“Yeah, why?” Curt inquired, looking up from the board.
“Because there’s a better move you can make,” she answered, taking a seat at the table.
“We can’t get help from others,” Reese informed Leah.
Gavin cleared his throat in an effort not to laugh. The girl sounded extremely serious.
“Sorry, I didn’t know,” Leah apologized, her lips trying not to break into a smile. “I won’t say anything else to him. Can I play the winner?”
“Auntie Taylor is going to, but maybe you can play the winner from that game.”
“Leah, the checkers are all yours. Reese and I play a lot at home. I don’t mind sitting out for a round,” Taylor replied.
He and Erin played all the classic board games as well as a few new ones, but they’d never played checkers. He wasn’t even sure she knew how. He already had a chessboard, but when he got home he’d pick up a set of checkers. Then the next time they were looking for a game to play, they could give it a try. As a kid, he’d enjoyed playing against both Harry and Vivian. Most of the time he won, especially against Harry, which was probably why his half brother often tried to cheat.
***
The game between Leah and Reese ended up being a close one, but in the end one bad move on Leah’s part handed the little girl the win. Following the game, Taylor agreed to one final match against her niece. Much to Reese’s disappointment, she didn’t win the game against her aunt. Afterward she cleaned up the game before heading down to play in the sand, leaving the adults to engage in conversation while still keeping an eye on her.
“Curt, I love your stuffed animal collection sitting on the sofa,” Leah teased.
At least twenty different stuffed toys were carefully arranged on the sofa inside. The sight of the colorful toys reminded Gavin of how Erin insisted on arranging each of her own stuffies just so on her bed.
Opening the cover for the grill, Curt took the comment in stride. “My secret’s out. But that collection is nothing compared to the one I have in New Hampshire.”
“Well, when it’s time to pick out a birthday present for you, I know just what to get,” Leah said.
Curt removed the burgers and sausages from the grill’s surface before lowering the cover. “If you can find it, I’d love a purple and pink unicorn for my collection. Or a fuzzy panda bear. I’ve always wanted a panda bear to sleep with at night.”
Reese, who joined them reluctantly after her aunt called her up, giggled as she sat down. “Grown-ups don’t have stuffies.”
“Who says we don’t, short stuff?” Curt added the platter to the already overflowing table of food. “I bet Gavin has a whole closet full.”
The girl laughed again, an infectious sound that had him chuckling too. “He does not,” Reese insisted. She didn’t wait for anyone else to grab food before adding a burger to her plate. “Stuffed animals are for kids.”
“I’ve got one at home in my closet. It’s a dark gray cat named Mr. Floppy.” Leah entered the conversation.
“You still have Mr. Floppy? I’m surprised it survived this long. You used to take that stuffed cat everywhere. Mom was always afraid you’d leave it somewhere,” Curt commented.
Gavin could relate. When Erin was younger, she wouldn’t leave the house without her favorite elephant and doll. She still insisted on bringing them with her when she visited him and slept with them every night, but they didn’t make anymore trips to the movie theater or park.
“Why did you name it Mr. Floppy? That doesn’t sound like a cat’s name. It sounds like a bunny’s name,” Reese asked before squirting a puddle of ketchup on her burger.
Reese had a point. Mr. Floppy did sound like a good name for a stuffed bunny rabbit with long ears. Then again, he’d had a favorite bear as a little kid. Even though it had been all white, he’d called it Brownie. According to Mom, he named it that because at the time his favorite fo
od was brownies, a sweet treat he still preferred over ice cream or cookies.
“His arms and legs were extra floppy and soft,” Leah explained. “They’re still floppy but not very soft anymore. Most of the fur on them is gone from being washed so many times.”
Gradually the conversation moved away from stuffed animals to baseball. Having grown up along the New York/Connecticut border, he’d always been a New York fan. He might prefer the New England Rebels when it came to football, but when it came to baseball, nothing would ever make him a Boston fan. Unfortunately, like most New Englanders living anywhere east of Hartford, Connecticut, everyone else at the table hated New York. It didn’t bother him. He was just happy Leah liked baseball. Amber hated it. When they’d been together, she refused to go to games with him. The few women he’d dated since hadn’t shown any interest in it either. Since she never mentioned it, he’d expected Leah to be the same.
“The next time New York plays Boston, we should all go together,” Leah suggested. “I’m sure they’ll face each other a few more times before the season ends.”
“Can I come too?” Reese asked around a mouthful of food. “I’ve never been to a baseball game. Curt took me to see a soccer game for my birthday. It’s my favorite sport. I’m teaching him how to play, and he’s teaching me how to play lacrosse. I want to try out for the team next year.”
Leah didn’t need to say anything for Gavin to know what she was thinking. She’d shared her curiosity regarding Reese and Curt’s relationship yesterday. These comments would only intensify it. He hoped Leah got to the bottom of the mystery soon, because even he was curious.
“She’s a tough coach.” Curt added more potato salad to his plate before grabbing a burger and stacking pickles and tomatoes on it.