Page 55 of Holly versus Mr. Ivy
“That’s very generous of you to offer. I’ll see what my parents want to do. I’m hoping things will calm down and everyone will come to their senses.”
I squeezed his bicep, offering him comfort. Warmth seeped into me. Quickly dropping my hand, I spun around. “Let’s eat.”
“It smells good.”
I went into the kitchen. “Noah made waffles.”
Rhett jerked his chin up in greeting to Noah. For Mom? He grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Hi, Deidre. You’re looking fantastic this morning. How are you?”
She patted Rhett’s hand. “Wonderful, now that you’re here. Get yourself a plate and come sit by me.”
Rhett, with a teasing glint in his eyes, pointedly said to Noah and Trevor. “Who leaves the most beautiful woman in the room to sit by herself?”
Hey, now. Mom was gorgeous, but what about me? “Iam sitting next to her.”
Trevor and Noah snorted out laughs.
Rhett pointed at me. “See? Holly understands.”
“Stop flattering the women and get something to eat. Holly wants to redeem herself in Telestrations,” Noah said.
Rhett looked quite pleased. “I was the Pictionary champion in college. Holly’s redemption might be usurped.”
Of course Rhett could draw. Was there anything he couldn’t do?
Chapter 22
Rhett
Noteveryonehadtheskills necessary to see an object and then get it down on paper. Holly most decidedly was one of those people. I stared at the drawing she passed me, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out.
There was a circle in the middle with squiggly lines underneath. That was it. Each round in the game lasted sixty seconds. Even a toddler could manage such a feat within seconds. What had Holly been doing during the rest of the round? Any other detail to indicate what this drawing was supposed to be would’ve helped.
Was it a sunset over the ocean? A hot plate? The moon? I wrote “good vibrations” and passed the book to Deidre. The timer went off, and Holly slid her notebook to me. I flipped the chart to the correct page. Holly had written “camping.”
Easy.
I quickly drew a tent, campfire, and someone roasting a marshmallow. The game continued until everyone had drawn and guessed the appropriate number of times.
“I’ll share mine first,” Noah offered. He flipped his book open, revealing his word: bellybutton. Holly had drawn a stick figure with an arrow pointing to the middle. I had guessed “stomach,” and Deidre had drawn a guy with a big gut hanging over his pants. Trevor had ended the round by guessing “beer belly.”
“Oh, come on, you guys!” Noah complained. “That word is easy. Holly, why didn’t you draw a little circle for the belly button or try to do a person instead of a stick figure?”
Holly shrugged. “I did the best I could.”
Noah threw his hands up. “Hols, you’re trying to screw me over so I won’t win. Trevor, trade places with me.”
Trevor shook his head. “No way. There’s a reason I sat away from Holly.”
“Rude!” Holly shouted. “You guys act like I’m the worst at this game. I’ve almost won a few times.”
I rubbed a hand over my mouth, hiding a smile. Growing up, I had always wanted siblings. The banter, the presence of an automatic playmate, and moments like this made me sad I hadn’t gotten to enjoy this side of a larger family. In some ways, being an only child had perks, but more often than not, I craved the connection of a sibling. It wasn’t until I met Jack in high school that I found someone who filled that hole in my chest.
Also, watching Holly be wild and free, unlike her restrained manner at work, deepened my attraction to her.
“Just because you got easy words and somehow managed to not screw it up, does not mean you’re good at Telestrations,” Trevor said. “I’m confused why you pick this one every month. We have dozens of other boardgames to play.”
Holly snatched the books out of everyone’s hands. “Fine. Then let’s move on.”
