"This sure brings back memories." Charlie says while standing in line for his food on the Amherst Central High School football field.
"Yeah, I can remotely remember getting my ass kicked by the Mark Connors, the star quarterback because I made the mistake of asking his girlfriend if I could touch her pom poms." Bobby blushes at the look Alex gives him. "I was talking about the paper ones, okay?" He says, slightly annoyed.
The two couples move through the line. Before reaching the food area they are led toward a table with name tags. A man and a woman sit at the table instructing people to sign in on a sheet and find their name tag. Charlie approaches followed by Bobby.
"Hey Charlie! How's it going?"Asks the man.
"Great...um...I'm sorry I don't recognize you." Charlie tries to sound polite.
"Frankie, Frankie Forte. I was Class President." Replies Frankie craning his head to see past Charlie. "And who do we have here? Bobby. Bobby Goren, my VP has arrived!" Frankie says, dramatically. "How is the FBI?"
"Um, I work for the NYPD, Frankie." Bobby mumbles while signing in on the sheet.
"Oh, that's right, how stupid of me." Frankie frowned, he thought he knew everything about his former classmates, looking at the woman sitting next to him. "Do you remember Candy? Candy Ward? Well actually its Candy Forte now." He puts his arm around her.
"Nice to see you Candy." Bobby replies, quietly before turning toward Alex. "I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Alex." He puts his arm around Alex and pulls her against his side.
Alex smiles politely. "A pleasure to meet you." She nods to Frankie and Candy. She is holding back a snort and sarcastic comment about the name Candy.
Bobby leans down and picks up his nametag which has his graduation picture attached. He scowls when he sees it and tries to stuff it into his pocket.
Alex grabs it out of his hand. "Bobby, its not that bad, really." She says, trying not to laugh at the teenage Bobby pictured. "You have to wear it. It's only for the weekend." She takes it and pins it to his dark blue polo shirt that he is wearing.
"Here." Candy hands Alex a nametag which reads: Alex Goren - Wife of Bobby. Alex reluctantly takes it and pins it to her shirt.
"Lets eat, I'm famished!"Alex tugs on Bobby's arm.
Bobby quickly says goodbye to Frankie and Candy and they move through the line taking hotdogs, salad, beans, cornbread and beer. They walk over to an empty table and sit down.
"I need to get away from Charlie for a while." Bobby whispers. "No point in pushing the envelope."
Alex nods as she cuts into her hotdog. "Did that Frankie guy just call you his VP?"
"Yeah, I was...um...Vice President of my class." Bobby says, sheepishly.
"You were? I was President of my class Bobby. That is so funny."Alex grins.
"I would have been President if Frankie hadn't used a lot of cutthroat techniques in campaigning. He actually paid people to vote for him, or so I've heard." He opens his bottle of beer. "He got a real kick out of the whole thing. He always had it in for me too. He even had to rub it in about Candy too." Bobby took a sip of the beer.
"What do you mean about Candy? And what kind of name is that? Where her parents high or something?" Alex asked since she couldn't contain it any longer.
"Candy was my first real girlfriend. We dated through Sophomore year and just before the Junior Prom she dumped me for Frankie. I ended up going with my best friend's sister. I still think that Frankie probably paid her to go with him, but then again she did marry him. Maybe I'm wrong." Bobby sounded a little put out. "And Candy is short for Candice but no one, not even the teachers, called her that."
"Oh Bobby, that's horrible."Alex scowls over her shoulder at the man who had tormented her partner in high school.
"I only have one satisfaction when it comes to Frankie though. I worked my ass off to get into a good college. I mean I was ecstatic when I got accepted to Yale. Unfortunately, Frankie's popularity didn't work on his grades so when the time came he was lucky to get into a community college. He took up Business, but he flunked out and now he works full time as a...garbage man. Candy's's parents owned a garbage removal service and seeing that they didn't have any sons to pass it on to. Frankie's it. They've only got a couple of trucks and Frankie is a very hands on kind of guy. Therefore, he has been seen driving his own garbage truck around the city of Amherst." Bobby says.
Alex smiles and takes a sip of her own beer. "Bobby, there is a whole side of you that exists that I didn't know about. I mean you were such an average kid in high school. When did you start to get um...weird?"
"It was a real challenge to keep sane Eames. I was seeing a psychiatrist regularly once a week from the time my dad left until I left for college. It's the one thing besides my education that my mom really understood. Maybe it's why I ended up taking up Psychology. It was the only thing that I seemed interested in at the time." Bobby glances up and notices Terry talking to Frankie Forte at the sign-in table. Candy is no where to be seen.
"You've been through a lot Bobby. You should be commended on your dedication...not scoffed at like you are."Alex says, looking up at him.
"You're the only one who thinks that way Eames. Too bad you weren't my partner years ago." Bobby smiles, sadly. "I do want to say one thing to you though Alex. Thank you. Thank you for helping me put this charade on this weekend. You don't know how grateful I am that you're here with me."
Alex smiles and reaches across the table. With both hands she takes Bobby's left hand in hers and squeezes it. "Only for you Bobby, you know that. Besides I think it gives us good experience..."
"Good experience? Bobby questions with a frown.
"Doing undercover work. We haven't really done any, we need the practice don't you think?" Alex says, quietly. It was true, they didn't do as much undercover work as their colleagues.
"Speak for yourself Eames." Bobby smiles.
Alex smiles back and glances down at his hand in hers for a moment. The gold band on his ring finger symbolized something that she knew she could never have. His love, his commitment, his trust...complete trust. Someday they would be separated either by their choice or by someone else's. She would go on with her life with or without the MCS. He'd do the same and someday when he got around to it he would find that someone that would cause his career to suddenly become secondary. She wasn't the one that had the power to overshadow it. Sadly she glances at her own rings and thinks for just a moment if she wished things could be different. Bobby was quirky in his own way, dedicated to his work, but he was the most caring and intense person she knew. He was someone that she had come to depend on and trust completely. She couldn't imagine living a day without seeing him or being able to talk to him. Those rings are not hers and she knows that the day Bobby Goren got down on one knee she wouldn't be around to see it.
"Penny for your thoughts." Bobby says, quietly.
"Did you insure these rings Bobby?" Alex asked out of the blue. "What if we lost them?" She was changing the subject.
"We are not going to lose them Eames 'cause if we do, the entire winnings from the wager is going to go towards paying for them. Especially that little rock on your hand. You do like it, don't you? I mean I know its big, but I thought the emerald cut would be more your style. Its less likely to catch on things than a round, pear, heart or marquise, especially when your at work."
"Bobby, I won't be wearing this when I'm at work." Alex replies pulling her hands away from Bobby's abruptly.
"Oh, yeah you're right." Bobby's eyes drop to his food.
Just then there is a scream from the end zone.