Truth

thought about Harry; they hadn’t had a minute alone either. Actually, since San Diego, a week and a half ago, they’d only had one opportunity to utilize his procurement of resources from that drugstore.
    Multitasking, Claire read each headline on her newsfeed. However, her thoughts were of her sister and brother-in-law. They’d asked to borrow her car and take a day trip into San Francisco. She was thankful for them to get some time to themselves.
    The face-to-face reunion between the three of them washed away all doubt and hard feelings from their past. When Emily walked through the archway at San Francisco International Airport last Saturday and their matching green eyes met, they melted in a sobbing embrace. It was minutes before John was able to separate the two of them, before he got his own chance to hug Claire.
    Being the ever accommodating hostess, Amber offered the Vandersols the use of her third bedroom. It meant re-filing all of Claire’s research, but it was worth it. For five days Claire’s sister and brother-in-law would be only a door away.
    It also thrilled Claire that Emily and John got along so well with Amber and Harry. The ease of conversation and similar interests created a comfortable atmosphere, very dissimilar to the one while she’d been married to Tony.
    After a few days, Amber began to talk business with John. The two shared similar philosophies and work ethics. What started as discussion over a few interesting Rawlings Industries dealings soon turned to SiJo Gaming strategies. While the two talked shop, Claire and Emily enjoyed one another’s company. The sharing and camaraderie was wonderful.
    Nevertheless, Claire couldn’t understand why she continued to fight her aching head. She was being more open and honest with her family than she’d been in years, yet she had the strange feeling of teetering on the edge of a looming argument. Her emotions felt stretched. Truthfully, she had no idea what the impending argument entailed or why it was stressing her out.
    Looking up from her iPad, Claire scanned the cafe. People moved about in every direction within the cafe and outside on the street. Sitting by the window, she watched people pass the glass. Occasionally she would have the sensation of being watched. It was both annoying and familiar. In a moment of self-reflection, Claire asked, when in the past three years haven’t I been watched? Or did it date back further than that ?
    Later tonight Claire, Emily, John, Harry, and Amber had reservations at a local restaurant. They were going to meet Amber’s new friend . She met him a few weeks ago, at an out of town conference. He works for Google. Amber claimed it wasn’t serious, but the gleam in her eyes as she mentions Keaton made Claire smile.
    It also made the idea of telling Amber about her and Harry easier. Claire reasoned if Amber were also involved with someone, she’d take the news much better. Claire assumed Amber and her family had suspicions. But no one asked, and Claire and Harry hadn’t volunteered. For the most part, the two of them kept their new familiarity private.
    Claire looked up again and saw Phil Roach standing in line behind a pretty blonde woman. Her nervousness quelled. That nagging feeling of being watched was easier to deal with when you know the voyeur, or as Claire liked to refer to Phil, her bodyguard.
    She wondered how he handled losing her at the airport back in San Diego. Smiling to herself, Claire realized she sometimes too thought of parts of her life as a game. And unquestionably, she enjoyed controlling the metaphorical chess board.
    Refocusing her attention to the electronic tablet, she read a headline on MSNBC about Megatone, a subsidiary of Sony. She read about concerned investors. There was a recent selling frenzy of stock resulting in a plummet of share prices. Just since this morning they’d fallen from $77.12 to $48.13. Claire glanced at her watch. It was almost one-thirty, four-thirty on the East coast. The stock market would close soon. It didn’t sound good for Megatone.
    The Associated Press article discussed personal wrong doing on the part of the CEO. Concerned shareholders questioned ethics in the boardroom. The underlying insinuation was if an individual in a place of power made poor personal choices, investors rightfully or wrongly transferred that to business choices. Megatone and its board of directors maintained the company’s position of strong integrity and principal.