The Game, Part 4

This is part of a series. If you haven't already, you should start from the beginning.






      The soda is warm. It has been on the counter all day. I put it in the fridge, replacing the last can of normal cherry seven up. Then I stop. She might fall for it, but she deserves this victory. I will drink it in front of her later on. I stuff it into the back of the fridge and get the empty 7up plus can from it’s hiding place behind the radiator to carry with me per the instructions.

      Frank and I turn toward the clue. It is pretty simple, and accompanied by a pack of photographs.

“These lead you somewhere.”

They sure do. It is pictures, taken every 50 yards or so, of various points between oak square and Frank’s house in Watertown. The last one is of a gutter. I tell frank we are going to his gutter, but he is pretty sure that it is not his gutter. We jump in the car anyways, talking about stopping at the skating rink in one of the photos. We are halfway to the rink when his phone rings. I focus on driving my rocket car instead of the side of the conversation I can hear. Frank hangs up the phone, “Dude, just go straight to my house, it is my gutter.” We are late. I am used to that. A batman symbol spins across your whole field of vision, and you hear a rapid scale up and down and up two octaves. Now Frank is pulling a Ziploc bag out of his gutter.

“Call:

(617) 268-1379

145 Ipswich St
Boston, MA 02215”

      There is a 20 in the envelope. I call the number on franks phone, and he runs upstairs to wash up. It rings 10 times before I get to the door, and 5 more times before I get up the stairs, and I count 19 total before I get a response. “something cab company” “I am sorry, too many rings, I am calling a better cab company.” Frank has already determined that the address is that of Jillian’s, and calls Watertown cab, where they know him by first name. We convince Jenni to come along, even though it appears she has her heart set on killing a virtual hobgoblin. “Fair is gonna be there” “OKAY” That was easy.

      I move my car until it is unticketable and the cab arrives in the time it takes me to do this. We arrive at Jillian’s a little after 8 pm. It has taken us just over 7 hours to complete the puzzle. The cab driver knows Jenni and Frank both, and we whip through secret back roads that I didn’t know existed. He even bends the fabric of the universe in order to leap through space-time so we don’t need to get back on Beacon Street when we get off of Storrow Drive. I get out and don my crown. I warn Frank that there could be demons, but he has already ditched his bag, so we have no defenses if we are attacked. The bouncers do not notice my crown, and see no issue with me carrying an empty can of seven up plus into their establishment. One of these same gentlemen will later accost Alex or Jesse or maybe it was James for wearing a baseball cap indoors. I am truly excellent.

      Nobody visible on the second floor. We bump into Rodrigo on the way to the third. He is in a good mood “Heh, Sorry I ruined your surprise, Max- I mean your- I mean … not … your … not … surprise … “ I give him one of those half hug/half pat on the back things you give to your brother in law and let him go on his way as I finish my victory lap.

      Olga and Fair have assembled a whole bunch of completely awesome people on the third floor. They are taking up an entire section of the seating, a full block and then some. Olga comes up to me, everyone is smiling. “Here you go, Peach, I got you something.” I hand her the empty can and put the bunny ears on her head. “Holy shit, guys, this was the best birthday present I ever got in my life” I have gotten some good ones, too. I tell bits of the story, starting with the bit where Voice made me shave my leg (which I proudly display). Olga and Gino brighten – “oh did you like that guess what he is here!” I turn around and there is Voice, “nice to meet you, happy birthday, I hear you like Scotch!” holding a scotch and a cup of ice. He is not an asshole after all! In fact, he is an old friend of Gino’s visiting from Ohio or Wisconsin or some other state. This whole thing has been in the works for weeks. We trade stories and my friends buy me drinks and we all talk and then bowl and then the batman symbol spins halfway across your field of vision, then drops to the floor in front of where I was walking and I trip over it. Fair has made me drunk. That wasn’t even the batman song! Sounded more like the chicken dance if you ask me. I hurl a bowling ball into someone else’s lane and stagger downstairs without any comprehension of how I got out of my shoes. There are hugs to be had everywhere and dancing and I am pretty sure someone is holding me up but I can’t tell due to this blindness that has just come over me. Better punch them to make sure they are sturdy. This is no cab! Rodrigo is trying not to sit on the scraper. More cake! Bed.


      So, if anyone out there has any ideas on how I can repay my excellent and twisted friends/sisters for the practical joke of the century, please email them to me.