The Word Game (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

T
RICIA

Amid shrieks and giggles and the sounds of revved-up engines and blowing horns, Tricia laughed. She loved when her house was full of exuberant children and ordered chaos, as if the very energy in the room filled her up.

“Are you sure we don’t have room for more kids? We could invite the boys’ soccer teams over.” Mark joined her at the kitchen table where she sat and clamped his hands over his ears.

“Oh, come on, you love this as much as I do.” She beamed a full smile at him and then laughed again at the look on his face. “Okay, maybe not so much the shrieking. Maybe you should go tell the boys to tone it down a little. They’re worse than the girls right now.”

“Worse than the girls? I’d say they’re worse than the dogs.” Mark snapped his fingers at the dogs, who immediately sat down and whined. They obviously wanted to join the boys in their fun.

The boys were in the family room playing some car game on the system Mark had connected to the surround sound.

When Tricia had suggested using their home for the dance group’s recital sleepover, her three boys had complained about the house being overrun by girls, until she’d suggested they each invite one of their friends to sleep over. Yes, it made things a bit more . . . challenging, having a house full of fifteen children, but what was life without something fun to shake things up?

“Maybe all this sugar so late at night wasn’t the best idea?”

Tricia lifted her mug of coffee. “No, but this is.” It was after nine, and she was on her second cup and it wasn’t decaf. Normally by now, she’d be in bed, cuddled up beside her husband, watching one of their recorded shows. But she had a funny feeling there would be no sleeping or cuddling, or anything else, until the wee hours of the morning.

“When is the pizza coming?”

Mark glanced at his watch. “Anytime now. I ordered extra, knowing what the boys are like. No doubt they’ll be sneaking into the kitchen while we’re sleeping and raid the fridge.”

“There’d better not be any sneaking tonight. Not for food or anything else . . .” Tricia shook her head at the thought. She had a house stuffed full of children ranging from the ages of eight all the way to thirteen, and even though the majority of the kids were girls, she wasn’t naïve.

Girls could be the worst culprits when it came to troublemaking.

“Is Myah still here?” Mark eyed the empty cup at the table, where Myah had sat a little while ago.

“She just went out to her car. She brought the girls some party bags to celebrate their first recital and needs to hand them out before she leaves.”

“The kids did pretty good tonight, didn’t they?” Mark sounded a little surprised.

“Did you expect anything less? Myah’s a good instructor.”

“Oh, I knew that. But for most of these girls, this was their first public dancing gig, right? I don’t know . . . I guess I was expecting something a bit more childish. And Katy . . . for all her grumbling and complaining, she actually did pretty good.”

“I know, right?” She was so proud of her daughter, even though after this recital, Katy wanted to take a break. She wanted to try something different, and Tricia didn’t have the heart to force her to continue something she wasn’t enjoying. Unlike her cousin, Lyla, who was in swimming and dance and had been for a few years now, Katy, so far, had tried swimming, ballet, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, wall climbing, and dance. Maybe one day she’d find an activity she really liked.

“Has Aly called yet?”

Tricia shook her head. “They’re probably all at the restaurant still. Give her another hour, and then she’ll probably send a text asking about Lyla.” Actually, she’d be surprised if it took her sister an hour. She knew tonight would be hard for her. If Scott was smart, he’d keep her occupied. She’d already talked with Rachel, who promised to keep her out as late as possible.

To say Alyson tended to be controlling was being generous. Aly was not just a control freak but a helicopter-style mother who wore the pants in her family and organized everyone and everything around her. She needed to be 100 percent in control of every facet of her life.

Tonight was the first time Aly had ever allowed her daughter to join a sleepover at someone else’s home. It was a big deal. Tricia had been asking for more than a few years now to let Lyla stay over, but it never happened—until now. This recital-party sleepover came about not because she felt it important for the kids to celebrate like this but because she knew Lyla would be so excited that Alyson couldn’t say no. Not to this. Not to a sleepover that included every single one of the girls from the class. Tricia had worked her magic on her sister, even to the point of letting Aly think this whole sleepover business was her idea.

