Our drinks were delivered, not that I had actually ordered anything, but I didn’t care. I was lost in the game, my hand shooting up nearly every time. Once, I got so excited that I actually knocked my stool over and nearly upended the table. It was only because of Mav’s quick reflexes that I didn’t end up on my ass.
I was on my third drink when a tough one came up. Not that I didn’t know the answer, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to say it three drinks in.
“What is the longest word in the dictionary?”
My hand shot up, and this time, Jeff rolled his eyes. “You know, you could maybe give the others a shot at answering.”
“Hey, I haven’t gotten them all,” I pouted.
“Right, there was that one about cars,” he said sarcastically.
“Anyway, the answer is…” I took my time, making sure I didn’t screw this up. “Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.”
The whole bar went quiet as they stared at me. Yes, I was a nerd who knew the longest word in the dictionary, but it was mylife to study books, to read and gain knowledge. I’d always been a bookworm, and that wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.
“And as usual, that is correct.”
I gently sat on my chair, careful not to fall over as the world tilted around me. I was well on my way to drunk. Whatever they put in these Long Island Iced Teas was on the heavier side, but I was enjoying myself, so I didn’t care.
“Alright, now for the final question…”
We all sat forward, waiting with bated breath.
“This one is worth fifty points. That’s the equivalent of all the questions Cassidy answered.”
“Hey!” Rob called out. “I got one right.”
Jeff tipped his hat at him. “So, for the final question, and the only way to win the trivia event, here it is…”
My palms began to sweat as I sat there, waiting for the words to leave his mouth. I was born for this, made to kick ass with my awesome knowledge of useless information.
“Where did the name The Beaver and Boot come from?”
I stared in shock, unsure what the answer was. I had never once considered that there was anything to the name or dared to question it. And now, the game-winning question, the one that could decimate all my hard work, left it all on the line. And I had no answer.
Mav stared at me intently, but I was at a loss.
“I…I don’t know it,” I whispered.
A slow smirk spread across his face as he raised his hand. “I gotcha covered,” he winked.
“Mav, for fifty points, where did the name of the bar originate?”
Mav got to his feet, looking right at Lizzy, who stood behind the bar, pouring a drink. “That would be from a sign on Route 40 in Indiana. A little ‘ole town that had a picture of a beaver and a boot on either side of the town name. And Lizzy said that wouldbe a hell of a name for a bar. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the name The Beaver and Boot originated.”
As he took his seat, I leaned forward and hissed, “How the hell did you know that?”
“Misspent youth.”
That was it? The only answer he was going to give me? After I’d answered all the questions for him and we’d won the money, he wasn’t going to explain?
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I hissed. “After everything, that’s all you’re going to give me?”
He shrugged with a grin. “Ask Lizzy about it sometime.”
“But I need to know!”
“Then I guess you’d better find out on your own,” he smirked.
