Lauren hadn't expected to be bidding on art today, but she found she rather liked the process. There were some pretty pieces in the silent auction, and she found herself in playful competition with Al and Sunny to purchase impressionistic renderings of various New Westminster landmarks: the Pattullo Bridge; the River Market at the Quay and the World's Tallest Tin Soldier standing sentry over it; the Victorian houses in the Queen's Park neighbourhood just on the other side of First Street from where they were standing; even the Queensborough Bridge and Poplar Island. They all bid aggressively on that one. 

"I should get it," Sunny said. "I'm the one who actually lives here."

"Are you saying you have to still live in New West to love New West?" Lauren asked. "Besides, you get to look at the real thing every day."

"Hey, I actually need these," Al protested. "I have wall space to cover."

That was true. They were moving into a new townhouse soon, and they had very little to move and a lot of space to fill. Rachel had thought it was a good idea for one of them to be here to try to snag a painting or two for the new place, and as she was still tired from Wednesday's events (and probably Tuesday's unexpected exertions with Joe,) she'd asked Al to go this time while she rested at home with Emma, who needed to shower and change as soon as she got home, having soiled her clothes in the bush earlier. To Al's delight, there were a lot of colourful candidates, and he might have bid on more than he'd bargained for; if he won all of them, the Highlander's trunk space might be full at the end of the night.

Some careful negotiating followed their investigation of the ravine, after they reemerged in the parking lot next to the amenities centre. Sunny's suggestion of hiding the device in a safe place where they could leave it and find it later was a good one, and as he had to come to this event, they decided to find a spot somewhere in the vicinity of Centennial Lodge that was accessible and could hide the device from unwanted eyes. 

That left the question of who would accompany Sunny and his family to the event to keep an eye on them and an eye out for any suspicious characters turning up, looking for who might have moved the device. That was assuming anyone was even tracing the device, which wasn't a foregone conclusion. There was also Naira to look out for; she'd never responded to Sunny's text, but that didn't mean she wouldn't poke around.

Lauren insisted on going, and most of them agreed that was a good idea, as she was the professional at surveillance. Joe worried about her safety, naturally, and insisted she be accompanied. The only problem with that was that it couldn't be Joe who accompanied her, as they were the two drivers, and now Joe had to drive the others home. He also had limited room in his truck; luckily he had a rear seat, but it was small, and only the kids could fit comfortably back there. That was when Rachel suggested either she or Al went with Lauren, so that only one adult needed to sit in the front with Joe. 

That was where things got awkward, for all four of them. If Al went home with the kids, he'd have to sit with Joe the whole way back, and none of them could envision that as an option. That was when Rachel suggested Al go with Lauren, making the excuse that she was tired and wanted to get Emma home to shower and change. More likely it was to make the drive easier on Joe. The problem for Lauren was that Rachel would now be alone with her husband, with Emma and the kids, of course, but Lauren couldn't forget the two of them had sex in front of her on Tuesday, and there would still be a charge between them.

If she was worried about Rachel, then Joe was definitely worried about Al being alone with her in the car, so they agreed at least one of the kids should accompany them to the event to discourage any adulterous behaviour, as if there would have been any time to engage in such, but Lauren understood her husband's concerns; if he was coming home, he deserved for her to at least make a show of being good. When they put the call out for volunteers, Tosh raised his hand, and Lauren wasn't surprised; the boy appreciated art, and this event would be right up his alley, and he proved it by asking his mother to put bids on items she herself wouldn't necessarily have bid on, but had appealed to him in some aesthetic way. 

Tosh had fellow art lover Ajit to accompany him from piece to piece, discussing the merits of each, estimating its proper value and returning to inform their parents of the bid they should make. Their judgement was pretty spot on; the bids already listed were within about fifty dollars of their estimates, and even when Lauren, Sunny and Al bid against each other, they never went any higher than that.

