The Talk
It was time. They had put it off long enough. Amanda and Lee had read all the data. They kept anguishing over when the right time to have "The Talk" with JJ and Mattie. They had read that if the information was shared past twelve then there could be other issues to deal with. Lee had wanted to talk to the girls when they were ten and eleven. Amanda objected. She wanted them to stay innocent as long as possible.
So they finally agreed. They would sit down with JJ and Mattie when they were eleven and twelve. Plans were made for Dotty to be out of town. The boys would be in college and not coming home for any break. Amanda was hoping the girls would accept the information as easily as Jamie and Philip had. But times were different. Children were so much more aware of things now. Lee was nervous mainly because he didn't want the girls to ask too many questions. He wasn't sure he was prepared for the stark reality of what this revelation would bring since he always felt the need to protect his girls.
Amanda got up early to prepare a special breakfast of pancakes for the family. Earlier in the week, Lee had told JJ and Mattie not to make any plans with their friends. It was going to be a family day. Lee helped Amanda with the preparations for breakfast as he nervously set the table.
"Did you wake them up?" Amanda asked.
"Yes, they said they would be down in fifteen minutes".
"Ok-do you think you are ready for this?" Amanda put her head in her hands.
"The question is are WE ready? I have the papers all printed out for different answers" Lee informed his wife as she rubbed his back and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Their bodies stiffened when the sound of the girls giggling down the stairs signaled they were approaching.
"Good Morning girls..look what I am preparing, our favorite family breakfast: Pancakes and fruit," Amanda said cheerily.
Lee came over and kissed each one on their foreheads as they sat down.
"Mom, Papa so what are we all gonna do today?" Mattie asked
"Yeah, what's up? You've been very secretive all week about what you planned for us" JJ added.
Amanda started "Well first sit down and before you start eating your pancakes your Papa and I have something important to talk to you about"
She handed them both a plate of pancakes and placed the syrup and butter on the table. Lee sat down with his hands folded in front of him on the table. Each girl started smothering butter and syrup on their pancakes as Lee began "Well you see..we need to tell you something about our jobs…"
"Oh no Poppy did you and Mommy get fired!?" Mattie gasped
"Uh no sweetheart..um just listen to your father" Amanda urged
At the sound of the formal title, JJ stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her father.
"Uh well your mother and I..we, uh we don't really work for a film company" It took all the willpower Lee had not to get up and start pacing.
"What?" Both girls spoke in unison as they looked questionably at their parents.
"We work for the government...we are federal agents." Amanda quickly let the words spill out of her mouth.
Both girls were very quiet for a moment and then they both started talking at the same time and were asking questions. Amanda held up her hands to silence them but that didn't help. Lee finally did a whistle and they both stopped mid-sentence.
"Now I know you must have a lot of questions..but we can't answer everything due to the delicate nature of our jobs. But we will do our best. Maybe we should let you take turns...Mattie you first"
Mattie nodded "uh well how long have you been doing this?"
Lee began" I've been doing this longer than your mother...I recruited her about what 16-17 yrs ago?" Lee turned to Amanda to verify his answer as she nodded in agreement. "And me about 30 years"
It was JJ's turn "so mom I remember when I found that Federal ID in your purse when I was nine you said that was for a film shoot and you were being an extra in the documentary..that was made up?"
Amanda nodded "yes JJ that is my federal agent badge"
"So you lied?" JJ peered at her mother demanding an answer.
Amanda stammered "Ah..we..well yes..but that was only for your protection...I couldn't tell you then"
JJ smiled nodding to herself confirming the suspicion that she had been holding since then. "So it's ok for you to lie" JJ pointed out.
Lee interjected and looked sharply at JJ who knew better than to challenge her father when his jaw started twitching. "JJ you will be respectful towards your mother-remember that or there will be consequences and me to deal with."
Amanda quickly interrupted her husband. "No sweetheart I don't think she is being disrespectful. She needs to be honest with her feelings." Amanda directed her eyes and pointed to the papers that Lee had in front of him.
