After work, Lawrence sat down with Shayna in his home office as she briefed him on the latest developments from her work.
"I have a lot of ideas for holiday preparation and charity events that I plan to present at the next women's meeting," she reported. "I'm still looking into applicants for the new residence. It's a shame the Carr's backed out because they were so perfect."
"Maybe we should put out a public statement to try to undo the harm that was done at the last meeting."
"I hope you aren't suggesting an apology, because I still don't believe we were in the wrong," Shayna doubled down. "Frankly, I'm disappointed that after everything, you backtracked and allowed the whole issue to drop."
"We were in the wrong and it took me too long to realize it," Lawrence insisted.
"Is it wrong to be objective and not play into favoritism?" she asked.
"No, but I realized I wasn't allowing myself to see the big picture."
Shayna just shook her head and decided to drop it. She had been fighting enough about this and other issues with Andrew at home and she was tired of arguing.
As Shayna was packing up her things to leave, Paige and Lance returned home. Paige was on the phone arranging entertainment for Lance's birthday party, while he carried in an armful of prizes he had won at the arcade.
After showing off his wins to his father, Lance hurried upstairs, while Paige sat down at the kitchen table with a stack of party invitations and her checklist of tasks.
"You've been spending a lot of time planning Lance's birthday party," Lawrence remarked.
"Yes, well, it is a milestone birthday," she said dismissively.
"I noticed you've been very permissive with him lately, letting him slip on his chores, taking him on extra outings and I think I know why."
"You do?" she asked nervously.
"I know he has been resistant to having you around, but you don't need to spoil him to try to win him over."
"Oh . . . You're right, I know. I just had to try something. I really want to connect with him and I was running out of ideas."
"I appreciate your efforts, but don't let him take advantage," Lawrence warned.
Paige wished she could stop him, but she didn't see the way out yet.
* * * * *
"Hey," Zara said tentatively as she peeked her head into Ben's new lab space.
"Zara!" he greeted her with surprise. "Hey. It's good to see you."
"It's been a while," she said.
"It has. What brings you here?"
"I guess you didn't hear that we were going to be working together again?"
"No, no one ever tells me anything. Believe me, I would have remembered if anyone had mentioned you."
When it felt like they had been staring at each other for a moment too long, Zara turned away and started looking around the lab and the rows of empty aquariums lining the walls.
"There's not much to see yet," he said apologetically. "I'm still getting everything set up."
"I heard you just came back from a research trip in the Caribbean. I hope Bay Pointe isn't a let down after that."
"It was amazing, but I'm always up for something new. Have you been here long? Last I heard you were working for an agency in California?"
"I was," she confirmed. She was surprised that he had kept tabs on her. "I just moved back to work on this project."
"Then I guess we'll be seeing each other. It will be nice to get reacquainted again," he smiled at her. "So what have you been up to lately?"
"I've been staying with my sister and helping her out while her husband is recovering from an accident. My nephew would love these aquariums."
"Once I get them set up you'll have to bring him by the lab."
"I might take you up on that," she warned him.
"I'm counting on it."
"Hello? Oh good, I found you," Amanda said as she entered the lab. She greeted Ben with a kiss and started looking around. "Wow, look at this place! This is going to be amazing."
"I hope so. I was just telling Zara- Oh. . ." when he looked over to his colleague she had already quietly slipped out of the lab before he could introduce them.
"Well, never mind. Are you ready to go? I can't wait for my sister and her husband to meet you."
* * * * *
"Just a second," Amanda stopped Ben in the doorway of the restaurant to adjust his collar. "Perfect." She couldn't wait to show him off.
Amanda sashayed her way through the restaurant with Ben on her arm toward the table where Edward and Alma were already waiting. She happily made the introductions as they sat down to join them.
"Alma, I thought you'd be more . . ." Amanda waved her hand at Alma as she struggled to find a tactful way to describe her sister's appearance, "dressed up for dinner tonight. You looked so nice when I saw you at your house the other day, but I guess I must have caught you on a good day. You look more like your old self tonight."
"I'm not that much older than you," Alma said with a warning tone.
"I didn't mean old as in age . . . oh, never mind."
"A lot has changed with Alma recently," Edward said, barely concealing the bitterness in his tone. "I think her new style was to fit with her new career, but since her assignment ended, apparently so did the look."
"Too bad for you, Ed," Amanda laughed.
"I'm glad things are back to normal," he insisted. "I think a less demanding position might be a nice change. She has been working so hard."
"I can speak for myself," Alma snapped. "You're talking about me like I'm not even here."
"What field do you work in?" Ben asked Alma, hoping to diffuse the tension.
"I'm a substitute teacher."
"Education is a great field to be in. Whenever teaching comes up in my work, I always find it rewarding."
"I was an elementary teacher when Ed and I got married, but I quit when we had children. I thought substituting would be a good way to get back into it now that the children are older without it being a full-time position, but apparently, I was wrong."
"It ended up being more full-time than we expected."
"Than you expected," Alma corrected.
"Ben has a really interesting job in marine biology," Amanda interrupted, trying to change the subject before things got uglier between Ed and Alma. "He does very important ecological research. Don't you, babe?"
"Yes?" Ben said with a shrug. He felt awkward being put on the spot, but he tried his best to hold up his end of the conversation. "I just finished gathering data for my research in the Caribbean as I'm sure Amanda mentioned and I'm starting a new project here in Bay Pointe."
Ben talked on about his research trying to fill the awkward silence around the table until he felt like he was monopolizing too much of the conversation. "So Ed, what do you do?"
"I'm a retired doctor."
"How are you enjoying retirement?" Amanda asked.
"So far it hasn't been quite how I pictured it," Ed admitted.
When Alma rolled her eyes, Amanda knew she had stepped on another minefield. She held her menu in front of her face and whispered an apology to Ben.
* * * * *
As soon as their meals were finished, Amanda asked for the check, hoping to make a quick retreat from a very awkward and tense evening. Once the couples parted ways, Amanda grabbed Ben into a tight hug as they stood outside their car.
"I'm so sorry about tonight. I had no idea Alma and Ed were having so many marital issues."
"It's fine," Ben insisted.
As she leaned in close, Amanda whispered in his ear, "Thank you for being such a good sport. I will be sure to make it worth your while when we get home."
* * * * *
After a silent car ride home, Alma checked on the children and retired to the bedroom for an early night.
As she got ready for bed, Ed came up behind her and put his arms around her, but she quickly shrugged him away.
"Sorry," he said coldly as he backed off.
"Which part of tonight are you sorry for?" she snapped. "Do you really think I would want to be romantic with you after the way you talked about me at dinner?"
"I could have been perfectly charming tonight and you would still find a reason to push me away," he pouted. "What's happened to us?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
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