Spy School Goes to Trial

Chapter 3 - Complicated

Catherine went on, "Since then, your behavior with each other has been different. Maybe only little things a mother might notice. Her eyes brighten at the mention of your name, for one."

My cheeks grew warm, and I turned my face so Catherine could not see.

"You sit closer together, brushing against each other when you think no one can see," she continued. "Just now, when Erica let her guard down, and laughed...Well, I don't often see that side of her."

Now that she knew, I was worried that Catherine might be angry at us for keeping her in the dark. I thought this might all be leading up to a stern warning, telling us to focus on school, or working as a team on missions. I couldn't blame her if she did. It was already distracting having feelings for Erica when we were just being friends.

Finally, I asked, "Are you upset with us?"

"As Erica's mother, I'm thrilled with her choice," Catherine said laughing. "You are a wonderful boy, Benjamin. I said this before, but you and Erica make a good team. However, more personally, I appreciate how incredibly loyal you've been to her, in the face of great danger. And, incredibly loyal to our family. As you know, not everyone was willing to come to her aid when she was in trouble with the Croatoan."

"She would have done the same for me. She did do the same for me, and so did you," I said, thinking back to the time I had been framed by SPYDER for attempting to kill the president. But then I realized she had said this was how she felt as Erica's mother. Catherine was many things, so I asked, "And not as her mother?"

She hesitated, pursing her lips.

"I don't know if you realize how hard a relationship will be. I don't mean specifically with Erica, but how hard relationships in this business will be."

She looked me directly in the eyes, and I knew she was saying this for my benefit. It suddenly became clear this was the whole reason for being invited back to the van. Until a few months ago, Erica had been reluctant to open up to me even as a friend, let alone start a relationship. She made it very clear that no relationship would stand in her way towards becoming a spy. Catherine knew this, and knew her daughter understood the challenges we could face. Now, she wanted to make sure that I understood too.

Catherine went on, "It will not just be keeping this a secret from your friends, assuming that you want to. A stressful enough burden. You will have enemies that try to use this against both of you."

"They already have," I interrupted.

"Not only enemies, but the CIA may split you up on missions if they find out, or force you to make a difficult choice to remain or leave the agency altogether. You will be required to keep secrets from each other. It's difficult when you are just friends, but when you are something more..." She paused to check that I was listening. "And you will certainly have missions where one of you will need to get close to a boy or girl.  Will you be able to manage the feelings of jealousy and betrayal?"

This time I nodded appreciatively. I learned how difficult that could be when I was working out my feelings towards Zoe.

Finally, she added after another pause, "Secrets have a way of tearing relationships apart." 

Of course, she was speaking from personal experience. MI-6 had insisted that she keep her identity a secret from her family, even after marrying Alexander. In fact, until a few months ago, the only one in the family who had known what she did for a living was Erica. Alexander didn't find out until we were on a mission, and Catherine had been forced to reveal her identity. He reacted poorly to the news at first.

Alexander, on the other hand, had been open about his work, but tried pretended to be a good spy when he wasn't. It was all too much for they're relationship, and they divorced several years ago. Still, they had worked closely on the last three missions, and I often wondered if something was rekindling between them. 

My shoulders sagged, and I suddenly didn't want to be walking with Catherine.

She quickly added, "I don't say these things to discourage you, but I need you to know what you will be up against. I will do my best to protect you and Erica, but there are many forces outside of my control. And, ultimately, the decision is with the two of you."

"But there are good things too, aren't there?"

She smiled, "Yes, there are good things, too."

We arrived at the van, and on the middle console sat a bowl of guacamole. I was pretty sure it had not been there when I helped unload the back. I wondered if she had placed it there as cover for our conversation. This made me suspect that she had been intending to have this talk before we even set out for the park.

Part of me expected to turn around and Erica would be standing directly behind me, eavesdropping on our conversation, having stealthily followed us. She did this often. Instead, I made eye contact with her sitting on the blanket. It was hard to tell from so far away, but seemed to be worried, although she was trying not to show it. We walked back up the slope to the picnic spot in silence, and Erica never took her eyes off me. I noticed Alexander had not been able to figure out how to assemble the hammock, and resorted to finding assembly instruction videos on his phone, scratching his head.

When we got back to the food, I placed the bowl on the blanket, but I could sit down next to it, I felt myself being yanked up and away. Erica had grabbed my wrist and was pulling me down the hill, in the opposite direction I had just come.