“No, no,” Sloane said just as loudly. “Queen, right here.”
Charlotte laughed, her glass at her lips. “I don’t know, Sloane. I’m pretty adept at Christmas movie quotes.”
Sloane scoffed. “You? Elizabeth Scrooge?”
“I wasn’t always such a scrooge.”
She glanced at Brighton, barely, but enough that a wash of memories crested through Brighton’s chest, all the Decembers they had spent in the Fairbrook living room with bowls of popcorn and hot chocolate, a constant stream of Christmas movies playing on the TV.
Eli explained some of the different genres they’d be covering, as well as the winner’s prize—a lamp in the shape of a leg, reminiscent of the lamp fromA Christmas Story.
“You’ll have to share custody,” Eli said, and everyone laughed.
“Okay, wehaveto win that for Mom’s living-room window,” Adele said.
“Agreed,” Sloane said, and clinked her glass against her sister’s.
“I want that for the restaurant,” Wes said.
“No, wait, I need that for my apartment,” Manish said.
Elle laughed. “It’ll be your personal item on the plane.”
“My lovey,” Manish said.
“Okay, people, we need a name,” Adele said, ripping off a square of trivia paper from the pad in the center of the table. “Thoughts?”
“The Elizabeth Scrooges,” Sloane said, winking at Charlotte.
Charlotte took another gulp of her margarita, then lifted a single devastating brow. “I approve.”
“What about the South Bend Shovel Slayers,” Brighton said. “You know, fromHome Alone?”
“Clever, clever,” Adele said, her pen in her mouth.
“Um, the Cheery Queeries,” Manish said, spreading his hands out. “How is that not obvious to everyone?”
“That’s got my vote,” Wes said.
“The Cheery Queeries!” Elle said.
“That’s not movie-related,” Brighton said.
“It’s gay,” Manish said. “It defies expectations and knocks down walls.”
Brighton laughed. “Fair enough.”
“The Cheery Queeries it is,” Adele said, writing the name at the top of their paper.
“All right, trivia players, first round is coming up!” Eli said. He held up a large Santa hat, then dipped a hand inside and pulled out a red card. “First question: Name all of Kevin McCallister’s siblings inHome Alone. Remember, Google is strictly forbidden!”
“Easy-peasy,” Brighton said. “Buzz, Megan, Linnie, and Jeff.”
“Damn, girl,” Manish said.
“I’ve seen it at least twenty times,” Brighton said. “I can name all the cousins too.”
Adele wrote down the answer and took their paper up to Eli. Then the group exploded in victory when it turned out they were the only team to get all four names correct.