Ajit was leaving his poor sister to carry the load of standing with her mother while she made nice with fellow attendees of the silent auction and Sunny made the rounds, shaking hands and discussing his platform while Tori looked on in approval. If any of the citizens of New West noticed the children of the candidate for Council (or his campaign manager) had muddy shoes,  they made no comment. At least they'd kept their clothes relatively unsoiled; Emma was the only one of the kids who'd needed a shower.  

One thing Lauren appreciated about Ajit was that he kept Tosh away for a few minutes so she could talk to Al in private whenever Sunny was busy politicking and not bidding.

She beckoned him to a quieter corner and said, "Sorry about earlier."

Al frowned and said, "What do you mean?"

"When Joe basically called you out in front of everyone."

"Oh," Al said, shrugging. "It was no less than I deserved."

"Still, he didn't have to make everyone else feel awkward, especially Sunny and Tej."

"Yeah, why would he make that comment about Sunny to Tej? I mean, Sunny? Really? Why would he ever stray?"

"When he has a fox like Tej at home, you mean? I don't know, I think he has a little crush on me, although he'd never admit it. Not like you."

Al chuckled. "It's funny how you mention Tej. When Rachel said not every man there wanted to sleep with you, I was this close to telling Joe he should worry more about the women in the group."

Lauren burst into surprised laughter. "Oh, shit, yeah! Tej. Oh, man, I'm glad you didn't. Joe knows about that little encounter, but Sunny doesn't, and I don't want Sunny hating me too."

"What do you mean, too? No one hates you. We all love you."

Lauren nudged him playfully. "Yeah, yeah, I know you do; we've been all good times, no resentments. Rachel and Joe, as much as they say they love me, were still hurt by what we did."

Al sighed and nodded. "Yeah. And now there's the baby." He looked around to make sure no one they knew was around, then said, "You and I haven't had many opportunities to talk alone since Monday. Have you decided what you want to do?"

"Yeah. I should tell you that since then, Joe and I have been together."

"You have?" Al asked, surprised. "As in, as husband and wife?"

She nodded, biting her lower lip. She didn't know why she felt nervous admitting to her lover that she'd slept with her husband. At least she didn't have to lie about it being just the two of them, since she and Joe had sex just the two of them on Friday. Tuesday's fun with Rachel could remain a secret. "So, I decided I would keep the baby, and put Joe as the father on the birth certificate."

"Oh. Okay!" he said, brightening. "I can live with being an uncle."

"Can you?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm. "You say that now, but one day you might feel really tempted to tell our baby the truth about their parentage, and that will ruin me forever with Joe."

He flinched at her directness about the consequences. "I'd never do that to you."

"Okay. I'm holding you to it. We might be all good times and no resentments now, but I have to be mercenary about this; if you come clean, to our baby or to Joe, I will no longer call you my friend, and we'll no longer be lovers."

Al paled at the implications. "Lauren, no, I'd never want to hurt you like that. I love... I mean..."

She took his hand and squeezed it. "You can tell me you love me. I think we can give each other that much, since I'm carrying your child."

He smirked. "I remember you telling me, once, you wouldn't be able to bear it if I told you I was in love with you."

She chuckled ruefully and said, "That was the day after we first made love. We've become old hands at it since then, and my tolerance for evolving feelings has increased. I think I can bear it now."

He smiled tenderly at her and said, "Then I love you, Lauren."

She felt her face crumple as she said, "I love you too."

"Oh, Lauren," he breathed, and drew her in for an embrace. 

She squeezed him tight as tears ran down her cheeks, and said, "We can't tell Rachel about this. Our word still has to be consume when we're around her."

"Of course. And we definitely can't tell Joe about this."

She harrumphed and said, "Joe already told Joanie he loved her, so he doesn't get to say anything about this."

"Jesus, he did? I thought that was against the rules."

She unlocked and quickly wiped her cheeks. "That part was never specifically in the rules, but then again neither was the part about him moving in with her. I think I didn't predict they'd be together this long; how can anyone avoid falling in love when they spend so much time together?"

