Page 16 of The Beach House With You 2

“Well, look, your mom has a radio, right?” Whitney asked, pulling at the one she had clipped to her waistband and holding it up. “Here, if she has hers on, you should be able to reach her on channel three.”

With a look of great relief, Jacob took the radio as he said a quick thank you, and went into the sitting room. He came back only a few moments later, looking vastly relieved.

“She had it on,” Jacob sighed with a smile, “and she was very happy to hear that I was safe. Thank you, Miss Whitney,” he said as he handed the radio back to her.

“Of course,” she replied quickly, holding out the radio. “Anyone else need to call someone?”

Javier and Tony politely declined.

“Well, this is going to be fun, isn’t it?” Amanda said, rubbing her hands together. “Like a good old-fashioned sleepover!”

“Fire’s started in the sitting room,” Jason announced, moving to stand beside Jeanette. He put a hand on her shoulder and looked down at her fondly. “Let’s go get you ladies warmed up, yeah?”

“Yes, go do that,” Amanda quickly agreed, already gently pushing Carmen and Franny toward the sitting room. “I’ll go get the old percolator out and make us some strong Irish coffees. Thank goodness we decided to keep that old gas stove.”

“I’ll help,” Javier quickly offered, heading toward the kitchen.

“And I’ll go upstairs and get some rooms ready,” Whitney volunteered. “Jeanette’s been amazing at keeping them up for us, so it shouldn’t take long at all.”

As Amanda and Whitney went off to take care of things, Carmen, Franny, and Jeanette let themselves be led into the sitting room by Tony, Jacob, and Jason. The warmth of the fire hit Carmen’s face the moment she stepped in, and it was only then that she realized that she had been shivering. She sighed in relief as she lowered herself to the floor, and let the heat of the fire wash over her. A moment later, she felt a blanket drop around her shoulders, and she looked up just in time to see Jacob wink down at her.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, rubbing her back comfortingly. For a moment they held eye contact, both of them finding comfort in one another’s gaze.

8

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you guys still have these.” Jeanette laughed, looking through the array of old board games she found. After they were dry, she, Carmen, and Franny had set about lighting some candles around the room, and they all had started to explore the shelves of the sitting room as they nursed their Irish coffees.

Looking through the books, Carmen had found original copies of the Oz collection, and she had been talking about them excitedly with Jacob. They both looked up when her mom started talking about the games and saw that she was kneeling down beside an old trunk that had been used as a side table for one of the recliners.

“What are they, Mom?” Carmen asked curiously, walking over.

“Wow,” Jason said before Jeanette could answer. He picked up one of the boxes and held it up. The words Hero Quest were written in large calligraphy.

“I’ve never heard of that one,” Jacob replied, looking down into the trunk. Suddenly he laughed and reached for one. “Ah, Monopoly. This one I know.”

“What is Hero Quest?” Carmen asked, coming up beside Jason and her mom to check out the box.

“It was the best,” Jeanette gushed, taking the box from Jason. “We didn’t grow up in the age of technology like you kids did. We had sticks and fields and nature to keep us company. This was the closest thing we got to digital entertainment aside from the nine channels we got on the TV.”

“That’s it?” Franny asked, perplexed. “Just stuff outside and games like this?”

Jason, Jeanette, Amanda, Whitney, and Javier all laughed.

“You make it sound awful, but really it was great,” Jason replied.

“So what’s this game about?” Carmen asked, intrigued.

Jason explained that it was similar to Dungeons and Dragons, and when that produced even more blank expressions, the older adults started laughing again. Amanda continued the explanation as Jason and Jeanette set up the board, stating that one player ran the game while others went on the “adventures,” which included multiple fantasy creatures such as dragons, wizards, and shapeshifters. By the time she finished, Carmen, Jacob, Franny, and Tony still looked completely lost, but they were all willing to try it out.

Laughter began to fill the room as Jason became the game runner, and one generation attempted to teach the other how to play. Soon, they were so consumed with playing the game that the violent storm outside became nothing but background noise, and time slowly inched backwards to a simpler era.

Though she had reservations at first, Carmen and the others began to understand why the game was so great. It tapped into a part of her imagination that she didn’t realize she still had. Gradually, she let go of Carmen the call center manager, and became Carmen, the wily adventurer that helped keep her party out of traps and dungeons. Without realizing it, hours began to pass, and the old house filled with mirth as the game ensued. It wasn’t until they felt their stomachs starting to rumble that they realized that the day had passed, and it was now nearly nine o’clock.

“Okay, I understand a little better why this game is so great.” Carmen laughed after Jason called a break.

“It is a little addicting,” Franny agreed.

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