So Sweet a Changeling: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 6)

Part One: Question Your Desires; Chapter One: Rachel, Saturday

Gladys Mackenzie had a full house this evening, and she was thrilled. She bustled around the living room, offering to refill coffee cups for the adults, as well as for one near adult who'd gotten a taste for the stuff, and made trips between the living room and kitchen to grab more snacks and drinks for the kids. 

"I haven't had this many people over in... well... ever," she remarked more than once. Her late husband was an unsocial man who never wanted anyone to come by, and Rachel wondered how her mother-in-law, who seemed to bloom like a flower in water when she had company, could have ever stayed married to someone who was her complete opposite in so many ways. 

Al, Rachel's husband, had discovered part of the reason late last year when he'd discovered Gladys' husband wasn't his father, but his uncle. One single act of adultery had condemned Gladys to a lifetime of punishing loneliness, since divorce would have left her with a child to raise on her own and no financial support whatsoever. Al had since reconnected with his biological father, who'd until then been an estranged uncle for good reason, as well as his four cousins who were in fact half-siblings, and the restored family connection that resulted had worked like a fountain of youth on Gladys. It warmed Rachel's heart to see Gladys, a sweet woman who'd always had an air of sadness and resignation, have the happiness she deserved.

Another part of the reason for the older woman's happiness had to do with her grandchildren, who were both here, to everyone's amazement. Rachel and Al had adopted Logan and Emma, both teenagers, last year, after their biological parents had both died in separate but equally horrendous murders committed by bad people involved in drug smuggling and trafficking, and Gladys, who'd despaired of her only child ever giving her grandchildren, couldn't have been happier with them if they'd been her own flesh and blood. Emma always visited her Grammy, and the two had a special bond that made Rachel's heart burst whenever she saw it, but Logan, three years older and technically an adult, with a job and friends who hung out with him into the late hours, rarely found the time to visit, but he was here tonight, and the reason for that was another reason Gladys was so happy: the tall redhead emerging now from her kitchen.

"It's too bad Joe couldn't make it tonight," Joanie said as she placed a plate of Dad's Cookies, perfect for dipping in coffee, on the table, "but I understand why."

Sergeant Joanie Mara of the RCMP had become like the daughter Gladys never had while Al was in his coma late last year, driving her to and from the hospital and having coffee with her, knowing the older woman was worried for her son and keeping her company whenever she could to keep the worry at bay. After Al had woken and gotten back on his feet, he'd never forgotten the special role Joanie had played for his mother, and his fondness for her had grown, regardless of the circumstances that made her presence in the lives of Rachel and her friends so... awkward.

Logan also had a special reason to like Joanie, and that was the reason why he was here today when he could have hung out with his friends. Joanie saved his life last year, stopping the man who'd been sent to assassinate him because he was a witness to the events that had ultimately resulted in his father's murder. Joanie had been shot herself for her trouble, and had taken months to recover from her injuries, but since then she'd risen in the ranks of her detachment, first becoming media relations officer and, now, fulfilling her dreams after months of studying and exams by finally becoming a detective. 

Rachel saw how Joanie and Gladys interacted, moving around each other in the kitchen, gabbing and laughing together as they brought out drinks and snacks, and surmised that Al, who'd once complained about all the time his mother demanded of him, now had competition for his mother's favour, but Al, the kindest and warmest man she'd ever known besides her own father, smiled whenever he saw them together. Did he see Joanie now as a kind of sister from another Mister? He'd certainly had practice lately interacting that way with his cousins, who were themselves adjusting to the fact that Al was the result of their father's one indiscretion; even though it had been close to fifty years ago, it was a hard pill for them to swallow. Everybody wanted to believe their parents were perfect, didn't they? Rachel certainly felt that way about her father, who'd approached the level of sainthood in her eyes, especially after he'd taken her mother back after eight years away, and had ultimately paid for that decision, in her mind; she and her mother had a relationship as strained as Joanie had with her own.