Page 97 of The Holy Grail

“You sank my battleship!”

“I have a surprise for you guys,” Malcom announced.

Evan and Jules glanced at one another; the last surprise had been a bed the size of Rhode Island, and before that, a sectional the size of Delaware.

Malcom led them into the formal dining room, and on Jules’ kitchen table, sat a large box. “Well, it’s not a bed,” Evan teased.

“Or a couch,” Jules noted.

The return address was from ‘Colleen’s Collectibles’. Evan and Jules opened it to find several board games, most of them the vintage version, not unlike what her parents had. Monopoly, Battleship, Clue, Yahtzee, Risk, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Life, Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and Sorry!.

“Where did you get all these?” she asked, amazed.

“I found them on eBay, in a store selling vintage items. I basically bought all her games, even the ones for little kids, because they might come in handy when Jacob and Julian come over.”

“These are all amazing ... and you’re incredibly sweet for getting them.”

As she and Evan looked at all the games, she whispered to Evan, “We need to be careful about what we talk about. I’m afraid if I say I like a particular wine, we’ll end up with a fully stocked wine cellar or something.”

“Actually, I think we could have fun with this,” Evan whispered back. “I’ll mention sex toys. ”

At that, they both laughed together.

“What’s so funny?” Malcom asked.

“Nothing,” Jules answered.

Evan was quick to repeat, “Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” Malcom shook his head with disbelief. “You’re making fun of me.”

“No, we were telling each other how much we love you,” Jules said.

“And then laughing about it?”

“We were laughing because it makes us really happy, you know, to love you so much.”

He gave them both a look which said he wasn’t buying what they were trying to sell, and turned to leave. “I’m going to go make dinner, and leave you two to bask in how much you love me.”

For the next thirty minutes, while Malcom was working on shrimp and chorizo quesadillas, he could hear either Jules or Evan calling out ‘coordinates’, indicating they were playing a game of Battleship. Occasionally, one would call out with gusto, “You sank my battleship!”

When he went to get them for dinner, he came to a stop inside the room, surprised to find Jules and Evan both in a serious state of undress.

“Are you serious? Strip Battleship?“ Malcom asked, although he couldn’t deny the view was pretty good.

“I don’t play for bragging rights,” Evan said.