Emerging from the bathroom, Francine was surprised to see Amanda loading the chamber of her handgun. Now, I'm sure she's up to something…she never handles her weapon anymore than necessary. Hoping to put a stop to whatever she might be planning, she challenged her action.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm loading my gun. I only had two shots left because I was practicing with Leatherneck earlier in the week," she replied without taking her eyes off the weapon in her hand.
"Why are you concerned about having that many potential shots ?" The more experienced agent removed her own gun from the holster she had been wearing earlier in the day, and slipped it into her small evening bag.
"I'm your partner…on this case…and I plan to be fully prepared to act accordingly. While the past few weeks have been wonderful on a personal level; openly becoming Mrs. Stetson has been a career setback."
"How so? Dr. Smyth grudgingly admitted that breaking up your partnership with Lee wouldn't be in the Agency's best interests." She cocked her head in Amanda's direction and waited for her reply.
"Surprisingly, he's been willing to tacitly admit that I've earned my position as Lee's partner, I'm sorry to say that I'm afraid that some people never will believe that. Publicly marrying Lee has stirred up a lot of the gossip about my place at the Agency that had died down over time…in some eyes, I'm back to being Scarecrow's little woman."
"That's not true," Francine countered half heartedly, as she checked her makeup rather than facing Amanda.
"You and I know how I hard I worked to become a full agent, but some people-"
"Those people don't matter; they're jealous of what you've achieved. You have a promising career and now they know without a doubt that you have Lee. Don't let them diminish your enjoyment of your new life!"
"That's easier said than done. We don't have time to discuss this now; we have roles to play…and I'm really hungry." She put her gun in her handbag, and eased her feet into slightly lower- heeled shoes than she'd been wearing earlier. Francine stuck with her higher heels and followed her to the door of the room. Out in the hallway, they engaged in a lively conversation about where they each planned to vacation during the upcoming holiday season. They made certain that anyone who might be listening to them would come away convinced that they were socialites with too much money and time on their hands.
"Ronald invited me to spend a week with him in Telluride, can you imagine, skiing domestically during the holidays?" When Amanda failed to jump in with a quick response, she continued on, gesturing wildly. "I told him in no uncertain terms, that I would be skiing in Gstaad with Mark."
"I thought that you'd grown bored with Mark?"
"He can be tedious at times; but he knows how to enjoy the finer things. I may not actually go with him though…Lawrence invited me to visit him at his place in the Caribbean that same week."
"Francesca, you amaze me, I swear you've stayed with your hairdresser longer than you have with any one man since we've met," Amanda said cattily, as she began to enjoy their role playing. She was so convincing that the worldly blonde next to her was actually stung by her words, as they hit close to home. Their arrival at the entrance to the restaurant spared her from having to reply. They asked to be seated in the center of the room; as it would afford them a view of the other diners' comings and goings. Francine subconsciously smoothed her carefully crafted chignon, as she reflected on Amanda's comment. Is that how she actually sees me? Still deep in thought, she stole a glance at her as they were being seated. Oh God, I've only been seeing Michael for six months; but Jean-Charles has been doing my hair for five years! She sighed inaudibly and reached for the water glass at her place setting. I need to get a grip, I've been taking her to task for not keeping her head in the game and now I'm zoning out. I've got to get away from her for long enough to regain my focus. As her attention returned to Amanda, she realized that her dinner companion was in the midst of a lengthy monologue centered on the weekend she'd spent at Bromfield Hall. Miranda, her cover, was talking about the time she'd spent in the English countryside; carefully editing out the Agency related aspects of that weekend. She'd become so engrossed in describing the palatial estate, that Francine's subtle attempt to get her attention failed.
"Miranda," she broke in. "Please excuse me; I need to go make a quick call. I'll use one of the payphones that I spotted on the way in. You stay put; when the waitress comes, order the appetizers."
"What would you like," she inquired as Francine stood up.
"You decide; I trust your judgment," she replied and quickly disappeared from Amanda's view. Oh great…she trusts me to select an appetizer…but when it comes to something more consequential…She smiled in spite of the frustration she was feeling, and reached for a menu. Ten minutes later, Francine hadn't returned and she was still waiting for the waitress. Francine should be back by now; after what I did this afternoon, I didn't think she would let me out of her sight. She casually pushed her salad fork off the table, so that she could stoop to pick it up, and sneak a look at the bank of phones located at the entrance that was located behind her. Not seeing her partner; she tried to keep her rising sense of apprehension under control.