Chapter 9
Willa never thought she’d describe Bingo as a bloodbath.
But sitting in the cafeteria of Ida’s church with a few dozen other people—mostly seniors—Willa was both amused and terrified. Apparently, the church had been hosting Bingo nights every Friday during the summertime for years now. It was a popular weekend activity among older locals, and with a suggested participation fee of $10, it served as a decent fundraiser for the church. Local businesses donated the prizes people won, but people mostly cared about the bragging rights.
Clearly, because Ida’s best friend, Barb—a petite Black woman with short, curly hair—was currently sticking her tongue out at the rest of the table after having won the first round. She got a $5 gift card to a local coffee shop, and as the moderator brought it up to her, she grabbed it from him and started shaking her hips in a victory dance.
“Sit down, old lady!” Ida shouted.
“I’m younger than you!” Barb shouted back.
“So listen to your elders, then!”
“Oh, don’t get your panties in a wad because you lost!”
Ida harrumphed and crossed her arms.
The rest of the older women at the table laughed at their exchange as the moderator came over the speaker and announced the start of the second round.
This time, you could win one of two ways: By getting an X or getting a row of five. The two winners would get a pie from the pastry shop. As Barb sat back in her chair, Ida pointedly ignored her and put her glasses on in solemnity.
“They do know this is mostly a game of chance, right?” Willa asked Shawn quietly out of the side of her mouth.
He looked up in alarm, then glanced around the table before looking back at Willa.
“Whatever you do, do not say that to them, Greene,” he said. “Grams gave me the silent treatment for two days last time I insulted the very strategic and intellectually complex game of Bingo.”
“You’re kidding,” Willa giggled.
“I wish I were,” Shawn said, then leaned in to whisper in her ear. “They take their Bingo very seriously, in case you haven’t picked up on that. And whatever you do, don’t mention Nancy Siders.”
She tried not to shiver at the way it felt for his hot breath to cascade over her ear.
“Who’s Nancy Siders?” Willa asked breathlessly.
Ida gasped, and Shawn dragged a hand across his face.
“We don’t say that name around here,” Ida said, looking disgruntled. “It’s bad luck.”
Willa raised her eyebrows and looked at Shawn with a curious glance. His eyes widened and he gave a slight shake of his head, causing Willa to chuckle.
“It’s not a laughing matter, young lady,” Barb chimed in. “That woman is in cahoots with the devil.”
The moderator called out the first letter and number combo, and the two women went silent and focused on their Bingo cards, leaving Willa wondering what she’d just witnessed. She turned to look at Shawn, who was checking his card to see if he could put a chip down, and had an adorable look of concentration on his face.
“So… who is She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?” Willa whispered.
He looked up at her with a grin, his long hair falling into his face.
“The reigning champ of Bingo,” he whispered back. “Bit of a sore winner, too. That’s why they hate her.”
“Ahh. So, what? She made a deal with the devil that she’d win small town Bingo every Friday? Who even keeps track of how many times someone wins?”
“The regulars do. They all pool in $50 each and whoever has the most all-time wins at the end of the summer gets the pot.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
He chortled.
“How did I never know this existed? Did my grandmother do this?” Willa asked.
“I didn’t know Betty very well,” Shawn responded softly. “I did see her here a few times, though. She wasn’t as intense as Grams.”
“Thank God for that. I don’t know if the world needs anymore of them.”
He grinned at her, and she realized this was the most pleasant interaction she’d had with him.
Okay, so she couldn’t ignore the fact that he was mouth-wateringly hot, but maybe she could still be friends with him. It’d be nice to have a friend her age. She and Layla chatted a few times when she was at the hotel, but she seemed a little timid. Maybe with Shawn, she could actually start to put down roots here.
“So are you two dating or what?” Barb broke the silence.
Shawn groaned, his cheeks reddening as he dragged a hand over his face.
“No, we’re not dating,” Willa said. “Just because two people are roughly the same age doesn’t mean they’re dating.”
“That’s not why I asked,” Barb responded. “I asked because this round just wrapped up and neither of you have put a single chip on your card because you’ve been whispering in each other’s ears.”
“We haven’t been—” Willa cut herself off, rolling her eyes. “Look, we’re not dating. ‘Kay?”
