Page 83 of Merry Mayhem
Muriel narrows her eyes. “I like you, Josh.”
“Thank you, I like you too.”
“But that woman?” She points at Patty. “The one I drive nuts and fight with daily and knoweverythingabout, even things I wish I didn’t know?”
“Yeah.”
“Choosing a man over her would be the worst decision I ever made. I wouldneverdo that.” She crosses her arms. “Not twice in one lifetime anyway.”
Ah.
“Donotdo that to Thea and Violet,” she tells me. “Not if you even think you care about one, or both, of them.”
I nod. “I don’t want to. That’s…” I sigh. “That’s not what this is.”
But if Violet wants to try dating, thinks this could be something based on…what? Me rescuing her? What her family has told her?...does that make this a love triangle?
Fuck.
“Fine,” Muriel finally says. “Just promise me that you’ll follow Thea’s lead. Don’t make her choose.”
I swallow. Then nod. “Okay.”
“Good boy.”
“Okay, everyone!” Nora says from the stage. “As has been pointed out to me, our rules don’t specifically state that in the obstacle course, partners have to alternate like they do in the relay race. Which means that both partners can participate in some of the obstacles, or one partner can do multiple obstacles in a row. Obviously, our rules are a little looser than I realized,” Nora sighs, but she’s smiling, and the crowd laughs. “But I don’t care! This is about having fun, not strictly adhering to a bunch of stringent rules.”
“That should be the new motto. All fun, no rules,” someone calls.
That gets applause and more laughter.
Nora beams. “Great idea. I love that. Anyway, basically as long as both partners are here and participating to some extent, the obstacle course is whatever it’s gonna be,” she says, spreading one arm wide.
There’s more applause in response to that.
I like this town. It’s pretty laid-back. Yes, they seem to like their entertainment a little wacky, but they do seem to be in it for a good time more than anything else.
“And with that, ready, set, go!” Nora calls.
The jingle bells jingle, and we all run for the first obstacle.
Or, rather, I run while pushing Muriel, who is whooping like she’s riding a bucking bronco.
It’s only about a twenty-foot sprint, but we get there a few steps ahead of Thea and Patty, but a couple of steps behind Beckett and Sutton.
The first “obstacle” is more like one of the stations on the relay race.
There are six frosted sugar cookies and a glass of milk. The cookies look familiar, so I’m guessing they’re the ones we all decorated the day before. Muriel grabs a cookie, I grab another, and we start chewing as fast as we can.
I eat four while Muriel gobbles two. We share the milk. Then it’s onto the next obstacle.
Now this one is more like it.
This is Candy Cane Lane. It is a winding path made of white and red striped cardboard with six-foot-tall plastic candy canes dotted at various intervals down the middle. We have to zigzag through the candy canes, picking up mini wrapped candy canes as we go—I’m going to assume whoever has the most at the end gets additional points—and avoiding the little elves that dart outfrom behind fake trees, cardboard chimneys, and giant stockings along the sides.
The elves are kids, literally dressed in elf costumes, and they clearly think this is the most fun ever. They giggle and wait until someone is nearing where they’re hiding before they jump out, obviously trying to be as in the way as possible.
Muriel begins making honking noises. I’m trying to shoo them out of the way, but the kids find that even more of a challenge, and we end up with two running in slow motion right in front of us.
