We had been playing Trivial Pursuit for about an hour, the women on one team, the men on the other. Ty, Blaine’s son-in-law read the question: What is the only mammal that cannot jump? I answered, “White men.”
Blaine had a mouthful of wine and wasn’t able to swallow before laughing, which sent a spray of cabernet toward the board. Laughing gave way to coughing. Wine had gone up his nose, and his eyes were watering. Eve grabbed napkins and passed them over to him. I was sitting nearest on his left and asked him if he was OK. He nodded, though he couldn’t stop coughing.
He stood up. As he walked behind my chair he gave my shoulder a squeeze that seemed to mean both “you’re trouble” and “you’re OK.” He opened the patio door and stepped outside. I stood to go to the sink for the dish cloth to use on the table but Allison, Blaine’s daughter, was turning from the refrigerator where she had filled a glass with water, and she handed it to me. “Why don’t you take this to him?”
As I went outside, Eve was cleaning up, Allison began refilling glasses, and Ty was in the living room checking on their son, Eli, who had been Izzy’s faithful sidekick all evening.
On the deck, Blaine took a drink of water. It seemed to help settle the sputtering cough. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“Best laugh I’ve had in awhile,” he replied. “Lately all of the best laughs are those I have with you.” I melted a bit.
When we went inside everyone reassembled around the table to resume the game. Ty picked up the card that had started the trouble. “I hate to say it but y’all never answered this question.”
Allison reached across the table and dragged Blaine’s glass away from him. “OK, give it to us again.” Everyone was punchy after that.
When the movie Eli was watching on an iPad ended, he came in and climbed onto Blaine’s lap. Izzy sprawled on the floor behind my chair and busied herself with a chew toy. After a little while Eli was getting squirmy. Eve and Allison began making up questions he would know the answer to so he could contribute to the men's team.
As the other men were deliberating on the answer to a grown-up question, Izzy squeaked one of her toys. I made my eyes big and asked Eli, “Did you just squeak?”
“Noooo,” he scoffed in the way three year olds do.
A series of squeaks sounded from behind my chair. “Now that was you!”
He sat up straighter. “No! It was Izzy!”
I considered it. “I don’t think so. I think you have a squeaker in you.” He put his hands on his chest, for a split second wondering if such a thing could be true. I probably shouldn’t get such a kick out of messing with the minds of little kids (I prefer to characterize it as expanding their imaginations, if anyone asks). “I bet I can find it.” I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “That’s not where it is.” Next I squeezed his knee, then his nose and finally a tickle on the ribs that resulted in a squeal and squirming. “I knew it!”
Izzy, hearing the commotion, came over. She put her front paws on Blaine’s leg and stood so her head was pretty even with Eli. She nosed his ear, which drew a peel of laughter from him and more squirming. Her tail whapped my leg and she danced around trying to get closer to Eli, bumping the table in the process What started as a moment of harmless fun turned into several moments of pandemonium.
I don’t expect to be invited back anytime soon.
I ended up in the mix tonight because Blaine called late in the afternoon and invited me to Eve’s for pizza and Trivial Pursuit. “The kids are here,” he said. I can’t say that didn’t make me a little anxious but it was all low key and fun, and fortunately I didn’t cause Allison's dad to choke to death.
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