Page 38 of For the Boys
Jordan nodded, a large smile splitting the dark skin of his face. “She’s due in April!”
“Holy shit, Jordan,” Mitch said, walking up to clap his captain on the back. “Congrats, man! But couldn’t y’all have planned that a little better?”
Jordan laughed. “Yeah, we didn’t really think that far ahead. To be honest, we weren’t even trying, but now that it’s happening, we’re obviously insanely thrilled.”
“That’s so exciting, man!” Brent gave his captain a bro-hug, clasping his hand and patting him on the back. “I’m happy for you guys.”
One by one, his teammates came up to congratulate Jordan.
“Are you sure you’re ready to add another one to the mix?” Chase asked. “We all know how much of a handful the first one was.”
Jordan’s laugh boomed over the granite squares in front of them. “I’m hoping we have a boy so he’ll be slightly less high-maintenance than Bella.”
“Ahh, but we adore that little girl,” Mitch said.
“That we do.” Jordan smiled again.
“All right, enough of the sappy shit,” Parker said, always one to ruin the moment. “Let’s play this damn game.”
“Right! The game!”
An attendant walked up. “Which one of you is Mr. Jean?”
Brent raised his hand, slipping through his teammates to stand next to the man. “I am.”
“Great,” the attendant said. “I just need a signature after you confirm this information is correct. You’ve already paid in full, correct?”
“I did.” He’d called and set everything up before the trip. Once he’d told the woman on the phone who he was, she’d been more than happy to accommodate his needs.
Once the paperwork was taken care of, the guys split off into teams. Brent paired up with Cole, Mitch with Parker, Jordan with Chase, and of course, Rat and Grey rounded out the group.
“Okay, let’s each take a roll to see who goes first. Highest roll wins.”
The giant foam dice were resting on the corner of the game board, near the starting square. Rat and Grey rolled a twelve, which meant they would go first. After spending the next ten minutes working through dividing the properties, they were ready to play.
“One other thing I want to clear up. In my family, we’ve always paid our income taxes or any random payments you have to make when you get the Chance cards to the middle of the board instead of to the bank. And then, when you land on the Free Parking square, you can collect that money. Are we all cool with that?”
His teammates all nodded in agreement.
“All right, let’s do this. Rat and Grey, you’re up.”
As is the case with any professional athletes, or people who are just ultra-competitive, the game was fierce from the second all four teams were in play.
On their first roll, Mitch and Parker landed on a Chance square and drew a card that immediately sent them to jail.
Rat and Grey landed on the income tax square and dropped $200 on the ground in the middle of the board, using a rock to weigh it down.
Jordan and Chase landed on Reading Railroad, which they owned, so their turn was a bust.
When it was Brent and Cole’s turn, they tossed the dice into the middle of the board and moved the six spaces required. They landed on Oriental Avenue, which was owned by Jordan and Chase.
“Pay up, bro,” Jordan said.
“How much?” Cole asked.
Chase read the back of the property card. “Six bucks,” he said, holding out his hand.
Brent dug into his pocket and counted out six dollars, handing it over. “Did we decide how the game ends?” he asked.
