Chapter 22 – Scavenger Hunt
Hadley – 23 years old
W e all look down at the sheet of paper in Margo’s trembling hand.
It’s a scavenger hunt!
To find your first clue,
think of where we shared our first kiss.
We stare at the words for a long while before anyone says anything.
“I don’t get it,” Margo says defeatedly.
I rub my forehead and sigh; neither do I. Why would the triplets do this?
“Come on, Hadley, we need to go,” a small voice says. Turning towards the front door, I jump back, grabbing the Nerf Gun from the kitchen, arming myself when I see Oliver dressed in a Thing 1 outfit from The Cat in The Hat .
“Nuh-uh, buddy, what is this?” I ask, snatching the paper from Margo’s hand and thrusting it towards him.
“No time to explain, you need to think, really, really hard, and we need to go.” He waves his hands about, pointing at the door.
“Still doesn’t make sense,” Margo grumbles from the sofa.
“Ugh, I look stupid, and the quicker we can get this done, the quicker I can get my money and get out of it, okay!” Oliver says, stomping over to us.
“So so much to unpack there, Oliver—” Margo says but Oliver cuts her off.
“Hadley, where was your first kiss!”
My brain is struggling to grasp this whole thing. Maybe Luke has an idea, I look around and don’t see him, Mum, or Dad. Where did they go?
A small foot stomps on mine, and I yelp. “Ouch Oliver, what the hell was that for?”
“Where did you first kiss Luke?” What’s this got to do with Luke? Ahhhhhhhh …
“Did Luke put you up to this?” I snap, placing my hands on my hips as I look down at the cutest Thing 1 costume, I’ve ever laid my eyes on.
“I’m not allowed to say, I get five pounds less if I say. Kiss, first kiss, where?”
“The barn,” Margo pipes up with a massive smile on her face. “Let’s go.”
Desperately trying to get Oliver to give me a clue of what Luke’s up to on the way over to the barn, I move on to the bribing approach.
“Oliver, I will give you double what Luke is paying if you just tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Yeah, Luke said you would say that and said you won’t cause you got no money.”
Margo laughs from the driver’s seat.
“Damn you, Luke!”
“He said you would say that too,” Oliver says, bored with the whole situation.
“Right, that’s enough out of you.”
“We’re here!” Margo exclaims. I look out the window of the passenger side and see the barn in complete darkness, just how we left it earlier.
Turning to Thing 1 in the back seat, I point my index finger at him. “I swear to you, Oliver, if this an ambush, I will make sure your mother grounds you until you’re thirty, and don’t think I won’t be able to make that happen.”
He smirks. “Luke said you would—”
“Okay, everyone out the car,” Margo yells over Oliver, drowning out his words, but I knew where he was going with it. Luke said you would say that.
We search around the barn for a few moments after I flick on the main lights.
“Found it!” Oliver shouts, jumping up and down with the folded piece of paper in his hand.
After running over to him as he stands in the middle of the barn, I look down at the paper and slowly unfold it.
It’s a scavenger hunt!
To find your next clue,
think of where we first met.
Think of where we first met?
“I still don’t understand why we have to wear these stupid costumes.” I look down to see Oscar standing by us, wearing a Thing 2 outfit, and Oliver is nowhere to be found.
“Please tell me Oliver is, okay?” I ask Oscar, the last thing I need here is to find out Oliver’s runoff back home. It’s dark and late, and my nerves can’t take much more.
Sweetly replying, he says, “Yeah he’s with Mumma.” I rub my temples. Margo is quick to react and tells me she’s gonna check what is going on here.
Okay, where did we first meet? That’s easy—the rope swing. Guess that’s where I’m heading next.
Margo strolls back through the barn door, looking a little in shock. “Tinkerbell, you good?”
Yawning and turning her gaze to me. she nods. “Yeah, triplets are good, don’t worry. You should probably look round the barn for other clues.” Huh? What’s up with her?
“What do you know?” I quiz.
“It’s a scavenger hunt, Hads?” Her tone takes on a you’re stupid vibe as she shrugs, and, in all the chaos, stress, and excitement, I had forgotten that part.
After searching the barn for ten minutes, I am about to give up when I spot a rolled-up piece of paper hanging from some string around Buck’s neck. It looks like a necklace.
Coaxing him over with some hay, I gently remove the string and paper from him. Once the paper is unravelled, I turn to Margo,
“It’s ripped, I can’t read what it says.” I hold it out to her, showing her the crinkled paper.
Dear Tigger
“It’s a scavenger hunt,” Oscar reiterates.
