"Data doesn't lie!"
"Alright, competitive weirdos," I announce."Next round.Charades.Boys versus girls because I'm feeling vindictive about Luke hiding my phone."
"It's for your own good," Luke insists.
"Nothing that involves separating me from goat updates is for my own good."
"Sage, it's Christmas Eve.Your family's here.Your nephew's here."He nods toward James, who's milk-drunk and blissfully unaware of the chaos his aunt usually manages."Be present."
"I hate when you're right."
"I'm always right.It's a burden."But he's smiling, that soft smile that appeared after we made up and hasn't left.
What follows is forty-five minutes of increasingly competitive charades.
Mom turns out to be surprisingly good at acting out "The Crown," complete with corgi impressions.
Dad's attempt at "Die Hard" involves a lot of falling and what might be interpretive explosions.
David somehow makes "Miracle on 34th Street" look like a hostage situation.
Luke, it turns out, is terrible at charades.
"How was that not obviously 'The Matrix'?"he asks after his failed attempt that looked more like someone fighting invisible bees.
"Because you just stood there moving your hands randomly!"
"I was dodging bullets in slow motion.”
"You looked like you were conducting an orchestra having a seizure."
"That's—Actually fairly accurate."
My phone, tucked in his pocket, buzzes against my hip.I can feel it vibrating with what's probably another frantic text about goat-related wine crimes.
"Give me my phone."
"No."
"Luke."
"Sage."
"What if it's an actual emergency?"
"Then Mira will call the fire department like a normal person."He catches my reaching hand."What happened to trusting your staff?"
"I do trust my staff.I don't trust our goat."
"Our goat is probably passed out in a food coma.It's Christmas Eve.Even Buttercup takes the night off."
"You don't know her like I do.She’s already figured out how to open wrapped presents.With her teeth.While they were under the tree."
“Genius.”
“Not genius.Terrifying.She has opposable hooves, Luke.Opposable.Hooves."
"Scientifically impossible."
