“I’m famished,” I reply, unable to keep from smiling at her bubbly personality.
“Me too. Let’s eat!”
§ 2
The three of us dig in. Curious, I ask if they always order this much food. Nikki tells me they do because each of them likes completely different crust, sauce and toppings. Consequently, they always end up with more food than they can eat in one sitting.
I thank them for sharing and offer to chip in for the expense, but Nikki looks at me as if I hurt her feelings for merely suggesting it.
“My mother would roll over in her grave if she ever found out I took money for food from a guest at my table. And she’s not even dead yet!” She roars with laughter. “No honey. You can have anything you want, free of charge!”
“You’re very gracious,” I tell her. “Thank you.” I pause, then ask, “Where’s Diego?”
“Oh, he was just havin’ a little nap before supper. Worked a double shift last night and today. Got home an hour ago, then has to go back there again tonight! At two in the morning!”
“Ouch.”
“Oh, he’ll be alright. He might be a little sleepy when he comes out, but he’ll be just as happy to see you as I am.”
Diego saunters in about ten minutes later, looking like he needed more than a nap, but I keep my thoughts to myself.
“BJ my man! How’s it hanging dude?” He holds out his hand and waits for me. I hesitate a moment, then grasp his hand confidently. We go through a series of complicated handshake maneuvers he taught me two years ago. I miss one somewhere in the middle, but he graciously steers me back on course. When we finish, he says, “My man! You remembered!”
Humbly, I reply, “Almost!”
“Close enough for me! What’chou doin’ in town? Ain’t no phillies out here in the sticks. Maybe you already got one back home?”
“Nope. No philly back home,” I say mellow-dramatically. “I’m still a wild stallion, grazing pastures far and wide.”
Diego laughs. Nikki hoots her approval. Allie looks like she’s trying to figure out how serious I am.
“I’m just kidding,” I confess. “I don’t get out very often. Too much work and not enough play.”
“Well,” Allie says between bites. “Maybe I can help with that. Earlier, I wasn’t sure what to do tonight, but now I have an idea.”
We jabber and catch each other up on our lives as we eat. After we’ve had our fill, I retrieve my overnight bag from the car. Allie gives me a tour of the place, which doesn’t take long.
Other than the eat-in kitchen, the main level consists of a single bedroom, shared by Nikki and Diego, a full bathroom, a small coat closet, and a den-like area with a loveseat and recliner facing a wood burning fireplace.
A narrow stairway leading up reveals a second small bedroom with low, sloped ceilings. There’s a king-sized bed and a chest of drawers crammed in it, leaving virtually no room to walk. A small door on one wall leads to a half bath.
“And that’s it,” Allie says. “Cozy, huh?”
“Very,” I agree, setting my beer down and walking to the window to glance out at the sun setting on the far end of the lake. “And beautiful. Like a postcard.”
She comes to stand next to me, slipping her arm around my waist. I place mine around her shoulder. We watch the sun set for a few minutes without talking. The room grows gradually dimmer.
“So… where exactly were you going to put me for the night? My astute powers of observation informed me there’s no spare bedroom and no couch. Do I get to curl up on the floor next to the fireplace?” I ask her, amused.
“Hey, don’t knock it,” she warns me. “That’s a great spot in the winter. I’ve fallen asleep there many times snuggled up in a blanket.”
“Okay, I won’t knock it ’til I try it,” I assure her.
“You’re more than welcome to sleep by the fireplace if you want. We can make you up a pallet all nice and comfy, but I figured you could just sleep in my bed,” she says, gesturing to the hulking giant. “There’s certainly enough real estate here that we probably won’t encounter one another even if we tried to.” She laughs.
“Does it come with a map in case I get lost?” I jest.
Allie laughs at my comment and nods her head. “I know, it’s huge. I wouldn’t have chosen this big of a bed, but it came with the place. The previous renters squeezed it in here somehow but weren’t able to get it back out without damaging it, so they left it behind. I’d rather have the space, but I really can’t complain. It’s so damn comfortable!”
As if to prove her point, she launches herself towards the middle of the bed, twisting in the air and landing on her back, then sprawls out with a contented sigh. She looks positively adorable.
Unsure if sleeping in a bed with my niece is a wise course of action, but not wanting to hurt her feelings, I reply in a business-like manner, “I’ll consider your offer, but I’m not prepared to make a commitment at this time. Nikki and Diego might make a more tempting offer.”
Her mouth opens wide in mock affront. “What?!” she says indignantly, climbing to her knees and grabbing a pillow. “A better offer?” She begins hitting me with the pillow in rapid succession. “You ungrateful lout!”
Laughing, I run for the stairs and descend fast with Allie chasing me, occasionally landing a blow. Unfortunately there’s really nowhere to hide, so I surprise her by turning around and ducking past her to run back up the stairs. Finally cornering me in her room, she lands several good ones as I stand there and take my medicine.
