Spying
By
Michelle Pichette
‘The great man is he who does not loose his
childlike heart.’
Mencius
Lee looked at all the boxes, frowning. This was
delicate work. He had to find out what was in the boxes without leaving
behind any evidence that he’d been here. There were booby traps
everywhere, all sorts of little triggers that would raise alarms and give him
away. He rubbed his chin, considering the puzzle before him trying to
note every detail so that he could put things back exactly how they were when
he was done. That would not be easy. It was a very complex
arrangement. There were lights in the room, but they were dim and
intermittent. A brighter, steadier light would surely attract unwanted
attention. No doubt about it, he would have to be very careful
about this.
Easing toward the boxes, Lee gingerly lifted the
first. There was no external indication as to what might be inside.
It was heavy, but not too heavy, indicating something solid within. He
gave it a gentle shake, but the soft thump that resulted gave him no clues as
to what might be inside. He frowned, about to give box a firmer shake
when lights flared on in the room. He looked up from his work,
dismayed. He’d been found out.
“What are you doing?” came a
sleepy, disapproving voice from behind him. Lee glanced up the stairs
behind him to see Rowena Simmons standing up the top, pushing hair back from
her face with one hand. “I thought we were waiting for presents until
tomorrow when Chip and his girlfriend came over for brunch,” she said, pulling
her flimsy robe back up over a bare shoulder.
“Uh... yeah... yes...” Lee stammered, putting the package he
was holding back under the Christmas tree, then quickly stood
up. “I... um... thought I heard something.” Lee glanced at the
box. He still had no clue what Ro had gotten him and it was driving him
insane. She had purchased whatever was in there weeks ago and hadn’t
given him the smallest inkling as to what it might be, no matter how he’d tried
to worm hints from her.
Ro smirked. “Coming from your Christmas present?
Why do I doubt that.”
Her robe slipped down off her shoulder. “How about you come back to bed
and I let you unwrap something there?” she asked him, giving him a look that
left no doubt as to what he’d be unwrapping. He gave the box one final
glance, then started up stairs, thinking he could wait
a few more hours for whatever was in the box. He was greeted with a very
nice kiss, despite the lack of mistletoe over head.
“Just a little hint,” he whispered to Ro when their lips
parted.
She swatted his chest playfully as she stepped away from
him. “Wait until morning,” she said, turning to her bedroom. She
let her robe fall lower down her shoulder as she glanced back at him with
another one of those come hither looks, then she padded barefoot back into the
room.
Lee flicked the light switch by him off again, then glanced once
more down at the taunting lights of the Christmas tree. Maybe he would do
better with his covert operations next year, he thought as he went to collect
on the early present he’d been offered.
The End