“You need to find the other pieces for it to make sense I guess, to the next clue?” Margo asks while she grins at me.
The ride back over to Luke’s old house was painstaking. We had to drive slower due to all the kids trick or treating darting across the road in front of us without even checking.
When the car came to stop, I jumped out and raced to the rope swing, with Oscar and my sister close behind. Taped to the bottom of the swing was another piece of rolled-up paper.
It’s a scavenger hunt!
To find your next clue,
go back to where we had our official first date.
I curse aloud. Back to the fucking barn. If this turns out to be nothing, I’m going to kill him.
“You said a bad word. Luke owes me even more money now.” I turn back to the swing, and Ozzy is swinging back and forth on it, wearing a Thing 3 outfit.
“He got to you too, huh?” I say deadpan.
He nods before saying, “There’s no such thing as a Thing three. I looked it up, so Luke had to pay me more than my brothers.” He giggles. “And you said a bad word, so now I’m rich.” He fists pumps the air.
Whispering “Lovely” under my breath, I pick up Thing 3 and carry him back to the car.
Nerves begin to swirl in my stomach as Ozzy hands me another ripped piece of paper.
“You forgot this.” He leans forward in his seat and passes me it to me Pulling the piece of paper I got from Buck’s necklace from my pocket, I line them up, and they fit perfectly.
Dear Tigger,
All paths lead to where
I realised I wanted to
“Realised what?” I shout from the passenger seat.
“What did he realise?” I snap at Margo and Ozzy. Neither answer me.
Huffing, I turn towards the window as Margo blasts Taylor Swifts “…Ready For It?” from the car, and her and Ozzy sing along to it, ignoring my sulking.
The starry night sky has taken over, and it’s a little past eight thirty when we finally arrive back at my house. Despite my arguing to get there for the next clue, Margo took the long route and tortured me with carpool karaoke from her and Ozzy.
“I will lead the way this time,” Margo says as she gets out of the car.
While leading me towards the back gate, we walk in silence down the lane towards the barn.
“Should I be scared,” I whisper. We both know I’m not on about fear of Halloween and things jumping out at me at night, I was on about whatever Luke is up to. She stops and turns towards me, gripping both my shoulders.
“No, never again.” She wipes a single tear and turns back towards the path, walking just slightly ahead of me.
Fairy lights flicker on in the trees, showing the path ahead of us. Not scary at all. In fact, the opposite, it looks romantic, like the first time I walked this way with Luke for our movie night under the stars.
When we reach the gate that opens out at the barn, I spot the sign welcoming us to Buck’s Barn Theatre Productions. Another piece of paper dangles from the sign, and I snatch it up. It’s not another head-to-this-place clue, it’s a letter. I pull the other two out of my pocket.
On the way over here, Margo handed me Cello tape she randomly had in her car and stuck the first two pieces together. I gasp as I connect the last piece of paper.
Dear Tigger,
All paths lead to where
I realised I wanted to
Marry you.
I’ll be waiting in the barn.
With all my heart,
Luke
xx
Tears pour down my cheeks as I read it over and over again.
I startle when one of the triplet’s shouts, “Like, she’s really bad at finding clues.”
Another adds, “Yeah, she’s the worst.”
It’s followed by a chorus of “Shh” from whoever they are with. I look around, giggling, but can see no one, just a soft light coming from inside the barn.
Anticipation builds in each step I take towards Luke, my nerves high and my tears running freely. Once I get to the half-open door, I push it open, and he stands in his tux in the middle of the barn.
I bite my lip smiling at him. “What’s going on?” I ask, barely audible.
“Come here. Tigger.” Running towards him, I dive into his open arms as a sob breaks free.
“Are you okay, baby,” he whispers, pulling me back to kiss my lips.
“I think so.”
Tucking loose strands of hair behind my ears, he murmurs, “You’re perfect.”
“From the very beginning, every step we’ve taken, every choice we’ve made, has led us to this moment. We’ve travelled down different paths in life, but somehow, they all converged right here.” He looks down at the spot in the middle of the barn, and I swipe my thumb across his cheeks to remove the tears.
“All paths have led us here, and I can’t imagine walking down any other path without you by my side. I am so unconditionally in love with you.”
He drops down on one knee and pulls out a black velvet box. Opening it up to reveal a beautiful ring, he takes a deep breath as he locks eyes with mine. “I’m yours in this life, and I’m yours in the next life. Wherever you are, there will be a me loving you. So, I’m asking you, Tigger, will you continue this journey with me, let every path we walk on in life be together, and marry me?”
He turns into a blur as I wrap my body around his. “Yes, in this life, and yes in every other one after it.”