Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
A fter getting the potato salad made and having a long call with Liliana and a quick text with Albie, Essie spent the day doing laundry.
It wasn’t her favorite thing to do but with Frank out of the house it was a good opportunity to change the sheets and get them washed.
It was the kind of thing that she despised doing but loved having done.
It was also a good distraction that was almost helping her stay off of TikTok. She’d only visited Sophie’s channel three times so far, but she was considering a fourth.
Frank had to have talked with her by now.
But there was no text from him, no call. Nothing to let her know how things had gone. Could that mean they were still talking? It must. No other answer made sense. He hadn’t reached out to her because he had nothing to tell her yet.
She had no option but to wait. She took her new book outside to read. Fortunately, it held her attention. Nearly an hour and several chapters later, her phone finally vibrated with an incoming text message.
She snatched it up. Frank.
No surprise, but Sophie is furious. When she’s not crying, that is. I can’t leave until this is worked out. I’m sorry, but I have to spend the night.
It’s okay , Essie sent back. We both thought that might happen.
I hate being away from you.
She put her hand to her heart before answering. I hate being away from you, too, but this needs to be dealt with. Praying for you.
Thank you. I love you. See you tomorrow afternoon, sweetheart.
Love you too.
That was that. Frank was staying overnight. That’s why he’d packed a bag. She’d suspected that was how things would go. Sophie was a complicated situation.
Essie set her phone aside, said a prayer for her husband and for her stepdaughter, then contemplated how she was going to spend the rest of the evening.
Being alone wasn’t her favorite thing. She wasn’t one of those women who craved that kind of time. She liked being with her husband, being with family, or being with friends. Unfortunately, none of those were nearby.
Except that wasn’t exactly true anymore, was it?
She had new friends. The Queen Bees. Did she dare call one of them? They were probably all busy.
She could always send a text to the group chat. Sort of hint that she was on her own and looking for someone to hang out with. Then they could all just chime in with what they were doing and that would be that.
She’d have tried. Then she could put a movie on or go back to her book. She pulled up the Colony’s app, looked at the Events Calendar, and made her plan.
The text came next. Hi girls! Essie here. Anyone up for trivia night at the Community Hall? Frank’s out of town and I was thinking it might be a fun team event.
Cece answered first. Believe it or not, I’m bowling, otherwise I’d love to.
Paige was next. I’m out to dinner. Sorry!
Maude chimed in after her. I can make it. What time?
Essie smiled. Starts in 30 mins. North Hall. She noticed another detail underneath the time and made a face. And we need three people to make a team!!
Then Blaise’s response popped up . I can be there. Might be late as I just got back from a beach walk, but I’ll hustle.
Yay! See you both there! Essie’s smile turned into a grin. She hurried to get ready herself, more than pleased she’d made the effort to reach out. This would be fun and a great way to get to know these women better.
When she arrived at the community center, a quick look around told her she was the first of them to get there.
She registered the team and since she couldn’t think of anything else, went with the team name of Queen Bees.
Why not, she figured. It was what they’d started calling themselves since Paige had given the book club that name.
Essie had never been very popular in school because she’d been so focused on academics, so it felt pretty special to be part of the cool girls club now. Although it was completely possible that she was the only one who thought they were cool.
A lot of people might think a book club was boring. Those people hadn’t met the women in this one.
“Essie!”
She turned and saw Maude waving at her. Essie waved back, then saw Blaise coming in a few people behind her the younger woman.
Maude gave Essie a hug. “This should be fun, huh?”
“Yes!”
“Hi, ladies,” Blaise called as she drew closer. She hugged Maude, then Essie. “Testing our brains tonight, I see. I hope I can help. I don’t know how good I’m going to be at trivia.”
Essie shrugged. “Me either, but I’m sure we won’t be the worst.”
“Quite a crowd.” Maude was looking around. “You guys want to find a table while I get drinks? What do you all want?”
“I’ll have a glass of white wine,” Blaise said.
“Club soda with lemon,” Essie answered.
“Be right back. I’ll find you, don’t worry.” Maude went off to get drinks, leaving Blaise and Essie to find a table.
They got a spot near the wall, giving them a good view of everyone else. The tables were set up for four people, so they left the chair with its back to the stage empty.
Essie slung her purse straps over the back of one chair and had a look around. “Hey, there’s a snack table. I’ll go grab us a basket.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for Maude, in case she can’t find us,” Blaise said.
Essie worked her way through the gathering crowd and stood in line. Once she got to the front, she grabbed a complimentary basket of popcorn and another one of pretzels.
