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I nodded. That I could understand.
I wondered if Rhiannon telling her family that she wanted to be a lab tech was comparable to me telling mine I played saxophone in a wig. Outrageous in its own way.
“My family’s a little weird,” she said, scooping coffee grounds.
I stood there in my sibling-inflicted zombie mask and cape. “How unusual.”
She glanced at me and laughed a little.
“My family’s weird too,” I said. “Last week we played a drinking game at our holiday party. Every time Grandma said something about misogyny, we had to take a shot.”
She huffed a laugh.
“Our Christmas party is conspiracy themed,” she said, hitting start on the coffee.
I pulled my face back. “What do you mean?”
“I mean each person, or couple, has to come with a conspiracy theory. You have to present your case and then we all vote on which one we believe.”
“Uh, that sounds fucking awesome?”
“We have to wear tin hats.”
I cracked up.
“What was your theory this year?” I asked.
She scrunched up her face, thinking. “Last year was the Avril Lavigne one. This year the party’s on New Year’s Eve. I think I’m going to go with Finland doesn’t exist.”
“What’s that about?”
“It was created by Japan and the USSR during the Cold War so Japan could fish in the Baltic Sea without oversight.”
“Don’t, like, a couple million people live there?” I said.
She smiled. “I don’t think I’m going to win. I’m going for honorable mention. It’s half the prize money. But I don’t have a better idea,” she said, crouching in front of the mini fridge rummaging for the ranch.
“How much is the prize money?” I asked, leaning over the counter.
“First place is a thousand. Honorable mention is five hundred.”
“Whoa. There were no winners at my party. All we got were hangovers.”
She laughed and set the container of ranch on the counter.
“We doing ranch cups?” I asked.
“I was going to do it,” she said, grabbing the little plastic containers.
“Nah, give it to me. Let me just go wash my hands.”
She eyed me. “You sure?”
“Yes, please let me help. I’m not used to doing nothing for this long.”
She let out a breath. “Okay… I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“It’ll make both our days a little shorter,” I said, already walking to the bathroom.
