Joan becomes a guest at the Anderson Thanksgiving party so she can deliver equipment to Auggie and Annie. What fun! Joan's out in the field at Auggie's home. Let's see how well she fits in.
I have no association with Covert Affairs and merely amuse myself with these stories
Chapter 9 – Happy Thanksgiving
A little after two o'clock, the family started to arrive for football and snacks and an afternoon of catching up with each other before the big dinner was being served about six.
The first couple to arrive was Fred Jr. and his family. Auggie and Annie were still upstairs when the front door swung open and they heard the squeals of Freddie and Mandy running toward their grandmother mixed with Sarah's fake southern accent. Annie giggled and Auggie squeezed her shoulder. "Remember, Mom wants us to play nice."
"Keep that in mind when your doctor brother comes at you with six new reasons to take part in one of his friend's research projects," Annie shot back as they descended the stairs.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned toward the back of the house, Annie warned Auggie, "Brace yourself," as nine-year-old Freddie and almost seven-year-old Mandy rushed toward them yelling, "Uncle Auggie!"
Auggie knelt down and put out his arms to greet the children who hugged him enthusiastically.
Mandy hugged his neck tightly, kissed his cheek and said, "I'm so glad you came home, Uncle Auggie. You're my favorite Uncle."
"Well, Mandy, you are one of my favorite people, too," Auggie said as he patted her back.
Freddie half hugged his uncle and trying to be grown up said, "Happy Thanksgiving, Uncle Auggie."
As Auggie stood up, Freddie slipped his small hand into Auggie's and asked, "Do you want to go to the family room where Mom and Dad are?" Auggie was touched by Freddie's offer of assistance. After taking a few steps, Auggie placed his hand on Freddy's shoulder. "You must have grown two inches since August," Auggie observed.
Freddy stopped to look back and up at his Uncle. "How did you know that? Mom says I've grown an inch and three quarters. It'll be two inches by Christmas," Freddy said.
"Well I don't have to be able to see to know your shoulder is higher off the ground today that it was the last time we were together," Auggie explained.
"Oh," Freddy said.
When they walked into the family room, Auggie was greeted warmly by Freddy's parents. They chatted a few minutes before Auggie excused himself to plug Amanda's iTouch into the audio system to start the music. He went to the living room, opened the cabinet doors that housed the audio equipment and with his sensitive fingers tried to locate the slot to dock the iTouch. He had plugged it in earlier in the day, but for some reason was having trouble this afternoon. He realized his hands were a little shaky. "Damn," he whispered to himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself and hooked up the audio equipment.
Annie had stepped into the doorway to ask Auggie a question, but she'd kept quiet when she sensed Auggie was struggling a little. As he turned up the music to a pleasant background level, Annie asked, "Is everything going OK?"
"Yep … everything's OK, now. I guess I'm a tad more nervous about today than I realized."
"I have a question," she whispered. "We didn't talk about it, but how are we going to have a private conversation with Joan?"
Auggie smiled. His family had an unnerving effect on him, but he was actually looking forward to having his boss join them for dinner. "Joan is going to bring a netbook computer with her, and when she has 'trouble' with her internet connection, we'll go upstairs to Dad's office to sort it out. That's when she'll give us the equipment and go over mission details with us."
The doorbell rang, and Auggie questioned who it could be, since the family let themselves in. "Oh," Annie said, "Your mom said she'd hired a couple of the wait staff from the club to help serve this evening. They're college students who weren't able to go home for Thanksgiving. I think she's paying them a lot more than they make at the club, so they'll have enough money to go home for Christmas."
"That sounds like Mom," Auggie chuckled.
They heard Amanda answer the door and greet the college students who had dressed in black slacks and white tuxedo shirts with rust cummerbunds. "Elizabeth! Sandy! Thank you so much for helping me out today," she greeted the young women.
"We're glad we can help," Elizabeth said, "Especially since the club was closed yesterday and today."
The young women followed Amanda through the dining room and into the kitchen as she explained what she needed for them to do. Since they were going to be having a family-style dinner and passing the dishes, they would have to be sure all the bowls were kept full and keep water, tea and coffee filled for the guests. She also told them that they would need to cut the pies while the family ate dinner and serve the desserts.
"Right now, you can relax a little. When the family arrives, we'll pop a couple of trays of hot hors d'oeuvres into the oven for you to pass around. When my sons start to relax, they all enjoy a few drinks; and I don't want them drunk before dinner," Amanda said with a smile.
Annie and Auggie walked down the hall back to the family room to rejoin his dad, brother Fred, and Sarah. He had his arm around Annie and she was leaning into him affectionately. Before they stepped into the family room, Annie turned toward Amanda to say, "We're just going to hang out for a few minutes. Let me know if there's anything I need to do to help."
