Chapter Thirty-Eight
Kip
The snow is falling again as we walk back toward the house.
Brooklyn’s already gone inside. I saw her talking to the President briefly before she disappeared into the house.
Neither of them looked particularly happy.
Brooklyn disappeared into a room with Zadie and Elizabeth.
I think they are wrapping gifts or something.
When she emerged, she looked a little happier.
I keep my eyes glued on her the whole afternoon. I’m sure it’s annoying her, but I feel like if I let her out of my sight, something bad is going to happen. I rub the back of my neck. Something’s wrong. I know something’s wrong. What if she’s really sick?
I watch her like a hawk during dinner again. She nibbles on a roll and pushes the rest of the food around her plate. Maybe she’s not eating because I’m here? Maybe I’m upsetting her so much she can’t eat?
“You okay?” Declan whispers beside me. I guess I’m brooding.
“I’m just worried about her.” My eyes are locked on her, and he cuts his eyes over her direction.
“She’s going to be okay.”
I pick up my glass of wine and take a long drink.
“Guess what?” Juno says loudly. Everyone stops talking and looks at her. “We’re snowed in. You know what that means?”
“Christmas Lava!” Keene says. There’s some groans and a few cheers. I’m looking around confused.
“It’s this ridiculous drinking game we play whenever we get snowed in at Christmas. It’s like part floor is lava and part trivia,” Eli says to me.
“Sounds weird,” I reply.
“It is,” Maggie says, shaking her head.
Everyone scrambles to clean up from dinner. Elizabeth and James put Vivi to bed while Zadie and Olivia feed their babies and settle them down for the night.
“Are we ever going to do this?” Juno groans. She’s holding a bunch of straws and nudging it in my direction. I pull one out. It’s long.
She walks around, so the others can draw straws.
“I guess we should explain the rules,” Eli says, examining his straw.
“There are rules?” Declan smirks. “I always thought you guys were just making up things as you were going along.”
“I’ll explain it,” Juno says. She’s just holding her own straw now.
“First there are trivia questions.” Her eyes dance as she talks. “They used to be Presidential themed, but for obvious reasons, we deemed that unfair. Now, they are pop culture.”
Declan gives a thumbs up.
“You forgot to mention that we all stand on the furniture,” Keene says.
“Oh, right. Yes, that’s important. If you miss your trivia question, you have to jump to a new spot. If you fall in the lava, you’re out.”
She’s looking at me.
“Okay.”
“But if you get the question right, the person to your right has to hum a tune.” Keene’s explaining now.
“What?” I say. This is one weird game.
“Yeah. It’s like Name That Tune. If you get the tune right, everyone else has to drink. If you get it wrong, you drink.”
“Right.” None of this makes sense.
“What do you want to drink?” Keene asks.
I’m so confused.
“Probably just a beer, or the night will get rough, really fast.” Declan leans toward me.
“Beer then.”
Juno passes out drinks.
“What are the straws for?”
“They just tell us the order. We used to do teams, but honestly that didn’t make much sense.”
“But the rest of this makes sense?” Celeste asks. Maggie gives a little laugh.
Keene claps his hands together. “Let’s get started!”
Everyone climbs onto a piece of furniture except Elizabeth, Zadie, and Olivia, who are reading the trivia questions.
“Who drew the longest straw?” Elizabeth asks, looking up from the stack of trivia cards.
“Eli.” Keene points.
“Okay. First question: How many times did Ross Geller get divorced on Friends?” she asks.
Eli strokes his chin. “Two.”
“Wrong!” Liv says. “It’s three.”
“Damn it.” Eli shakes his head and jumps from a chair to the couch.
“I’m next,” Juno says.
“Who did Forbes name the youngest self-made billionaire ever in 2019?”
“Oh, I know this. Kylie Jenner.”
“That’s right.”
Keene starts humming a tune. Juno has her face scrunched up trying to figure out what it is. “You’re the worst hummer in the world. I don’t know - Jingle Bells.”
Keene just laughs. “No, it was Rocky Top.”
“That’s bullshit,” she chuckles and then takes a sip of her wassail.
I'm still confused as hell. It’s Brooklyn’s turn.
“Okay Brooklyn, Who sent Harry Potter his Firebolt?”
“Sirius Black.”
Declan starts humming, and Brooklyn jumps up and down. “I know this. I know this. Man, I feel like a Woman.”
“Yes!” Declan says.
“Bottoms up,” she smirks. Everyone drinks but Brooklyn. It’s my turn now.
“In Game of Thrones, what animals do the Stark children adopt?”
I have no clue. I’ve never watched it or read the books.
“Dragons?”
“No. I’m sorry that’s incorrect. It’s direwolves.”
“What the hell’s a direwolf?” I mutter.
“You have to jump somewhere else now,” Juno says. The only open spot I see is on the ottoman with Brooklyn. She’s not going to be happy about this, but I do it anyway. When I land on the ottoman, she instinctively grabs my arm to steady me. I wobble a little into her, and then she drops her hands.
“Thanks,” I whisper.
She doesn’t respond. I notice for the first time she’s not drinking. Well, she is drinking, but not alcohol. It’s sparkling water.
The game continues for an hour. I fell in the lava on the fifth round. Everyone started laughing hysterically when the President tried to hum Single Ladies.
Brooklyn bowed out when she knew she couldn’t make a jump and stepped off her chair a few rounds after me. We’re both sitting on the floor watching the remaining players. It’s just down to Will, Juno, and Eli.
“It’s sudden death. Any wrong answer, either trivia or music will eliminate you.”
“Will, your question: When was Madonna’s first album released?”
He looks to the ceiling for a moment and then says, “1984?’
“Oh, so close. 1983,” Olivia says with a pouty frown.
Will takes a drink and steps off his chair.
“And then there were two,” Eli says, pointing at Juno.
“Eli, how many members are in the Spice Girls?”
He starts muttering names and counting on his fingers. “Five.”
“That’s right.” He jumps to another chair with no problem.
Juno starts humming something, and Eli just furrows his brow. “Is that from the Nutcracker?”
“No. It’s Shake it Off.”
Eli takes a sip of his drink and steps off the chair.
“We have a winner. Congratulations, Juno!”
Juno jumps off the chair dramatically and then runs through the room high-fiving everyone.
After Juno finishes celebrating her win, I stand up and hold out my hand for Brooklyn. Unlike this morning, she takes it, and I help her to her feet. As soon as she’s standing, she closes her eyes for a moment and wobbles slightly. I grab both of her arms to steady her.
“I’m okay.” Her eyes are still closed. She’s not, clearly. “Just stood up too fast again.”
“Brooklyn...”
She inhales deeply through her nose and then slowly opens her eyes. She focuses on me immediately. “I’m fine. Thank you for your help.”
She takes another deep breath. My hands are still gripped around her arms. “I should go to bed.”
“Do you need help?”
Confusion flashes across her face.
“Getting up the stairs,” I explain.
“Oh...um...no. I’m fine now - really.”
I release my grip and watch her walk away.