cooking.
The chili cook-off was in full swing after breakfast, as Nicole was making her famous Texas-style chili and Carla opted for her healthy vegetarian chili, which surprisingly would have a much bigger finishing kick than deep in the heart of Texas.
The women prepared their dishes and then let the ingredients blend together from about noon until dinner time at 6:00 pm when everyone came home after day one of the competition. That was about the time that Aaron finally got Maxwell to submit, after beating him in 10 straight games.
“You are truly the king of pong,” Max said to Aaron. “They should rename the game Aaron or Aaron’s pong. Dude, you are unbeatable!” he added as he gave him a high-five.
Cal and Hartwell walked in from their furious day of ping-pong and the scintillating final point to what would have been the longest match in ping-pong sanctioned tournament history. Both men heard the end of the Aaron and Maxwell conversation.
“We got to get a crack at him,” Hartwell said.
Cal looked up at Hartwell and replied, “We should play him in Canadian doubles.”
Hartwell extended his fist and said, “I’m down,” as Cal completed the pound.
Daniel and Andrew followed them up, “I can’t believe that you pulled that move out of your butt,” Daniel stated.
“You couldn’t check me all game with that move!” Drew defiantly replied.
Garrison and Thaddeus were next in the door, as Thad was recounting Gary’s furious charge and roll and Gary, with a bunch of sand still in his hair, was coughing from having laughed so much. The guys sat down at the table as Nicole and Carla placed two different colored bowls on each place setting: blue was Nicole’s chili and red was Carla’s chili.
Maggie was listening to Kayla as they walked through the door, “I didn’t realize that lighter fluid could create such a large fire!”
“Yeah, that stuff can be nasty,” Maggie replied. “But at least it will give some of those people some warmth tonight.”
Blake and Sharon had been sitting near the water drying off for the better part of a half-hour, but were still talking about Sharon’s incredible lung capacity.
“There was a moment there that I honestly thought you were dead,” Agent Blake said.
“I just go into a trance when I’m down there… it’s hard to explain,” Sharon replied as they walked over to their places at the table and sat down.
There were four spots still vacant at the table. Two spots were for Carla and Nicole, and the other two spots were for the knitters, Belinda and Emily, who had just finished their competitive day.
“Okay, I have a sweater for each and every one of you,” Belinda said as she walked around the table and watch as each person put their sweater on. She looked at some of the happy expression, but then some of the mismatched sleeves and other dimensions.
“Might have to make a few modifications on those,” she said to herself.
Emily then walked around and handed out scarves to each person, and they were just as well received, although it was probably more difficult to notice wrong dimensions on a scarf unless it was either too short or it hit the ground.
Belinda and Emily then took their seats and the two ladies observed how everyone was feeling with their garments on. Things appeared to be going well until the heat of the chili made wearing the cold-weather garments practically unbearable.
“Either this chili is hot, or this sweater and scarf combo is roasting me,” Cal said as he finished Carla’s chili and almost licked the bowl clean.
“Why don’t you all take the sweaters and scarves off and we’ll see how they fit after dinner,” Belinda said as she looked at Emily for confirmation.
Emily nodded in approval and said, “Yeah, that’s fine. I think we both have to do some alterations, anyway.”
Agent Blake was always one to give credit where credit was due.
“Let’s hear it for the fine effort these two women put into these pieces of clothing!” he exclaimed as he started clapping and the applause continue around the table.
With the sweater and scarf combo resting comfortably behind each person’s seat, it was finally time to give the great chili cook-off everyone’s undivided attention. Most people had consumed one of the steaming bowls in front of them and were now working on the second bowl after gulping down some of their favorite liquid refreshment.
“No, that was hot,” Cal said as he picked up his napkin and wiped his sweaty brow. He then looked at Carla and said, “But I liked it!”
The older people tended to like Belinda’s chili because it was more traditional and had less of a kick than Carla’s vegetarian chili. Garrison and Thaddeus still had a little bit of the greaser bully left in them and were obviously looking for the blistering adventure that Carla’s chili peppers sent the average eater through.
