Spying
By Michelle Pichette
"The great man is he who does not
lose 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. Not 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 up.
“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