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“Good eye,” said Sarah. “John Carson built this place in 1864. It was a diner back then, the Golden Spoon. After that, it was a dress shop, then a dentist’s office, then a bank. Then it was a diner again, till Uncle Vince took over. He bought the place next door, too, and had them knocked together.” She gestured at the far wall, which was papered with photos. “That’s John Carson top left, outside the Golden Spoon.”
Tad leaned in to inspect the faded photo. “No kidding—John Carson. So this place came full circle. Your family built it, and now they’ve bought it back.”
“It was always ours,” said Aunt Nancy. She stretched past Tad to point out a photo. “That dress shop—see, here—that was my great-great grandma’s. Or great-great-great, maybe. I never remember. It went from her to her son, and he was the dentist. Then his brother took over, and he leased it to the bank. Will’s grandpa Hank brought back the diner, then Vince came along, and that’s about that.”
“I still miss that diner,” said Uncle Vern. “They had those fried tomatoes, with the extra-hot spice.”
“Oh, hush you.” Aunt Nancy swatted him, and he went back to his drink. Tad watched the whole exchange with frank astonishment.
“You could trace your whole family tree through this place,” he said.
“Not just this place,” said Sarah. “All of Main Street was ours till around 1920. The town’s grown since then, and new folks have moved in, but you still can’t throw a stone without hitting a Carson.”
Tad shook his head slowly, still admiring the photos. The oldest ones were yellowed, sunny smiles faded with a century’s wear. Sarah watched as Tad scanned through images from the forties and fifties, bowl cuts and poodle skirts, bright neon signs. Then came the sixties, an explosion of color. Sarah made her first appearance in the late nineties, in her little pink stroller, sucking her thumb. She nudged Tad aside before he could spot her.
“I think we’re starting,” she said. “See, there’s Uncle Vince.” She pointed at the stage, where a lectern had been set up. Uncle Vince was testing the microphone,tap-tap-tapon the grille.
“We’ve got this,” said Tad, and he grabbed Sarah’s hand. She looked up, surprised, and he gave her a wink. “The trick is, relax,” he said. “That way, the answers won’t stick on the tip of your tongue.”
Sarah’s heart swelled at that—so, he thought she had answers? Well, he was right about that.
“Hey, Sarah!” Will was waving from his seat at the bar. When he saw she was looking, he cocked double fingerguns in her direction. Suzanna slapped them down and mouthed an “I’m sorry.” Sarah just laughed. She had this sewn up.
Uncle Vince tapped his mic again, and the contest kicked off. Taison punked out early, answering “Ebenezer” for “What was Scrooge’s last name?”
“That was a trick question,” said Uncle Vince. “His first name was Ebenezer. His last name was…”
“Scrooge,” came the answer, everyone shouting it at once. Taison rolled his eyes and tossed back his drink. Sarah winced, wondering if he’d lost on purpose. It hadn’t been easy for him since last year’s Games, when he’d found himself dumped days before his wedding. Frankly, she was surprised he’d shown up at all. Maybe he’d figured his presence would spark less gossip than his absence.
Aunt Nancy and Uncle Albert didn’t answer a single question, and eventually got busted trying to cheat off Google. Mom and Dad started out hot, with a streak of fast answers that set them firmly in the lead. Then they fell to bickering over whether the Krampus was Christmas or Hallowe’en, and Will and Suzanna overtook them, Tad and Sarah close behind.
“They’ve just got one point on us,” said Tad. “I blame Suzanna. She’s too quick on that bell.”
“We could take a chance and just ding, and assume one of us’ll get it.”
“But if we don’t, we’ll be knocked out likethat.”
“I guess what it comes down to is, do you trust me?” Sarah grinned to hide her nerves. “Do I know my Christmas, or am I full of sch…nitzel?”
“Okay, next question.” Uncle Vince raised his voice. “Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. Please put a penny in the old man’s hat. If you haven’t got a penny…this coin will do.”
Tad’s hand shot out like lightning, and he smacked the bell. Sarah waited for him to answer, but he nudged her instead.
“This one’s all you. I have no idea.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to put his faith in her. She wasn’t used toanyonelooking to her for answers. But shedidknow this one, and her heart swelled with pride.
“It’s a ha’penny,” she said. “If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do. If you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless you.” She glanced at Will, triumphant, and saw him covering his face.
“That’s us tied,” said Tad. “One more and we’re winning, so—”
“Now, this one’s a tricky one.” Uncle Vince checked his cards. “We’re down to just two teams: first, last year’s champions, Will and Suzanna. Then, tied for the prize, we have this year’s up-and-comers, Sarah and Tad.”
Someone whooped—Cassie, maybe—and Sarah gulped her drink. She needed to win this, to show Tad she could. To show Will, to show everyone she’d earned her seat at the grownups’ table. She willed Vince to get on with it, to spit out the question.
“Okay, for all the pie, can anyone name all Santa’s original reindeer?”
Sarah went for her bell, but Suzanna beat her to it. Will stood up, smirking, and adjusted his belt.
