Page 176 of The Holy Grail
“I moved out eighteen years ago,” she said, deadpan. “What were you expecting? Posters of rock stars still on the walls?”
“We were hoping,” Malcom returned.
“So, if we’re taking your room, where are you sleeping?” Evan asked.
Jules pointed to the room across the hall. “On the couch in mom’s craft room.”
They didn’t look happy to hear that, and when they started to protest, she told them, “You two are sleeping in here and that’s final. There’s no other place to put you … and as it is, you’ll be crowded in my double bed, so it’s not like you’ll be enjoying luxurious accommodations, while I suffer on the couch. You’re going to be as uncomfortable as me. Maybe even more so, to be honest.”
Evan glanced at the bed, which looked really small, then frowned. “You didn’t like, bone anyone on that, did you?”
“Oh, my God, no. Did you, or did you not, meet my dad?” she asked with a laugh. “I didn’t get up to any kind of fuckery in here. Now … outside of this room is another story.”
Everyone then gathered outside on the covered back patio, which was quite spacious, with comfortable outdoor furniture, an impressive grill, and a table and chairs for eating. A fire pit with Adirondack chairs surrounding it had been built in the middle of the meticulously tended yard, which was flanked on two sides by thick stands of quakingaspen, maple, and oak trees. On the third side, was a large, red pole barn which was almost as big as the house.
It was a little strange for the two men to picture Jules growing up here, in a semi-rural setting.
They sat and chatted for a while, and as it approached dinner time, Edie and Richard got up to get things ready for the meal. Once Evan found out steaks were going to be grilled, he offered to help Richard, overriding Malcom’s offer. “You might be God’s gift in the kitchen, Mal, but I’m the grill God.”
“Since when?” Jules asked.
“Since forever. Anytime my family gets together—either at my mom’s house, or Evelyn’s, or Everett’s, I’m always on grill duty.”
“Is that by choice?” Richard asked.
“It sort of evolved. After my dad died, the mantle got passed to me. I was the only one without kids to look after, so it made sense for me to be in charge of feeding everyone, and over time, it just became my thing.”
“Were you and your dad close?”
“No.”
Richard watched Evan as he busied himself with seasoning the steaks. “That’s too bad.”
They ate and had a good time, and afterward, made their way inside when it started to rain a little, putting the kibosh on having a fire in the fire pit.
“Who wants to play a game?” Edie asked.
“Me,” Jules answered, immediately going to a book shelf full of vintage board games and grabbing Monopoly.
“I want to be the shoe!” Evan called out.
“You can’t be the shoe.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m the shoe. I’malwaysthe shoe, so pick something else.”
“Fine. Then I’ll be the dog.”
Jules set the game on the table. “We don’t have that piece.”
“Did you lose it?”
“No, it didn’t come with the game. This is an older version of Monopoly, before they added the dog as a game piece.”
For the first time, Evan noticed the game box was white, with the word ‘MONOPOLY’ in black letters printed on a red stripe running lengthwise on the top part of the box, looking nothing like the one his family had owned.
Jules began taking all the game components out, momentarily distracting Evan with how different everything was. The houses and hotels were actually wooden, and not plastic, the property deeds, Community Chest, and Chance cards felt like they were made out of heavy construction paper, and the monetary bills were smaller in size, with lighter colors, and rather plain in design. The only things that looked the same were the playing pieces (with the exception of what appeared to be a purse, which he’d never seen before) and the game board itself, although it was obviously old.
