Christmas at the Restaurant (The Nantucket Restaurant #2)(28)

When they got back to Gina’s, he carried it inside and she helped him get it placed into the stand and once it was locked in, they stepped back and admired the tree. It was a beauty. Boots sat on the coffee table, watching them. Gina reached into a paper shopping bag and rummaged around until she found what she was looking for, the angel topper.

“Could you please reach up and put this on top?”

“Of course.” He took the angel and easily secured it on the top of the tree.

“What about the rest? Do you want some help getting the ornaments on? The tree looks pretty naked,” Jared said.

“I’d love that. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“I don’t mind, and we have plenty of time still before dinner and trivia.”

They spent the next hour decorating the tree, hanging all the many ornaments that Gina had collected over the years. Jared strung the white lights around the tree and connected the end to the angel, so that when all the ornaments were on, Gina flipped the switch, and the whole tree and the angel glowed merrily.

“We did well,” Jared said, and Gina had to agree. The room looked festive now because of the bright and cheery tree.

Jared drove them to the Rose and Crown, the pub/restaurant where they were going to have dinner and play trivia.

There was a good crowd for trivia night, and the dining room was full, but they found two seats at the bar and both decided to get burgers. Gina sipped a cabernet while they waited, and Jared had a draft IPA. When he lifted his glass, she noticed a deep scratch on his hand.

“Did you do that getting the tree?” She felt bad that he might have hurt himself helping her.

He shook his head. “No, it’s from this morning. Paul and I went over to the restaurant to help carry in some cases of turkeys.” He explained about the food pantry and the broken freezer. “The box slipped and a sharp edge got me. It’s no big deal.”

Their burgers arrived soon after, and as they were eating, the trivia host came around to give them pencils and paper and asked them what their team name was.

“I hadn’t thought about that. What should we call ourselves?” Jared asked.

Gina thought for a moment. “Well, we both work at Mimi’s Place, so let’s go with that?”

“Sounds good.”

They finished eating just as trivia began and the theme for the week was Christmas. There were close to twenty teams playing, some with just one or two people and others with large groups of eight or more. Gina had played before with large teams. It was always fun but didn’t necessarily give an advantage when people didn’t agree on an answer.

“Okay everyone, here’s our first question…In the TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas, what three words best describe the Grinch?”





Jared stared at Gina who was drawing a total blank. She knew this. She’d seen the movie a million times.

Jared’s eyes lit up. “Stink…”

“Stank, Stunk!” Gina said and laughed. As soon as he said the first word the others came to her. They turned their answer in and were happy when the host announced the answer. But, based on the cheers going up around them, she guessed that most teams got it right. They usually started out with an easy question.

It was fun playing with Jared because they usually either agreed or one of them knew the right answer easily when the other had no idea at all, so it balanced out. They were actually doing really well and coming into the last question they were in third place overall.

The trivia host addressed the room. “Okay, for the final question I need your wagers—remember, this time you can wager up to your total points if you wish.” They thought about it and decided to wager all but two points, so if the question was really hard and everyone missed it, they’d still have a few points. Jared wrote their wager down and brought the slip of paper to the host.

Although they were in third place, Gina knew how easy it was to miss the last question and lose everything. The final question was rarely easy.

“Okay, here we go. In the holiday movie A Christmas Story, what was the name of the next-door neighbors whose dog ate the Christmas turkey?”

“Oh, I’m no help at all,” Gina said. “Would you believe that’s the one Christmas movie I haven’t seen?”

“My mother and I watch it every year and I’m still not sure. I want to say the Kravitz’s, but I’m not 100% sure.”

“Well, they say you should always go with your first answer.”

“Part of me is sure that’s the name of the neighbors but something about it seems off. I don’t know.”

“Turn it in and we’ll see.” The top three teams would win Rose and Crown gift cards, which was always nice as they could use it on their next visit.

“Okay, everyone, here’s your final answer. The next-door neighbors in A Christmas Story are not the Kravitz’s. A few of you said that. That’s from Bewitched, by the way. The correct answer is The Bumpuses.”

Jared groaned along with most of the room.

“Only two teams got it right. So, remaining in third place, with two points—Mimi’s Place!”

“Excellent!” Jared high-fived her and went up to collect their gift card.

The bartender dropped off their bill, and Jared threw a credit card down and handed it to him before Gina could even open her wallet.