POUNDING THAT WON'T GO AWAY

Rita hadn't remembered Serena's baby even being born. She sure as heck hadn't remembered agreeing to be present for the, now apparently, single mother - admittedly in reduced circumstances. Or caring for her shrieking baby!

The shrieking wouldn't go away. Rita prayed to God that the noise would stop - her head might not take it any more.

Limes? Who used limes anymore? Limes and lemon gin did not mix, not for her. Moira had once caught Rita late at night pouring one for herself - right there in Luke and Moira's kitchen. Moira had said, "hey, girl, you can't have gin without limes!"

Moira went to the refrigerator to get them, got a cutting board and a knife to slice them, then plopped one in Rita's glass, plus another for herself. Not wanting to call attention, Rita had taken a deep breath and weathered, limes with lemon gin.

My sweet Lord, thought Rita, 'what now'? If the high pitched crying was not enough, now there was banging on the front door. Pounding. Not good, not good. At first, she felt that she'd not be able to navigate the stairs to get down to the main level. Then she realized she was already in the living room. Waking up on the couch. With her head splitting. With vomit on the carpet below her. With the high pitched, baby-squealing.

Not even the pounding would stop. It seemed like someone was intent on knocking down the front door - if this had been Gilead and not Toronto… ergo, thought Rita, the lemon gin.

Getting up stepping over the vomit, she saw an empty lemon gin bottle on the coffee table. She grabbed it, circled into the kitchen, put it in with the recyclables, then weaved towards the front door.

Before opening it, she thought, 'why would Serena's baby be here?' But that question was lost in the need to rid herself of the bass-drum beat of the front door.

Opening it, there she was, Sylvia. Sylvia said, "Good lord, Rita, you can hear Nichole crying from the street!"

That's right, Rita thought, Sylvia had said she'd come over to spell Rita off while Luke, June, and Moira were away… okay, now Rita remembered. Sylvia had agreed to do that.

Instead of a hello, it hit Rita - she said outloud to Sylvia's bafflement, "that's not Serena's, that's Nichole!" At that, Rita left Sylvia standing on the front stoop, as she bounded two-at-a-time up the interior stairs.

As she came inside, Sylvia thought to herself, 'What's with Rita? I thought Serena thought of Nichole as hers!?'

Rita called from upstairs, "Hey Sylvia, could you warm a bottle for Nichole, she's hungry as heck! She's also had multiple blow-outs."

Going into the kitchen, Sylvia stopped at the refrigerator - spied the recycling bin beside it. Five empties of Collin's lemon gin. 'Jesus', she thought to herself, 'I hope some of those were emptied by Luke and June!'

EVIL MEN

Aunt Lydia had just completed her sermon, her 'sermon at the wall' as the various classes of Handmaids through the years had called it - behind her back, of course.

Janine was subdued, did not want to leave. It used to trouble her, watching the corpses as they hung there. Not this one. This one, Janine wished she'd been there for the whole thing - although handmaids had not been allowed at that Commander's Retreat, or for the breakfast, the one with all the excitement.

Janine then realized that after leading the other 9 away, Aunt Lydia had returned to the wall. Both stood there, looking. Just the two of them.

Janine finally said, "Aunt Lydia, you're keeping your promises. I should thank you for that."

Lydia said, "I told you, dear, you are my girls. It is my job to keep you from the clutches of evil men."

Janine said plaintively, "was I really out of my mind? Back then?" The two stood silently as some of the fluid from the corpse slowly trickled down the wall to the walk below. "Did I really think I was going to 'run away' with Commander Putnam and Charlotte?"

Lydia gave an ironic chuckle. Janine turned to her supervisor and asked, "what!?"

Lydia said, "I was about to remind you to mind yourself. But Charlotte is, arguably, not 'Angela' anymore." Lydia patted Janine on the back, then added, "so I'm going to let that one slide."

Janine turned to face Lydia, "so you don't know where she is?" Lydia reminded her that the Aunts did not handle that kind of re-placement, only their files. Although she assured Janine that Angela/Charlotte would be placed in a home of at least equal rank.

"But I'll tell you what I will do," Lydia said. "I can make sure her file is amended. She'll be re-placed as 'Charlotte' if that's what you want."

Janine smiled that original innocent smile of contentment, a smile she'd not managed in quite some time. Lydia returned the gesture by softly patting Janine on the cheek.

Janine's face then turned to bitterness - again.

"But that's not it all, Aunt Lydia." Lydia dropped her hands to her side and took a half step back. Janine continued. "There's Esther. We have to….. you have to do right by her." Glancing at the body above them, Janine said, "she's carrying that monster's baby. It will not be easy for her."

Lydia sighed deeply. "We're well practised with recalcitrant girls. The only thing I can guarantee is that she'll deliver. After that? That's up to Esther."

It was Janine who turned away from the Wall, and took some steps to get some distance. Lydia was caught by surprise, but quickly caught up.

"No, it's not up to Esther," Janine sharply said. "It's up to us, it's up to you, it's up to me."

"Janine," Lydia said fondly, "you are such a sweet, sweet girl. But there are some things which are a given."

"No! There are not!" Janine barked, still pacing away from the Wall. "You'd told me that Commander Putnam's 'position' in Gilead was a 'given'. He's now on the fucking Wall."

Lydia's stern voice returned, "mind yourself, Janine. Mind yourself."

"No, Lydia," both of them noted the absence of Lydia's title in that sharp retort. "You mind your promises."

Lydia thought about all the possibilities that she, herself, had let slide recently.

