Telling a Big Little White Lie

"Let me tell you or more like share with you a story that will have you think twice before you even breathe it or think it."

"I was standing in line for tickets, waiting to see my favorite band, Bum Heathens, when I was asked by the girl behind, what I did for a living?" "At first I did not recognize the girl, then my eyes widened, and I remember she was my high school sweetheart."

"I said "Jackie, it is so good to see you and how have you been?"

"She replied, "You are thinking about my twin sister or more like half-sister." "I am Rowena."

"Before I was feeling embarrassed, Rowena asked me again, "What do you for a living?"

I replied, "I work at the local government office." "Rowena did not know what to say in reply to that statement."

She pushed further. "She said, "And what do you do at the local government offices?" "I mumbled something."

She leaned in closer, as I was smelling the aroma of her sweet perfume. Rowena waited. She was not showing any impatience, but she deserved an answer.

The time ticked along as a horse waiting at the starting gate to dart off when the bell rang. I was starting to sweat but decided to say exactly what I did at the local government offices.

"Are you sure you want to know, and can you handle that answer I share with you?" Rowena nodded in excitement.

"I work under the local mayor, you know the one that was under investigation, Mayor Ronald Myerz."

Rowena spoke. She was not sure how to absorb all this even though it was a lie and maybe when she learned the truth she wouldn't be too mad at me.

I continued. "You are probably wondering what I am able to do, since the mayor is under investigation?" Rowena nodded once more.

"Let's just put it like this. "I am the one handling the initial investigation." "Yes, I handle all the press, all the hate mail and the threats that the mayor has been receiving."

"Yes, I am the person who makes sure to watch his back, especially with his personal life." "That includes his two mistresses."

Before Rowena could ask, I interjected. "The two mistresses I spoke of are two of your closest friends, classmates to be exact." They have been able to keep it a secret for many years, more like hidden in plain sight."

Rowena went from being happy to being a more serious person and I was not amused at the latest look she was giving me.

She spoke finally. Rowena says, "How are you able to keep that a secret for so long and never speak of this before now?"

"I know you didn't mean to blurt this out in the presence of so many people who cannot keep a secret such as this." "And why would you want to do that to yourself, holding in all this guilt too?"

I was now aware that this first lie, my working at the local government offices, then claiming I worked with the present mayor, would be the death of me, as I was fitted with a wire."

I stood there thinking about two very real thoughts, not sure how to either stop before I got in too deep or continue and see where this who lie would lead me. I chose the latter and regret it more.

"I believe that with my training, I have a level clearance that allows me to work with anyone from local government, like the mayor all the way to the president, if need be."

Rowena was glaring at me when a shot was fired in my direction. I had pushed her out of the way, as she lay on the ground holding her shoulder.

She said, "You are a brave man to risk your life for me." "So, what will be next?" I was only wanting to find out what you do for a living, not become the next victim in the line of fire."

I withdrew my gun and motioned towards the door on the side of the building. We rose up and headed in that direction, felt several shots hit the building above our heads.

After much trouble with the rusted knob, we swung open the door and entered. Rowena crouched a few feet ahead of me, stopped to inquire for more information from me.

"Ok, what more do you need from me?" Rowena had raised her gun towards my head, pausing to ask me once more "What did I do for a living?" She was serious as she was before, with a slight grin in place of the scowl earlier.

Rowena was now revealing she was there to arrest the mayor on the charges being added to her arresting him, but that the word was dead or alive.

I gasped. "Wait what do you mean dead or alive?" Rowena said, "Just that, nothing more nothing less." I gave her a glare and was shocked.

"How do you live with yourself, and not feel guilty for not letting me know this before now?" I replied, "You are so damn naive, you always were and still are."

"We are so much alike, yet we are so different." "There is no way I will ever let on again what you never needed to know." "I have said too much."

She turned to see the mayor on the stage about to give his speech. Rowena was not in a good mood, half expecting me to go towards the mayor to warn him of what she was about to do.

I called out to the mayor, who was not responding to my loud yet hoarse voice. The mayor turned to me, spotted Rowena, turned again, ran for the closest exit, and ran out into an empty alley.

Rowena and I stood up giving chase and soon caught up with the mayor, who was hiding behind a dumpster. Rowena headed in the direction and pointed the gun at the mayor, fired. Our beloved mayor lay in heap slouched over against the dumpster.

I screamed. Rowena for a second, pointed the gun at me and fired. She was warning me to not say anything, but I was frozen.

I was scared that she would fire again then I looked around and she was nowhere. I was ready to feel relieved, when I felt a gun barrel rubbing up and down my neck.

Rowena was back, but maybe she never left. Rowena was standing there, as I was about to turn around, I felt the same barrel of her gun strike me causing me to fall.

Rowena knelt and pointed the gun in my face, but this was short lived. In the distance sirens were coming closer and I blacked out.

I was laying on a park bench near the front of the stadium. I was being asked questions, rapidly being spoken. My head hurt, my neck hurt, my body ached.

Then the damn cuffs. Always the damn cuffs, which were not for me, but were for the mayor who had only been knocked out not killed.

Rowena was in the back of a squad car, hitting the window with her head, blood starting to appear on the window. She was speaking in a language that I had never heard before and slowly changing into a different person.

It was then that I realized, the whole scene was changing, like a hologram or an AI room, where I was laying on an operating table, ready to be cut open with the blade of a scalpel.

"Are you going to hurt me this time?" "Are you going to make me scream more louder for background sound effects or is this the real thing?"

The person above me was Rowena. She was the one who I figured was about to make me wish I were not there at that precise moment, in this horrible predicament. Rowena was not looking like Rowena, the one who I was asked the question, "What do you do for a living?" while standing in line for tickets, to see Bum Heathens.

"No this was another person or more like personality all together. This was something more sinister and more real than my mind could ever imagine to be true. This was the result of my telling not one but two lies and expecting not to be punished for telling them."