Err on the Side of Violence: Terribly Acronymed Detective Club Series (Book 3)

Chapter Forty: Rachel, Saturday

The girls' day, up to the movie, was more subdued than Rachel had expected when they'd first discussed it last Sunday, because she and Lauren walked on eggshells the whole time, wondering what Tej would say to them if they ever found themselves alone with her. Rachel could tell Lauren was just as nervous as she was, because of the glances Lauren threw her way whenever Tej wasn't looking.

It didn't help that Lauren was also sullen about something, and when Rachel asked her about it during a rare moment alone, Lauren confessed that she and Joe had argued the night before. "I felt him get out of bed last night," she said. "I think he moved to the couch, but he was back in the morning. He's never done that before. I'm worried about what this means."

"You don't think... he suspects something, do you?" Rachel asked. "Maybe he didn't buy my story?"

"I don't know, but something's not right about him."

Tej, for her part, seemed completely relaxed. She was having a great time, as a matter of fact; they knew this because she kept informing them she was having a great time. The woman bloomed like a flower in water in their presence, and Rachel didn't want to speculate on why that was. Was Sunny the bummer in their relationship, or did something else about her home or work life prove so unsatisfactory that a simple girls' day, even in the presence of their adolescent children, have such a salutary effect on her?

"It's too bad the kids are with us and I don't drink," Tej said. "It'd be an even better time if we could go to a bar, maybe take in a ladies' night."

"Jesus, Tej, you're really letting your hair down," Rachel said.

"Hey, you accepted my challenge, remember?"

"Yeah, but I was kind of joking. We do have three minors here."

"Yeah, I know," Tej said, sighing as she looked at Naomi, Emma and Harpreet sitting in front of them, eagerly eating popcorn and chatting while waiting for the movie to begin. In typical teenager fashion, they'd insisted on putting a few rows between them so that they could act like independent grown-ups on their own outing; it was akin to dropping them off a block away from school. Luckily the theatre was relatively empty, with no one behind them for a few rows or between them and the kids, so the three grown-ups could keep the occasional eye on them to make sure they weren't acting up.

The girls' day had been planned as exactly that, a full day. Tej had informed them Harpreet had planned it entirely as soon as she'd known her mom had wanted to do this for her. Harpreet's enthusiasm must have rubbed off on her mother, because she'd been as jaunty as a captain in a rollicking high seas comedy, ready to set sail for adventure, when she'd picked them all up in her van.

First, brunch at a trendy new restaurant Harpreet wanted to try after reading rave reviews about it online. Naomi and Emma were thrilled. "It's not high tea this time," Naomi enthused. "We have more choices."

"You didn't like high tea?" Rachel asked, a little hurt.

Naomi noticed her tone and quickly backtracked. "I did, though! It's just nice to try something new."

"I liked the baby sandwiches," Emma added. "But here I can have pancakes!" That made everybody laugh and feel better.

Next on the agenda was pedicures. Maybe Tej had reminded her daughter that the other four of them had gotten manicures and facials last week and to pick something different at the salon. Either way, it was a hit. Emma loved soaking her feet and having them pampered; her feet weren't always her best friends, so she enjoyed focusing on them in a positive way.

Then, in a sequence only logical to a thirteen-year-old, Harpreet wanted to hide their freshly polished toes in bowling shoes worn by other people. They went to a complex in Coquitlam that held a bowling alley and a movie theatre, and first played a round of ten-pin. Rachel couldn't remember the last time she'd bowled; she guttered most of her shots. Lauren found her antics hilarious, and when Rachel growled at her, she explained, "You never had to bring your kids to birthday parties. Many of them were at the bowling alley. I've had practice."