Page 92 of Implode

We all laugh as Donna continues with the supplies and blindfolding. “The members who are in front and are acting as the eyes must use descriptors and directions to get your partner to accomplish the task. Good luck.”

“Really, Mom?” Nic asks, a look of pure shock on his face before Donna ties on his blindfold. She shushes him and ties the knot extra tight, making him chuckle.

“It’ll be good practice for the future,” Germain teases and takes his position behind Donna. He slides a blindfold over his own eyes and tightens it. “And just for the record, I didn’t know what the task was going to be.”

I swallow hard as I look at the baby doll in front of me. Nic is so close that I can feel his breath on my neck. We are all ironically in the same male in the back and female in the front position.

Donna clears her throat and announces, “Go.”

“Find the baby,” I tell Nic, watching him search the table with his fingers splayed out. Surely this won’t be the hardest part of the task.

“Where is it?”

“Lean in closer. Reach.” I watch as Nic grabs the baby’s leg. “Okay, now unzip the sleeper.” He fumbles with the zipper but manages to pull the outfit off the baby. “Undo the onesie.”

His hands stop moving, and I can feel his stance shift behind me. “The what? Did you just make that word up?”

“I think they are calledonesies? I don’t know, but the thing that is like a bodysuit.”

“How do I do it?”

“There are snaps under the crotch.” I watch as he rips apart the pieces of fabric, jostling the baby onto the floor. “Oh shit. The baby! You have to go get it. It’s on the floor.”

We shimmy down to the rug and Nic is able to grab the poor plastic doll. He picks me up off the floor, and I nearly stumble into the table.

“Now what?” he asks, acting like we even have a chance of winning. I look over at the other teams and find that Graham is surprisingly very good at following orders from Angie. They have been practicing, like she said.

“Get the diaper and put the baby on top of it and Velcro it on.”

“Oh, okay,” he says sarcastically.

“We have a winner,” Donna announces, making us all stop the game. “Team Almost Newlyweds. Congrats!”

I am glad we can move to the next game, because this whole thing was a bit stressful. Maybe it is the fact that in just over half a year, I will be struggling to take care of a baby, with or without any support.

Nic removes his blindfold and looks at the hot-mess baby. I know he wants to say something, but he resists. Maybe he realizes just how unprepared we both are for this. He very well could be praying it is not his child.

I excuse myself to the bathroom and forestall having a panic attack. It is just a silly game. I freshen up my lip gloss and head back out to discover that everyone has left the room.

“We are going out back.”

Nic’s voice startles me, and I nearly jump at the sound of it. “Outside?”

“Just on the patio. Apparently Mom thought having a piñata shaped like a wedding cake would be a fun idea.”

“A piñata? Like people have at kid birthday parties?”

Nic shakes his head, as if he cannot figure out how his mom even comes up with these ideas. “Something like that.”

I allow Nic to lead me out and we gather around a huge cake piñata, as Donna goes over the instructions.

“It’s simple,” she explains. “The winning team who can break it open wins the points for the scoreboard. However, inside are little bingo balls and a bunch of other goodies. Whoever finds the one markedAngie and Grahamwins bonus points for their team.”

We draw names and Collins is up first. Germain blindfolds him and allows him to swing twice. Next up is me. I hold the baseball bat firmly and aim blindly at where I think my target is. Winding it back, I swing hard and hear the crack of the cardboard, but not the sound of prizes falling. I do it one more time but have no luck. We go through the names in the dish and then circle around again. It is Nic who manages to shred the tissue papered cake apart, scattering bills, mini alcohol bottles, condoms, and coins for everyone to gather.

I laugh as I scoop up as much as I can and put my loot in a bag that was passed out before we started. It is fun, and everyone’s carefree happiness is contagious. I can’t help but relax and enjoy the moment.

After another hour of games, Nic and I manage to take the victory and cheesy trophies. I place mine on my nightstand and tuck myself into bed. It feels weird being a physical wall away from Nic and yet feeling worlds away emotionally.

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