“I don’t know why, but I’m kind of surprised that you know how to play cards.”
“Well usually I play with my gold plated cards, but I can deal for one night.”
She laughed as she saw my face. “I’m kidding. I learned how to play cards at sleepaway camp. And some of my friends in college were big card players.”
“Where did you go to college?”
“I went to Vassar for undergrad and got my MBA at Stanford. How about you?”
“I didn’t go to college. I started an apprentice program right out of high school.”
She gave me a look that had a tinge of sympathy, which caused me to add, “I could have gone to college. In fact, my father would have preferred it, but I’d been following my mother around worksites since I was a toddler, so the trades were my first love.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the trades,” she said firmly, her hand coming across the table to wrap around mine.
I realized that I was gripping the cards way too hard and relaxed my fingers.
“I really like what I do,” I said, drawing the cards away to shuffle. “I’m glad that I was born at a time and in a country where women have more options to follow their dreams.”
We chatted idly while we played cards and to my surprise, Livi was good. Although we were just playing for fun, we were evenly matched. Eventually we got hungry and raided the fridge to eat some of the leftover food. I grabbed two bottles of water, handing one to Livi.
“Oh, I’ve got an idea,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
Turning on one of the headlamps I’d found, she headed into the basement, returning a few minutes later with two icy cold bottles of beer. I looked at her in shock.
“Where did you get those?”
She gave me a cautious look. “There’s beer in the basement.”
“There is?”
She nodded.
“And a bottle opener?” I asked.
Livi nodded again, her eyes dancing with amusement.
“Do I want to know why there’s beer in the basement at our jobsite, or who put it there?”
“You do not,” she answered. “Let’s just enjoy it while it’s cold.”
“Is there an ice chest?” Surely I would have noticed if the guys were bringing in bags of ice.
“A mini fridge.”
I shook my head. “I guess the guys really have accepted you as one of their own if they’re letting you in on the stuff they hide from the boss.”
Livi smiled. “I love working with them. I’m going to miss this place when I leave.”
“You can always commit another crime and come back,” I joked.
She rolled her eyes and took a long drink of her beer. I would have never pegged her as a beer drinker. I figured she was the kind of person who drank fruity cocktails and expensive wine.
As if she’d read my thoughts she said, “My mother hates when I drink beer. She thinks it’s too low brow for a Laurent.”
“You’re an adult,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, one thing this whole experience has shown me is that I’m way too enmeshed with my mother. Somewhere along the way I learned it was easier to go along with her and secretly rebel instead of arguing with her, which is ridiculous for a grown woman to say.”
