Chapter Twenty-One

" Okay . This. Is. Game Day, bitches!" Francesca stands in the grass ahead of us and blows her whistle. Copper jumps up at her. Grayson and David erupt in cheer. Alice giggles. Caroline halfheartedly claps.

She continues, shielding her eyes from the midday sun. "There is no swear jar, but Grayson will let us know if the trash talking gets too out of hand."

He gives a strong thumb's up. "Got it."

"Cool. Okay." She rubs her hands together. "The order of the day is sweet Alice's hide and seek, then Grayson's Queen of Hearts game, also known as homemade croquet. Vienna's creepy mirror movement game, and my favorite." She pauses dramatically. "The one and only Snatch You Up. After that, it's the thing that David makes us do –"

"I call it Findy Findy ," he says.

"– we'll have dinner, and then end with Care's talent show because Katie's too cool for school this year."

A voice slinks into my ear, asking, "Are we getting abducted?"

I flinch, finding Adam beside me. His eyes bulge in horror, listening to Francesca dole out the rules, shoulders scrunched up. He smells cold and warm at the same time, like cedar and peppermint, and I desperately want to touch his worn, broken- down sweatshirt and smooth down the crinkles in his terrified forehead.

All things I should not be thinking.

When we cleared the air this morning, I was under the impression he wouldn't alter his behavior much from the last few days. Coming to talk to me in confidence is unexpected.

I clear my throat. "Each year Fran changes the rules a bit," I explain. "There may be some probing. We never know."

"With that?" He points to a tree branch with an elephant towel tied to its end. Grayson's waving it around with violence.

I bark a laugh. It feels forbidden. I say, "That's his ‘ off with your head ' mallet. For his game. So…maybe."

Adam shrugs with amusement.

Francesca blows her whistle repeatedly. "You there!" She points to us. "Have you been listening to the rules? Must we repeat them?"

"Calm down, Captain," I snap.

Alice runs up and shakes Francesca's leg.

"Okay, baby, we're going to start." Francesca says, "Caroline, music please."

Just then, Kate gets on her tiptoes on the other side of Adam and adjusts the brim of his ball cap. "There." Her face lights up. She tips the side her hat. "And we're matching. We can be partners for Vienna's weird game."

"It's very sensual. Watch out," I mutter.

Adam steals a look my way before we all cover our horrified ears. Angry, vengeful sounds emit from the speaker resting atop the van, and I'll need a second pair of hands to shield myself from the profanity.

"Caroline!" David shouts.

She panics, dropping the phone in her hands. "It's Fran's phone, she told me to play music!"

"I told you to pick something fun," Francesca argues. "Not assault us!"

Kate slow claps. "Mother of the year, ladies and gentlemen."

Adam walks forward and picks up the phone from the grass. "Here, I got it." Within seconds, the music changes to eighties rock. He admits, "There might be a drop or two in the swear jar later, but at least no one's going bankrupt tonight."

"Aren't you tempted to just play your own songs?" I say when he returns beside me.

"You wouldn't know if this was my song or not," he responds.

I brush imaginary dirt off my shoulder. "This is The Rolling Stones."

"Oh, color me impressed," he jokes. In a way that no one other than myself would find suspect, he leans closer to me. "And how would you know that?"

I try not to get lost in his brown eyes. "Someone played it for me once."

He smiles. "Or a million times."

We pull back, the question in both of our eyes: is this okay? We're talking to each other in the location of last night's screaming match and the tearful good-bye fourteen years ago. We agreed to act as strangers but sharing a joke or a word or a look even feels like we're breaking the rules.

Wanting to be near him at all should break the rules.

Francesca's whistle blows and I jolt, watching everyone take off toward Alice's toys. Adam and I hang back a little too long. It's unnatural for us to be paired off, it would set off alarm bells or, god forbid, another whistle-and-point.

I trot off toward a napkin and pick it off a dried bush. Adam goes the other way. I notice Kate making a beeline in his direction, dangling a one-armed stuffed doll in her arm. He smiles at her, laughs at something she says.

I pick up a plastic baby bottle and Francesca blows the whistle.

"Ally says that's all of the toys." She grimaces. "Or so we're going to believe the three-year-old. Alice, who wins this round?" She leans away as spit is whispered into her ear. " Okay … Auntie Vee is the winner! For somehow knowing that napkin was a toy."

I wave my little white flag of victory.

Maggie giggles and says, "I didn't know I was playing to win."

"You're always playing to win if Francesca is involved," David sighs.

His wife cups her hands around her mouth and announces. "Let the games continue!"