Finally ceasing her barrage, she shoves me backwards onto the bed. She straddles me and pins my wrists down, ending with a fit of giggling.
“There!” she says, triumphantly. Nikki and Diego appear soon after to see what all the commotion is about.
“What on earth are y’all doin’?” Nikki demands.
“Looks like a wrestling match,” Diego adds. “And Allie’s the winner!”
“Oh good,” Allie says. “Since we’re all here, let’s have some fun!”
§ 3
“We…” Allie begins suspensefully, getting up to pull a box out of a nearby cabinet. “…are going to play… this!” She turns around to reveal an adult drinking card game of some sort. I’ve never heard of it, but I don’t get out much, so I examine it curiously. Diego looks like he’s more than willing to forego a little sleep for a little fun, but Nikki just groans.
“Are you trying to get me thrown in jail girl?” she states dramatically. “Last time you made me play a game like that, the next day Diego told me I did all sorts of crazy shit I don’t even remember doing! All that week I was looking at people’s faces in town wondering if they knew something about me that I didn’t and were judging me for it!” She looks scandalized as she recalls the event.
Allie and Diego are rolling in laughter. Allie manages to compose herself enough to say, “But you had fun, didn’t you?”
“Sure. What I remember anyway,” Nikki admits.
“Don’t worry Nikki,” my niece assures her. I haven’t played this one yet, but it looks ‘safer’ than the other one. I glanced at a few of the cards and they were mostly harmless,” stressing the word ‘mostly’.
Nikki looks at Diego. “You have to work later.”
“I can spare a couple hours. Plus, I sleep better after a few drinks.” Diego postulates, smiling from ear to ear.
Nikki turns to me. “Are you sure you trust your crazy niece enough? I mean, how well do you really know her? You might end up in jail.”
Struggling to keep a straight face, I try to appear thoughtful as I answer. “Well… I’ve always wondered what it’s like to ride in the back of a police car.”
Diego laughs. Nikki rolls her eyes then tells Allie resignedly, “Okay, I’ll play your little game, but I’m holding you personally responsible for any trouble I might get into.” Despite her words, I catch a hint of a smile on her face.
Allie laughs. “Deal! And we’ll play on my bed since there’s plenty of room and it’s more comfortable than sitting on the floor.”
My niece instructs Diego and I to fetch all the beer, rum and coke from downstairs. When we return, we plop down on her bed.
After dimming the lights, we share a toast. Diego and I lift our bottles of craft beer. Allie and Nikki lift their glasses of Captain and Coke.
“To my Uncle Sebastian,” Allie announces. “He finally came to visit!” Laughing, she takes a drink. The rest of us follow suit.
“Sebastian?” Diego says, confused. “Is that your real name?”
“I’m afraid it is,” I admit.
“Then why does everyone call you BJ?” he asks.
“Well… Sebastian was too much for me to say when I was little,” I explain, “so I just called myself Bastian. But later on that was a pain for people to spell. They always got it wrong. My middle name is Joseph, so I started going by BJ, short for Bastian Joe.”
“That is so cool,” he says. “And so convoluted!” He laughs and toasts me again. Or maybe he just wanted another drink.
Allie opens the box and shuffles the cards. Making sure we have plenty of alcohol nearby, we begin.
Being the youngest, Nikki goes first. Allie reads the card. “Drink if you’ve ever completely forgotten a night because of drinking too much.”
“What’d you stack the deck?!” Nikki exclaims. The rest of us burst out laughing. Nikki drinks, then play moves to Allie on her left. Since I’m on Allie’s left, I read the card for her.
“Truth or Dare?” I ask.
“Truth,” she answers, then holds her breath.
I pause dramatically, giving her a malicious look to imply the question’s going to embarrass her, then continue. “Have you ever been skinny dipping?”
Looking relieved, she smiles and answers, “Yes. Just last weekend in fact.” My eyebrows lift in mock surprise.
My turn.
Diego reads, “Would you rather kiss the person to your left or right?”
“Uhm…” I begin, glancing at Diego then at my niece. “Right.” She holds my gaze, blushing slightly.
“Oooooh!” Nikki cat-calls.
“Awww man, you just hurt my feelings,” Diego says, teasing.
“You’ll get over it,” I tell him, turning to note his reaction. He pretends to wipe tears from his eyes.
“Your turn,” I say. “Maybe you’ll get an ego boost from this next card.”
Nikki reads, “Drink if you’ve had sex within the past twelve hours.”
Diego takes a healthy swallow. Nikki drinks too, despite it not being her card. Allie rolls her eyes.
Allie reads for Nikki, “Everyone drinks. Draw another card.” We all comply. Allie reads the next card for Nikki.
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