People were watching me because I was Betty's sister.
No one told me to my face, but I kept hearing it in low voices whenever I walked past clutches of people who disagreed with the plan. "Watch Betty's sister." "Of course Betty's in on it." "Her sister might drop a hint." Why did they care? If they weren't part of the plan, they didn't need to know. What would they do, stop us?
By lunchtime, I knew I was a liability.
The meeting was on the top floor. Naturally, everyone wanted to eat their lunch up there to see what would happen. The terrace there had a big picnic table and a bunch of little round tables where people broke into groups and talked in low voices. I didn't trust it. Most of these people should be downstairs.
Olivia sat at the picnic table, leaning into an intense conversation with Betty, but people drifted over every few minutes to ask a question, sort out a detail of the plan, or bring fresh coffee. She was always polite, but it wasn't hard to see she and Betty had things to discuss. They alternated who rocked the baby-carrier on the table as they talked.
Tension was high as the scheduled meeting time passed. Finally a man in a dark suit and aviators burst through the stairwell door, scanned the area, and pressed the button to call the elevator. When the elevator doors opened, it was a security team. More dark suits. Earpieces. Calm expressions. The sort of people who notice everything without appearing to look anywhere. They fanned out and stationed themselves around the perimeter.
Now, not only was I watched by scoffers on our side, but trained guards?
I was supposed to carry the diaper bag in the exchange but I passed it to Caden. "You'll have to do it."
He frowned. "Why?"
I angled my head behind me towards the tables on the terrace. "They're watching me." He didn't ask who. He simply took the bag.
Just then, someone arrived carrying several cases of Girl Scout Cookies and set them on the floor beside a dumbfounded Olivia. I'd forgotten to order any this year, so I wandered over to ask whether there were extras. Halfway through asking for a box of Tagalongs, it hit me. "They'll expect us to cheat," came out of my mouth before I could think.
Olivia looked up. "That's the whole point."
"No." I busied myself opening the cartons of cookies, looking helpful while talking quietly. "They'll expect us to think they're not expecting it." She stared at me. I left her there and caught Caden before he disappeared around a pillar. "Ask to check the baby's health, offer them the same chance with ours."
"Our baby?"
"Yeah, the baby Betty and Olivia are rocking. For privacy, recommend the classroom just off the terrace."
"If we're both checking babies in the same room, they'll be watching our every move."
"If we invite them first, they'll relax. Besides, we're not doing anything yet."
Caden raised an eyebrow. "We're not?"
"You'll be checking to be sure the baby is healthy before letting Olivia spend some time with her, right? Say it's for liability. No cuts or bruises they can blame on us later. But here's the thing: If they're smart, they've marked that baby somehow. Find the marking, but don't be obvious. Just remember where it is and what it looks like. Then, while Olivia has their baby, maybe you conveniently notice that our baby needs a diaper change?"
"Nah, I'll get Betty to notice it - that's more believable."
"Whatever. But you need to do the diaper change, so you can mark our baby in exactly the same place. Take the baby into that same classroom. I have permanent markers tucked under a book on that old half-broken cabinet that you can use. Got it?"
He looked at me in a stunned silence. "You're certain about this?"
"No," I admitted. "I'm terrified."
The elevator chimed. The other delegation had arrived. My lunch-eating colleagues watched as Olivia shook hands with a well-dressed, white-haired man who oozed "lawyer" from every pore. Nobody mentioned the babies.
Caden stepped up before any babies changed hands and did exactly as I suggested.
A moment after the "inspection" parties returned to the terrace, Olivia was cooing at the baby that had been taken from her in the hospital while a stern looking guard watched the carrier of the baby she had been raising for the last year. Soon enough, Betty walked past the guard, taking her empty coffee cup to the coffee service. She sniffed, leaned down to the carrier, sniffed again and said something to the guard, who looked horrified.
A snap of her fingers and Caden came over. He took the baby carrier into the classroom, accompanied by the guard. If anyone could do this, it was Caden.
No one was watching when they emerged, except me. I couldn't make out whether our plan had worked.
The meeting dissolved with surprising speed. Olivia held the baby a little tighter than before as she watched the others leave. I followed the security team across to the elevator. Just before the doors opened, one of the guards stopped. He tapped the shoulder of the man holding the baby carrier. From behind, I couldn't see his hands, only movement of his shoulders as he leaned over the baby. But the lawyer, already standing in the elevator, watched with interest. When the guard straightened, he met the lawyer's eyes and gave the slightest nod.
As the others entered the elevator around him the lawyer looked out the doors. Straight at me.
He smiled. Not warmly. Not triumphantly. Simply... knowingly.
The elevator doors slid shut.
I blew out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Which one of us had been outplayed?
Today's Fiction Friday was inspired by a BIZARRE dream I had that woke me two nights ago. I snuck into the bathroom and spoke it into my phone so I wouldn't forget it when I woke up because WTF? If I wrote stories about all the weird dreams I had, I guess I'd never need to follow reader suggestions. Of course, if you have a story prompt burning in your brain, share it in a comment and I'll give it a whirl!
