Page 66 of The Closed Off Captain

“Well, my job here is done. Have fun ladies.” He doesn’t make it two steps before his mother stops him.

“Gunner, you’re playing too.”

His smile drops. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

“Well, your fiancé wants to learn how to play. And once she knows how to play, she’s going to need someone to play with. You don’t want to let her down, do you?”

“Yeah, Coftman, you don’t want to let me down, do you?” I parrot with a challenging look. He walks over to the small table and pulls out the seat next to mine. I give him my most saccharine smile. “How nice of you to join us.”

His mom smiles at both of us. “All right, you two. Let me explain the rules.”

A few minutes later, we’ve built the wall and are ready to start. We each get our thirteen tiles, while Mrs. Coftman gets fourteen. I’m still not exactly sure how that’s fair, but whatever. I learn the game pretty quickly. Gunner—not so much. I hide my smile every time he tries to pick up a tile from the middle, and his mom tells him he can’t. He catches me at one point.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Immensely. I’m having fun watching you struggle at something. It’s refreshing for us mere mortals.”

He shakes his head at me. “You’re the worst.”

Mrs. Coftman wins the first game; no surprise there. I immediately beg for a rematch and end up winning the second. “I really like this game,” I say after the end of the second game.

“That’s just because you won,” Gunner points out.

“Well, I mean yeah. Who wants to play and lose?”

His voice is deadpan when he asks, “Like me?”

I shrug. “I mean, if the shoe fits.”

“You’re evil,” he returns, knocking his knee into mine under the table. After his mom wins the third round, Gunner sits back in his chair, and I glance at my phone.

“We need to get going, right?” I ask.

He nods. “Yeah, so we can beat the traffic and grab something on the way. Mom, you up to going?”

“Yes, let me just fluff my hair really quick, and I’ll be ready.”

She starts to pick up the pieces. “We’ve got it,” I assure her. I stand up and start picking up the pieces and putting them in the carrying case.

“Do you need to get ready? Fluff your hair?” Gunner asks with a smirk.

“Nope. I do not want to fluff my hair. I work way too hard at straightening it every day.”

He turns curious eyes on my hair. “Your hair isn’t naturally straight?”

I laugh. “No. I spend time every morning getting it to look that way.” He stares at my hair, like he’s trying to solve a puzzle. “Don’t let it stress you out, Coftman.”

“I just can’t picture you with anything besides straight hair.”

It’s not long before the three of us are in Gunner’s truck. I volunteered to sit in the back, so Mrs. Coftman could sit up front. It wasn’t without a fight, but I didn’t really leave her another option when I climbed in first.

We stop for dinner at a sandwich shop and then continue to the game. The ride passes quickly with Gunner’s mom keeping a running commentary most of the time. I spend the time listening but also getting some work done. When we get close, I remember the quick phone call I made this morning. “Coftman, you’re supposed to park on the far side and enter where the players enter. Security will let you through; they said just to tell themwho you are. They’ll escort us in, so you don’t get mobbed.”

Gunner’s eyes meet mine in the mirror. “When did you work all that out?”

I shrug. “I just made a quick call this morning.”

“Thanks for doing that.”

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