Page 130 of The Plus One Pact

"In some ways," Cynthia says. "But I'm nervous." She looks around the space, noting the continued absence of her fiancé and my mother. "It's hard to live up to the image of the late Carlos Flores as spouse of the century."

Cynthia feels that too?

I've never considered it in those terms. Mom loves Cynthia, has always loved Cynthia and Daniel together, loved their story.

But Dad is too much for anyone to live up to.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" I ask.

"No, thanks." Cynthia smiles. "I have to let go. Stop worrying what other people think of me." She gives me a kiss on the cheek. "But thanks, Rome. It's good to have you back, you know?"

"I do."

Our team-building game for the day is an escape room. After breakfast, we pile into two cars, and take the 405 to a place in a strip mall.

In quite the surprising move, Mom chooses the horror-based room. A mad professor locks Daniel and I into the "professor's laboratory" as Cynthia, Ivy, and Mom move into the library.

We've each got our own set of clues to find.

They need to get the key to unlock us.

We need to find the lever that leads us down the stairs, to the next phase of the riddle.

Daniel slips into older brother mode, easily, ordering me to examine the bookshelf while he studies a stack of fake equipment in the corner.

I almost tell him to fuck off as a reflex. When I don't, I find a deeper instinct. The desire to listen to my older brother. Trust him to lead me. Guide me. Love me.

It's not that I don't believe he loves me as a brother.

But I don't think he likes me. Accepts me. Thinks I'm capable of anything.

I study the books in the corner. Three are real. Two are fake. I find a strip of paper in each. Put them together to find a riddle.

It's an old one. Easy. A magic word.

Lamp.

I show them to Daniel.

He sees it right away.

The lamp in the corner. But it's locked in a birdcage. For some reason.

Weird choice.

I read the clue again. Something about a typewriter. I motion to the stack of stuff in the corner.

Daniel peaks under the typewriter and finds it there. An ornate key.

Sure enough, it turns the lock.

And when we open the cage, and turn the light, a sound plays through the room. That's it. We've solved this phase of the puzzle.

The game master announcers our success and moves to help the ladies in their share of the quest.

"You know, I didn't think you had it in you," Daniel says. "But you do."

Huh?