Amanda smiled. "Thanks, Annie. I think I have it under control, and Cynthia will be back down in a few minutes." Annie nodded and continued walking. Amanda turned to Elizabeth and Sandy. "That was my youngest son, Auggie, and his friend, Annie. They're home from Washington," she said softly. Then she turned her back to the family room and whispered, "Auggie is blind. So, when you're walking around with trays of snacks, you'll need to tell him who you are and what you have on the tray. If Annie is close by, she'll know what to do."
The young women looked at each other nervously.
"I may have given you too much information, but I didn't want you to think Auggie was being aloof when he ignored you," Amanda explained.
Sandy said, "I think I'll just be sure his girlfriend is with him when I offer him something."
Cynthia reappeared in the kitchen dressed in fresh civilian clothes having changed out of her chef's jacket, pants and croc shoes. She introduced herself to the new helpers, and Amanda reminded her Annie said she was on call for help if she were needed.
By four o'clock the entire family had arrived along with Amanda's older sister, Barbara and her husband, Dennis. When all the family guests were in the house, Amanda called everyone together in the family room to announce that another guest would be arriving shortly. She explained how her friend, Joan, was stuck in Chicago until late in the evening because of a plane reservation mixup; and she invited her to join the family for dinner.
"I want everyone to welcome Joan and include her in our Thanksgiving celebration."
Auggie and his brother, T.R., made themselves comfortable in the leather side chairs in the northwest corner of the family room. They were discussing the Cubs season, its disappointment and what surprises the fans might see when the new season starts. T.R. laughed much easier that he had in the past and there was a happier tone to his voice.
"T.R., you sound so much happier than you did last summer," Auggie said as he reached over and slapped his brother's knee playfully. "I was kinda worried about you last summer."
"Yeah, man, I'm feeling a lot better about life. Holly and I went to a counselor last summer and I realized my happiness is my responsibility," T.R. said just above a whisper. "I figured I'd better get my act together so I wouldn't drive Holly and Leigh Ann away."
Taking a draining swig of his beer bottle, Auggie said, "You made a wise choice, T.R., because Holly's a wonderful young woman, and Leigh Ann deserves a Daddy with a good attitude."
"There's Daddy," Leigh Ann squealed as she ran to T.R. and leaned against his legs. Auggie set his beer bottle on the side table and faced the general area where he heard Leigh Ann. He leaned over, opened his arms and said, "How about a hug for your ol' Uncle Auggie?"
Leigh studied him warily for a few seconds before she threw her arms around his neck, hugged him and climbed into his lap. Annie was visiting with Sarah and Holly when she glanced across the room and watched while Auggie talked to little Leigh Ann. He must have known what questions to ask, because she was talking a blue streak and gesturing. When Annie walked up to them, she heard Leigh Ann say, "And it was this big," as she held out her arms to indicate how big whatever it was.
Auggie laughed softly and reminded her, "Remember, Leigh Ann, my eyes don't work so I can't see when you show me with your hands how big something is."
"Oh," she said sadly with a frown.
"But, I tell you what. You hold out your hands to show me how big it was and I'll put my hands on your hands so I can see with my fingers how big it was."
"OK," she said as she held out her arms again. Auggie put his hands on her shoulders and followed her little arms up to her hands. He laughed again and said, "Boy, that is big."
Annie knelt beside Auggie, smiled at Leigh Ann and asked, "What was so big?"
"The pumpkin at school. It was the biggest pumpkin I've ever seen," she said with exasperation thinking Annie should know what she was talking about. Leigh Ann decided her visit with Uncle Auggie was over and she squirmed down to run off to find Mandy.
"She's got you right where she wants you, Uncle Auggie," Annie teased. Auggie didn't disagree. He hated to admit it, but he likes kids and he truly loves his nephew and nieces. Annie said, "I took the liberty of fixing you a saucer of hot hors d'oeurves and veggies. Do you want it?" Auggie smiled and held out his hand to accept the snack.
"Save some for me … I'm going to get a beer … you ready for another?"
Annie returned with their beers and sat on the arm of the chair while she munched off of Auggie's plate and joined in the chat with T.R.
A little after four thirty, the doorbell rang. Annie squeezed Auggie's shoulder, and Auggie gave her knee a little squeeze. Amanda answered the door. She and Joan seemed genuinely happy to see each other and they hugged the way old friends would. "Amanda, thank you so much for your invitation to join you for dinner this evening."
"The whole family is here. Let me take your coat, and we'll go meet everyone," Amanda said. Joan smiled warmly, relishing the opportunity to observe Auggie's family. Amanda hung Joan's cashmere coat in the closet and Joan set the tapestry tote bag she was carrying on the closet floor under the dark coat.
