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“Gem, nugget, same thing.”
“Like a gold nugget and not a chicken nugget?”
“Yeah. Wait did you think I called you nugget like the food?” My stomach rumbles.
“Like a chicken, afraid to jump off the rope swing that firstsummer when we moved here. The tide was low that day. I was afraid I’d hit the sand.”
I called her Nugget because her hair was so golden in the sun. Why can’t I say that now when I just recited what may as well have been a sonnet? Alright, I don’t know if that qualified as a sonnet because I was not paying attention in English Lit. Brando would know.
No, Brando can’t know.
“You okay?” Harley asks.
Giving my head a little shake, I say, “Yeah. Fine. Why?”
“You looked stricken for a second like you realized you forgot to pay a bill or bring applesauce for ABC day.”
Not sure what that means, but something inside ricochets. I can’t be nervous, can I? “I don’t worry about those kinds of things,” I say in my most casual voice.
“Must be nice,” Harley murmurs.
It never occurred to me to consider her financial situation is likely the opposite of mine.
“We should probably get you something to eat. Maybe your blood sugar is low.” She shifts to get to her feet.
Grabbing her arm, I draw her back. My pulse kicks. “What about the game rules? And I wasn’t done telling you what I’m going to tell Riptide management. Not only will I tell them all that lovely-dovey stuff, but I’ll confess what I should’ve told the Websters from the beginning, and if this means I sacrifice my career, so be it.”
“And if you add that last part, they’ll realize they can’t blackmail you because now it’s public. That’s kind of genius. Who’s the evil, manipulative, and mastermind now?”
This time it’s my turn to laugh.
“Okay, so back to the rules. Duration of play?” Harley asks.
“How long do you have for our game?”
“No current outstanding commitments, other than helping out at the Plundering Pelican, but my sisters and their families will be here all summer too, so I think we can get thingsfigured out in time for snowbird season. As for my job and life at the Gastrodome, I guess they get to keep the pom poms I’d use when we’d sing happy birthday to customers.”
“Then where do you go? Where are you calling home these days?”
“Back in Alabama.”
I frown. “Why? You hated it there.”
“It’s not so bad.”
“Let me rephrase that. Why? You loved it here?”
“If you didn’t notice, there aren’t a lot of job opportunities.” She looks around dismally.
“But you said you’re waitressing now. I’m literally staring at a restaurant, er, an ice cream shop.” I point to the Sip & Scoop. “And the Plundering Pelican.”
“They’re both closed. Any other rules?” she says as if wanting to change the subject.
“Let’s see. We have the number of players, the objective, duration...”
“How to play?”
“We’ll probably have to figure that out as we go. But if there are any events, you could be my guest. We’ll probably need to be seen in public a bit to make it believable. That kind of thing.”