By the end of the meal it didn’t really matter who won the chili cook-off, because everyone was having such a good time that the competition just slid away, perhaps with the Pepto Bismol that Thaddeus gulped down after the meal.
TWENTY-SIX
Day two of the side-by-side competition continued the good vibes from the end of day one and was an even friendlier day of competition and camaraderie. Hartwell and Cal headed back to Beach Haven Games and walked past the ping-pong tables to the pool tables for a day of what Cal Brewster called, “Payback.” Daniel and Andrew were on their way to the tennis bubble at Beach Haven Tennis so they could finally settle the running debate of who’s game was superior: Daniel’s serve and volley game or Drew’s grind-it-out baseline style? Thaddeus and Garrison had been working diligently on their cars and it was time to decide which of their cars were superior: Thad’s 1969 Chevy Camaro or Gary’s 1964 ½ Ford Mustang? Carla also focused on a healthier approach to Chicken Pot Pie, while Nicole was making her classic CPP recipe that was sure to please.
Day seven of the battle also featured Sharon taking on Agent Blake in a long-distance swim. While both of them loved to swim, it was Blake who had the most experience in the big pond from his years of lifeguard training. Maggie and Kayla were busy getting their hands dirty in a house building challenge, with the winner being the families in need of shelter. Emily and Belinda were into day two of their knitting challenge with quilts on the agenda, while Max and Aaron continued their classic video game battle, focusing on Max’s favorite new game Centipede.
Cal was in control off the break in the first game of eight ball and Hartwell knew it. He sunk the first striped ball in the right corner pocket and then almost ran the table, leaving the vampire only one opportunity to gather his solids. Hartwell made a game effort of it, sinking four balls before missing and then leaving the door wide open for Cal to end the first game in only 20 minutes.
“Eight ball, side pocket,” Cal said as not only called the pocket he also pointed to it.
Hartwell took a seat in the high-backed director’s chair across from the table, and held that chair for the next 20 minutes as Cal ran the table in the second game after sinking the eight- ball just as he called it. The action was a little more competitive under the white bubble of Beach Haven Tennis. Daniel and Andrew decided that the first match would be a warm-up of the best two out of three sets, and then they would get into a best three out of five set match after lunch. Daniel won the first set six games to four, and then Drew snatched the second set in a tiebreaker, seven points to five. With the first two sets already taking two hours it looked like the guys would blow right through lunch with the hotly-contested third set tied at five games apiece and the clock easing past noon. That was, until, Drew got so hungry that he won the next two games and ended the match in only ten more minutes.
They shook hands at the net and Daniel said, “It’s pretty hard to stop you when you get hungry.”
Drew smiled, “I know. Let’s get something to eat.”
Gary and Thaddeus monitored the police scanner for their race window during the m
orning hours. They determined that one to two o’clock would be the optimum time to race throughout the town on a course they had collectively designed. Changing shifts, after-lunch naps, and pre-rush hour and school bus mania would be perfect to speed unimpeded through the town. The used the extra time to fine-tune their cars and shoot the breeze.
“I still can’t believe that we’re all living together,” Thaddeus stated.
“Yeah, it’s amazing how fast things came together.”
Thad countered, “Do you think it will last?”
“C’mon, we both know that nothing last forever,” Gary replied. “Besides, I think we both have learned that planning too far ahead is a pointless exercise.”
“You are wise, my friend,” Thad said. “So, what are we going to do about the girls?”
That put his hands palm-up to reveal that he had nothing but confusion to relay on the subject.
“I say we wait a few days and then go to Vegas,” Thad stated.
“And get married?” Gary questioned.
“Let’s just go and have some fun and see where the chips fall,” Thad explained.
Gary smiled more out of relief than happiness, “No my friend, you are the wise one.”
Nicole and Carla were hard at work on their Chicken Pot Pie cook-off and Agent Blake had already opened up a sizable lead on Sharon, who was being battered by the choppy waters and was fighting to keep up. Maggie and