Dirty Little Secrets(123)

“What do you mean?” Wes asked, pulling me tighter and wrapping his arms around me. It felt great, especially since our parents reciprocated, although Mom looked like she was perched a bit precariously on Gerald’s lap in his recliner. “Not about the strong part, I anticipate that, but about the mistakes part.”

“Son, you think I didn’t know why you kept taking those overseas work assignments, especially when Robin was around the house? And don’t get me started on those men Robin was bringing around. Then there were the funny things, like Robin watching all those military movies when you were in service, and Wes picking computer engineering? I’m glad you make a living at it, but you’re a man of action. I hate to stereotype people, but you don’t look the part. But since Robin went into robotics, you chose something you two could be close on. Come on, this is too easy.”

I felt like the detective in The Usual Suspects, when he figures out that Kevin Spacey was Keyser Soze and the mastermind behind it all, and all the pieces started to click into place. Had Wes and I really been dancing around each other for so long, never willing to admit to each other what was plainly obvious to our parents?



Wes





Dad’s words hit Robin hard, but then again, they hit me hard as well. I kind of sat there, stunned for a bit, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, a question popped into my head. “Do Winston and Chef know?”

“We’ve never asked them, but I suspect they do,” Rebekah replied. “They’re both smart people, Wes. And I know that Winston has a particular fondness for Robin that has made him rather protective of her.”

“True,” I said, thinking of the butler. “Think he’ll approve?”

“Winston is as fond of you as he is of your sis . . . of Robin,” Dad said. “Sorry, while I’m fine with you two seeing each other and all that entails, I think I’ll avoid those particular titles. You two are beyond them now.”

“Yeah . . . about that,” I began, before Rebekah cut me off.

“Wesley, Gerald and I don’t need to know all the intimate details of your relationship. Suffice it to say that I remember what it is like being a woman in love in my twenties, and that I’m sure there are things you two have done that you would rather remain private. But I will say this: pick one of your bedrooms, I don’t care which one, and use it. You both are too tall to be trying to sleep on the sofa every night. Horrible for your back.”

“Thanks . . . can I still call you Mom?”

“Of course, Wes. Now that you two have finally gotten that part out, do you mind if we relax for a bit? Since I won the bet your father and I had, I get to control the TV, and there are some cupcakes that I want to watch get baked.”

Dad groaned while Robin and I laughed, and soon the four of us were back to like we were any other time we spent a night in the family room, the only difference being Robin and I didn’t feel as self-conscious about cuddling on the sofa. When the final show was complete, Rebekah shut off the television and turned to us. “So I have to ask, what are you two going to do now?”

I thought about it for a moment, then hugged Robin tight. I started to say something about hunting for a new job when Robin interrupted me.

“Well, we planned on going overseas,” Robin said with a semi-sleepy smile. “After all, we have to go backpacking in the Andes, and go camping in Borneo, maybe hiking the volcanoes of Hawaii . . . ”

Dad groaned and threw his head back in mock agony. Rebekah gave Robin a stern look before returning a smile.





* * *



The next morning, I got the call I was expecting on my cellphone. CNN had aired the interview, and my employers were giving me the axe. “Wes, you did great work for us for the past three years,” my older handler, a guy that I called Oscar, said. “That last job, in Russia? You did us a big favor. But we can’t have you on television, Wes. You realize that, right?”

“I know,” I said, sitting in my room. Robin had left when I told her who it was, and the quiet space felt heavy to me. It was weird. I mean, I’d left jobs before. I left the military of my own free will, and I knew what I was doing when I agreed to do the CNN interview. I was more or less giving a very public resignation. Still, I’d never been fired from a job before. It felt strange, even more so since this wasn’t just any job. It had been my life, but it was time for a new chapter in my life. “I guess I was still a bit rattled from the whole thing in the mountains.”

“Wes, you had a very different contract than a lot of our operatives, so there won’t be any major consequences,” Oscar replied, “but the fact is, you cut your own throat as an operative for us. I’ll talk to my bosses, but the most we might be able to get for you is as a normal hacker, behind a normal computer, playing Starcraft when you’re not on duty if you want to stay with us.”