“Doesn’t it seem like Myah is taking a while?” Mark gave her a look, and she knew he thought she should check and see. First, she called the dogs and sent them into the back room where she’d arranged their dog beds for the night, and then closed the door. The last thing she needed was to have them underfoot when the pizza arrived.

When she went outside, Myah was sitting on the wicker chair on her front porch, a large box at her feet. She was hissing words into her phone.

Tricia debated whether to let her friend know she was there or just head back into the house.

“I’m beginning to hate you. You know that, right?” Myah said into the phone.

“Myah?” Tricia spoke her name softly, so as not to startle her. Myah waved her hand.

“Okay, Eddie, give me thirty minutes,” Myah said before she hung up.

Tricia leaned against the wood railing and waited for Myah to regain her composure.

“I should have listened to you. Next time, make me listen to you,” Myah muttered.

“You fell in love. You wouldn’t listen to any of us,” Tricia reminded her.

Myah and Eddie had been dance partners for years and got married just under two years ago. Tricia had never liked the man, felt he was an oily-tongued snake, but Myah wouldn’t listen. She’d fallen under his spell, thinking she could help him change his ways.

“Next time, really make me listen.” Myah picked up the box at her feet. “Help me hand these out? I need to meet with Eddie in half an hour.”

Tricia held the door open for her. “Are you sure you want to do that tonight?”

“I need to.” Myah said, her face downcast. “I just need to get it done, you know?”

“I know. Now, no frowns. Let’s go give the girls these gift bags before the pizza arrives.”

The basement buzzed with noise as they walked down the stairs, but it wasn’t until Tricia opened the door that the full blast of having all these girls in one room hit her.

Myah whistled to grab their attention, and within moments, everyone had quieted down.

Tricia glanced around and noticed the girls had already rolled out their sleeping bags on the floor. Lyla was unobtrusively moving her sleeping bag closer to the wall.

Tricia couldn’t help but smile. Like mother, like daughter.

While Myah talked to the girls about the amazing job they’d all done that night, the doorbell rang and Tricia made her way back upstairs. As Mark paid the delivery driver, Tricia set out the boxes of pizza along with plastic plates and napkins and let the boys get their slices first.

“How’s the game going?” she asked David, her oldest.

“Good. Brandon and I are winning.”

“Are you being nice to your brothers? Making sure they’re having a good time too?” She’d taken him aside earlier and asked him to help keep things running smoothly among all the boys.

“Yes, Mom.”

“And you remember what we said earlier, right? About leaving the girls alone?”

“You going to tell them the same thing?” He eyed her with interest.

“Of course.” She caught the look he gave his friend Brandon. “Why?” she asked. “Is there something I should know?”

Her son shook his head. “I’ll keep an eye on it. One of the girls has a crush on Brandon.”

“Really?” Weren’t the kids too young for this? So far Katy hadn’t shown any indication of liking boys—either that or she was just blind to it. In all honestly, she wasn’t ready for this stage. She was hoping to wait until Katy was at least fifteen or sixteen before she had to deal with broken hearts.

“Hey, Tricia?” Myah climbed the stairs. “The girls can smell the pizza. Are you ready for them?”

“Elijah, are you sure you don’t want to take an extra slice?” Tricia reached for a slice of Hawaiian, her middle son’s favorite, and placed it on his plate. “Send them up.”

For the next ten minutes, the mayhem in her kitchen knew no bounds. The girls clustered together, whether sitting at the table, snagging stools from the counter, or standing beside their friends. The boys had migrated to the living room, and a few of the girls followed and sat on the floor, hoping to play the video game as well.

“I gotta run. You going to be okay?” Myah tapped Tricia on the shoulder, her bag slung over her shoulder.

Tricia laughed. “Are you seriously asking me that? I’ll be fine. Go. Call me if you need me, okay?” She gave Myah a quick hug then watched her friend say good-bye to her daughter.

She didn’t understand why Myah would meet Eddie so late at night but trusted she knew what she was doing.

It took another hour of corralling to get the kids into their respective areas and to explain the rules. Boys had to stay upstairs and girls in the basement—no sneaking around except to go to the bathroom.

“Seriously, Mom?” Katy had said. “As if we want the boys to bug us anyways.” She stuck her tongue out toward her brothers before she turned and led the girls down to the basement.

