Page 65 of Nerdplay
“Look, it’s my favorite color,” Angela declares. “Penile-erection purple.”
Ben claps his hands over Olivia’s ears. “Must you?” he hisses at her.
Angela tips up her chin. “It’s basic biology, Benjamin. I thought you were guiding your granddaughter toward a career in STEM.”
Ben grows flustered. “You and I have very different ideas about what constitutes science.”
“But my ideas are far more fun,” she replies with a sultry wink.
Olivia shakes off her grandfather’s hands and addresses the group. “I’ve outgrown this pony, so she’s up for grabs.”
“Bullshit,” Angela interjects. “I can tell a lie when I hear one.”
“You love that doll,” Ben agrees.
Olivia’s face scrunches up and I can almost feel the kid’s discomfort, which triggers my own.
“I remember when your parents bought her for you. You named her Glowy and brought her everywhere,” Ben continued.
“Pony plushies are for babies,” Olivia insists. “I don’t need her anymore.”
“But just because you don’t need something anymore doesn’t mean you can’t want it,” Angela tells her. “I don’t need another pair of diamond studs, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting them.”
Olivia looks her grandfather dead in the eye. “Is this swag swap or isn’t it?”
Cricket leans over to Ben and whispers, “She’s trying to let something go, Ben.”
The older man’s shoulders slacken in response.
“I think it’s obvious who should adopt her.” Angela plucks the plushie from the table and passes it to Ben.
Olivia nods her approval. “She’ll be in good hands.”
“And you can visit her whenever you like,” Ben says, clutching the toy to his chest. I’m pretty sure there are happy tears glistening in his eyes.
As a lawyer, I was taught that you know it’s a good deal when both parties leave the bargaining table feeling slightly disappointed. This moment seems to contradict that lesson. From where I’m standing, both Olivia and Ben appear pleased by the outcome.
Ben’s swap is next, to make room for the penile-purple pony in his life. He contributes a coin commemorating the Apollo 11 moonwalk that a couple people argue over until they decide to flip for it, which seems apt.
Cricket donates a Mumford & Sons T-shirt that looks far too big for her. Nobody queries the size differential. I suspect they know the original owner’s identity and have a silent pact not to mention his name. Anger flares inside me that some guy could hurt someone like Cricket, but then I remember I’m here to do exactly that. I have no right to cast stones at the Mumford fan. He may have broken her heart, but if I achieve my objective, it will break her spirit. Somehow that seems even worse.
Gloria swivels toward her neighbor. “What about you, Angela?”
Angela sets a silver flask on the picnic table.
“Is that monogrammed?” Laura asks.
“It says ‘No You Can’t Have A Sip.’ My ex gave it to me for my birthday. He liked to tease me for refusing to share drinks.”
Bradley releases a reverberating snort. “I’m surprised you don’t share fluids, Angela. Seems right up your alley.”
She shoots dagger eyes at him before turning back to the rest of us. “Anyhow, I’ve been carrying it around for years, but I’m ready to let it go.”
Stefan twists off the lid and sniffs inside. “Smells clean. When’s the last time you used it?”
“I never drank from it, dear. I only carried it around because Paul gave it to me.” Her shoulders lift and fall as she expels a deep breath. “But I found out he got married last month, so I figure I might as well lighten my load.”
Her admission shifts something inside me. Angela has been carting around that flask as a symbol of hope. Now it’s only the memory of unrequited love.
