Page 85 of Pining for You

“But I’m sorry, Krista, Eve is correct that your answer is not correct.”

Cash, Diya, Audra, and Izaac cheer. But I’m silent, barely breathing.

“And once again, I just want to say that the answers do not need to be in the form of a question,” DeSantos adds before turning to us. “This goes to you now, Tannenbaums. If you answer correctly, the fruitcake crown is yours…”

Now Eve looks to me. It’s clear despite her reach for the buzzer that she still can’t remember. But I do. The near loss has shaken me out of my freeze and now I can’t believe I almost forgot. I know this answer like the back of my hand, like Gonzo knows the story he’s narrating. This is it—my redemption for choking earlier. Like some perfect movie script ending to this scene, I’m about to win this for us. For Eve.

But just as I’m about to answer, I look out into the crowd and the spotlight shifts just enough that I can make out a small, Victorian-looking figure in the distance. Hugo is standing tall. He’s shaking his head and waving his arms wildly. For a second I almost think he’s going to be the one to shout it out himself. I hesitate.

“Ticktock, Tannenbaums… Do you have the answer?” DeSantos asks. “Otherwise, we will have to move on to a new question.”

There’s no time to overthink it. “I’d like to phone a friend,” I blurt out.

“Wait, what?” Diya whispers.

“Are you saying you don’t know the answer?” Cash hisses.

I can feel Eve’s eyes on me, puzzled.

“Well, all right, then. Who here in the audience do you want to poll?” DeSantos asks.

I look right at Carlos, who’s looking back and nodding.

But what I say is, “Hugo.”

We wait with bated breath as Carlos turns to Hugo. He’s no longer waving his arms frantically; in fact, he’s standing as stiff as an icicle.

I feel Eve freeze too, but then Hugo slowly leans over, cups a hand around Carlos’s ear, and even though none of us can hear him, it’s clear her brother is… speaking, because a grin explodes across Carlos’s face. Eve’s breath hitches as Carlos listens, then he cups his own hands around his mouth so he can project a response to the stage.

“The correct answer is one more sleep!” Carlos calls.

The bar is silent.

DeSantos looks at their note card as if they’ve somehow forgotten the answer in the last twenty seconds.

Krista has a hand on her forehead. Veronica is nervously sucking Diet Coke through a straw. The third girl—I forgot her name—might actually be filing her nails?

Hugo is leaning nervously over Carlos’s shoulder.

“That is…,” DeSantos begins.

No one at our table dares to move until they continue with:

“One thousand percent CORRECT!”

An eruption of applause, whistles, and stomps ensues. Popcorn is flying. Audra is high-fiving Diya. Cash and Izaac are kissing. And in an instant, before I can even realize what’s happening, Eve turns and hugs me. Really hugs me. In a way that feels joyful and light and unburdened and about something more than just a fruitcake crown.

And then I’m hugging her back, because obviously, and she smells like cinnamon and vanilla and there’s confetti and definitely sparkles and oh my god I want to put my face on her face so bad. But I don’t even have to work hard to remain chill, because although it’s pure chaos all around us, it feels like we’re the only ones in the room. And somehow, despite that we’ve never done this before, and I’ve never been this close to someone I so badly want to kiss, it’s totally, completely… natural.

My whole body thrums with the energy of the crowd, and also the yearning for everyone around us to disappear, if only for a moment.

“Hugo!” she says finally, and it’s a shout, but it’s also a whisper—only to me. “You got him to speak! I can’t believe it!”

“I didn’t do anything!” I reply with the same amplified intimacy. “He already had the answer! I just left some space so we could hear him.”

“Thank you,” she says. “Thank you… so much.” She pulls back a little now and looks out into the crowd. She shields her eyes from the spotlights. “Where is he? Did you see where he went?”

I crane my neck.