Page 27 of Acting Merry
Her eyes light up with the promise of vengeance. “Joke’s on you. I don’t kiss anyone without a complete dental history.”
“Yeah? Cuz you sure looked ready to give me a full, hands-on workup.”
“In your dreams.”
She’s not wrong about that.
The decoration is where Reese really shines. She took my old house and turned it into something I’d only ever had wisps of in my mind, and she does the same with the gingerbread house.
The roof—a perfectly secure architectural marvel—hangs with little white jelly bean lights attached to a red licorice rope. Powdered sugar snow drifts rise up on eitherside of an M&M sidewalk, which leads to a door hung with a green lifesaver wreath, complete with Red Hot berries.
When the timer goes off, we’ve just put the finishing touch on the pretzel stick fence.
“Time’s up!” Tess says. “Put down your candy, ladies and gentlemen. Judgment day has come, and the judge should be calling i—ohp! There she is. Right on time.” She swipes on her phone and holds it out in front of her. “Hi, Mama!”
Tess introduces her mom—a totally delightful woman—to Brady and me before she starts the judging—a task she seems to take on purely because it allows her to see our creations.
She oohs and ahhs over the high-rise and raves about the tiered mansion. Brady lets Meg take charge showing their castle concept, which actually looks pretty cool, even if it couldn’t withstand an hour-long Skittle siege.
Finally, it’s our turn.
I nod at Reese to take the lead and can’t stop smiling as, amidst all the decor, she touts the “perfectly level” walls and roof and the foundation to outlast all foundations.
“What you don’t see,” Reese says, putting the phone up against the open front door, “are the exposed candy cane beams inside and the open concept floor plan.”
“Wide open,” I joke.
“A studio mansion, we’re calling it. The exterior ismodeled after my house—Cole’s old house—which he actually built.” She holds up a picture on her phone. “He’s a contractor.”
The pride in her voice catches me off guard.
“Would you look at that!” Mrs. Simmons exclaims, squinting through the camera.
Reese smiles and hands the phone back to Tess.
“Well,” her mom says, “to say I’m floored by the teamwork this year would be an understatement. You’ve all created masterpieces! You’re all winners in my book.”
“Okay, but you still have to choose an actual winner, Mom,” Tess says. “You know this.”
Her mom lets out a sigh. “Fine. Well, if Ihaveto choose one gingerbread house amongst all the perfect creations…”
“You do,” Tess affirms.
“It’s gotta be…”
The air in the room thickens, and I look at the three other couples. Hannah and Tyler are crossing all of their fingers. Tess and Dylan are leaning forward with anticipation. Megan and Brady are holding hands and looking at each other.
“…Reese and Cole’s house.”
My hands shoot up in the air, and so do Reese’s. We double high-five each other while the others cheer.
“Good thing you didn’t fire me, huh?” Reese says.
“Losing streak officially over.”
“You didn’t mention you were a contractor,” Brady says, almost like it’s a dirty secret I withheld.
I put out my hand. “Cole Bradley, gingerbread house contractor.”
