Page 22 of War Hope
"I swear to god, Finn." She snatches my card off the table and all but sprints to the front, passing Opalin her walker with tennis balls on the bottom. I half expect Hopeto trip the old woman, but thankfully she doesn't. I wait, swiping my hand down my face and a few minutes later, she comes back holding aplastic green bird feederabove her head like a trophy.
"Wow..." I say on a laugh when she stops next to me all smiles. "You won a birdfeeder."
"Damn right I did, fucking Opal." She cuts her eyes back in Opal's direction. Hope's eyes are all wild with excitement, her cheeks flushed, her chest rising in ragged swells.
"I think..." I push back from the table and place my arm around her shoulder. "I think we should go before you get banned from the bingo hall, queenie."
"They'd never ban me."
"Of course not," I say as we walk toward the exit. Opal's standing at the end of the aisle,glaringat Hope. The second we walk past the old woman slowly lifts her hand and shoves her gnarled middle finger in the air with agrimaceas she mouthsfuck you. "Well, people sure do take bingo seriously, don't they?"
"It's a way of life, Finn. You just don'tunderstand."
“No, you’re right. I don’t.” I push the door open and we walk out onto the sidewalk, Hope still mumbling under her breath about Opal. The one thing I can definitely say: Hope McGrath is full of surprises. A sexy redheaded heiress to a whisky fortune who just so happens to be a bingo addict extraordinaire.
Not one ounce of predictability. Total tornado of chaos. Everything I don’t need, but fuck, I think I may just be starting to want it.
