He exhales into my shoulder.
“Okay.”
*****
Baywood Beans vibrates with vigilance when we arrive.
Becky Fairweather, PTA president and unofficial chaos manager, stands beside an enormous flip chart, guarding it from Harold’s eager hands.
Earl shuffles toward us, flashing his toy badge at Antonio.
“Has Caspian told you how we solved the ‘Triple G’ case?”
“What ‘Triple G’ case?” Antonio asks.
I’m as clueless as he is and twice as terrified to hear the reply.
“Groping Garden Gnomes,” Earl says proudly. “It was a tough case tocrack.”
By the window, Steve and Ann-Sabrina are arguing.
“This town needs an escape room,” Steve insists, leaning so close to Ann-Sabrina that their noses almost touch.
“What we need,” Ann-Sabrina says, dabbing what I hope is imaginary spit on her cheek, “is an escape from your bodily fluids.”
“What even is an escape room?” Earl asks, already nervous. “Is Bob welcome?”
Steve launches into an explanation involving locks, puzzles, and teamwork.
By the end of it, Earl looks more confused.
“Why go if the whole point is to leave?”
“Escape rooms are like life,” Maija says, startling us all. We hadn’t noticed her sitting in the corner like a Finnish oracle.
She stirs her coffee unhurriedly.
“Some people move to the other side faster than others.”
“That’s beautiful,” Eliot murmurs. “That would make the womb the first escape room.”
That’s… not disturbing at all.
Antonio squeezes my hand.
“So many people,” he whispers. He looks astonished. “It’s good, though,” he adds. “Feels nice.”
Becky claps sharply.
“Welcome, everyone! I’d like to begin by saying how honored and humbled I am by the trust you’ve placed in my ability to lead this committee.”
“Well, you insisted,” Steve says. “And no one else had a flip chart."
“As I was saying,” Becky continues through her teeth, “honored.”
Antonio is fighting laughter.
“The operation we’re about to launch is complex,” Becky says, lowering her voice. “Possibly dangerous.”
