“Nope.”
No? Really? But this looks exactly like a light bulb. If this were a multiple-choice test, I’d fill inB: Light bulbwith total confidence.
Now it feels like she’s drawing mostly vertical but somewhat curved lines in the middle of the light-bulb-shaped object.
“A multi-colored light bulb?” I guess. Really, I’ve got nothing else.
“Nope.”
I just stare at it, wondering what else it could possibly be. Charlie draws something to the side of the object that I’m thinking might be a flower, or maybe cotton candy, and I draw it, too, the best I can, based just on feeling it. Now that I can see it, I realize it’s a cloud.
“A hot air balloon!”
“Yes!” Charlie shouts, and when I turn around, she’s grinning, and I give her a hug, spinning her in a circle before I can think twice about it, and she laughs against my shoulder.
Reese guesses next, and first thinks that the oval with two lines leading back to a propeller that Milesdrew on her back is a sideways balloon instead of the body of a helicopter. When he adds the landing gear, she asks why it has whiskers. When he finally draws two blades on top, she guesses it correctly.
When Charlie is at the pad, ready to guess, the card I draw is Wedding Cake. I draw it with three architecturally sound tiers, each one sitting atop the one below it. Charlie guesses it’s a filing cabinet. I add a cute little couple standing on top, holding hands, and Charlie guesses the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It isn’t until I add something that can maybe be considered frosting flowers along the base that she guesses correctly.
We play a couple more chaotic rounds before Reese leans back and says, “Do you know what we should’ve gotten for tonight? Ice cream.”
“Mmm, ice cream,” Charlie says.
Miles looks at Reese. “Should we go get some?”
“Right now?”
“Sure. We can just take a halftime intermission on the game.” He motions at us. “I bet Charlie and Owen can think of something to do while we’re gone.”
Charlie raises an eyebrow at me, and I raise one back.
When Reese and Miles leave, I turn to Charlie. “Was today at work any better than yesterday?”
“So much better.” She grins. “And, I’ve been headache-free ever since you kissed it away. Howwas yours?”
“The frustration that found you yesterday found me today. But Tuesdays are always that way. I’m thinking of officially naming it ‘Issue Tuesday.’”
“What happened?”
“We discovered a rare historical element on a wall in the upper floor that leads to the balcony boxes. It was a hand-painted mural that was hidden behind a wooden facade. Which sounds cool, but it was found when a subcontractor—who wasn’t supposed to even be in that area yet—accidentally damaged it. So now, the preservation board wants a full report before any work upstairs can be done.”
“I am so sorry.” I can tell that Charlie feels bad, and her mind is churning, like she’s calculating something. Then she says, sounding defeated, “I don’t even know how to help with that.”
“You don’t have to help,” I say. “Just listening is enough.” She gets an expression on her face, though, that I can’t quite interpret, but it doesn’t seem good. I want to distract her. I’m sure that when Miles and Reese left, they both assumed that Charlie and I would spend the time kissing. And there’s a big part of me that wants to do just that.
But I also want to do something else. I say, “I know you’re passionate about safety. The intruder drill you ran with Miles the other day—do you like doing that kind of thing?”
“I used to get my family to do all kinds of drills when I was a kid. Reese, though?” She chuckles. “Yeah, that’s not really her thing. She’s more of a ‘go with the flow, figure it out when we get there’ kind of girl.”
“I’ll do one with you.”
She sits up straighter. “Are you serious? You don’t have to.”
“Of course, I will. Do you want to do it now?”
“Yes!” She lights up more than I would expect a person to light up when hearing that we are going to run a drill of some sort. “How about a fire drill?”
“Lead the way, Chief Safety Officer.”