Janine started to weep. "I haven't asked about Caleb. I think I know what I'll find if I ask too much about him."

The foolish, foolish naïve girl that Lydia had first seen so long ago? She was gone. The defiant innocence that only the amputation of an eye had tamed - now gone.

SCRIBBLINGS IN ONE'S OWN HAND

Lydia thought it was too fancy to call her scribblings a 'holograph'. That's what Aunt Ruth had derisively called them, during Ruth's brief reign at the Red Centre.

But it was important for Lydia, an old school teacher and one-time family court judge, to keep her thoughts in her own hand. Besides, where was even an Aunt going to get her hands on anything closer to this century, to aide in recording her mind.

But tonight, before bed - Lydia was going to write, in her own hand, about Janine Lindo. About the Putnam's, about Caleb and about… Charlotte.

She was going to add a whole chapter on 'evil men'. Those who treated Lydia's charges as toys, rather than the saviours of mankind. Lydia had not given up on the sacred duty that God had called her to oversee.

God had sent her Janine. To get things back on track, away from evil men.

IT'S ALL IN THE TIMING

Nick Blaine didn't knock any more. He'd been at Lawrence's house enough, late in the evening, that it was useless to bother.

Lawrence eschewed not just handmaids, but marthas. At least these days. So it was there wasn't even a martha to get the door. Hence, letting oneself in.

Blaine heard Lawrence's voice from the study. Blaine was glad they were going to meet in there - first, because of scotch. Second, because Lawrence always kept the house cold and the study had the fireplace.

Hearing the noise, Lawrence bellowed, "if that's not you, Nick, then I'm really screwed! Then again, even if that is you, get your butt in here. I have a war-story for you, you're not going to believe."

Blaine turned the corner into the study, saw Lawrence sitting by the fire with an open book now on his lap. Blaine eyed Lawrence's glass and said, "do you need a top-up?"

Lawrence said, "no, I'm fine." He then shifted in his chair to face Nick, "hey, how are things at home?"

After pouring himself a good one, Nick took a sip, then said, "well, Rose's pregnancy saves us in the handmaid department, for now at least."

"Well, that's not what I meant, but - good!'" Lawrence then added, "I gather that Rose wasn't wild about Commander Putnam."

Nick took another sip, with his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him. "I think she felt used."

Lawrence said, "C'mon, she 'gets' that you're going to make use of your father-in-law, how could she not?"

Nick had not moved from where he stood, "but not for that, Joseph. It was me who did it."

Lawrence turned to be more comfortable in his chair, he closed his book and set it on the floor below him. "Well," he said, "I don't do marriage counselling, so you're out of luck." Lawrence then said, "Look, quit moping. Come, sit, I'll tell you how God is on our side."

Blaine refilled his glass, then ventured over to the empty chair where it was warmer.

Lawrence said, "I just got a visit from the High Guardian. His eminence himself."

Blaine asked, "What did he want?"

Lawrence continued, "well, the best thing about it was that it was him, not an execution detail. But he was, shall we say, pissed off. Right angry."

"Why?" Nick asked, still only half-listening.

"He said, and I quote, 'If you Commanders want to wage a coup, I could care less, but I would appreciate some notice.' He said that he didn't like it when his men were used that way."

Perking up, Nick asked, "what way?"

Lawrence laughed, "the High Guardian, he said that it was his service's job to prevent coups. When Putnam got dispatched, he said, the Guardians were the coup."

Lawrence explained that Lawrence's own Guardian detail had been dispatched to the Putnam's, the morning after the High Criminal Court of Gilead had met. Lawrence had made sure that his own Guardians would outnumber any still loyal to Putnam at that breakfast.

"My guy," Lawrence said, "broke ranks while going over to Putnam's. He radio'ed in to the High Guardian - telling him what was going on. The High Guardian, he said, 'just follow your orders, we're not here to question Commanders or influence the politics of the place'."

Blaine brightened up, "well, they did, they influenced the politics of the place. Big time!"

Lawrence grinned, "hence, the High Commander complaining about himself - being the coup!"

"Rose is devastated," Blaine said quietly.

Lawrence said evenly, "Rose needs to take a look at how her father wound up in D.C.!"

The two men sat in silence for a good long time, long enough for both Nick and Joseph to wonder if they needed a refill, or if they should call it a day.

As it was, Lawrence said, "no long faces here, Nick. Go get me a refill. We should at least toast, New Bethlehem!"

TRY NOT TO THINK OF THELMA AND LOUISE

At the door, Lawrence saved the best for last.

"Hey Nick," Lawrence said, glad that Nick had a driver to take him home. "Guess what? Guess who saved June Osborne this time?"

Nick just turned and looked back at Lawrence, managed a weak, "What!?"

"You know how Lieutenant Stans couldn't deep six her? Remember that you dropped a bomb on her in Chicago? Guess who saved June this time?"

"Who?" Nick asked, not even aware June had been in danger.

"Serena Joy Waterford. The former Mrs. Fred Waterford." Lawrence enjoyed watching the wheels in Nick's brain unmesh themselves.

"In of all places, No Man's Land. Wait for it. Serena shot a Guardian! She rescued June from an execution. She shot that guy, Shaw, that we'd assigned to her. Right in the Kevlar vest. Then Serena and June drove off, no one knows where they are."

Even Lawrence was perplexed as to why not just one, but both of them had been in No Man's Land. But rather than dwell, Lawrence sent Blaine into the night by saying…..

"June Osborne, she just won't die."