The Spy Next Door

A friend I met when we were both going through breast cancer treatments is one of the most interesting women I have ever met. She is brilliant, graduated college at 20, funny, self-deprecating, avid reader, great hostess and extremely kind. She is also a former Spy.

When she graduated college as a Russian major the CIA recruited her. The cold war was still going on at that time and how was a Russian major going to support herself? She spent two years in Vietnam and then moved to DC. I pressed her once about her job and she twinkled and said if she told me she would have to kill me.

I wondered about her twinkle. Was she just pulling my leg?  I chose not to press the topic!

Last weekend this friend, I’ll call her Sue, had a Christmas open house. She and her husband love to cook and they entertain beautifully. They invited everyone in their neighborhood and lots of friends; about 100 people came through their home.

While at the party, I wondered how many people knew their hostess’s background. Do they think she is just an affable, gracious woman who is retired?

I watch the TV show, ‘Covert Affairs’. I wonder if my friend ‘Sue’ was a real life Annie Walker? 

This got me to thinking; do I know the back-story on all my friends? Sure those that I have known since forever or for 30-40 years, but what about newer friends? How about you? Do you have a friend casually mention they were a CIA agent?