“Excellent.And while I’m at it, I’ll make the rest of the teams.”
“Wine?”Gabrielle asked me.I hadn’t even noticed her get up, leave for the kitchen, or return.She held a stemless wineglass and bottle.
“Just a half-glass,” I said with a nod.
She poured me a half-glass of the light red and handed it to me.“That’s our 2021 Merlot.”
I took a sip and let it sit on my tongue for a moment.“Delicious.”
She smiled, put the bottle in the middle of the coffee table, then sat next to Maverick on the couch.
“Okay, next team.Maverick, Danica, Tom, Sam, and Laurel.”
“That leaves team ‘Awesome Sauce,’ who will win all the things,” Jagger cut in, flexing his biceps.“Me, Marco the Great, Raina, Gabs, and Damon.”
Everyone seemed satisfied with their team.
I leaned toward Mabel.“You okay, kiddo?”
Her nod wasn’t convincing.“It’s not even.”
“I mean, technically, the world isn’t even.I believe there are more women in the world than men.So …”
She shot me a look.
“I appreciate you being flexible.I think us getting out of the house and spending time with people is good for us.Takes our mind off—”
“Kyla?”
I pursed my lips together.It was better than my gut reaction to her name, which was to gag.Finally, I nodded.“You’re safe.We’re safe.I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.Let’s enjoy our pizza and play some games.”
They cleared off the coffee table and opened the board game.We were the Green Team.
I’d never playedCraniumbefore, but it was a lot of fun.Even Mabel seemed to relax a bit and started guessing some of the questions.She opted not to sculpt the clay or hum a song.But she accepted the pencil and paper and sketched out something with her eyes closed.None of us got it before the timer though.I was worried that she would get frustrated at her inability to draw something as simple as a toaster, but when she opened her eyes, she snorted and smiled at how ridiculous it looked.
It was our turn again.We landed on green and I pulled a “Star Performer” card.A “Sideshow”card to be specific, which was where you had to manipulate the arms and legs of another member of your team, rather than do the charades yourself.
The card said: milking a cow.
“It’s a Sideshow, so I need an assistant,” I said, expecting Mabel to step up.
She shook her head at me.
I didn’t know Austin or Honor well enough …
Naomi must have picked up on my uncertainty and leaped to her feet.“I’ll be your puppet.”
My belly did a flip as I stood up.For good measure, I finished my wine.Liquid courage, and all that.
“Okay … uh …” I stepped behind her.
“What’s the hint?”Mabel asked.
“Action,” I said.
Honor moaned.“That’s impossible.Everything is an action.”
“I think ‘thing’ is harder,” Mabel argued.
