Chapter 8:

Telling Secrets to Keep Secrets

The phone rang and Anna picked it up.

“Hello!” said the friendly voice on the other end. “Can I speak to Anna? Anna Marvelous?”

“This is her,” Anna confirmed. The answer came so naturally. Only after she’d admitted it did alarms sound in her mind. Without thinking about it, she’d confirmed someone’s suspicions. Someone knew who she was, and probably where she was to boot. This could be dangerous, she thought to herself. “Who am I talking to?”

“Hello, Anna,” the pleasant voice began again. “My name is Brion Mindur. I’m with the Mayor’s office in Cityopolis.”

The name sounded familiar. “Hello Brion,” Anna replied. “What can I do for you, or the office of the mayor?”

“For the office,” Brion noted. “Unfortunately, this is rather official. Indeed, I’m afraid to say, I have some terrible news.”
Anna’s heart sank and she forgot about herself. “What happened?” she began, then remembered how she knew the name. This was her son’s political contact. “What happened to Nathan?”

“I’m sad to say, your son is dead,” Brion stated. “Officially, if not actually.”

“My God,” she paused, her hand on her heart. Officially, if not actually? She thought. What was he saying? She shook her head. “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that?”

“You’re son is dead, Ms. Marvelous, in every sense but the literal. I’m sorry, as this must come as quite a shock to you, and I’m sorry that this is going to take a bit of parsing to explain,” Brion apologized doubly.

“Yes, yes,” Anna agreed, still unclear as to what exactly this politician was telling her. “What about my son?”

“Well, it will soon be in all the papers that your son is dead,” Brion noted. “But I wouldn’t take it too seriously.”

“So he’s not dead, but everyone thinks he is?” Anna queried.

“Now you get it!” Brion beamed. “Which also brings us to the crux of the problem. Officially, your son is deceased, and so he’s not allowed to retain any of his possessions. He’s resolved to give all his riches to the last surviving member of his family, which normally wouldn’t be an issue, except that she is also officially dead.”

Anna realized what was occurring. She was coming out! She would unveil herself and tell the world she was alive after all! She would be the last remaining Marvelous, while Nathan hid himself away, pretending to be dead in her place. Anna smiled. This was fitting.

“I have in my hands a most timely document that gives everything to you,” Brion continued. “All you have to do is admit you’re still alive. If not, I have to take the hard route and try protecting the property from public interests while both you and Nathan play possum. Personally, I hope you’ll unveil your little deception. I predated the document to the day before he left, so, once again, what is official supersedes what is real. All I need to know is if you’re willing to come out of hiding.”

This whole plan reeked of the half-baked approach Nathan took to Anna’s own disappearance. It’d most likely end in ruin and spectacle. Still, the thought made her smile—mostly because she was tired of hiding. She was intrigued, engaged, and no longer afraid. She was through with fear. The world was too unpredictable. After all, the lady next door died when an asteroid smashed her while she was on the toilet. No bigger than a golf ball, it was a terrible end, and completely unavoidable. After all, who denies the call of nature? It was proof that there was too much to worry about. Better not to worry about any of it at all! “Sometimes I have a hard time remembering I’m dead,” Anna admitted. “Maybe it’s time for Nathan to be dead for a while.”

“It’ll be fine,” Brion assured. “His memory will be celebrated. He’s young enough that it’s tragic, enigmatic enough for there to be lots of colorful debate, and out of the spotlight long enough that it won’t even hurt all that much when they dredge up the old pains.”

“You really think so?”

“Here’s to hoping,” Brion replied. “At least it wasn’t all so long ago that nobody cares.”

Anna smiled. She was having fun just thinking of all the new drama coming her way.

Brion cleared his throat. “Well, you’ve been dead an awful long time, Anna. People are going to ask a lot of questions. You ready for that?”

“I died ready,” she joked.

“Good. We’re holding a press conference right after NASA announces the death of your son. I’d like you to be there to claim the estate and maybe say a few words, if you’re up to it,” Brion explained. “They were going to do it in Washington, but I asked them to do it in Cape Canaveral, since that’s down around your way. I told Nathan to email you the details.”

“Is he there?” Anna perked up. “Can I speak to him?”

“He says he’s leaving within the hour, and he should be there midday tomorrow. He’s driving down in his Nissan, but if you don’t want to wait, you can talk to him now… Nathan!” Brion called. “Nathan! Phone for you!”

Anna waited, then the phone clacked, as Brion fumbled the receiver. “Mom?” a familiar voice spoke.

“Nathan!” Anna breathed—and her heart soared. So he was most certainly still alive! She could feel tears welling in her eyes. “Oh baby, what are you getting yourself into now?!” she asked.

“Nothing, mom. I swear! It all came up of its own accord. I’m just rolling with it,” He told her. She could sense the shrug of his shoulders, the ambivalence of his stance; but there was something else, she could hear him smiling.

“Oh, Nathan!” and the tears started to fall. Her boy was playing, he was socializing, he was smiling again! “It’s so good to hear your voice,” she burbled.

“Are you crying?”

“No,” she lied.

“Mom, I love you. I should be there by noon tomorrow—though I suppose its best if we’re not in the same place for long,” Nathan said. “Still, we got two days before the news conference.”

“You’re such a fool,” Anna rebuked. “This is never going to work.”

“It worked for you,” Nathan noted.

“Yes, but the people don't care about me,” Anna claimed.

“And what makes you think they care about me?” Nathan asked.

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