Hand Pecked

Superintendent Elaine Peck was a grossly misunderstood woman. Everyone, even her children, thought she was blinded by ambition. But, Elaine is a consummate professional and always took the opportunity to know whatever there is to know about those working around her. Tonight was no exception. She had just completed a dinner meeting with the Mayor and Judges of the Supreme Court. They were discussing the roll-out of a pilot programme to get underprivileged youths involved in a school cadet course to build better relations with law enforcement. The ultimate aim of which is to give these children a chance to be interested in something other than the gangs which run their neighbourhoods. The Mayor was not too interested when he saw the initial proposal but he soon found out what everyone with a modicum of sense knew; it is difficult, if not impossible, to say 'no' to Elaine Peck.

As she passed the bar on her way out, she spied someone in her peripheral vision and like the constant cop that she was, she quickly computed the details. She smoothly changed course and approached the table. The young woman looked up as the older woman reached her table. She was sure they have never met. Her suspense deepened when the woman started, "May I join you for a bit, dear?"

"Uh…sure," she answered, pushing her glasses up her nose as she assessed the woman who took a seat opposite her – 5'7", late 50s to early 60s, amused blue-green eyes, reddish-blond hair, pale skin and a tiny smirk.

"I'm Elaine."

"Holly."

"I hope that you are not dining alone."

"Oh no. I'm meeting some friends who are obviously late."

"Alright," remarked Elaine with a wide smile, "I'll keep your company until they get here."

At this point, Holly is confused as to why this woman chose to approach and join her. When the waiter immediately came over, she realized that whoever this woman was, the man was obviously afraid of her. Since Holly entered, she was shown to the table and largely ignored in the busy upscale restaurant. However, as soon as Elaine joined her, it was as if half the waitstaff was dispatched to cater to their needs. Even though Holly was nervous, she was enjoying the conversation with the other woman. Somehow, without being able to explain the details, Holly was invited to dinner at the end of the month with Elaine's family.

Elaine took her leave as Holly's friends arrived barely acknowledging them. As they took their seats, Lisa started, "I didn't know you are into older chicks now Holly."

"Seriously Lisa?" Rachael asked.

Holly just narrowed her eyes and sipped her wine.

"Hmm, at least she's gorgeous," continued Lisa pouring a glass of wine from the bottle chilling on the table.

Try as she might, Holly couldn't seem to be interested in her friends – mainly Lisa – talking about herself and how much money she's earning now that she's in private practice. Her mood improved slightly as she recounted her first day on the job and meeting a snarky cop.

The workload increased exponentially for Holly when half the office came down with the flu and she was left to supervise the interns, do her work and run the office since the Chief was one of the victims of the virus. 'Welcome to Toronto Holly,' she thought as she realized that this was going to be another late night. At around 7PM, the security called to inform her that her dinner was delivered. This threw Holly since she hadn't ordered anything. The night receptionist soon arrived with a bag for which Holly was thankful. Her phone rang and when she answered, Elaine asked whether she had received dinner. They chatted for a few minutes. Holly decided not to think so much about why this woman was interested in her. She just enjoyed her dinner.

The end of the month soon arrived and Holly was nervous as to what was in store for her. All day at work, she mentally sorted her closet to think about options. She was told that the dinner was casual but having no idea what that really meant, she decided to wear her best grey slacks with a burgundy button down shirt. Following the GPS, she was thoroughly nervous when she pulled up to the mansion and parked alongside the other cars. The door was answered by a red-headed man who introduced himself as Steve. As they entered the foyer, she heard a voice call out, "Steven, is that your sister?"

"No mom, it's Holly," he answered leading her into the family room.

"Ah, Holly dear, I'm so glad you made it."

"Thank you for inviting me," replied Holly politely presenting a bottle of wine to the hostess.

"This is sweet of you," said Elaine as she took the offered wine and introduced Holly to her husband Bill. They all settled on the couches and had a lively chat about the hockey game that was on television; Leafs vs. Canucks. Holly looked scandalized to learn that Bill and Steve were Canucks fans. Elaine just ignored their conversation and spent the time observing the interaction between Steve and Holly. With a pleased smile, Elaine congratulated herself in finding the perfect woman to be her daughter-in-law. She frowned as she noticed the time and moved them to the dining table. Bill shook his head as he noticed how Elaine directed Holly next to Steve. Just as Steve pulled out the chair for Holly, the front door slammed and footsteps hurried towards the dining room.

"Hey dad, freckle-face," they heard before seeing the upstart. "Goodnight mother," was also heard before Gail came barrelling in to the room. She stopped short completely missing her mother's look of disapproval as she observed the scene. "Lunchbox, how did you get sucked into this nightmare?" came out of her mouth before she could stop her brain's permutations.

"Gail?" questioned Holly. Her head immediately snapped to everyone in the room as she finally realized where she was and more importantly, who she was with. Holly froze in shock as the feeling she was having all month of missing something important manifested. She practically fell into the chair as Gail shook her head and flopped down opposite Holly and poured a glass of wine.

"You two know each other?" questioned Steve.

"Duh," answered Gail. "Yeah. You'd know her too if you weren't so damn lazy to do your own legwork."

"What are you talking about?" challenged Steve.

"I don't know? Maybe the fact that you think I'm your personal slave. Sending me on errands under the guise of helping me with the job."

"I always ask for you so that you can learn from me."

"Keep telling yourself so brother."

"Alright! That is enough from the both of you," commanded Elaine. "I'm sorry about my children Holly but together, they really behave like children."

Steve looked contrite and apologized to his mother and Holly. Gail just rolled her eyes and eyed the food on the table. She looked at her mother in surprise as she realized that Elaine actually cooked and didn't order from some fancy place. Gail's face became blank as she looked at each of the room's occupants. She quickly realized what was happening and narrowed her eyes at her mother. Holly took in these interactions with great interest. This time she was sure that she just missed something huge.