We filled our plates and dug in. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I finished all the food on my plate in about five minutes flat. Tony had the same idea, and we both refilled at the same time.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Tony said with a mouth filled with hot dog, “this food is good, but I really miss your cooking, Sienna.” He gave me a look, which meant it was my turn.
We’d been trying to get Sienna to talk about the diner for the past week, but every time we did, she changed the subject. The fire investigator had been unable to determine the cause of the fire and defaulted to blaming the wiring as the cause, which put us in limbo. I still thought she blamed Rachel, but I didn’t want to bring up the past. That was over for us. We needed to move forward as a couple. We couldn’t do that with the most important piece of her life missing.
And I still had a hard time believing Rachel would do something like that. Sienna had seen Rachel at a low moment, but I’d seen her lose it worse over a pair of shoes. And as much as I wanted to ease Sienna’s mind, I knew going down that path was a slippery slope that I wasn’t willing to cross right now. If ever.
Sienna needed time to get over this. Once her head was cleared, we’d be able to move past it together.
“You can always come over and I’ll cook for you,” she said, staring at her burger.
“I think it was more than about just the food,” I said. “I know it was like your home. And that’s not easy to let go of.”
Her eyes lifted and she looked from Tony to me. “Guys, I know what you’re doing. And I’m fine. It was an unfortunate accident. And I have to move on from it as much as you do. With the insurance money, we both can live for months until we figure out what to do next.”
“Don’t you want to rebuild?” Tony asked. “I can always help with whatever you need.”
Sienna sighed. “There isn’t enough to do everything.”
She shot me a look that said “keep your mouth shut” and I pressed my lips together. She didn’t want any financial help from me even though, as she’d said before, I could have afforded it.
“What did you want to do instead?” Tony asked. “You want to get another job?”
She shrugged. “Something in the industry. Though I’m not sure about having a boss. It’s been so long since I’ve had one.”
“I’d like to get one that’s not such a pain in the ass,” Tony said. Then he dodged a french fry that Sienna threw at his head.
“Everything will work out eventually,” she said with a smile.
I sensed the sadness under the smile, but I also could tell from her eyes that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She’d probably downplay the whole situation for the rest of her life. Which was why I had to work on my plan as soon as possible. I had all the time in the world now, without my company to run. And I needed a project, or else I would go insane with boredom. I hoped I’d be able to get it done before Sienna got tired of not working, too.
We finished up with lunch and sat at the table for some time, talking about the good times at the diner. Sienna and Tony had a lot of stories, and some of them I’d never heard before. Their laughter and happy tears at the memories gave me an even bigger resolve about my plan.
“All right,” Sienna said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get out of these nostalgic memories and get back on the field. I’m ready to kick your asses again.”
“Can I be on your team this time?” Tony asked. “I’d like to win for once.”
“Hey!” I jeered. “You’re the weak link.”
“Like hell I am!”
“If your shoulders were normal-sized then you wouldn’t keep giving away our position.”
Tony opened his mouth in mock horror. “I can show you what these shoulders can do in a fist fight.”
I laughed and Sienna rolled her eyes. “Okay, guys, let’s get out your dueling pistols and settle this on the field.”
Throughout the next four matches, Sienna managed to win them all. We were in the fifth match when Tony and I made a strategic plan to split up completely. It was the only consistent thing we were doing the entire time, and we had to get her. I didn’t have that need to take her down as much as I wanted to earlier that day. Now, I didn’t care who took her down as long as someone did. We had to win, or I’d never hear the end of it.
We were fifteen minutes into the game when I heard shots being
fired from behind me. I sneaked over and stood behind a tree. I poked my head out and saw Sienna dancing after taking down Tony.
This was my chance! I took a breath and then raced off toward her, careful to stay on the balls of my feet so she didn’t hear me coming. She turned slowly when I was inches from her.
She let out a scream when I tackled her to the ground. Our guns went flying away from us.
“Gotcha!”