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To my utter shock, Silas’ lips twitch into a grin. “I like this chick,” he chuckles, then tosses a gummy bear at Maggie’s shoulder. “You should totally tell your mom to hire her.” His eyes aren’t nearly as intimidating when he smiles.
“Don’t mind Silas.” Maggie shakes her head at me in despair, like she and I are friends. “He’s just being a soggy Pop-Tart.”
A laugh bubbles up in my throat at her random insult, but I swallow it down. I can’t remember the last time a stranger made me laugh.
“Who’s a soggy Pop-Tart?” A middle-aged woman appears through the multi-colored plastic bead curtain covering a doorway that leads to a room behind the counter. She’s got frizzy shoulder-length hair that looks awesome against her mocha-colored skin, and she’s wiping her hands on a dish towel with a Snakes and Ladders board emblazoned on the front.
“Silas.” Maggie answers. “He’s being an ass.” Then she flashes me a conspiratorial grin. “I think he might be compensating for something. Probably his tiny—”
“Maggie… Please.” The woman sighs, rolling her eyes. She tosses the dish towel onto the counter, her eyes landing on me. “Hi there. Sorry about this band of miscreants. Have you already been looked after, or are you looking for a table?”
“Her name’s Caroline, Mom,” Maggie answers before I can, and I am pathetically thrilled that she remembers my name. “She’s here about the job.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” The woman’s smile widens. It’s a really beautiful smile, and it looks totally at home on her face. “Are you a board gamer?”
I nod. “Um, yeah. I love board games.”
God, I think my stressed-out intonation is making me sound like a robot. Or like an alien who just landed on Earth and is trying to emulate the unique human socialization traits they’ve been studying for years from a distance.
She arches an eyebrow. “Alright, off the top of your head: what are your top three favorite worker placement games?”
“I, uh… Oh, um…” I stutter, caught off guard. But then I manage to rattle off my answer. “Euphoria, Charterstone, and uh… probably Everdell?”
“Euphoria?” She looks pleasantly surprised. “My favorite!”
“No kidding,” Maggie says, arching an eyebrow at me. “She bribes us with overtime pay sometimes just so we’ll play Euphoria with her after hours.”
I give her a tentative smile. “Oh. Well, I get it. Euphoria’s awesome. It was, uh, I think it was one of the first worker placement games I learned.”
“Caroline, I love you already!” Maggie’s mother beams. She offers me her hand. “I’m Credence. It’s great to meet you… A fellow Euphoria-lover! You’re hired.”
I shake her hand. “Oh, uh thanks.” And then, “Um, wait—did you just say—”
“Yup, the job is yours.” There’s that smile again. “You seem to know your board games and you’ve obviously got impeccable taste. Are you able to start this weekend?”
My jaw drops, as if it’s only capable of working in conjunction with the dorkiest side of my brain and not the more normal, composed sliver that I wish held a little more sway over my physical reactions.
“Uh…”
“Welcome to the team.” The tall hipster guy grins. “I’m Hayden, by the way.”
I bump his outstretched fist with mine, and my mind goes totally blank. There is no way getting a job could be that easy. It’s just… I mean, there is just no way.
Credence’s smile falters a little, probably because my lack of reaction is beginning to verge on creepy. I need to get it together.
I take a deep breath. Swallow… and, finally, smile. “Wow… Thank you. That’s great.” And then, “I can definitely start this weekend.”
Credence’s smile settles back into place. “Wonderful!” She glances at the Monopoly clock on the back wall. “I’m afraid I have to run. I’ll let Maggie and Hayden fill you in on everything. And I’ll see you Saturday at ten?”
“Oh, um, Sure. Yeah. Ten works for me… Thank you. For offering me the job.”
“I think you’ll like it here,” she says, then turns to Silas, who’s been leaning against the counter this whole time, completely zoned out of our conversation and absorbed instead with something on his phone.
“Are you coming home with me?” Credence asks him. “Or are you waiting to meet up with Jackie?”
“Oh,” I say quietly to Maggie. “He’s your brother?”
And wow: look at me asking questions and acting like a normal social human being.
