Page 81 of Chips & Checks
“Sorry, who’s this?” Latham asks.
“Bowen.” Violet steps closer to me. “My, um. Boyfriend.”
“Ha!” Latham smacks Briggs on the back so hard he stumbles forward. “Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it? You yapped about fucking my sister, and now someone is fucking your daughter. Oh, the irony.”
“She’s also your treasured niece, Newberry, so watch yourself.” Latham’s wife, Scarlett, pinches the bridge of her nose. “Please ignore him,” she tells me. “The rest of us do.”
Dad narrows his eyes. “Quit living in the past, Newberry.”
“Uncle Latham’s the one who punched my bio-dad in the face when he tried to get Mom back,” Violet explains. “Let’s leave them to it. He and Dad are always giving each other shit. They’re like frenemies, I guess. It gets old quick.”
I remember what she said the other day about growing up surrounded by guys, mainly NHL players and their nepo babies. I can see her point now. “Yeah, let’s see who else from the team is here.”
The only other couples our age are Sofia and Knight, Knova and Viktor, and—though they’re more than a few years apart—Viv and Coach.
“Nice to have fresh blood at one of these events,” Viktor quips. “While I do recommend marrying your childhood sweetheart, it’s nice to have a new face.”
“Excuse me.” Coach points to himself. “I’m new. Ish.”
“Yeah, but you’reold,” Viktor whines. “And your knees don’t work for shit.”
“I’m still your coach, kid. Watch your mouth.”
“If I thought you could outrun me, I’d be worried.” Viktor grins and rubs his wife’s arm. “Knova, would you like some champagne?”
“Always.”
Viktor’s still getting the drinks when Molly claps her hands and calls us to order. “Time to start the party games!” she exclaims. “All the balloons have truth or dares inside, and parts of the body written on the outside in Sharpie. As a couple, you and your date will need to use the relevant body part to break the balloon and then complete the challenge inside. Whoever completes the most challenges in the next half hour wins a prize.”
Latham immediately reaches for a balloon. “Briggs, I hope you’re ready for me and Scarlett to steamroll you!”
“Scarlett and me!” Briggs shouts back. “Learn English, you ding-dong.”
The rest of us scramble for balloons. Vi grabs one with the wordelbowscrawled on the side. The one I reach for saysknee.
“Elbow first?” she asks.
Popping a balloon using only your elbows is so much harder than it sounds. Every time we get close, the balloon slips out of our grasp and drifts across the room. Latham and Scarlett have it easy; their first balloon saysfeet.One good stomp, and Latham has his first challenge.
“Each participant must sing a line from their partner’s favorite song.” Latham looks up at his wife. “Shoot. Which song would that be again?”
Scarlett raises one eyebrow. “You don’t remember? We played it at the wedding.”
“Right. Uh.” Latham sucks his teeth. “Let me think…”
Viktor and Knova are struggling to use their foreheads to pop their balloon. I’m not sure if that’s part of the rules or if they’re freestyling it.
Violet and I finally manage to pop our first one. She dives for the pink carcass and returns with a slip of paper. “Each of you must name your partner’s favorite fantastical creature,” she reads.
“Oh, that’s easy. You’re a mermaid girl.”
“But what about you?” She appraises me for a long moment. “I bet you’re a big fan of Bigfoot. Or, no, wait: the Kentucky Goat Man.”
“Not even close. I’ve never set foot in Kentucky.”
“So, what? Wait, is it Mothman?”
“Now you’re just guessing cryptids. Do cryptids count as fantastical creatures? Because everyone knows that Bigfoot isreal.Come to Minnesota sometime, and I’ll prove it.”
