The Hero Next Time: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 4)

Chapter Fifty-One: Sunny, Summer, 2009

"You know, we're hardly ever in Downtown Vancouver," Tej said as they walked toward the building in which Rachel lived.

"You're right," he said. "Our respective practices don't require us to travel outside of New West very often. Oddly enough, though, Lauren's firm is just down the street from here, near the Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain station, but I never had to come here to meet with her, she always came to me."

"Because you're the client?" Tej smirked at him and said, "I'm going to subtly suggest to her that she make you come out this way some time."

"It's not that I required her to come to me, she always offered, maybe because she's always in her car for her work. But go ahead, suggest away."

She twined her arm through his and said, "I'm always surprised by how tall the buildings are here, and how much glass they have. It's not like I'm a country bumpkin, but because I don't commute in every day it seems to get bigger and louder whenever I do come."

"I should take you out on the town," he said. "I've been a neglectful husband, you deserve to be wined and dined." He squeezed her to him and said, "Especially in that dress you're wearing. I almost wish we could sneak off to a hotel right now."

She burst out in surprised laughter and kissed him wetly on the cheek. "Down, boy. We're meeting your friends for a nice evening, and I for one am looking forward to it. It'll be my first time meeting Rachel and Al."

"Yes, I'm interested in seeing how you interact with them. They're different from Lauren and Joe in significant ways."

She took a deep breath and said, "You make a good point, though. You and I don't take many opportunities to go out just the two of us. With kids and work, it's hard to make the time, isn't it."

"We will remedy this soon. I mean it. I want us to get back to how we used to be, like back when we were students."

She hooted and said, "Well, I don't think we'll be able have as much sex as we did back then. We're not as young and flexible as we used to be."

"You're still as beautiful as you were then. More so. I want you more now than I did then."

She rested her head against his shoulder and said, "Maybe if you're a good boy tonight, when we get home, after everyone's asleep..."

She didn't need to say more, and she couldn't, because they reached Rachel's building, and a couple was exiting as they got there.

"She goes by Chan, now," Sunny said as he scanned the digital directory beside the front door.

"But you said she was divorced?" Tej asked.

He nodded. "I guess she just never changed her name back to McWilliam. Ah, this must be it," he said as he found Chan, R. "Smart. It's sad, but a female name on a directory can attract unwanted attention, and apparently she's already suffered some, according to Lauren."

"That sucks. At least with a name like mine it's hard for western creeps to discern I'm female; my foreignness is like a force field."

Sunny chuckled as he pressed the call button. After a couple of rings, Rachel's voice rang out clearly. "Hey, beautiful people, come on up!" She sounded much cheerier today than she was last week. Maybe the reunion was doing her good; she certainly appreciated the work he gave her at his law practice, and with the work Lauren and Joe were throwing her way, she could pay her bills again and breathe a little easier.

"That's Rachel," he said as the door opened for them and they walked to the elevator.

"You had a goofy smile on your face when you said that," Tej remarked as the elevator doors closed and they ascended. "Should I be worried about her?"