Uncle Niko, Luka, and Stana don’t come to the table. Neither does Prabaka.
“Thank you,” I reply. “And thanks again for all you did at my apartment the other day.”
She nods without saying anything.
“Everyone liked the cupcakes,” Roman says. “Feel free to bring some next time. And we won’t say no to pancakes. Come next Sunday and make them fresh. We’ll have breakfast for dinner.”
I smile with what I hope is polite but non-committal.
“What else you cook?” Baka asks.
“That’s about it. Pancakes and cupcakes. Anything else I make isn’t much to write home about.”
“When you two get married and have babies, I’ll teach you,” Baka says. “Ana come; we’re ready to play.”
“Don’t you like Monopoly, Stana?” I call over.
She looks timidly at me for a moment and then looks at her husband briefly before shrugging and getting up to join us.
“I would like to be the thimble if no one took it,” she says very softly.
Baka looks at me strangely and then passes the thimble to Stana.
24
Jude
I walk into my mother’s place and it’s loud in here. It’s almost always loud, but it’s currently board-game loud with the addition of Ally’s laughter.
“Did you get it?” Ivana asks, bouncing on the couch.
I hand the plastic bag to her. “Don’t open it. Wait for Ally. Okay?”
“Okay.” She smiles big and holds the bag like it’s something precious. “But can I look at the box?”
“Yes, but don’t open it,” my mother calls out.
I approach the table and everyone is smiling except Baka.
Stana is at the table. She never plays.
Ally’s even smiling right at me. “Hey,” she says.
“She took all my money,” Baka informs. “I’m out. First she bankrupted Stana, then your mother, now me.”
Ally has a pile of money and Baka’s got her arms folded.
I lean over and touch my lips to Ally’s cheekbone. “Shit. You’re cleanin’ house, baby.”
Ally smiles wide and does a shoulder shimmy. The room is all smiles. I like this. A lot.
“Psh. Clean house in the game, but don’t clean your own house,” Baka mutters under her breath.
Ally’s expression drops.
I scowl at my grandmother.
“Sorry,” Baka says. “I’m… competitive. Forgot to tell you the rule, if you’re at this table playing a board game and someone says something you don’t like, you can’t leave the table mad. It’s the rules. We talk smack here when we play games.”
“It’s true,” Stana says.
And I’m floored. Stana playing and talking?
Ally shrugs and gets a wide smile. “Yeah, well too bad for you because I took all your money and I’d do it again. And I only made a mess of my apartment to make a point. With him.” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder at me.
Baka laughs.
“I glitter bombed his room,” Ally says proudly.
All eyes bounce to me.
“His room?” Luka asks, looking confused.
I give him a look he knows – a look to shut his mouth.
“She won two Free Parking pots,” My little brother Roman informs, helpfully. The kid knows what he’s doing – steering the conversation away from talk of sleeping arrangements at Ally’s place.
I’m thirty-two years old, but talking sleeping arrangements is always going to be taboo.
“Baka spent several rounds in ‘jail’,” my mother says. “And she was her usual dramatic about it.”
“Ally got hotels on first. And she took Park Place and Boardwalk,” Baka says. “We all know that’s how you win.”
“That, and having the shoe as your piece,” Ally adds, bumping Baka’s shoulder with hers.
Baka laughs.
“It’s about an hour till we eat,” my mother says. “Let me go check the roast.”
“Do you need help?” Ally asks.
“Finish your game. If you finish soon, there’s time to do Ivana’s hair before we eat if you want.”
“Hurry!” Ivana says excitedly.
Looks like it’s down to Ally and Roman. And it looks like she’s got next-level approval of my mother and Baka. Any woman who comes as a guest and offers to help in the kitchen gets in there with them.
Roman takes a turn and lands on one of Ally’s spaces with three houses.
She rolls and gets to advance to Go and collect more money.
Roman then gets assessed for street repairs and has to pay for all his properties. My phone rings and it’s Julian returning my call, so I slip outside into the courtyard to take it.
Ally watches me go outside and then goes back to her game.
When I come back in, Monopoly is put away and the table has been set for dinner.
“Who won?” I ask.
“Your girl won,” Uncle Niko replies. “Way to go, Ally.”
Ally smiles at him. “You don’t like Monopoly?”
“I play the real Monopoly every day of my life,” he says with dismay. “I own this building and two others.”
“Ah,” Ally says, chuckling. “I get you.”
Ally, Aunt Ivana, my mother, and Baka head out the sliding doors behind the dining table to the courtyard. Prabaka shuffles along behind them.
“Coming?” Ally asks Stana and she looks surprised at being included. She gets up and goes with her.