You Don’t Say!
Shannon and Mark have lived together for 20 years. Now when you’ve been with someone for a long time, you get to know their little quirks and habits; most of which are easy to live with and accept. However lately, there was one habit of Mark, Shannon has a very hard time dealing with.
They’re walking down a street close to where they live. They stop in front of a flower shop window and Mark turns to Shannon and says, “Don’t turn around!”
You know when someone tells you not to do something the first thing that usually runs through your mind is to do that exact thing. Shannon shows much restraint.
“Why not this time?” she asks.
Mark’s reply is, “Don’t ask, just don’t move!”
Now of course Shannon’s mind starts to wander and wonder at what the heck is happening. Her mind starts listing possible worst-case scenarios. Is there a stalker behind me? Is it one of Mark’s ex-girlfriends? Is it one of my ex-boyfriends? Is there a spider about to drop down near me? (note – I’m very fearful of spiders.) Is there a Russian spy looking in my direction and pulling out his gun? Nah – couldn’t be that. Mark doesn’t know anything about my CIA affiliation…or does he?
Next, Mark pleads, “Just wait one more minute.”
Shannon notices that Mark’s hands are no longer in his pockets and he has taken a step closer to her in what appears to be a very protective way. She puts her hand slowly into her purse, planning to pull out the gun she has stashed there, flip off the safety and fire it if necessary, when Mark lets out a long, withheld breath of air and says, “Never mind,” and turns back to look at the flowers in the window.
This has been happening more and more wherever they go. He never explains why he says, “Don’t move,” or “Don’t breathe,” or “Don’t turn around.” And no matter how much she pushes him to explain, he replies, “It was nothing, let’s leave it at that.” Man, is that frustrating! She wishes he would stop replaying the same scenario over and over again.
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Mark and Shannon have lived together for 20 years. Now when you’ve been with someone for a long time, you get to know their little quirks and habits. Most of which are easy to live with and accept. However lately, there was one habit of Shannon, Mark has a very hard time dealing with. She always seems to put herself in dangerous situations.
As much as he would like to confide in her that he’s a sleeper agent for Russian intelligence, he knows it would put both of them in mortal danger from the Russians and the United States. The Russians made it clear from the start what would happen if she found out, prior to him being activated.
With tensions between Russia and the United States now heightening he’s even more worried. He’s tired of living a lie and wants out. He’s lived here too long and has become accustomed to the life Shannon and he have created. But everywhere they go he sees or imagines agents everywhere staring at them. He doesn’t want Shannon to notice, he wants to protect her, but fears she’ll be caught in the crossfire, so he tells her not to look.
So far she has been good at listening to him, but for how long? She’s already getting suspicious. Maybe he should trust her but he’s too scared. He just wishes that she would stop putting him in these situations.
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To all those reading these transcripts, please note that following these revelations, both Mark and Shannon were both…
Don’t turn around!
