“‘Who’s winning?’ I asked.
“‘It’s Solitaire, Grace. There can only be one winner.’
“‘What a lonely game.’
“He saw the suitcase and asked what it was for.
“When I told him I was leaving, he seemed as stunned as I hoped he would be. ‘But we’re married. You can’t just up and walk out. We love each other.’
“‘Do we? Do we actually love each other? Or do we just remember how we used to love each other?’
“‘What are you saying?’
“‘I’m saying I don’t think we love each other the way we used to. Life got in the way, and somehow we forgot how to. But I think we can remember.’
“‘How?’ he asked.
“‘I challenge you to a game,’ I told him. ‘Not like Solitaire, where there is only one winner. We’re both competitive, Al. We both like to win—which is maybe why we fight so much. But I want to compete with you in a different way. Mentally, we’ve been keeping score of each other’s faults and mistakes for too long. I want to start keeping score differently.’
“I had a small spiral notepad in my hand, which I tossed on the table, completely scrambling his card game. When he asked what it was for, I told him. ‘This is our scorecard. I want to track the number of ways that we can find to be nice to each other—to love each other. I’m tired of pretending that we love each other without either of us really showing it. So if you want me to stay, tell me you’ll play.’
“He invited me to sit, and for the next hour we discussed possible rules for our ‘game.’ We agreed to award ourselves points for saying or doing kind things for the other. At the end of each week, once we’ve totaled the scores, we’ll go on a date as our reward—the winner gets to choose the restaurant. We also agreed that whoever wins the most weeks of our game for the next year will decide how and where we celebrate our anniversary. Next year is our fortieth, and I told him that if we’re still married, we need to go somewhere big. He said he’s always wanted to visit Fiji, but I said I want to go to Paris.
“Oh, how I pray that this will work. I miss my old friend. Tonight, while we were talking about the game, I saw glimpses of the Al I used to know. I do love him, somewhere deep down—now I just need to show him.”
I slowly close the book and look up at all of their faces. “I want you kids to give it a try. I want you to play Grandma and Grandpa’s game.”
“Like with each other?” asks Bree skeptically.
“Would that mean I have to be nice to my sisters?” asks Cade.
“You would get to be nice to them, Cade. And if you’re nicer to them than they are to you, then you win.”
Bree raises her hand. “What would we win?”
“I don’t know. First I have to run to the store to get notebooks for keeping score. I’ll do that now, then once I’m back, we’ll settle on the rest of the details, including prizes.”
Ann scoots forward in her seat, her eyes drilling into me. I can almost guess what she’s thinking. “Mom, are you and Dad going to play?”
I try to smile. “I don’t know,” I reply softly. “I’m not sure he’ll go for it. I think maybe if you guys give it a shot, and he sees you getting along, it might help persuade him to give it a try.”
She nods. “So if we really try hard at this, we can help you and Dad stop fighting?”
I nod in return.
Her eyes are still fixed on me. “Do you really think it could work? I mean, it seems like it worked for Grandma Grace, but will it work for our family too?”
Good question. “If we want it to,” I tell her, trying to sound sure, even though I’m not. “If we put our whole hearts into it, like Grandma and Grandpa did, there can be no losers. That’s why they called it the Winner’s Game.”
Chapter 18
Bree
AS SOON AS MOM is done telling us about the Winner’s Game, Ann goes upstairs, making it clear she wants to be alone—or at least away from me. No surprise there. This morning was brutal, and I know she’s still mad at me over the things I said.
I honestly don’t know what to make of the game Mom proposed. Part of me sees how it could be nice, I guess, if we all got along a little more than we do. But more importantly…
What if I lost?! Ugh…imagine how Ann would rub it in my face if she won! And losing to Cade would be even worse.
No, losing is not an option. As long as we have to play, I might as well win, just like I did in the rock-throwing competition!