Including memories.
Including them.
Especially them.
And that's a thought I am definitely not ready to examine.
***
The fort survives approximately twelve minutes before becoming headquarters for board games.
Jillie insists this is a natural evolution.
Neither Sadie nor I understand the logic.
That doesn't stop it from happening.
Soon we're all sitting cross-legged inside a fortress of blankets and pillows while a board game occupies the center of the floor.
The fireplace crackles nearby.
Snow taps softly against the windows.
The entire cabin feels insulated from the rest of the world.
Like we've somehow slipped outside normal life for a few hours.
Jillie cheats.
Badly.
Not subtle cheating.
Not accidental cheating.
Aggressive cheating.
The kind that would get her banned from professional competition.
"That's not how the game works."
She looks offended.
"According to who?"
"Literally everyone."
"That's just one opinion."
"It's the rule book."
She points dramatically.
"The rule book is limiting my creativity."
Sadie laughs.
I laugh.
