Page 35 of Second Chances at the Board Game Café

‘Good.’ He nodded. ‘It’s um… interesting.’

‘Sit down, Hal. I was hoping to catch you. D’you fancy a game?’

This was unexpected; as far as he knew, Kate didn’t share Emily’s love of board games.

‘Sure,’ he said hesitatingly. ‘Ticket to Ride?’

Kate laughed. ‘Actually, I have something else in mind. Hang on.’

She stood up and went over to the games shelves, returning with a box he didn’t recognise.

He gulped as he read the title. ‘Fog of Love? I don’t know, Kate. I’m not sure this is my kind of thing.’

‘It’s kind of role-play.’

‘Then it definitely isn’t my kind of thing.’

‘Give it a go, Hal. You might learn something.’

He wished she wouldn’t call him Hal.

‘This game is all about relationships,’ Kate continued. ‘I’m not usually into games, but I’ve been dying to give it a go. Only Em never has time to actually sit down and play.’

‘Go on, then. Tell me the rules.’

‘Okay, here’s our scenario. You’re gonna love this. It’s called It Will Never Last, and it’s the story of a relationship between two very different people. In other words, you and Taylor. I’ll play Taylor, obviously, and you’ll be you.’ She began to read from the card. ‘Can you overcome your differences? Change your perspective? A happy ending is unlikely.’

‘Thanks, Kate. That’s hardly encouraging.’

‘It’s what it says on the card. Anyway, trust me. You’re going to learn some useful things from this. Now I’ve selected your occupation. It’s probably supposed to be random, but I’ve made you a banker – it was the nearest one to accountant – and I’m going to play Taylor, who’s a fashion model. Fashion designer and dressmaker weren’t in there. And I’ve selected our traits too. I’m not exactly following the rules, but I wanted to represent you and Taylor as closely as possible.’

He looked at the traits cards she’d given him: geeky T-shirt, piercing eyes and cute.

Cute? He’d never been described as cute before and wasn’t aware that his eyes were particularly piercing. He leaned over to check out the traits that Kate had given her own character: giggles, homemade clothes and sexy underwear. Homemade clothes, yes, but he wasn’t sure about the other two. He’d have chosen something like ‘kind’ and ‘gentle’. Was she a giggly kind of person? Did she wear sexy underwear?

He thought back to that time he’d been in Taylor’s bedroom and seen a pair of knickers on the floor. They had been sexy. Mind you, the thought of Taylor in any underwear was sexy.

‘I’ll start,’ said Kate. ‘Here’s our first scenario. Oooh, this is a good one. We’re spending time together. What would we prefer to be doing?’

She read out four options, one of which was chess. It wasn’t his favourite, but since it was the only board game mentioned on the card, he had to choose that. Kate chose it too.

‘Good start,’ said Kate. ‘We’ve scored some happiness points.’

‘I’m not sure Taylor would have chosen chess,’ Harry said.

‘Course she would. She knows you like board games.’

‘Actually, I’m not sure she does. I haven’t mentioned it. I didn’t want her thinking that I was a geek.’

‘I see,’ said Kate. ‘I like your thinking, Hal.’

They played through various scenarios, taking it in turns to read from the cards, choosing the options their characters would choose. What type of flowers would they buy for their partner? Would they visit a fortune teller if their partner suggested it? Would they have sex outdoors?

Harry was definitely a behind-closed-doors kind of man – he knew that – but if Taylor wanted to make love outside, would he? He couldn’t imagine ever saying no to her about anything.

The next scenario, which Harry had to read out, was about the number of previous partners.

Kate blushed. ‘I’m glad I’m answering that one as Taylor, not as myself.’