Playing the Player(61)

“But what if you’re fat?” Gilly asked. “What’s it called then?”

“It’s not nice to call people fat, Gilly,” Max scolded, sounding just like Trina.

“That’s true.” Trina glanced at me again, the sparkle back in her eyes. “And no one’s going skippy dipping today.”

Gilly examined us closely. “Not even you guys?”

Trina and I both froze like statues, not daring to look at each other. I wondered if she was fantasizing about the same thing I was. Probably not.

“Denver Convention Center,” the recorded voice announced over the speakers.

“This is our stop,” Trina stood abruptly, and the kids slid off their seats, chattering with excitement.

The doors whooshed open and we emerged onto the street, cars whizzing by, honking their horns, the air reeking of exhaust fumes and stale urine.

“Ew,” Gilly said as the train glided away. “Downtown smells bad.”

Trina folded her arms. “Downtown smells like life, Gilly. People and cars and food and—”

“Throw-up,” Max interjected, pointing to a nasty spot on the sidewalk.

Trina raised her face to the sky and closed her eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was holding in tears or laughter.

“Yep, buddy, that is definitely puketastic,” I said, grabbing his hand. “Let’s get moving. We don’t want to miss the tea.”

“Tea?” Gilly looked between Trina and me. “Like a tea party?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“I don’t like tea,” Max declared as we crossed the street. “It’s gross.”

“My mommy drinks iced tea,” Gilly said as we headed up Colfax Avenue. “But she puts grown-up stuff in it, so I don’t get any. She calls it Mommy’s special tea.”

“My dad has a drink like that,” Max chimed in. “I tried it once, but it was disgust-o-rama.”

“You think everything is gross, except chocolate milk.” Gilly argued with Max as we walked up Colfax, dodging panhandlers, tourists, and office workers.

Trina sighed. “Lucky for you guys, we’re just doing the tour today, no tea party.”

“How long do we have to walk?” Max demanded.

Trina wiped her forehead. It felt like it was a hundred degrees outside. I hoped the kids could hang in there. It was a great day for a swim. I glanced at Trina, wishing I could suggest it.

“A few more blocks,” she said, tugging on Gilly’s hand.

It was more than a few blocks, making me think we should’ve just driven instead of taking the light rail detour, but finally we stood in front of the looming stone house.

“Let’s go to the gift shop first,” Gilly said.

“Yay!” Max cheered. “Do you think they’ll have dinosaur toys?”

“Guys! Stop!” Trina snapped. We all shut up, and stood at attention, staring at her guiltily.

“Sorry, I just…” She paused and took a deep breath. “I just want to make sure everyone is ready. We have to be on our best behavior.” She stared intently at Gilly. “This is a public place, Gilly. You know what that means.”

Gilly’s face fell, and she stared at her sparkling red shoes. “I know,” she whispered. “No naked time. No singing. No dancing.”

“Maybe you should tell Desi and Trey those rules next time they to go a party,” I stage-whispered to Trina. For a second, I thought she might lose it again, but she bit her lip, hiding a smile.

She put her hands on her hips, her gaze sweeping over us while she morphed into bossy Bird Brain. But it didn’t bug me today. It was sort of…cute.

God, I was toast. Burned beyond recognition.

“The ladies who do the tours sometimes dress like Molly Brown, so no making fun of their clothes,” Trina warned.

Gilly bounced on her toes. “I like dress-up. Can I dress up, too?”

“Maybe later.” She cast me an anxious look, then continued. “We’ll do a tour first. We’ll hear about Molly’s life and some of the awesome stuff she did.”

“Like what?” Max demanded, his face cloudy.

“Was she an astronaut? Did she sing on American Idol?” Gilly’s expression was hopeful. Poor kid.

Trina shot me a pleading glance before regaining her composure. “Even better. She survived a horrible shipwreck. Lots of people died, but she didn’t. Once she was in the lifeboat, she got in a big argument with one of the ship’s officers. He said women weren’t strong enough to row the lifeboat, that they’d get sucked into a whirlpool and drown. Molly threatened to throw him overboard if he didn’t shut up. So he shut up, and everyone in her boat made it.” She glanced at me. “The guy was a pig, obviously.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why are you looking at me? I’d never say that. I’d tell everyone to row their asses off, including the chicks.” I grinned.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the kids. “Anyway, that’s why she has the nickname The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”

“So she was a pirate!” Gilly exclaimed. “Like Captain Jack Sparrow.” She glanced at Max. “I love him. But I hate that jelly monster. The one with the heart in the jar.”

Max frowned. “Captain Jack’s weird. But my mom likes him.”