I would like to have at least three kids, but Trevor’s not going to know that. He’s going to make a dumb, overplayed joke about me having twenty cats someday instead.Twenty cats, I write with a sigh.
And Trevor better know the answer to the allergy question. He brought in curry to share with Luna, Morgan, and me, but neglected to mention it contained mushrooms. He then watched hives break out all over my face.
Trevor might remember themonthof my birthday. He definitely isn’t going to remember what I wore for our first date, as we’ve never been on one, but I know what answer he’ll give for that, anyway: a blazer with gold chains draping from shoulder to shoulder. Trevor found one online, became obsessed with howpowerful and commandinghe looked in it, and purchased a dozen others for his friends. I removed the gold shoulder chains from mine to repurpose into an anklet, which he still complains about, many months later.
“Come along, come along.” Alex excitedly gestures the others back inside, harvesting all their cards, his smile obscene. “Sit, sit, and don’t talk to your teammate! First question is for Daniel. Daniel, if your partner was an animal, what kind of animal would she be?”
He contemplates. “An armadillo.”
“An armadillo?” Kristin repeats. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“Armadillos are beautiful creatures, and they have a protective outer shell.”
“Aww.” Kristin smiles at him. “I want to change my answer.”
“Too late,” Alex replies briskly. “You said Clydesdale, so no points.” He’s ruthless. “Allison, if Teyonna had a superpower, what would it be?”
“Flying,” Allison answers at once.
Teyonna frowns.
Alex booms, “Wrong! Teyonna would be able to restore all the rainforests.”
“Everybody answersflyingto that question,” Allison huffs. “Comeon, Teyonna. We’re not going to win if you give obscure answers!”
“It’s not obscure! We discussed this when we watched one of the X-Men movies.”
“Trevor,” Alex forges on. “How many kids does Romina want?”
“At least three,” Trevor replies, and I throw up my hands.
“Why’re you looking at me like that? Isn’t that what you’ve said?” Trevor ticks them off on his fingers. “Girl, girl, boy. You’d call one of them Louise.”
“Louis,” I correct, a moment before thinking better of it. Louis is Alex’s middle name. It has nothing to do with him—he doesn’t have exclusive rights to that name.
“Exactly!” Trevor preens. “I should get an extra point for knowing that.”
Alex and Kristin are both staring at me. “Wrong,” Alex responds finally. He’s a live wire, radiating a strange, crackling energy that makes it difficult for me to focus. “Romina says she wants twenty cats.”
Allison laughs, then tries to sputter it out, making herself cough. “Gross, Romina,” Trevor utters. “That is too many cats.”
Mr. Yoon goes again, followed by Allison. “Trevor,” Alex continues. “What is Romina allergic to?”
Trevor purses his lips, studying me. I can tell by his blank stare that he has no idea. “Nail files?”
“For crying out loud!” I yell.
“Ro, there is no other explanation for those jagged edges.”
“Gardening causes breakage.” I examine my nails, which aren’tthatbad.
“So does scrubbing your clothes on a washboard,Little House on the Prairie.”
“I don’t hear you complaining about my washboard when you come begging with your bags of clothes,” I reply hotly. “Ro, please do me this solid. I can’t trust a washing machine with my Merino wool.” For the record, the only reason I got into handwashing my clothes is that the carriage house doesn’t have a washer/dryer hookup, and Luna’s washer is at the top of her apartment, in a cramped, dark closet. Lugging my laundry baskets up there is a trial.
“Let’s continue,” Alex rolls on. Trevor gets the next question (my birthday) wrong, as well.
“December...” Trevor lets the word stretch. “First.”
