Rude Awakenings: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 2)

Chapter Forty: Lauren, Fall, 2010

Moving day. Al would have moved earlier, at the time they'd actually gotten married, but he couldn't negotiate an earlier closing date on his place, although he might have if he and Rachel had agreed earlier who was going to move. They'd taken an awfully long time about it, although Lauren couldn't really judge. She'd finally moved out of the family home to move in with Joe, in a place they'd agreed on together. Both Al and Rachel had lived in their respective homes for years, and had been reluctant to give them up. For Al, especially, there'd been maintenance issues to be resolved before closing could happen; namely, the de-catification of his apartment: perches off the walls, carpets deep cleaned. 

As far as apartments went, both had comparable square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms. What had finally decided them on Al moving was that the downtown location of Rachel's apartment was favourable for the work commute of both of them, and that it was also newer, plus New Westminster was a hot housing market right now, affordable and central to everywhere; it would be easier to sell his place than hers. It also helped that Tej was his agent; Brow of the Hill wasn't her regular turf, but it was just up the hill from Downtown. She was able to get him a fair price even with all that had to be done to the place, and Al declared her performance well worth the commission.

Luckily for everyone who showed up to help him move, he'd donated or thrown out much of his stuff. Samson had rendered most of his furniture unfit for living, and Rachel had all the furniture they needed anyway. The junk removal people had gone through his apartment like a dose of salts long before they even got there. A one ton moving truck was all Al needed for his chests of drawers and other personal items, a relief to Lauren, Joe, Sunny and Tej, who all had kids at home with grandparents on a weekend, when they could have been enjoying time with their families.

Another fortunate coincidence was, at least from Al's apartment, they didn't need to carry things in elevators or down stairs because his unit was on the main floor, and the moving out went very quickly. The moving in part took a little more time, because there was an elevator, although Rachel had arranged with her strata corporation to have the use of the elevator for the time they needed it. Finding a place to park the moving truck downtown was also a challenge.

Still, by the time they had everything moved in, and Al brought the truck back to the rental place, it was only the afternoon, and they were able to settle in for some beer and pizza as if they were college students. Al and Rachel told them they were welcome to get their kids and bring them over for pizza too, but they'd have to go all the way back out to Burnaby or New West to get them and come back, so it was easier to just have their little party and go home to them later. None of them admitted it, but Lauren knew they preferred it this way, just being able to relax after a move and ease their sore muscles with some alcohol and grease without having to look after their energetic kids. She felt a little guilty about it, but that didn't stop her from enjoying herself.

Samson weaved around them, willing them to give him slices of salami with his eyes, but Al warned them not to give in. "He's heavy enough," he said. 

Samson had adjusted quickly to his new surroundings, after hiding under Rachel's bed while they moved, and then taking a sniffing tour of the place when they were done. His litter was placed in the laundry room, and his food and water dishes in a corner of the dining room; he was a polite cat, and liked to eat his meals in the company of Al and whatever guest he had. "He'd yowl at me to come to the table so he could eat, even if I wasn't hungry." Luckily Rachel wasn't a thrower of dinner parties, so she would never be afraid of offending dinner guests with the sight of a bowl of kibble at their feet.

Lauren eyed the bedroom while she ate her slice, and thought about the wonderful hours she'd spent with Rachel in there. Now that Al had moved in, she was sure their opportunities to be together would dwindle to nothing.