“Should you follow?” Mark asked her once the kitchen was finally empty.

Tricia shook her head. “I’ll give them a bit to get settled and figure out a game plan. That’ll give us time to clean the kitchen at least.”

Mark grabbed a garbage bag and began to throw away empty plates and cups, while Tricia stacked the empty pizza boxes.

“But I think tonight will be fine. They’re only kids.”

Mark laughed, dropped the bag, and grabbed her by the waist. “Only kids? Do you have any idea what I did between the ages of eleven and fourteen? I had found all my father’s
Playboy
magazines and—”

“Disgusting.” Tricia stopped him going any further. She was well aware of his escapades. They’d known each other since middle school.

“I’m just saying that maybe we shouldn’t do any more coed sleepovers.”

“Perhaps. If you’re so worried about it, feel free to sleep with the boys tonight.” She winked. “I’m sure they’d love to have an old man stink up the room with them.”

“Who are you calling old?” He growled at her before lifting her up in his arms. “Could an old man do this?” He walked with her in his arms, then held her against the wall and kissed her.

“Stop.” She laughed, pushing him away until her feet touched the ground again. “Behave yourself. The last thing we need is one of the kids seeing us make out in the kitchen and telling their parents.”

“I’m surprised your mother never showed up. I would have thought she’d be in the thick of things tonight.”

“She’s coming in the morning to help me with breakfast.” She would make pancakes to her heart’s content and then help clean once all the kids left. Her mother was like Aly, a neat freak, so it was a win-win situation for Tricia, since it meant she’d have more help in the morning and a clean house in the end.

“Should we check in on the kids again before we head to bed?”

“Are you suggesting we embarrass our kids while we’re saying good night?” Tricia could see the twinkle in her husband’s gaze and chuckled. “I’ll check in on the girls and see you upstairs.”

When she opened the door downstairs, she was surprised to find a quiet room. The girls had a movie on, and everyone seemed to be watching it. She made her way across the room to where Katy and Keera sat on the sofa.

“Having fun?” she said quietly to her daughter.

“It’s okay. Just watching a movie, and then we’ll go to bed.” Katy whispered back.

“Uh-huh. Just keep it down, okay? And no sneaking upstairs to the boys. Got it?” She gave Keera a look too.

“
As if
. Good night, Mom.” Katy nudged her mom off the couch and leaned her head close to Keera, whispering something to her.

Tricia wove her way toward Lyla’s sleeping bag, where the little girl was lying on her belly watching the movie. Tricia hunched down and gave her niece a kiss on the top of her head.

“Doing okay?” She asked.

Lyla nodded.

“If you need me, you know where I am.”

“I’ll be okay, Aunt Tricia, but thank you. Is Grandma coming over tomorrow for breakfast?”

Tricia smiled. She’d seen Ida hug Lyla hard earlier in the evening, and she must have told her.

“You bet she is. She’s going to make her awesome pancakes just for us. Maybe you can help her?” Tricia figured if she gave Lyla something to look forward to in the morning, she might actually stay the whole night. Although, she didn’t think that would be a problem, not from the way Lyla was acting.

“Good night.” Lyla whispered, obviously wanting to watch the movie.

“Night, love.”

This was working. It was actually working. She knew it would, had known from the moment she thought of it, but to actually have it working . . . She was good, if she did say so herself. Lyla’s first full sleepover was going to be a success, and from here on out, Alyson couldn’t say no to any future sleepovers. At least, she hoped she wouldn’t.

She looked in on the boys, saying good night, and then headed upstairs to her bedroom. She kept the door open—that way they could hear if anyone was up and about.

“Think they’ll all go to sleep like good little boys and girls?” Mark asked once they were settled in bed.

“Are you kidding me? I got the little angel act from the girls. How were the boys?”

He shrugged. “About the same. They swore they were going to watch one movie and then go to sleep.”

“Right.” They both said at the same time.

“I found our old baby monitor in the closet and set it up in the kitchen where the kids can’t see it.” He leaned over and picked up the monitor from the floor. “Still works, see?” He turned it on and dialed the volume up loud enough so they could hear in the background the movie the boys were watching. He turned it down to a low murmur and set it on his nightstand.