Page 84 of Hard Count
“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Pierce. Merry Christmas.”
“We’ll have none of that. I’m Evelyn or Mom around here. There’s some cookies to eatand some crackers and candy to make gingerbread houses on the table. Why don’t y’all sit down.”
“Is Dad going to judge?” I ask.
“You know he will. That’s his excuse for staying out in the den watching the game. This way he can’t peek.” She rolls her eyes. “What time will your dad be here, Drew?”
“He wasn’t too far behind us when we left. Should be any minute. Are you sure you don’t want any help with thecooking?” Drew asks as her eyes take in the mess all over the kitchen counters and island.
“I appreciate the offer but I work better alone. There’s a method to all of my madness. Nash, pull out a chair for her,” she says, making Drew giggle.
“You say that as if you didn’t raise me. I was going to anyway,” I whisper in Drew’s ear. I grab a pack of graham crackers and a piece of foil covered cardboard and hand it to her before taking my own.
I move one of the bowls of icing and set it down between us. My mom makes the royal icing from scratch but likes to go with the graham cracker route to see how creative we can get with building our structure. Drew carefully opens her pack of crackers and places them on the table.
“Have you ever made one of these before?” I ask when she doesn’t move to start the assembly process.
“I made a tree with an ice cream cone once in elementary school but we never did anything like this at home.”
I find her hand under the table. As I suspected, she’s rubbing at her tattoo and messing with her bracelet. Squeezing her hand, I say, “Anything goes. You can do whatever you want. You only get one pack of graham crackers but you can use whatever candy you want. It’s first come first serve. Any questions?”
She shakes her head. “I think I’m good.” She snaps a cracker in half and dips the edge into a bowl of icing.
“She’s going to win,” Koa grumbles. “Lauren won last year and she never made one before either. It’s always the personwho’s never made one before that wins.” He lets go of his house and it collapses.
“You’re not holding it together long enough for it to set,” Sydney says. “Let me help you.”
“You can’t. That’s cheating,” I inform them. “You know the rules.”
“Sounds like you’re making the rules up as you go,” Drew says, holding the four sides of her house together. “You didn’t mention you couldn’t have help when you were explaining the rules to me. You said anything goes.” She winks at Koa and Sydney.
“I like her.” Koa points a finger at Drew. I smack it out of my face. I regret sitting by him.
“I like her too,” my mom says as she transfers the contents of a bowl into a tin-foil pan liner. It’s probably one of her many side dishes she likes to make. I hope it’s the hash brown casserole. It’s one of my favorites.
“Are you really taking their side?” I glare at Drew. "It's supposed to be me and you."
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. We’re in competition mode now.”
“I see how it’s going to be. A little tip then.” I lean toward her. “My dad judges based on creativity instead of precision.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she deadpans, easily figuring out my lie.
“Are you ready for the next playoff game?” Koa asks, concentrating way too hard on lining up his roof.
“I think so,” I answer.
“They’re ready. They’re going to win it all,” Drew says, her eyes meeting mine with confidence.
“I remember you,” my mom says. “You sat in the second row of every game with a notebook in your lap. You were always taking videos of the game. I thought you might have been part of the journalism department and writing an article for the paper. But even then you were there for Nash."
A rosy hue forms on Drew’s cheeks. “I was.”
"Thank you," my mom says with watery eyes and turns back to the stove.
When I told them about Drew and explained that she's Coach's daughter and everything she did for me, they couldn't believe it. Coach has been a part of our lives for years and to know Drew had a hand in making it all happen felt like a miracle to them. They were the ones who bought me Newhouse sweatshirts every year for my birthday. They made sure I did well in school and practiced hard to make sure I got where I wanted to go.
But it was Drew who made it all happen.