"I guess we never predicted how long we'd be together, either," Al admitted. "But Rachel--"

"Yes. Rachel's your wife, and she has priority over your heart, and I'm not asking for it even with this new development. If she heard us say we loved each other, I really think she'd be done with you, and I don't want to endanger your marriage. If you love me, though, then you won't endanger mine either, because loving me means wanting the best for me, even if it means not acknowledging you as our baby's father."

He nodded, wiping a tear from his own eye. "Yes. Of course. I won't ask for my rights to our child. But I will be there for whatever you or our child needs, and enjoy watching them grow from the sidelines."

"Thank you. Rachel said as much to me too."

He nodded sheepishly. "I guess you couldn't avoid talking about it too. On Wednesday?"

"Yeah," she said, not bothering to mention Tuesday.

"I still can't believe Joe punched someone out at the debate."

"It was something," she said, shaking her head in amazement. 

"I'm glad I wasn't there."

"Yes, Rachel said. Hey, on another topic, you haven't heard anything more about whether my guards have been talking about organizing, have you?"

Al blinked in surprise. "No, but then again I work in a closed division, and we don't often see the guards because we don't need them as much." He paused for a moment before asking, "Is this something you're worried about?"

"Well, it's not at the top of my list of concerns, obviously," she said, placing a hand on her belly. Al couldn't help himself and placed his own hand over hers. She quickly looked to see if the others were around, let him rest it there for a second, and then gently pulled it away and added, "But I think I need to tell my two partners about this."

"Oh! You've held off this long?"

"Again, I've had other things on my mind. I don't want to ignore this issue, but I don't want to overreact to it, either, and I don't know how Somers and Sanderson will take the news."

Al sighed and nodded. "You have to do what's best for your company. Has the Labour Board contacted you yet?"

"No."

"Then they haven't signed application for representation cards with a union, yet." Al thought about it a moment and said, "If your employees are thinking about organizing, then there must be something they want in order to improve their lives as employees of Justiciar. You can always get in front of it and see if you and your partners can make those improvements before they ask for them."

She nodded. "I guess. Of course, to give to them we need to take from ourselves. I don't know how well I can convince them to do that."

Al shrugged. "I don't envy you. I know you're a good person, Lauren, and you want to be seen as a good and fair employer. You remember that business with Ralph Rose and the harassment that went unreported, right?"

She did, and at the time she'd wished someone had come to her about it, but she should have realized there was an invisible divide between employee and partner, and that the coworkers she considered friends didn't necessarily see her the same way, even if they were outwardly pleasant to her. "I'm one vote against two, though, regardless," she said.

"Yeah. I believe in you, though. I know you'll try to do the right thing, however it turns out."   

"Thanks. I just don't want you to think less of me if it doesn't go the way you might like it to go; it won't be from my lack of trying."

He nodded. "Fair enough. And I won't."

He looked like he was about to say more, maybe even "I love you," again, but stopped himself when Tosh appeared with Ajit, saying, "Mom, I have another one I want you to bid on."

She mock gasped and said, "Haven't we bid on all of them? Where are we going to put all of these if we win them, buddy? And don't you think Dad will have something to say about the credit card bill?"

"Just tell him he can enjoy them too when he comes home. He's coming home, right?"

She smiled warmly and said, "Yes. Joanie's back at work and moving fine on her own, now, so there's no need for him to stay and help her anymore."

"Okay. Look, it's over here."

Tosh led them all to an item she in fact hadn't seen before, probably because it wasn't art. 

It was a weekend's stay at Harrison Hot Springs for a family of four, as well as two pillows and two robes from the hotel for use at home.

"Oh, boy," Lauren said. "I don't know about this one." In fact, she didn't want it at all. Harrison Hot Springs did not hold good memories for her now. It was when everything had fallen apart for her and Joe, when Lauren had made that disastrous mistake with Al and sent Joe into Joanie's arms. She never wanted to go back, because it would only remind her of that dark time.

"Please?" Tosh asked. "We didn't get to stay for the whole time in August. I thought we could go again, just us this time." He turned to Ajit and said, "No offence."

"As long as it's not during the Sand Sculpture Competition, then I don't mind," Ajit said.

