Page 30 of The Birchwood House

“What, give away my secret strategies? Never.”

Audrey grinned and turned her attention to the jars. She tapped her pen against the sticky note pad as she tried to decide what number she wanted to guess. She was good at math, and that always helped her do well in that sort of game. As she considered the answers, she kept stealing glances at Evan.

He’s so fun to be around, she thought, unable to stop herself from feeling surprised.I mean, I didn’t think he’d be a total crank on a date, but he’s got a goofy streak to him that I never would have expected.

Evan was quick to decide on his answers. He folded up his sticky notes and tucked them inside a jar that was labeled “Guesses.” Audrey took a few more moments to decide, determined not to let his speed intimidate her. With a flourish, she placed her sticky notes inside the jar. Most people had used yellow and blue sticky notes, and she liked to see her bright pink papers inside the jar, as colorful as birds of paradise.

They went back to their browsing, but this time instead of walking in silence they began to talk to each other about what they were seeing.

“Oh, my grandmother had a painting just like this one.”

“These candles smell fantastic, don’t they?”

“I always thought horseshoes must have been very uncomfortable for the horses.”

“I’ve always wanted a kerosene lamp, but I never knew where I could find the kerosene.”

They began to share details about their tastes and their histories. Audrey felt delighted by all the antiques and she couldn’t hide her enthusiasm. Once or twice she caught Evan smiling at her as if he liked the way she got so giddy about things.

“Look, a chess set,” Evan said as they reached the beginning of one of the last tables. “Have you ever played chess?”

“A little,” she admitted. “I learned the rules a long time ago from my grandfather. I haven’t played it much.”

“Would you be up for a game?”

“What, now?” She laughed.

He nodded. “Why not? We can stand here and play. This poor chess set has been sitting here unused for who knows how long. I’m sure it’s dying for company.”

“Do you often pretend that inanimate objects have emotional needs?”

“Only when it serves my purposes.”

She pursed her lips. “Okay, fine. I don’t want you to judge me when I fail, though. Based on that wolfish gleam in your eye I have a feeling that you’re very good at chess.”

“I’ll go easy on you, I promise.”

“Oh, don’t do that. If I’m going to lose, I want to lose without being pitied first.”

A curious expression flickered over Evan’s face, as if he was wondering why she cared so much about not being pitied. Then he grinned.

“Okay, you asked for it.”

He gave her a review of all of the rules of the game, and she listened intently, nodding after each point he made. She had to admit to herself that he was extremely good at explaining things. He used concise, clear language, and he had done a good job of anticipating what she might feel the most confused about, explaining those points in more detail.

I bet he’s really a great mayor,she thought.He’s clearly got the kind of brain that can look out for other people while he works. And he’s very smart.

They started the game, and Evan insisted that she go first.

“You don’t need to baby me, you go first,” she said.

He shook his head, grinning. “You have white. White always goes first.”

“Oh.” She laughed.

Evan beat her within three minutes, but she still found that she enjoyed the game immensely.

“There were so many things to think about,” she said eagerly. “That was really engaging.”