Joan smoothed her burgundy-colored wool and silk brocade blazer that she was wearing over silky dress slacks and a cream silk shirt with a shawl collar and deep v neck. She was wearing diamond earrings and a pendent necklace of a three carat citrine surrounded by small diamonds. Her blonde hair fell soft and straight on her shoulders and she was wearing subtle, soft makeup. The two women smiled at each other. Joan asked in a whisper, "Ready for this?"
Amanda giggled. "The question is: Are YOU ready? You're the one having dinner with my family. Come meet everyone."
Joan followed Amanda down the hall to the family room. Auggie was still visiting with T.R., but he recognized familiar footsteps coming toward the family room and had to bite his lower lip to keep from breaking into a smile. When the two women walked into the room, a couple of the family members noticed and turned to smile. To Annie's surprise, Amanda caught everyone's attention with a shrill whistle.
"Now that I have your attention, I want to introduce my friend Joan Campbell. That's my husband, Fred, taking care of the bartender duties. And, I'm going to let my sons and their wives introduce themselves." Amanda turned to Joan, "Make yourself at home, Joan. Dinner will be ready about six o'clock."
"Would you like something to drink, Mrs. Campbell?" Aaron asked as he introduced himself as the fourth son in the Anderson clan of five. He then explained that his wife, Cynthia, was a chef by profession and was helping in the kitchen. "You'll meet her later."
Joan asked for a Scotch on the rocks and Aaron went behind the bar to pour it while Fred approached to introduce himself properly. After Joan had met the brothers, their wives and children, Auggie and Annie approached Joan and shyly introduced themselves. They chatted a few moments before Annie excused herself to get another beer for Auggie and herself. She was glad that they'd had so many cocktail party practice sessions when she was at the farm. Annie could not suppress a smile as she walked back to where Joan and Auggie were making small talk, because it was like watching a master class at Actors' Studio. "They could teach Hollywood a thing or two," she thought to herself.
Annie walked up to Auggie and Joan holding the two beer bottles wrapped in napkins. "Ready for another?" she asked Auggie as cue to reach for the bottle as she handed it to him. She and Joan gave each other sidelong glances and smiled slightly.
"I need to check my email," Joan said. "Do you have a wi fi connection I can log into?"
"We sure do," Auggie answered. "And I believe that you can get the best connection on this level of the house in the living room. It's just under my dad's office where we set up a modem and the router."
Annie smiled at Joan and said, "Auggie's an expert in computers, he keeps everyone's computers and electronics working the way they should."
Joan raised her eyebrows in mock disbelief. "You better believe it, Mrs. Campbell. Last summer the computer wizards at Northwestern where I teach couldn't find a problem with my office computer, and Auggie came over to my office while he was home for my wedding and solved the problem in less than an hour," Aaron proudly explained and gave Auggie a brotherly pat on the shoulder.
"Let me show you the best place in the living room to get a connection," Auggie said to Joan as he started walking out of the room. Joan followed him saying, "I need to get my netbook out of the coat closet."
Auggie waited for Joan at the entrance to the expansive living room. When she rejoined him, he motioned to his favorite chair in the front corner of the room and said "The wing chair in the corner is a perfect place to relax and check your email. And I believe the password is "captain," all lower case … unless Dad changed it."
"Thank you, Auggie," Joan said. Since no one was in the room or the adjoining foyer, she reached over and squeezed his forearm. Auggie smiled and left the room. Joan really did need to check her email, but she wouldn't be using the Anderson's wi fi, because her little nondescript netbook was, in fact, a piece of CIA secure encrypted equipment.
After a reasonable amount of time, Joan re-entered the family room carrying the small computer. Dodging the children running through the room and around their parents, Joan made her way to Auggie. "Your brother tells me you're some kind of computer wizard, Auggie. I'm having trouble connecting to the wi fi. I don't know if it's the wi fi or my computer."
Auggie grinned and said, "Mrs. Campbell, I believe you found the right person to help you. Let me take a look … but first, I'm going to need someone to be my eyes. Annie?"
Annie was a couple of steps away listening to Auggie's sister-in-law, Burma, describe the funny problems she encountered at a wedding last weekend. She turned toward Auggie when she heard her name. "What, Auggie?"
Seeing Annie and Auggie out of the DPD gave Joan a fresh perspective on the young couple. She'd thought part of the way they orbited each other was the office environment. But even in a relaxed family setting, she recognized how Auggie always kept track of Annie's movements and Annie, although she was doing other things and was with other people, always was aware of Auggie's movements, too.
Annie walked up to Auggie, snuggled up to him and looking up to him asked, "Need something?"
"I need to check Joan's computer, but since it's not hooked up to my Braille reader and software, I need you to be my eyes. We've worked together on these kinds of situations I think it will go quicker if you help me," Auggie explained.
