Page 61 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
I vigorously nodded.
They yelled out words for pee, but I waved them silent.
I put my hand over my stomach, closed my eyes, and pretended to pee in front of the entire group. I feigned the expression I’d have if I’d waited too long to urinate.
“Relief,” Emma shouted.
I jumped from my imaginary toilet and raised my arms over my head. The rest of my team cheered and rushed toward me.
“We have a winner,” Robyn said over the celebration.
“That’s bullshit.” I glanced over to see the sour-faced Beverly stand up from the couch. “They shouldn’t be allowed to win on such vulgarity.”
I’d had about enough of Beverly, so I put my hand between my legs. “I could have chosen a different kind of relief. Made it X-rated, but I thought PG-13 was better.”
Without a word, Beverly stomped off while her teammates came over to congratulate us.
After the purple team left, Robyn approached and put her arm over my shoulder. “I can’t believe you did that.”
I smiled. “We won, didn’t we?”
“Ya know,” Annie said. “When I met you, I thought you were pretty uptight, but I’m seeing another side of you.”
“That’s my sister.” Emma playfully slapped my arm. Then she gazed into my eyes. “I’ve missed this side of you.”
A lump rose in my throat. Robyn must have noticed my discomfort because she gave my shoulder a slight squeeze.
There were so many things I wanted to say to Emma, but the words wouldn’t come. I wanted to express how sorry I was, how much I’d missed her, and how thankful I was that we were spending this time together. Instead, I said, “Stop. You’re going to embarrass me.”
“I call bullshit,” Katlynn said. “We’ve been playing emotion charades, and that’s not the expression on your face.”
“Hey, why don’t we leave Blake alone?” Annie said. “After all, she won the game for us.”
I gave Annie a grateful look before I turned to Robyn, who still had her arm around me. “What’s the deal with Beverly?”
“Yeah,” Emma said. “She takes pissy to a whole new level.”
“Six years ago, her son died in a tragic car accident. He was drunk.”
“Oh, god.” Annie put her hand on her chest. “I can’t even imagine.”
“She used to be a lot of fun.” Robyn gave us a sad smile.
“Beverly, fun?” Katlynn said.
“Oh, she was still opinionated and aggressive, but she was never angry—before. She couldn’t pull herself out of her grief. Then two years ago, her husband couldn’t take it any longer, and he left her.”
“Oh, my god,” Emma said. “Now I feel guilty.”
“Can’t anybody help her?” I asked.
“People have tried.” Robyn put her hand on her chest. “I’ve tried. I’ve gotten through a bit but never far or for long.”
“I’m gonna go talk to her,” Annie said.
Robyn gave her a skeptical look. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Yep. Why not?”
