“Uncle Cain, I thought you were going on a date.” Abby eyed me suspiciously as I walked into the kitchen for another cup of coffee. “You’re not dressed for a date!”
“We’re doing something fun today.” I smiled at her and nodded.
“Fun?” Bridget looked up at me as I walked into the living room and sat down.
“Yeah, I’m taking her to that new place downtown—the Escape Room.” I nodded.
“Interesting.” Bridget raised her eyebrows. “I guess it could be fun…”
“I think it will be.” I shrugged. “If she hates it, then we’ll find something else to do. Speaking of—it’s time for me to hit the road.”
“Okay, don’t stay out too late.” Bridget chuckled and nodded.
I probably would if it was an option at this point…
I picked up Chloe and after we exchanged a kiss, she told me about the email she got with a request for an interview. The excitement was practically resonating from her, and it definitely sounded like the kind of job she wanted. An office job would have bored me to tears, but she made it sound more exciting than fighting fires. I was just happy to see her smile—to watch the excitement on her face—to have a chance to spend time with her.
“Sorry, I’m just kind of rambling here.” She took a breath and smiled. “Where are you taking me today?”
“Have you ever done one of those Escape Rooms?” I looked over at her.
“Oh, that new place downtown? I’ve heard about it…” She nodded. “Some people at school said they tried it, but they ended up getting stuck for hours.”
“Not a bad thing.” I winked at her. “Especially if I’m with you.”
We pulled up outside the Escape Room and I bought two tickets. After a brief overview of the puzzles we would encounter, the guide led us into the first room and locked the door. Based on what we had been told, there were several rooms that got a little more difficult as they were solved. We could keep going until we got stuck, or we could finish one and save the others for another day. The first one was supposed to be fairly simple, and if we got stuck there, we definitely wouldn’t enjoy any of the rooms that were more complex.
“Interesting…” Chloe looked around the room. “It looks like a walk-in closet.”
“Yeah.” I nodded and walked over to the lock on the door. “It needs a three digit code.”
“Too bad they have a camera in here.” Chloe walked up and put her hands on my waist. “We’re locked in a room—alone.”
“I don’t care if they see this.” I pulled her close and crushed her lips beneath mine.
I kissed Chloe until we were both gasping for air and as soon as we were able to pull oxygen into our lungs, I kissed her again. We finally got our composure long enough to start looking around for clues. It was definitely beginner level, because we found the first clue within a couple of minutes. It was attached to the bottom of one of the shoes in the walk-in closet—the number six. We started pulling down clothes after that, checking the fabric, and going through everything that could lead us to the next number, or a clue.
“Oh look.” Chloe slid a dress to the side. “There’s a safe back here.”
“Interesting…” I walked over and tilted my head. “So, maybe it’s a puzzle within a puzzle?”
“Like puzzleInception?” Chloe giggled.
“Maybe.” I nodded. “If I remember correctly, this dial lock usually needs three digits, so maybe the number on the bottom of that shoe is for the safe instead of the door.”
“Possibly.” She walked to another line of shoes and started flipping them over. “I wish I had a walk-in closet this nice. My clothes would barely fill half of it.”
“Maybe you will now that you’ve got this awesome new job lined up.” I chuckled and pulled a dress off a hanger.
“Yeah, hopefully I don’t screw up the interview.” She exhaled sharply. “Wait—I found something?”
“What is it?” I tossed the dress down and walked over to her.
“This shoe doesn’t have a match.” She pointed at a single shoe in the middle of several pairs. “That has to mean something, right?”
“Yeah. Probably so.” I nodded. “Maybe that’s another number? One?”
“Or…” She picked it up. “All of the shoes here are the same size except this shoe—it’s a size six.”