With his jaw clenched Lee informed JJ "Yes we want you to be honest..but YOU WILL be respectful to us at all times. Your Mother especially! She and I have tried our best to always have your best interests at heart."
JJ nodded and lowered her eyes and softly said "Sorry mom…her turn" pointing to Mattie.
"Thank you, sweetheart" Amanda acknowledged.
Mattie then formulated her question "So all this time when you said you had to go out of town for shoots, you really had cases you were investigating?..and what about all those accidents you said were on set? Were you hurt..and …" Mattie's voice had begun to get higher and louder.
"Sweetheart calm down. I-I know this is sort of hard to absorb." Amanda got up and hugged Mattie and Lee grabbed Mattie's hands to reassure her.
"Occasionally we were hurt and that's why we didn't come home sooner than normal. We didn't want to scare you or have you find out prematurely"
"Grandma knew?" Mattie probed.
"Yes Sweetie" Lee replied.
JJ suddenly got a big smile across her face. "Everything makes sense now!" she blurted out. "All the times you were called away suddenly! And sometimes we would hear from you all the time when you were away and then sometimes no contact!"
Lee affirmed her statement "Yes my princess..we had to do it that way. It was safest for our family. I don't know if you remember but your mom didn't start back to overnight and out of town cases till you were five and six"
"I only worked part-time in the office and at home when you two were younger in preschool." Amanda reminded them.
"Mom...Papa, why did you wait so long to tell us? It is so hard to accept this …You could die!" Mattie cried
Lee looked at Amanda. It was just as he feared, that Mattie would take it harder than JJ. Amanda bit her lip and tried to reassure her daughter.
"Mattie we have always put your safety and our safety at the top of our priorities. Your Papa is the best man and agent and he loves us so much. If we weren't in this business then there would be other risks to consider. No one is ever completely safe…No matter any job someone may have. And even just in this world, there are not any guarantees. That's why we had you learn Karate and have had certain plans for our family."
"You mean our emergency drills-right, Papa and mom?" JJ interjected.
"Yes, that too" Lee reassured them.
"This is so rad!... But I can't believe you didn't tell us sooner!" JJ pouted
"I'm glad you didn't mom and Papa!.. I can hardly even believe this!" Mattie declared.
Lee and Amanda gave each other a knowing look. In their discussions, they had suspected that this would be the different reactions of their daughters.
"The reason why we waited so long was that the Agency-The government bureau we work for recommended that children were not mature enough before 10. And we wanted to tell you together and since you are so close in age we felt it was better to wait longer." Lee explained.
"And nothing is going to change now that you know. It will make our jobs easier..but you have to understand that you have to still tell your friends we're documentary filmmakers who work for IFF. That is what is called our cover" Their father added.
"Do Philip and Jamie know?" questioned Mattie
"Yes," Their parents said together.
"When did they find out?" JJ grilled them
"They found out after we found out when I was first pregnant with you JJ-We had eloped and didn't tell anyone we had gotten married.
JJ and Mattie's eyes got wider and both repeated "You didn't tell anyone!?"
Lee sighed "Yes it was a mistake. It was my fault. I thought I was protecting our family then…"
Amanda intercepted not wanting to focus on their initial fears regarding their family's security. "the point is we realized that the truth was much better..for whatever reasons we had at first they were all good intentions. The main one being is that your Papa loves us all and will do anything necessary to keep us safe. And that I will be eternally grateful for each day that his love is that strong!"
As Amanda spoke she looked lovingly at her husband as Lee silently gave His Amanda an adoring gaze and thought what an amazing woman she was!
JJ and Mattie both said together "We know Mom and Papa!
Amanda made clear "But you will also get some more help to understand our jobs. The Agency has counselors to help you talk about any fears you may have if you don't want to talk to us"
"Does this mean I have to start going to target practice with you Poppy?" Mattie worried.
