Hiding The Truth

Conversations

Doug did not meet Lydia at church. She sang, prayed, attended Sunday School, and made notes in the margins of her Bible without him, worried all the while about the events of the night before.

After the service and the endless small talk in the fellowship hall over coffee, Lydia and Andra met for brunch. Andra was from some little farm town in Limestone; it was too far for her to drive home for Sunday dinner, and Frog Level wasn't exactly a convenient distance from Progress City for Lydia to go home every weekend. She loved her family, but she was far from pining for small town life or the experience of being crammed elbow-to-elbow around the table with her brothers and sisters. Every now and then was fine, but she didn't think any of the siblings went home every single weekend, so she told herself she wasn't neglecting her duty by enjoying her weekends with Andra instead. Except... maybe if she had spent more time with her family... would she have realized what was going on with Zeke?

"So," Andra started right in as soon as they had made their orders, "what was all that with Doug last night?"

"I don't even know! I tried to talk to him after we dropped you off, but he wasn't acting like himself." Lydia said.

"Do you think he was, you know," Andra gestured, "maybe drinking too much?"

"I wondered that myself but Doug never gets drunk. Maybe he's coming down with something?"

"He's hiding something. I've never seen him act like that." Andra had a way of cutting right to the heart of the matter, but Lydia had been over all this in her mind already. "Maybe it's something to do with work?"

Lydia mulled that suggestion over. Maybe it was something to do with work. Why else would Doug be trying to trade information with other agencies? And why specifically about moonshining, which was outside the Organization's usual bailiwick. If he was under some kind of extreme pressure, would it cause him to be rude? To her? Who knew. But it was a worthwhile thought.

"I'm sure that must be it." Lydia conceded. "So what's the story with you and Bill?"

Andra's whole face lit up and Lydia knew in that moment her friend would marry the easygoing school teacher the moment he asked. "He's helping me with the Integration Initiatives! He's working toward becoming a principal and then eventually getting into the administrative side of education, so that might give me access to even more of the people in the right places."

"That's wonderful. You couldn't ask for much better of a cover story either, 'nothing to see here, just a teacher and her principal husband lah dee dah." Lydia was referring to the common practice of Agents choosing a lifestyle and spouse and even additional career path that allowed them to report back to the Organization without detection. Lydia worked with aerospace engineers; Andra was a teacher. A handful of Senior Agents did nothing but Organization projects, like Doug worked exclusively in the offices identifying and recruiting valuable assets from all over the South, but most Agents had other functions in the community that enabled the Organization to have a widespread impact, from Enforcers and Legislators to journalists and celebrities.

Andra giggled. "Well, we're not even engaged yet; don't go jumping the gun."

"Anyone can see you're smitten." Lydia smiled.

Andra fluffed her short strawberry blonde hair. "Well. Maybe. A little."

Both women cracked up laughing and finished up their meals, lingering over coffee and eventually goodbyes.

She didn't see Doug for the rest of the day, and she would not call him. Unmarried ladies did not telephone men outside their families or official business. It just wasn't done. If he didn't want to talk, she certainly wasn't about to chase him.

She did, however, call Zeke.

"Lafayette Mortuary," he answered the phone, "you stab 'em, we slab 'em!"

"You ninny!" Lydia pretended to be offended, laughing. She loved her brother's silly jokes and slightly off-color humor. He was the person in her family she always felt most comfortable with.

"Ah, Lydia, how's my baby sister? Didya have a nice time at the Veteran's Ceremony?" He was really a polite guy, he just never really 'grew up.' He was like a teenager in an adult body.

"I did! That's what I was calling about actually. I may have met a friend of yours?" She was hoping maybe Zeke could give her some insight into Michael before their meeting, although she knew he almost certainly wouldn't tell her anything about their partnership.

"Really?" He asked, drawing out the word until it seemed to have four or five syllables. "Who in the world would I know in Progress City?"

"Michael Kennedy? He was with a group of men, but I only really talked to him. We square danced. He said he knew you."

"Did he now? Well, if y'all square danced, ya picked a good 'un to hit the floor with. Michael can sure cut a rug!"

"That he can." She acknowledged. "We're meeting for lunch Tuesday."

"Ooooweeee!" Zeke whistled. "I hope he's giving that stick-in-the-mud Reever a run for his money, girl!"

"Zeke! It's not like that!" She protested.

"Sheee-it, I hope it's exactly like that. I don't know what you see in that man. Ya need to cut loose and have some fun!" He insisted.

Lydia smiled. "I think we have slightly different ideas of what constitutes fun, but I will surely keep that in mind."

"I know, I know, I'm just messin' with ya. I just never did put much stock in that Reever. I understand you 'preciate the suit-and-tie, corner office type, but something ain't on the up and up with that'n. Michael's a good man. Real solid. Real steady. Work hard 'n play hard.  You could do worse. I mean that."

"Well thank you very much for your unrequested seal of approval, sir," Lydia ribbed.

"Glad to be of service, but let me let you go. I got to get back out 'n get some work done. You just caught me at a late lunch. I love ya, sis. Be good." He hung up abruptly and she shook her head, yet she felt better knowing Zeke thought she would be safe with Michael. Not that she ever doubted it, but if he was involved with illegal activities... what was she thinking? Zeke evidently was too and she knew he was a fine man! She never thought she'd be thinking of a suspected criminal enterprise with anything less than contempt, but she could hardly condemn her own brother for something that really didn't hurt anyone. The world was a strange place.