“Like a boxing match,” she clarifies. “That’s basically a duel, isn’tit?”
“Um,” I say, confused about what does and doesn’t constitute a duel, even though I’m the one who brought it up. “I’m not sure. Do you have boxing gloves?”
She shakes her head. “No. We could punch each other with oven mitts?”
The tone of her voice is so openly hopeful, I laugh. She’s had just enough wine to think this is a great idea.
Behind us, the patio door slides open, and out steps Dan. He stops short when he seesme.
“Hey, Dan,” I say, smiling. Not even his presence can ruin this moment.
“This is a surprise,” he says, not unkindly. “I didn’t know you were coming to town.”
“Unscheduled visit,” I say vaguely.
Shannon is still workshopping the problem. “What about, like…two broomsticks? That’s basically swords.”
“What are you two talking about?”
“Annie wants to have a sword fight,” Shannon tellshim.
“For closure,” I clarify. “Like in the olden days.”
“I think if you used broomsticks you’d kill each other,” he says frankly. “We could probably find a couple of tree branches around here somewhere.”
It’s a testament to Dan’s tenure in the family that he doesn’t bat an eyelid at the idea.
“No. No branches. I don’t want to get my skirt dirty.”
“We don’t need to duel,” I tell them. “It was just an idea.”
“The oven gloves could work,” Shannon insists. “I think I’ve got spares somewhere.”
“Why oven gloves?” he asks.
“For boxing.” She says it likeduh.
Dan snaps a finger. “I’ve gotit.”
He takes off running. Not thirty seconds later he’s back, holding two inflatable tubes that sayGo Tigers!
“Here,” he says, handing one to each of us. “Duel each other with these.”
“Where did you get these?”
“They’re cheering sticks,” Dan says. “From the town hockey tournament.”
Shannon is underwhelmed. “I’m not goingto—”
I whack her on the shoulder. “These are perfect!”
Dan grins.
“Oh, it ison,” Shannon says, fired up now. I squeal, bouncing out of my chair.
Dan takes charge from here, arranging us across from each other on the deck.
“I’ll give you thirty seconds to whip each other senseless, and then your time isup.”