Freddie heard Auggie's explanation. "I can help Uncle Auggie. I can be your eyes. I've helped you with computer stuff before," he said excitedly.
"I appreciate the offer, Buddy, but this might get complicated. You can help me next time," Auggie said as he reached out ruffled through Freddie's dark curly hair.
Auggie led the way upstairs to his dad's office. Joan opened the coat closet to retrieve her tote bag and followed him up the stairs with Annie. When they settled in the office, Joan started pulling equipment out of the tote. "That was so cute that your nephew wanted to help you, Auggie."
"He could have, too," Auggie chuckled. I've spent quite a bit of time with him sitting on my lap or beside me at the computer teaching him things. He's a really bright kid."
"Well just as long as he doesn't get into any national secrets," Joan teased.
"Nope," Auggie said, "Just basic programming and codebreaking."
Joan laid out the equipment across Fred's desk. It included tiny microphones to be sewn into the suspect's clothing, a couple of receivers for listening and tracking the suspect and what looked like a web camera. Joan explained that the tiny microphones would double as tracking devices and it was important to sew one into each piece of clothing the suspect had taken to the cleaner.
"How small are they?" Auggie asked holding out his hand. Joan picked up the microphone, no larger than a sew-in snap, into Auggie's left palm. He carefully felt it with the tips of his right hand fingers.
"Reva and her team did a good job on these," Auggie said. "I can barely feel them."
"They did a very good job," Joan agreed. "Now, just in case there's a hiccup with the equipment, there are two receivers."
Annie frowned at the equipment in front of her. "What's the camera for?"
"That will become Auggie's eyes to keep a lookout for you when you're in the cleaners planting the microphones," Joan explained. Auggie's face broke out into a beaming smile.
Joan shook her head. "Nothing brightens up your day, Auggie, like the prospect of getting out in the field. Do you know how transparent you can be?"
"Sorry, Boss," he chuckled. He held out his hand again indicating he wanted to explore the camera. Annie picked it up and handed it to him.
Joan explained that it looked like a run-of-the mill web cam, but it was equipped with night vision so that Auggie while sitting in the car when Annie slipped into the cleaners would be able to transmit the scene back to the tech ops center at Langley. Members of his team would monitor the scene and describe it to Auggie. In case it looked like someone might be entering the business, he could relay the information to Annie.
"Do you want to make sure the web cam works with your computer?" Joan asked Auggie. "If we find a problem, we still have time to get something express shipped to you."
Auggie turned the camera over in his hands several times. "Good idea," he said. "Come with me." Joan and Annie followed Auggie down the hall to their room.
Walking into the darkened room, Auggie remembered to flip the light on. He moved easily to his desk, set the camera down and connected its cable to the computer and turned on the power. While the trio waited for the computer to boot, Joan looked admired the room and said, "No wonder you two enjoy visiting here. This is a lovely room."
"Thanks," Auggie said. "Mom's in charge of the decorating these days, but this has been my room almost all my life. My brothers shared the dorm style room upstairs as they got older. I was the youngest and never moved up there."
The computer chimed indicating it was on and in service. Auggie sat down, pulled on his earphones and started typing. In just a few key strokes, an image of the room appeared on the screen. Annie picked up the camera and rotated it to see the rest of the room. "I'll turn off the lights," Joan said, "to be sure the night vision is working."
"That's amazing," Annie said. "The image is so clear."
"That's the idea behind night vision," Auggie said with a smirk.
Annie slapped playfully at his shoulder. "I know that, silly, but the image with this camera is so clear and bright. The S and T crew did a great job. You should see it."
The second the last sentence escaped her lips, she regretted saying it and gasped a little. Auggie reached around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze to tell her everything was OK. They called the tech ops center back at Langley and verified that the video feed was working. Tomorrow they would make sure the receivers were working.
"I think we've been gone from the party long enough," Joan said.
Auggie turned off his computer, and Annie handed him the case that the other equipment was stored in. He opened the case, ran his fingers over the case's contents and found the spot in the foam for the web cam. On the second try, the camera fit in the opening. He snapped the case closed and slid it under his side of the bed.
"Ready to rejoin the party?" he asked as he got up from the desk and walked toward the door. He opened the door and with a gallant sweep of his arm said, "Ladies, after you."
"Did you get your email sorted out," Amanda asked Joan. "I asked where you'd disappeared to, and Freddy said you were having trouble with email."
"It was just a little glitch," Joan said. "Auggie straightened it out for me."
"He does have a magic touch with computers," Amanda said. Joan smiled and nodded.
Thanks for reading. The next installment will include dinner and the after party. And ... we might find out a little more about what the mission will entail.