Page 92 of I Got You

Maggie talks with her mouth full. “Cole, you leave your stuff here all the time. I give you one week to pick it up, and then….” She shrugs innocently. “We have enough mess around here without adding your junk to it.”

Teddy comes around the corner. “Is it bingo time? I can’t wait to see what’s in there.” He rubs his hands together.

We finish eating, and plates are tossed in the trash while Gwen and Simone pull out dessert. The rest of the group crams into the living room for bingo. I find my seat on the couch again, and Maggie drops the box beside me.

“What do you have of mine in there?” I ask, trying to determine if my wife is really a thief in disguise.

She leans over close to my ear. “You’re lucky. You’re actually pretty tidy. Although, those pants might have been tossed in there.”

This woman is evil. Plain and simple. I want those pants because I’ll burn them and make her watch, knowing no man will see her in them. Ever.

“Alright, people.” Maggie sits on the floor between my legs. “Let’s see who gets the first peek in the box.”

And so the game begins. I help Liv with her card until she leaves me to wiggle her way next to her new BFF, Nick, while the boys play two or three cards at a time. Maggie calls out a letter and the number while squares are marked. Five minutes in, we hear, “BINGO!”

Hank and Simone both have bingo and get first dibs on whatever is in Maggie’s secret box.

“Ha.” Hank pulls out a pair of Airpods and holds them up.

“No way, man.” Cole’s voice rises. “Hand them over. Those are mine.”

Hank grins and returns to his spot on the floor. “Rules are rules, bruh. Me winny, me keepy.”

“We’ll just see about that after this thievery is over,” Cole warns.

Simone returns to her seat with a five-dollar bill. “Someone’s awfully careless with their money.”

“Hey. That’s mine,” Teddy whines.

“Yeah, right,” Garrett chides. “You never have any money.”

“Ok, boys. Clear your cards. We’re going again,” Maggie directs.

Soon laughter fills the room as Gwen pulls out an unreturned library book that Garrett wants to return and collect his fee back. Sadie finds a Barbie doll that she immediately hands off to Liv, which causes the room to erupt with protests for showing favoritism. She only grins, not giving a single crap what all these boys think.

Nick is next in the box, grabbing a can of Pringles that ends up shooting out a spring snake along with tiny spiders that have Simone crawling into Todd’s lap.

Teddy rolls on the floor laughing as Nick flicks the spiders off his head. “Dude, I wondered where that went. I had it set out for Maggie.”

Nick tosses spiders back at him, which only makes the group laugh harder.

“Teddy, there is something wrong with you.” Simone shivers.

Garrett finally has a turn and, after digging around, pulls out a small white envelope. “Hmmm. What do you think is in here?”

Hank jumps up. “I’ll take that.”

“This is where it gets interesting,” Maggie says, wrapping her arms around my legs and squeezing.

“Oh no. You little punk.” Cole jumps up. “That’s mine. Garrett, you and me. Tickets to the next Marvel movie and all the snacks you want.”

“Garrett. If you want to sleep at night. You bring that right over here. These Airpods are yours. Think of all the amazing medical podcasts you can listen to in peace,” Hank counters.

“What’s in there?” Teddy asks, and no one answers.

Liv’s sweet voice chimes in. “Garrett, I’ll give you my Belle doll.”

The room goes quiet for just a second as Garrett tips his head to the side, thinking, but then Todd enters the bidding.

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