One Tiny Lie That Told The Truth

[John Randall 0]

“One Tiny Lie That Told the Truth”

 

Anastasia Poldara and John Randall

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John asked Anastasia how she had been, and her reply was brief, cryptic at first. Then she sighed, grabbed a drink to match his, and elaborated. “I thought divorce would be the solution to … problems. It turns out it’s more of a dodge.”

 

John nodded. “I see. I didn’t know you and your husband had split. I’m sorry. It looks like you’re moving on with your life, though. Kudos to you for that.” He gave her a little smile, then his eyes slid away, his face again settling into somewhat of a crestfallen demeanor.

 

Ana nodded thoughtfully at this. “I can’t help but notice,” she said, changing the subject, “that you seem a little distracted. Of course, you’re the one who asked me to meet--and here I am, rambling about myself.” She leaned forward. “So tell me, Mr. Randall, did you always have such sad eyes, and I just never noticed? Or did you get more than a cloaking device out of this trip of yours?”

 

John again gave her a small smile, not meeting her eyes. “Well, the last mission I was sent on, and please promise me this stays between us, Ana; I could be court-martialed for what I’m about to tell you. But, I feel I need to get this off my chest, or I’m gonna suffocate.” He looked up at her then, and Ana was shocked at the sadness that was intensified in his eyes. “And, somehow, I just felt I could trust you when you came to engineering earlier. So, here goes,” and he talked for the next ten minutes about the covert mission he had been sent on, and what it had cost him. At the first mention of Sara Edwards, John had to stop and gather himself before he could continue.

 

Little alarm bells went off in Ana’s mind: he was looking for sympathy, something she was ill-equipped to give at the best of times. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat but couldn’t see any way out of this. “It’s OK. Take your time.”

 

He nodded, and went on with his story. When he finished, he looked at her, and gave another small smile. “That’s about it, I guess. Thank you for listening, but I may have laid too much on you. I apologize for that. I’ve probably ruined what time you had planned for the rest of the day. I would like to hear your thoughts, or opinions, on what I just told you. Or, if you don’t have any at all, that’s fine, too. I appreciate you meeting me, Ana, and listening to me ramble.”

 

“I think I know what you’re going through--or some of it, at least. A long time ago I was involved in something covert that got someone close to me killed. I felt responsible.”

 

John nodded, sadness coming to his eyes again. “It was her very first covert mission, and her last, as it turned out.” His voice broke, and he bowed his head briefly again. A few seconds later, he looked back up, and met her eyes squarely. “I didn’t know that about you,” he said. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I can tell from the way your posture is, however, that I’m making you uncomfortable, and that was not my intention. I apologize again.”

 

Ana laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just used to dwelling on these thoughts alone instead of talking about them. I was raised to keep my feelings close to my chest. That’s probably not healthy though.” She relaxed and leaned back. “I was happy when you asked me for a chat--not that I was expecting this, of course. But I was genuinely interested in how you were when I visited Engineering. I’m glad you felt you could talk to me.”

 

John nodded. “And I was a little shocked, to tell you the truth, when you showed up in engineering. But, I am honored that you took the time to come see me. I have a lot of respect for you, Ana, and maybe I’ve earned a little from you. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to do this a little more often. Don’t worry, it’s no strings attached, just two friends chatting. I’ll leave that up to you. Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Thank you again for meeting with me; you’ve been a big help, and a good listener. Good evening, Lieutenant.” With that, he smiled at her, arose from the table, and made his way to the mess hall doors, which swooshed open at his approach, and then he was gone.

 

Anastasia watched him leave, then glanced down at her empty mug. “Well,” she said softly to herself, “I guess I’m making friends again.”