“I thought the oldest boy would get it?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “That’s how we used to do it, but I think my mother intends to go against that. My oldest brother isn’t interested in running the family, anyway. I think she’s going to give it to Lora.”
“Really? Your youngest sister?”
I nod. “She’s the smartest of us. She’s the most like our mother, even if she doesn’t act like it.”
“You don’t talk about your siblings that much,” she says. “I just realized I don’t know all their names.”
I chuckles. “My oldest brother is Brent. His wife is Amber. Then there’s Jacob, my next brother, and his wife is Valerie. Then I’m the next oldest, and my wife is you, although you don’t know that yet.”
She blushes and glares at me. “Stop it.”
“Whatever you say. Then there’s Delia, and her husband is Max. And finally, there’s Lora.”
“No husband for her?”
“Not yet, but it won’t be long, at the rate we’re going.”
She laughs. “You’re all pairing off.”
“We are. Including me.”
She bites her lip and looks at me. “You keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like there’s no escape.”
“Oh come on, little Klara. Why do you think there ever was?”
She’s quiet for a long time before looking away. The clock continues to tick along as I move closer to her. I’m so tempted to grab her hair and pull her against me, but that camera is still running, so I have to be on my best behavior.
We end up talking more about our lives, and as the last hour counts down, we fall back into rapid-fire questions. I think I ask the same ones over and over before I’m so exhausted, I can barely think straight. We keep pushing each other, trying to make sure the other one doesn’t fall asleep.
Suddenly, an alarm blares. I blink around me and the lights come on, bright and intense. For most of the night, we were only using the light from one conference room, just enough to see and to keep us awake, but not so much that we were sitting under heavy fluorescents all night.
Ryan comes into the room and turns off the countdown timer. Klara sits up and stands, stretching, moving away from me. She sits down on my bed and I lean forward on my elbows.
“Morning!” he says, smiling. He hands me a coffee then gives one to Klara. I sip it and grumble a thank you.
“We survived?” Klara asks.
“Looks that way,” Ryan says. “Not gonna lie. I slept like a baby last night.” He grins at us and I believe him.
“So what now?” I ask.
“Well, now you ask your questions.” He produces the paper we wrote on earlier tonight, or yesterday, or whenever that was. He hands me one page and gives the other to Klara.
I stare at my questions. I barely remember writing them down, and if I could go back and change them, I really would. I wrack my brain, trying to remember as much about the night before as I can, but it all seems almost empty.
“Okay, Klara,” Ryan says. “You start.”
She stares at her paper and clears her throat. “What’s my favorite ice cream flavor?”
I laugh. “Mint chocolate chip.”
She sighs and nods. “That’s right.”
“Point for Shaun!” Ryan claps. “Okay, your turn Shaun.”
“Klara, how old was I when I had my first kiss?”
“Oh, shit, I know this.” She squirms and clenches her jaw. “Shit, shit, shit. I know this!”
“No hints,” Ryan says to me.
I shrug and look away.
“Uh, crap, okay, okay.” She takes a deep breath. “Eleven?”
“That’s right,” I say, grinning.
“Oh, yeah!” She laughs and flops back on her bed. “Oh my god, that was so stressful.”
“One all,” Ryan says. “Klara, you’re up.”
She sits up on one elbow. “Okay. Where did I go to summer camp when I was seventeen?”
I narrow my eyes. “It was something nerdy. I remember making fun of you for, like, ten minutes. Aw, fuck.” I lean toward her, staring into her eyes. “It was… space camp. No, wait!”
“Oh, sorry,” Ryan says. “Your answer is space camp. Klara?”
She grins at me. “Wrong. It was math camp.”
“Even worse,” I groan. “Oh my god, you fucking nerd.”
She cackles with delight. “You’re up,” she says.
I nod and read my paper. “What does my mother do for fun?”
Klara frowns. “That’s kind of vague.” She looks at Ryan. “Is that too vague?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Sounds kind of…”
“It’s the only thing she does for fun,” I specify.
Klara lets out a breath. “Shit.”
“Come on,” I say softly. “I told you this. Remember?”
She narrows her eyes at me. She doesn’t say anything for a long moment before breaking out into a huge grin. “She paints!”
“That’s right,” I say, laughing. “Damn, almost thought you’d miss it.”
She groans and throws herself back. “This is so stressful.”
“Okay, Klara’s up two to one,” Ryan says. “You need this to stay in the game.”