Jillian sat up straighter, her eyes sharpening with interest.“Mayfair, Park Lane, Old Kent Road.That’s the real one, you know.The British version.They picked all the streets in the 1930s.Waddingtons did.”
Cat was lost.“Waddingtons?”
“Waddingtons were the company that made the UK version.The secretary for Mr.Watson, who was part of Waddington’s, supposedly drove around London in a car for one day, choosing streets.That’s why Old Kent Road is the cheapest—because it was still pretty rough back then.Mayfair was for the rich.Still is.”
Olivia moved closer to better see the box lid.“Mummy likes to go shopping in Mayfair.”
“She does,” Jillian agreed, looking at Cat for the first time.“Have you ever shopped there?It’s near Hyde Park.Very posh.”
“I do know it,” Cat said.“But don’t purchase much there.I mostly window shop.”
“Because it’s expensive?”Olivia asked.
“Yes, and for the past two years I’ve been a poor graduate student.”But Cat was smiling.“How do you know so much about the game?”she asked Jillian.“I’m impressed.”
Jillian shrugged.“I play it at my friend’s house.And I like to read.”
Cat nodded approvingly.“Even more impressive.”
“I like to read too,” Olivia piped up.“But could we play the game?Jilly, want to play?Will you teach me how?”
Jillian hesitated, her expression sliding back toward coolness, as if she remembered herself.“It’s a long game.”
“We have time,” Olivia said hopefully.She glanced at Cat.“Will you play too?”
“If your sister doesn’t object,” Cat said, lifting the lid.The smell of old cardboard and a lifetime of Sundays rose up.Years ago, she’d played plenty of board games with her parents.Chutes and Ladders.Candyland.And, of course, Monopoly.They usually played on weekends, Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons after church.
“Let’s go to the kitchen table and see if the pieces are all here,” Jillian said, leaving her seat by the fire to take the game from Cat.
In the kitchen she removed the Monopoly board and opened it on the small round table where they had assembled the cookies earlier in the day.Jillian carefully smoothed the creased center, trying to make it flat.The board’s colors were slightly faded, the tokens a mismatched collection of old metal and newer plastic replacements.
Olivia immediately chose the tiny dog.“Can I have this one?”
“Then I’m the top hat,” Jillian declared, taking her piece before rifling through the cards to make sure they were all there.“Looks fairly complete,” she added.
Cat scanned the money and then the collection of small green plastic houses and larger red hotels.“I think most of the game is here,” she agreed before looking at Jillian.“Do you want me to pass out the money, or you?”
“But I don’t know how to play yet,” Olivia cried.
Jillian sighed.“Be patient, Livy.I’m going to explain while Catriona passes out the money.Here’s how it works.Everyone starts with some money—the money being passed out now.We all have the same amount, and we take turns going round the board.When you land on a street, you can buy it if no one else owns it.You have to decide if you’re going to buy everything you land on, or just certain areas.”
Olivia frowned.“Why would you buy a street?”
“So you can charge people rent when they land on it,” Jillian explained, matter-of-fact.“That’s how you make money.The more you own—and you want properties with the same color—the more you can build on them.First little green houses, then these red hotels.That’s when you really make money.”
Olivia just looked more confused.“How do you know which ones to buy?”
“I kind of buy everything,” Cat said.“Perhaps not a very sophisticated tactic, but later you can sell or trade property to other players.”
Olivia still looked mystified.“When would I do that?”
“Later,” Cat said, finishing distributing the thin pastel paper money, “after you see what property your sister has, or I have.There might be something you want.But don’t worry about that now.We’ll help you as we go.”
Jillian began sorting her money, organizing it to her exacting standards.“Remember, the point is to make as much money as possible.The winner at the end is the one with the most property and most money.”
“And the loser?”Olivia asked.
“Bankrupt.”