Maude was at the table with drinks when Essie returned. She set the baskets down and saw that Blaise was now holding a sheet of numbered paper and a pencil.
Blaise was putting their team name on the top. “I got our scoresheet. Queen Bees, right?”
“Right,” Essie answered as she took her seat.
The lights dimmed and a man stepped onto the stage carrying a microphone.
He was in black pants, black bowtie, and a purple brocade jacket.
“Welcome to Trivia Night at the North Hall, folks. I’m your emcee for the evening, Dan Rigsby.
If you haven’t gotten a scorecard yet, raise your hand and we’ll get one to you.
Also, if you need a drink or some snacks, you’ve only got a minute to grab those before we get started. ”
Maude cast a shrewd gaze around at the nearest tables. “I like our chances. What’s the prize for winning?”
“Breakfast coupons for The Bee’s Knees,” Essie answered.
“That would be all right,” Blaise said. “I’ve never eaten there.”
“It’s not bad,” Essie said. “Frank and I go once in a while.”
“All right, ladies and gentlemen,” Dan said.
“Make sure your team name is on the top of your scoresheet and let’s get started.
Remember, don’t shout out your answers or other tables might steal them.
Also, no phones allowed. If we see you Googling for an answer, you will be disqualified. Everyone ready?”
The crowd replied that they were.
“Here we go,” Dan said. “Question number one: What is the capital of Australia?”
“Oh, I know this,” Blaise said softly. “I did a photo shoot there once. Canberra.”
Essie nodded. “That sounds right.”
“Good with me.” Maude pointed at the score sheet. “Write it down.”
Blaise filled in the first answer.
“Question number two is a tough one, so put your thinking caps on,” Dan said. “What does HTTP stand for in a website address?”
There were a couple of groans from the audience, but Maude laughed. “I’ve got this one.” She leaned in, voice low. “HyperText Transfer Protocol.”
Essie shook her head in amazement. “If I were a betting person, I’d bet everything in my wallet that you’re the only one in this room that got that.”
Maude grinned. “Computers are kind of my thing.”
Dan lifted the mic to his mouth. “Here comes question number three. I hope you went to church this week; if not, you’d better go tomorrow. In the Bible, which of the apostles was a tax collector?”
Essie flattened her hand on the table. “That’s easy. Matthew.”
Blaise’s brows went up. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
Blaise wrote it down then hovered over the paper like she was trying to protect anyone from seeing their answers. “You guys. We’re doing pretty good so far, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” Maude said. “But we’re only three answers in. We have seven more to go.”
“True.” Blaise looked up at the stage as Dan read the fourth question.
“Here’s one for the ladies. What French designer is credited with introducing the world to the ‘little black dress’?”
Both Essie and Maude looked at Blaise, who wore a big smile. She laughed. “Yes, I know that one.”
They watched as she wrote Coco Chanel for number four.
As a team, they were able to answer the next five questions without taxing their brains too much.
Then came the last question of the round. Dan looked at the card in his hand. “Again, you better have gone to church on Sunday because we’re going back to the Bible for our final question and it’s a tough one. Here we go. Which book of the Bible does not mention God by name?”
The crowd went silent. Someone yelled out, “That’s a trick question.”
Dan shook his head. “Someone needs to go to church more, I see.”
That got a laugh, but all the faces Essie could see were full of confusion. She put her hand on the scoresheet, then held her other hand out for the pencil. “May I?”
“You know this?” Blaise asked.
Essie nodded as she pulled the scoresheet closer. “It’s one of my favorite books. A wonderful, courageous story that all women should read. Esther.” She wrote it down.
“All right, that’s it for round one. Let’s get those scores tallied,” Dan said. He read off the questions and the answers one by one.
“You guys,” Blaise whispered. “We got them all right.”
Dan took a sip of his water, then called out, “If your team got six right, put your hands up.”
Hands went up all over the room.
“Lots of you,” Dan said. “Fantastic. How about seven right?”
That lowered some hands.
“Eight or more right,” Dan said.
The field was quickly narrowing. Essie felt a tingle of anticipation.
“Nine or more right, keep your hand up,” he said next.
Two other tables besides Essie’s still had their hands up.
“Three teams left.” Dan smiled. “Did any of you get all ten correct?”
Blaise nodded at Essie. “Go on. This was your idea. You take the win.”
Essie stood up, scoresheet in hand. “We did.”
All the other hands went down.
Dan gestured to her. “Bring that here and let me verify that scoresheet.”
She took it up to him. He looked it over, checking it against his cards, then raised it high. “Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve all been stung. The Queen Bees are the winners of our first round tonight! Let’s give them a big hand and get ready for round two.”