“Well, that’s a shame,” Shirley, another woman at the table, cut in. “You make such a pretty pair.”
“But if you’re available, Willa, then I can set you up with my grandson,” one of the other ladies cut in. Willa was pretty sure her name was Mary. “He’s a doctor.”
Mary waggled her eyebrows.
“Um, thanks, but I’m taking a break from dating for a while,” Willa said. “Bad breakup.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” Shirley chimed in. “Well, what about you, Shawn? My granddaughter is going to be in town next weekend. Maybe you can take her out on the boat.”
Willa’s insides clenched at the thought of Shawn taking a girl out who wasn’t her. Which was silly, she reminded herself. Stupid. Idiotic, even. They weren’t dating. They were barely even friends. And she wasn’t going to date him, anyway. She couldn’t—not without breaking her promise to herself that she’d stay single for a while. She noticed her fists were clenched at her sides and tried to relax them, avoiding looking at Shawn with everything she had.
He cleared his throat.
“Thanks, Miss Shirley,” he said, ever the Southern gentleman. “But I’m going to have to take a rain check this time around. I’m booked solid next weekend.”
Shirley looked disappointed but didn’t press the issue.
A few more rounds of Bingo passed, and Willa and Shawn didn’t talk as much after that. Willa felt like she might explode from the tension, but just focused on trying to get through the night so she could go home and not be under the scrutiny of half a dozen older women.
“Alright, this is the last round for the night,” the moderator came over the speaker to say. “This time, there’s only one winner. The catch? You have to be the first to have a blackout.“
A hush of anticipation came over the crowd.
“The winner of this round will get our most coveted prize: a free, chartered fishing trip with our very own Shawn Gray! You can bring up to five people with you, and he’ll take you on a two-hour boat ride on the Bay to fish in the best spots.”
Excited chatter buzzed throughout the cafeteria and Willa looked up at Shawn quizzically. He caught her eyes for a moment and then looked away. God, was he… bashful? Why was that the most adorable thing that had ever happened in the history of men? And why was she grinning like an idiot?
“Alright, let’s get started. B-45!”
“Dang it, don’t have that one,” Barb said.
“Me either,” Ida responded, grinding her teeth.
“Grams, he’s your grandson,” Willa said, placing a chip on her card.
“A win is a win, missy. And I wouldn’t mind a little extra time with my grandson.”
Willa bit her lip as the announcer read out five more letter and number combos, all of which Willa had on her card.
“Watch out, folks, the newbie might win this one,” Shirley said teasingly.
“We’ve still got a long way to go,” Willa responded.
But the moderator kept calling out spaces she had on her card.
N-6.
G-57.
G-2.
I-33.
B-1.
O-12.
On and on it went, and Shawn grinned at her as she filled in the second to last piece on her board.
Suddenly, Willa was nervous. The stakes weren’t high. Logically, she knew that. She didn’t care much about a chartered fishing trip with Shawn. She had her own boat. Never mind that it’d be romantic as hell to watch his steady arms steer the boat. Maybe he’d help her reel in fish, coming in behind her and holding the rod for her while she reeled. Maybe she’d bring along a six pack of beer and some sandwiches for a picnic.
She shook her head. What was she thinking? She didn’t care about winning.
“B-34.”
Willa released a sigh as she realized that wasn’t the one she needed. Frantically, she looked around the cafeteria to see if that had been the winning call for someone else. When silence followed for a few moments, she breathed easily for a second. Shawn looked at her with a lifted brow, as if he was saying, You can pretend all you want, but I know you’re dying to win.
She bit her lip.
“O-7.”
Willa sighed in relief as she put her final chip down.
“We have a winner over here, Amos!” Ida shouted at the moderator, fluttering her eyes in his direction.
Did Grams have a crush? Willa’s eyes darted to Shawn, who was watching Ida ogle Amos with bemusement. Willa bit back a grin as Amos made his way to their table and reviewed her card to confirm she won.
“Let’s all give a round of applause to this evening’s big winner!” Amos said.
The cafeteria began clapping, and even Barb and Ida looked pleased that she’d won, even though she was sure they’d be sore losers. Amos put an envelope on the table in front of her. She assumed it was her certificate for the boat ride with Shawn. She dared a glance over to him, and he was grinning at her, clapping along with the rest of them.