Lee nodded. "Now that you know, it's more important that you join JJ and me at least twice a month. I know you don't like guns." Lee chuckled and added, "you're just like your mother."
"I want to join the Agency when I get older! This is so off the charts! I have always loved spy stuff" JJ pumped her fist in the air.
Amanda let out a laugh and looked at Lee. "We've always known you were going to do something like that. Especially when the preschool would call us in to discuss your latest antics!"
"The preschool must be part of this Agency too?' Asked Mattie "Since it is called IFF Children's center"
"Yes, all the children that went to preschool with you, their parents worked at the Agency."
"And Aunt Francine is a Federal agent too!?" Mattie's eyes got big as saucers.
"Yes, and Uncle Billy..most of our friends" her father answered.
"Does Scotty know?" JJ wondered.
"Yes, Aunt Francine told him last year" Amanda answered.
"So why didn't you tell us then!" JJ demanded.
Lee shuffled through the cheat sheets he had prepared from the Agency.
"JJ you have to understand each parent does what they feel best for their children. Lee paused and continued. "And as the Agency had recommended to factor in the age and maturity of the child as to when it was best to learn the truth." Lee tried to console them.
"And that we also felt it was important that you not be burdened with this information. It was for our sanity as well-It's called a need to know basis" Amanda tried to convince JJ.
"I would have loved to know sooner," JJ said flatly.
"Not me!" Mattie assured her parents.
Their parents sighed and both smiled. "And we predicted that this is probably how you would both react so this confirms our wariness to tell you any sooner." Amanda concurred.
"Poppy were you ever hurt..or mom..and were we ever um followed by any bad people? Mattie asked.
"Yes, princess we have, but your mother and I have a rule. When our family is out together anywhere if we suspect any trouble or think we are being followed we call for backup and leave the area immediately. Or even if we are out and see something suspicious we call it in. We have never actively been on a case when we have been together with the family. On occasions, I have even hired a security detail when we've been on family vacations.
Amanda raised her eyebrow at Lee. This was a new revelation she had not known about. Lee caught Amanda's look of surprise directed at him and knew he was in for some special interrogation from his wife later.
Mattie's eyes got filled with tears "Have we ever been followed..wh..when!?"
Amanda reassured her with a hug and replied, "Sweetheart we are not going to tell you that. It will just make you center on bad things. We only want you to have happy memories of family times. There is no need for you to be paranoid or worried."
JJ rubbed her hands together. "Boy, this is just the best...I can't wait to hear more!"
Mattie rolled her eyes at JJ "I can't believe you!"
"You're such a baby Mattie!" JJ teased
"JJ that's enough!" Her father's eyes pierced hers "I will not allow you to treat your sister that way...I love you both very much..but her heart has always been more sensitive than yours..and you need to learn to be kind and accept your differences and appreciate them" Lee nodded his head toward Mattie
Hearing her father's warning and tone JJ knew again not to push things. "yes Papa" Turning to Mattie JJ apologized "I'm sorry for not being kind or sensitive to your feelings Mattie"
"Thanks, JJ" Mattie gulped and sniffed back some tears.
"That's my Princesses!" Lee kissed both their foreheads and hugged them tightly. "I'm such a lucky dad! Let's take a break from all this serious stuff and enjoy your mom's special breakfast"
"Yes, let's eat our pancakes!" Amanda announced, "And we can go bike riding at Rock Creek Park, and later we can decide on a movie to go to."
"I know let's see Spy Kids!" JJ suggested eagerly
The other three all groaned and Amanda countered with "How about My big fat Greek Wedding". Amanda, Lee, and Mattie raised their hands in agreement.
"You're outvoted JJ" her father teased
JJ shrugged and they all eagerly dug into their pancakes.
Lee and Amanda each gave a heavy sigh, and knowing look to each other relieved that the "The Talk" was over for now, but both knew there would be more questions later to be answered. And for now, it was time to enjoy the day with their family.