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Andie was watching all this with a half-smile of amusement on her face.
“Mooommmy?” Stella still wanted to know what Yahtzee was.
“It’s a game, honey. With dice.”
Sly: And you? By the way, is that Andie?
Me: You remember her?
Sly: Of course. Tell her hi for me.
“Sly says hi,” I told her, unable to suppress the smile I was beaming down at the phone in my hand.
She spun around and stared at the window, where Sly lifted a hand to wave.
“Mom, it’s Siiiilvessster. Is he coming over? Are you going to play Pot-see again?” Katie danced in front of me, waving madly at Sly.
“No,” I told her. “It’s girls’ night. And no Yahtzee tonight.”
“I want to play Yahtzee with him.” Katie stuck out her bottom lip, but she didn’t pout long because Stella grabbed her arm and pulled her out onto the grass where they both started spinning. I wasn’t sure why spinning was Katie’s current favorite activity, but I figured it was better than sitting in front of the television, so as long as she didn’t crash into anything and give herself a concussion, I wasn’t saying anything.
Me: Everyone says hi.
Sly: You ladies have a good night.
I put my phone down but picked it up when it chimed again almost immediately.
Sly: Up for a late-night visit?
I should say no. Katie was home. But Katie went to bed before nine and if I was very lucky, she slept like the dead.
Me: Okay.
Sly sent a little thumbs up sign, and I dropped my phone, doing my best to suppress the goofy smile that I could feel on my face.
“Okay, you better start talking. Clearly this was not a one-game situation with the Yahtzee and whatnot,” Andie said in a much quieter voice.
“I wasn’t really sure at the time. But yeah, I think it’s not a one-game thing.” We were both whispering now.
“So?” she asked, rolling one hand in front of her in a go-on motion. “Is he good with his dice? What are his cup-shaking skills like? Did you get a Yahtzee?”
“You know an awful lot about a kind of ancient dice game.”
“Stop stalling.”
“I Yahtzeed. Four times.”
“Holy cheese balls!” Andie cried, fanning herself. “And the equipment?” She glanced at the girls and lowered her voice again. “Was the table of an adequate size for all that dice rolling?”
“The table was huge.”
“Fuck.” She whispered it under her breath, but we both glanced at the little girls spinning on the grass, oblivious to our discussion of Yahtzee. “I really want to play some Yahtzee with someone that has an adequate table.”
I nodded. Andie was separated, and I knew things had been rough for her lately. “I want that for you too. It was amazing.”
“And so? There will be more games?”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t know, really. He’s staying with his parents for the summer, and I was helping him with—” I cut myself short of telling Andie about his MBA. “Some things.”
