It was our fourth game of Risk at the Taylors’ beach house during a summer a few years ago, and a torrential storm showed no sign of letting up. Rain battered windows that had seen better times while a slight draft spread through the house. A gloomy feeling hung in the air and settled upon everyone in the cottage.
“I’m so bored! This game is getting really old!” my god sister, Su Rei, cried with frustration as I eliminated the last of her armies from the game board on the kitchen table for the third time. “I’ve got to do something else or I’ll explode!”
Six sets of eyes turned to look at her. “Can we finish the game first? I’m winning... again,” Rei’s blonde cousin, Robin, said smugly.
“You are not,” Robin’s brother bickered from his end of the table. Simon had just turned fifteen and did everything he could to irk is sister who was three years his senior. “Besides, you may have won the last game, but only because I was going so easy on you.”
“Simon, Robin!” my godparents warned for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Lindsay and Riley had always enjoyed the siblings’ company; however, this was the first time in numerous years that they had had custody of the entire group, or the Munchkin Bunch as Lindsay teasingly called us: Simon, Robin, Su Rei, my brother, and me. At that point, my thus far taciturn sibling Eric spoke up.
“It’s raining, it’s cold, and most of us are bored. What do you say to a trip to the movie theater?” Normally, Eric never suggested things like this under someone else’s roof, but the fact that he had showed everyone how evidently desperate he was for a change in scenery.
“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Riley said, standing slowly and stretching. “Pile into the car, kids.”
Eagerly, we followed his example. We only slowed when Robin threw open the front door, greeted by a sheet of coastal rain water.
“Close that door this instant!” Lindsay exclaimed. Even Riley was stunned at the commanding voice that had issued from Lindsay’s small figure. “Coats, everyone,” she said, tossing everyone warm windbreakers after Robin had wrestled the door closed. “No excuses,” she cut Su Rei off with a maternal glance. “I’m not sending you all home in a few days to have your parents ask me why you’re sick,” she said defensively.
“But you are my parent,” Rei grumbled. “Exactly.”
After Lindsay was sure everyone was warm, she allowed us through the door. The downpour had yet to cease, and it had created a steady stream of water trickling down the gutter, onto the driveway and beneath the car. Riley jumped into his rickety Chrysler Plymouth and unlocked the doors. Although Simon was extremely short for his age, I was the youngest and smallest of the bunch, and therefore always the final person to step into the vehicle.
As I stamped my feet, trying to keep warm, I heard a loud snort from inside, and Su Rei groaned. “Looks like we’re stuck with the worst,” she muttered to me. “Again.”
Meanwhile, I had become thoroughly sodden; the previously warm jacket I wore did not keep out the growing chill. Shivering, I ducked my head into the car and scowled.
Riley and Lindsay sat in the driver’s and passenger’s seats. Somehow, Simon had managed to squeeze between them, smirking as his guardians shifted awkwardly. The three back seats were filled by the rest: Robin and Su Rei controlled the window seats while Eric balanced precariously between them.
“I guess we should take two cars instead,” Lindsay said hesitantly. “Or I could just stay here.”
“No way! This is a family thing, we’re all going. Besides, two cars would be a waste of gas,” Riley declared with finality. “It’s not like we’re going to get pulled over!”
“Mei, looks like you’ll have to sit on either Rei’s or Robin’s lap,” Lindsay sighed, using my old nickname. How do I always find myself in the worst situations? I thought as I mentally slammed my head into an imaginary brick wall.
After a considerable amount of arguing, I finally sat uneasily on Rei’s lap. As soon as we had pulled out of the cottage’s cobbled driveway, Robin glanced behind us and swore.
“It’s a cop!” she yelled. Eric swiftly covered Rei’s face with my dripping hood which muffled her protests.
“Hey, it’s no big deal.” Riley tried to calm us down, but he failed miserably. “I bet we’re all overreacting. He isn’t following us!” Under his breath, Riley added, “He’d better not be following us.” Lindsay gave him an apprehensive glance.
For the next two miles, we drove in silence. I watched as the tough pine-like costal trees passed by and periodically glanced behind us to watch the police car. It was still following Riley’s Plymouth closely, and I imagined a shady looking officer sitting behind the tinted windows, observing every move we made.
“Can I take my face out of this hood?” Rei gasped. “I’m losing oxygen here!” She pulled the material from herself and sighed. Eric, Simon, and Robin were staring at her; I still looked out of the window.
“He’s getting closer,” I whispered. “Rei, we’re Siamese twins connected by the shoulder if anyone asks!” “I’m three years older than you!” she burst out indignantly.
“Shh!” Eric and Robin said. Both of them had their faces glued to the mottled rear window as if they were playing a fascinating video game. Silence reigned throughout the vehicle, and I began absently scrutinizing passing buildings and the odd looking trees once more. Rei had pulled my hood over her head again. The others were all watching the officer behind us warily.
After what seemed like hours, the police car finally pulled into a shopping mall. Lindsay sighed with relief, and Su Rei coughed and uncovered her head for a second time.
“That was better than any movie!” Simon exclaimed. Suddenly, we all laughed. Eric was so amused by our earlier predicament that by the time we had parked at the movie theater, tears were streaming down his face. However, despite our mirth, each of us had learned our lesson. None of us, especially me, were willing to experience another “cop episode.” After we had watched a film at the theater, Riley and Lindsay drove back to the cottage, brought back two cars, and drove us home in two separate vehicles. Since then, each and every one of us has been particularly careful about driving safely.