"You know why we couldn't stay the whole time," Lauren reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. Logan got kidnapped." He looked to Al. "I didn't mean to make it about me, Uncle Al."

"Also, our house burned down," Al said with a smile. "That's why we had to stay with you. I don't blame you for wanting a vacation from us."

Tosh shrugged. "Naomi will miss Emma, for sure. It wasn't bad having you, except Dad wasn't there."

"I know. We know it's time to go, too, but that doesn't mean we'll see you any less. How about this? I'll bid, and if I win, I'll give it to you as a gift."

"Really?" Tosh asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, a sort of thank you gift for letting us stay with you."

Tosh shrugged. "Okay. You can keep the pillows and the robes. Dad never fit in those robes anyway."

That made them all laugh, and it broke the tension a little. Al made his bid, and Tosh and Ajit wandered away again.

"You should consider keeping it for yourself if you win it," Lauren said.

Al waved off her suggestion. "Rachel and I owe you, and Joe, for everything. This is the least we can do."

She shook her head. "Your being there these last few months has helped me as much as it helped you. More, even. I don't know how I would have coped with Joe being gone without you there."

"When you say you, do you mean me and Rachel?"

"Yes, both of you, of course." She smirked and said, "I might love you, but don't go getting a big head about it; you couldn't carry the entire deficit caused by Joe's absence. I fucking love Rachel, and she still comes before you even if I'm carrying your baby. She always makes up the balance in my life."

He chuckled and said, "Fair enough."

"And then there's Emma and Logan. Emma especially has helped Naomi cope." She took a shaky breath and realized she might cry again. "It's starting to hit me now, how much I'm going to miss you."

"When you say you--" Al said again, smirking this time.

"Oh, fuck off!" she said, chuckling as she playfully shoved him, realizing he did that on purpose to stop her from crying.

"Well, don't worry, like I told Tosh, we're not going anywhere, especially now."

She was about to respond, when her eye caught a flicker of movement in the picture windows that lined the perimeter of the large banquet hall in which they stood. She looked again, and this time she was sure she was seeing what she thought she saw.

"Al," she said, and took his arm, gesturing toward the window with a nod of the head.

He looked too, and his mouth dropped in amazement. "What the hell?"

"Don't make any gesture showing you know they're there," she said. "We don't want to give them any reason to think we know their significance."

He closed his mouth and nodded. "You're right. Then we get singled out because we're probably on camera." He gasped. "Sunny. We have to make sure he doesn't notice them."

She was about to agree when she noticed that soon it wouldn't matter. Lots of other people were noticing what was in the window now, and they were walking over to get a closer look at them.

Drones. There were about ten of them, but they didn't stay still long enough for her to count them.

The crowd seemed curious about the new development. Maybe more than one of them wondered if the Arts Council was behind this, some new way of creating content for their social media platforms, perhaps, touting the success of the silent auction.

Lauren knew better, and all she could feel was dread at the thought of all those eyes looking in on the room, scoping out who could have the device, who was the threat. Her only consolation was that they were now lost in the crowd, that if they didn't stray they wouldn't get singled out.

It had never occurred to her that whoever was tracking the device would send drones to do the surveillance instead of people who might stand out in a crowd like this, but if she thought about it she could see the logic of it; they'd never have to reveal themselves this way, and it did seem in line with whatever Jordan and Naira were doing; now Lauren wondered if there was more to their filming and tracking than just creepy stalking.

Lauren pretended to laugh out loud as she turned Al around and said, "As slowly and casually as we can, let's make our way to the others. Do you see any of them?"

Al looked and said, "Sunny's in the antechamber to the ballroom. I don't see anyone else, but there's the floor below us, and I don't think there are windows down there."

"Perfect, let's gather them all there."

She led him on a slow exit out of the banquet hall, stopping from time to time to examine a piece on which they'd already bid, to preserve the pretence that they hadn't noticed the drones and weren't conspicuously trying to escape their surveillance.

If Lauren had known the real danger would begin the moment they left the room, she would have kept them where they were.

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To see what the LSDC does to get themselves away from the drones, click on "Continue reading."