"That's much less engaging."

"But much more accurate," I said as we passed through sliding doors into a cavernous space. It was like a warehouse, but countless people were intersecting each other, all toting luggage. Several lines stood dozens deep, and echoing over all the chatter was a baby's wail. I turned around, searching for the desk where the photos were taken, finally spotting it on my second spin.

"Over there," I said, grabbing Lily's wrist and tugging her behind me.

The passenger being served stepped away as we approached. I plastered on a smile as I stepped into his vacated space. "Hi, we're looking for Kimberley," I told the young, uniformed desk clerk.

"She's taking a break right now. Can I help?"

"No, thanks. What time is she returning?"

He checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes."

"Thanks." I turned to Lily. "We can get a coffee while we wait."

"Oh, yay. Decaf. So glad I came," huffed Lily.

"There's a smoothie bar."

"Party central!"

I bought Lily a mango smoothie and got a mixed berry for me. We were sitting on plastic chairs where we could watch over the desk. We observed the male clerk serving several people, all apparently buying last minute tickets.

"Solomon asked me to move in with him."

"Shut! Up!" screamed Lily causing several neighboring tables to turn and look.

"He did. He thinks it's time for the next step and says I should move into his house."

"Good call. You already have the keys; and his house is huge. Will he give you a guest bedroom for a closet? Do you need to go shopping to buy new stuff to fill your huge, new closet?"

"I haven't said yes yet."

"Why not? I thought that was what you wanted?"

"Yes, but I guess... with all the things happening at work, I guess I thought I'd be more settled before taking a step like that."

"Settled? How so?"

"Like, we'd still be working together."

"You are working together," Lily pointed out. "He just isn't signing your pay checks."

"True, but I thought I'd feel more stable in my job. I thought I'd still be at his agency, solving interesting cases, and moving in together would be a natural development from that. Instead, I'm struggling to find paying gigs, and trying not to beg for my old job back."

"I thought not working together improved your relationship?" Lily pursed her lips around the straw, making happy noises as she slurped her smoothie. "You said you don't talk about work as much."

"We don't. Until now anyway."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't feel equal."

"Why? Because he has his own agency with employees, a fat bank account, and a big house in a great neighborhood?"

Talk about hitting the nail on the head. "Yes."

"Does it really matter? He's had a longer career, and he's been a lot more focused. He's ahead in those respects because of everything he's done to work towards them. That doesn't make him better than you."

"Doesn't it?"

"Did you look down on me because my parents have a ton of money, and gave us low rent on their building for years? Or when they helped Jord and me buy our house? Or offered me a loan for my business to make my life easier?"

"No. Anyway, you worked really hard for your bar so you would not have to rely on your parents."

"Yes, and Solomon worked really hard for his lifestyle; and you've worked really hard for yours. Who really cares whose house is bigger if you get to be together every day?"

"Is that all it comes down to?"

Lily pulled a face. "Yes!"

"Then why does it seem like such a huge deal?"

"Because it is a huge deal. Have you ever lived with anyone before?"

"For about five minutes when I was briefly engaged; and look how that turned out. The engagement ended and I ran away to join the Army."

"That'll never happen again. The Army would never take you back."

Lily was right. The Army and I had a mutual breakup that was actually a lot nicer than the abrupt ending of my engagement. That option was out. Now, I was older and wiser and less likely to make stupid decisions. Not completely unlikely though; the circus would probably still hire me if I got desperate.

"You shouldn't let one bad decision guide your life."

"When did you get so wise?" I asked.

"When I stopped drinking alcohol. I miss my cocktails."

"So I should say yes?"

"You should say whatever makes you happy. If it's no, say that; or say, not right now. If yes makes you happy, say yes."

"What if it's a mistake and I start to resent Solomon's wet towels on the bed and his stray socks?"

"Does he do that?"

"No." I paused to drink some more. The smoothie was delicious, just the right blend of sweet and tangy. "What if he gets sick of my shoe habit and lip gloss collection?"

"Get naked and make him forget about it."

"Is co-habitation really that easy?"

"Works for me." Lily patted her bump.

"What about my house?"

"Maybe you should have joint custody of your houses. Spend Monday to Wednesday morning at yours. Wednesday night to Friday at his, and then alternate the weekends."

"I don't think anyone can keep up with that schedule."

"You'll have to make a decision somewhere. Don't keep the man hanging. He loves you and wants to live with you. You love him and want to... fill in the blanks, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, glancing over to the desk just in time to see a uniformed woman moving behind it. She smiled and said something to her colleague before they both laughed. "I think that's Kimberley."

"You be good cop," said Lily. She finished her smoothie with a satisfied slurp before pushing it into the middle of the table, her expression turning steely. "I'll be the silent, menacing one."

I didn't want to upset her, but there was nothing menacing about her floral swing top and skinny jeans, especially since she appeared to have swallowed a melon. But I figured it was safer to give her a decisive nod of agreement; and hope she stuck to the silent part as we approached the desk.

"Kimberley?" I said, smiling as she looked up. I produced my PI license and held it up for her to see. "I need to ask you a couple of questions."

"Sure. How can I help?"

"Do you remember this woman?" I asked her, producing the photo that showed Kimberley's nametag clearly, and the back of Juliet's head.

"No, I'm sorry, but I serve a lot of customers. When was this taken?"

"Ten days ago."

"Oh, yes... There was a car crash on the way to work. I thought I'd be late, but I don't remember any of the customers; sorry. Did I do something wrong?" she asked, looking worried. I glanced over my shoulder. Lily was glaring at her like she'd taken the last donut out of spite and failed to enjoy it. At least she was silent.

"No, nothing wrong at all, I said, trying to divert Kimberley's attention back to me. "We're collecting some information about this woman, and we hoped you could remember her."

"I can't give out any customer details. It's against company policy."

"Can you look closely at this photo? Do you recall anything about her at all?" I pushed another photo over, the one with the side of profile of either the real or fake Juliet. Reluctantly, Kimberley picked it up, and began squinting at it.