"I have a plan," said Lily, pointing to the blurred face of the check-in attendant. Solomon had the photo enlarged and the nametag read Kimberley. "Let's hunt her down and make her talk."
"Good idea, but let's not actually hunt her. Instead, we’ll ask politely if she's around and if so, can she remember actually talking to Juliet."
"And when she says no, we'll show her the evidence and catch her red-handed?" replied Lily, her voice full of enthusiasm for tackling the hapless attendant.
"Kinda, but we’ll show her the photo as a reminder in case that jogs her memory."
"Do you want to do good cop, bad cop?"
I pulled a face. "Maybe not today."
"Okay, fine. I can see I really got duped on this trip. I'll be the dumb, blonde friend instead, okay?" Lily tossed her mass of blonde curls and pretended to pop bubble gum. "What were you planning to tell the check-in attendant?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, the reason why you're trying to verify if it is Juliet in the photo."
"I... um... I don't know. I didn't think it through yet."
"We could say she was my lesbian lover and the baby I'm carrying came from her egg, and now she's abandoned me, and I need to find her because she's the only tissue match, and one of us needs surgery." Lily grinned at her story.
"Bit far-fetched."
"Do you think? Should we just stick with the runaway lesbian lover?"
"Let's stick with the suspected stolen passport."
"That's much less engaging."
"But much more accurate," I said as we passed through sliding doors into a cavernous space. It was like a warehouse, but countless people were intersecting each other, all toting luggage. Several lines stood dozens deep, and echoing over all the chatter was a baby's wail. I turned around, searching for the desk where the photos were taken, finally spotting it on my second spin.
"Over there," I said, grabbing Lily's wrist and tugging her behind me.
The passenger being served stepped away as we approached. I plastered on a smile as I stepped into his vacated space. "Hi, we're looking for Kimberley," I told the young, uniformed desk clerk.
"She's taking a break right now. Can I help?"
"No, thanks. What time is she returning?"
He checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes."
"Thanks." I turned to Lily. "We can get a coffee while we wait."
"Oh, yay. Decaf. So glad I came," huffed Lily.
"There's a smoothie bar."
"Party central!"
I bought Lily a mango smoothie and got a mixed berry for me. We were sitting on plastic chairs where we could watch over the desk. We observed the male clerk serving several people, all apparently buying last minute tickets.
"Solomon asked me to move in with him."
"Shut! Up!" screamed Lily causing several neighboring tables to turn and look.
"He did. He thinks it's time for the next step and says I should move into his house."
"Good call. You already have the keys; and his house is huge. Will he give you a guest bedroom for a closet? Do you need to go shopping to buy new stuff to fill your huge, new closet?"
"I haven't said yes yet."
"Why not? I thought that was what you wanted?"
"Yes, but I guess... with all the things happening at work, I guess I thought I'd be more settled before taking a step like that."
"Settled? How so?"
"Like, we'd still be working together."
"You are working together," Lily pointed out. "He just isn't signing your pay checks."
"True, but I thought I'd feel more stable in my job. I thought I'd still be at his agency, solving interesting cases, and moving in together would be a natural development from that. Instead, I'm struggling to find paying gigs, and trying not to beg for my old job back."
"I thought not working together improved your relationship?" Lily pursed her lips around the straw, making happy noises as she slurped her smoothie. "You said you don't talk about work as much."
"We don't. Until now anyway."
"Then what's the problem?"
"I don't feel equal."
"Why? Because he has his own agency with employees, a fat bank account, and a big house in a great neighborhood?"
Talk about hitting the nail on the head. "Yes."
"Does it really matter? He's had a longer career, and he's been a lot more focused. He's ahead in those respects because of everything he's done to work towards them. That doesn't make him better than you."
"Doesn't it?"
"Did you look down on me because my parents have a ton of money, and gave us low rent on their building for years? Or when they helped Jord and me buy our house? Or offered me a loan for my business to make my life easier?"
"No. Anyway, you worked really hard for your bar so you would not have to rely on your parents."
"Yes, and Solomon worked really hard for his lifestyle; and you've worked really hard for yours. Who really cares whose house is bigger if you get to be together every day?"
"Is that all it comes down to?"
Lily pulled a face. "Yes!"
"Then why does it seem like such a huge deal?"
"Because it is a huge deal. Have you ever lived with anyone before?"
"For about five minutes when I was briefly engaged; and look how that turned out. The engagement ended and I ran away to join the Army."
"That'll never happen again. The Army would never take you back."
Lily was right. The Army and I had a mutual breakup that was actually a lot nicer than the abrupt ending of my engagement. That option was out. Now, I was older and wiser and less likely to make stupid decisions. Not completely unlikely though; the circus would probably still hire me if I got desperate.
"You shouldn't let one bad decision guide your life."
"When did you get so wise?" I asked.
"When I stopped drinking alcohol. I miss my cocktails."
"So I should say yes?"
"You should say whatever makes you happy. If it's no, say that; or say, not right now. If yes makes you happy, say yes."
"What if it's a mistake and I start to resent Solomon's wet towels on the bed and his stray socks?"
"Does he do that?"
"No." I paused to drink some more. The smoothie was delicious, just the right blend of sweet and tangy. "What if he gets sick of my shoe habit and lip gloss collection?"
"Get naked and make him forget about it."
"Is co-habitation really that easy?"
"Works for me." Lily patted her bump.
"What about my house?"
"Maybe you should have joint custody of your houses. Spend Monday to Wednesday morning at yours. Wednesday night to Friday at his, and then alternate the weekends."
"I don't think anyone can keep up with that schedule."
"You'll have to make a decision somewhere. Don't keep the man hanging. He loves you and wants to live with you. You love him and want to... fill in the blanks, okay?"
"Okay," I agreed, glancing over to the desk just in time to see a uniformed woman moving behind it. She smiled and said something to her colleague before they both laughed. "I think that's Kimberley."