"Hi." Lauren called out lightly to Meg who was on the phone as she entered their joint office. The brunette waved in greeting and continued on with her call, leaving Lauren to settle down for the morning. She dropped her bag and grabbed the note of reminders that Kim placed on her desk every evening before heading home herself. The assistant was the first one in and the last one out every day, catering to each of the photographer's needs. With Meg, that meant leaving home at home and work at work. With Lauren, that meant reminders for both.
With one more quick glance to Meg who was going over her calendar with the person on the phone still, the brunette snuck out and towards Kim's central office which doubled as the groups daycare area. She tapped on the window and waited until she was motioned to enter. Kim was sitting on the floor leaning against the back wall with her legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles, while Aubrey was showing her something he had drawn. When they remodeled the studio, they had installed continuous windows starting at waist level on every wall of the assistant's office, including the shared wall with the photographer's office so Kim could easily get their attention when needed and give her a 360-degree view of the studio so she knew what was going on at a single glance.
"I think she has the creative touch." The photographer remarked as she took a seat leaning against the desk as the assistant praised her daughter's work.
"I think you are right."
An awkward silence suddenly filled the air between them. Kim knew that Meg had been turning to Lauren for support after each failed in vitro session and this last one was no exception. But she didn't want the attention it was going to bring her. She didn't want any more 'I'm sorries' or 'it will happen'. She just wanted to move on with her life. Thankfully Lauren understood this. She had dealt with the same emotions when Camila had struggled getting pregnant. "I thought that Meg was supposed to be off today." She added, breaking the silence. Kim lifted her eyes to her boss with a dropped brow. The brunette pointed through the window behind the seated brunette towards the office again. "She's in there on the phone."
"Oh, right. Sorry. We are looking for a bigger place." She trailed off gently, looking back to her daughter who called out to her to look at another drawing. "The loft is getting a little cramped and another room would be nice to have when everything finally does work out, you know?"
"Of course." She nodded and the strangling silence set back in. "Oh, um. Camila has the kids today. Or for at least this morning. She might stop by for lunch but she did say something about meeting up with Mom."
"Well, then it will be just the two of us by our lonesome then. Meg is taking Aubrey with her when she heads out."
The brunette's head perked up playfully. "And what will we do with a studio that is nearly empty?"
Kim lifted her palms into the air, asking the same question. "Something that pays the bills? But it's a light day anyway. You have the one shoot in a little bit that is only scheduled to last two hours. Then you have the phone interview after lunch. Beyond that, your day is free."
Lauren nodded slowly, smiling as Aubrey abandoned the little coloring table and sat down right next to Kim to finish her work. She was a lot like Meg, loving to be close to people and Kim was her favorite person. Before she instinctively said something that she would regret like 'she'll have someone to play with soon', Lauren noticed Meg stand up from her desk. "Let me go talk to your wife really quick before she leaves then." She excused herself and made her way back into her office, shutting the door behind her. "Hey."
Meg looked at the shut door for a minute before turning her attention to her friend. "Hey. Am I in trouble or something? You normally only shut the door when you're going to yell at me for breaking a piece of equipment you needed or when I accidentally misordered that one camera."
