Child’s Play

“Adults can play children’s games, too.”

➳ ➳

“Piece of cake!” Darren yelled, fit pumping into the air.

“I can’t believe we were so far ahead of everyone on that!” Taylor cheered back at her teammate.

Darren laughed with her but added, “Yeah, seriously! All thanks to you though.  Good thing you had loved scavenger hunts so much when you were little.”

“Remind me to thank my mum for that one.  She’s the one who always insisted on creating them around the house and neighborhood for me and Caroline,” Taylor recalled a couple of her fondest childhood memories.

“Sounds like you had a fun time with it,” he said as they walked in through the doorway of the house from the backyard where the winners had been announced.  “I’ll grab a few drinks from the kitchen for the team in celebration.  What do you want – JD? Wine?”

She shoved him to the side and snickered.  “Oh shut up and just get me a Sprite.”

As Darren ran inside, Taylor stayed behind to wait for her boyfriend to catch up.  She knew that he’d be upset about losing, especially to her.  Anytime he was upset with himself, he would never just drown in his sorrows for a little while and then get over it — he’d beat himself up over it instead and question himself and his abilities.  It was the one of Daniel’s qualities that she disliked the most.  However, all she could do was be by his side and try to cheer him up.

That’s exactly what she was planning on doing.

As he and Derrick sulked their way towards her, she rattled her brain for any possible activities around the house that they could all do in order to distract them and lift their spirits.  “Around the house” being the key words, as one of the game’s rules was that they were not permitted to leave the property.  Her thoughts were scattered as she tried to brainstorm:

There’s the pool — we could have a cannonball contest? Oh, that would be a contest though. We could just jump in and all cool off and lay on the floaties and stuff?  Or there’s the X-Box — I could start that up and get them to play a cooperation game.  Uhmm …. no, maybe the best thing would just to play a round of Never Have I Ever; it’d be something to take the edge off and get to know everyone a little more.

Once she landed on that last idea, she looped her arms through Daniel’s and Derrick’s and walked with them into the living area where she’d soon have started the game’s first round of the night.