce my long time friend and colleague, Bridget Von Hammersmark," Archie said as Bridget pleasantly smiled back.
"It's a pleasure, fraulein." Dieter said in German, nodding towards her. "Well this is the last place I was expecting to see you." He turned his attention back towards Anna, not caring if Bridget knew English or not.

"Likewise," She replied. "Of all the taverns in France."

"I prefer small, quiet venues such as this. It gives me the opportunity to catch up on my reading."

"Well, major, don't let us stand in the way of that." Archie retorted in German. Anna resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably in her seat and instead feigned ignorance at what her husband just said.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Monsieur Tremblay?" The major replied, continuing in German.

She could tell by the look in Dieter's eyes that he was enjoying every moment of Archie's threatened lack of composure. And for the first time since he couldn't remember when, Archie was finding it incredibly difficult to maintain. Seeing the major's slimy presence next to Anna and that smug grin on his face made his blood begin to boil.

"Is everything alright?" Anna said in English, eyeing the two of them as they stared one another down.

"Perfectly fine," Dieter smiled back at her. "On my end at least. I can see Gilbert wants me gone as soon as possible."

"Certainly not – "

"Well, major," Archie replied, this time switching to English. "I don't mean to be rude, but the three of us are very good friends. And we haven't seen each other in quite a while. So, major, I'm afraid you are intruding."

A silence fell over the table, and both Bridget and Anna could not bring themselves to make eye contact with either party. Anna was particularly mortified and in awe of how Archie conducted himself. The boldness with which he addressed the major, showing no fear of the potential consequences, was something she could only aspire to obtain.

"I beg to differ," Dieter began, all smugness now lost on his expression. "It's only if the ladies view my presence as an intrusion that I become an intruder. What'd you think, Madam Tremblay? Frau Von Hammersmark? Am I intruding?" Both of them quickly disagreed. "I didn't think so. It appears your husband is immune to my charms, Marie."

Silence fell once more across the table, and for a moment Anna didn't know what to do when the major suddenly broke out into laughter. Shocked as she was, she was also relieved. The smugness in his smile was back, but the fury behind his eyes revealed his true mindset. This worried her, but she continued to laugh nervously with the rest of the group.

"I'm joking. Only a joke." He laughed. "Of course I'm intruding. Naturally. Allow me to propose a toast and then I will be off – to the luckiest man in the room. To have one woman on your arm is an honor, but to have two? What more could any man want?" He gestured to the two clearly uncomfortable women as Archie's face fell. "And, as you said before, to a thousand year German Reich!"

They all repeated the latter part, but not quite as loudly as Archie. The major took a few gulps of his beer and reluctantly walked off. Archie glared at him until he was upstairs. He wouldn't back down, but she knew the major wouldn't either. She began to worry there might be consequences for his actions beyond what he could see in the heat of the moment. For a few brief moments no one could think of what to say. Archie coolly sipped on his drink while a million worst case scenarios flew through Anna's head now that he had thoroughly pissed off the major.

"Anyway," He said turning towards Bridget. "You were saying?"