Storytime: espionage

When I was little, I shared a room with my older sister on the upper level of an old two-story house for a few years. For whatever reason, my parents bought a set of indoor speaker devices - sort of like walkie-talkies, but you plug them into the wall and they're not portable. They had a speaker, a button to push for when you talk, and a little button that made a shrill beeping noise come out the other device. If you held down the speaking button and pushed it to the side, it stayed down.

Looking back, this seemed like an odd thing to find its way into our household. My parents have never been the type to embrace technology for technology's sake - they never even bought a computer until after I went to university.

Anyway one of these devices went in the kitchen/dining room downstairs, and one went up in our bedroom. When my mom wanted us to come downstairs for dinner, she would press the beepy button three times from the kitchen. That was our code.

Once in a while my parents would shoo my sister and I upstairs so they could have what we assumed were "adult" discussions; usually when there was company over. Sometimes, if circumstances were optimal, we'd be standing near the speaker device when we were told to skedaddle. We'd nod innocently with our back to the counter, arms behind us, bodies blocking our actions from view, and push the speaker button down and to the side, locking it in the "on" position. Then we'd run up to our room to listen to what the grown-ups were talking about without us.

I don't remember a single one of those adult conversations. I do remember the thrill of listening in - it was like being a secret agent, trying to gain information by outwitting the other side.

By the way, if my parents are reading this, you should know that it was all my sister's fault.