Amanda finished clearing the table whilst Jamie went to get the
Encyclopedia volume they needed READY.
A simple courier assignment to a foreign country was so exciting.
Even if her overseas trips for the Agency in the past hadn't always
been so easy, Lee could be right about this one.
She closed her eyes as she recalled Lee's words earlier that day in
their office, "Think of it Amanda, a few days work then we get to
spend the rest of the assignment playing in the tropical sun, on the
Agency's dime. Australia, warm weather, who knows what we could end
up doing?"
She was snapped out of her visions of a nearly NAKED Lee in a small
bathing suit as Jamie sat down at the table and started flicking
through the pages.
"This place in Australia sounds great Mom", he exclaimed as he pushed
his glasses back up to his nose. "Wow, look at all the neat reptiles
the park has!"
"Reptiles?"
"Yeah, the place your going to in Queensland, ah", he paused an
consulted the book, "Beerwah in Queensland, handles the country's
biggest reptile park."
He turned the pages and stopped to study a picture of a short stumpy
looking animal.
"Look at this one Mom", he began reading the text underneath the
picture, "The Australian BLUE TONGUE Lizard, one of the largest
members of the skink family."
Amanda checked the various travel guides on Australia she'd been able
to pick up during her rushed lunch break. She had grabbed a few when
Lee had told her it was a themed tourist park in Queensland. There
they were in brilliant colour, Water World, Movie Word, full of
pictures of happy looking sun kissed people playing and laughing
their way through rides and smiling from restaurant tables in the
complex. A picture of a little boy with freckles on his nose about
to LICK and enormous ice cream seemed to look back at her. Lee had
forgotten to tell her which park they'd be posing as workers in for
the duration of the assignment.
She suddenly remembered the way Lee had ran out of the office shortly
after telling her about the assignment.
*Urgent errand my foot* she thought as all the pieces suddenly
clicked together.
She'd be in the tropical weather alright, working at a reptile park.
She had been offered the job of reptile lady for a scout group once
and even then she'd shuddered at the thought and been glad it had
been the woman who she was posing as who had really gotten the offer.
Jamie left the table to go call his friends and tell them all about
his Mom's cool new documentary location shoot.
*I wonder when he was planning to tell me?*
Visions of herself complaining to Lee aboard the ship were they had
posed as a honeymooning couple so long ago came to mind.
*You could have told me the truth at the Agency, on the plane ride
over -*
"He was probably going to tell me on the plane when I couldn't get
away", she grumbled loudly as she slammed the encyclopedia volume
closed.
*Wait til I see him* she thought *just wait til I see him!*
The End
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