CHAPTER ELEVEN
(chapter title - The Name of the Game)
The next day, Mimi was sitting on the porch swing, listening to the waves crashing on the shore and reading a novel when she heard someone call her name. Noting what page she was on, she put a hand over her eyes and saw Tom coming towards her.
"Hey Mimi." Tom greeted her, walking over to her.
"Tom, is everything all right?" Mimi inquired.
"Yeah. Listen, do you have a minute to talk?"
"Sure. Let me put my novel inside and then I'll be right back."
"All right."
Five minutes later, Tom and Mimi were walking down the beach, enjoying each other's company. Mimi couldn't believe that in two days, she was getting married to Roger - the most wonderful guy on the planet.
"I've seen you twice
In a short time
Only a day since we started
It seems to me for every time
I'm getting more open-hearted
Your smile and the sound of your voice
And the way you see through me
I have a feeling you give me no choice
But it means a lot to me
So I wanna know
What's the name of the game?
Does it mean anything to you?
What's the name of the game?
Do you feel it the way I do?
Tell me please, I have to know
I'm a curious child
Beginning to grow
'Cause you make me walk
And you make me feel
And you make me show
What I'm trying to conceal
If I trust in you, would you let me down?
Would you laugh at me if I said I cared for you
Do you feel the way I do
Oh, I wanna know." Mimi started singing, when Tom cut her off.
"I'm not playing any games, Mimi." Tom told her, his voice firm.
"You're not?" Mimi inquired. Tom shook his head.
"What's the name of the game?
Does it mean anything to you?
What's the name of the game?
Do you feel it the way I do?
Tell me please, I have to know
I'm a curious child
Beginning to grow." Mimi sang in counterpart with Ben.
"I'll talk to your mother tonight
Gotta trust me, I'm doing what's right and it means a lot
Your smile and the sound of your voice." Tom sang in counterpoint with Mimi
"'Cause you make me walk
And you make me feel
And you make me show
What I'm trying to conceal
If I trust in you, would you let me down?
Would you laugh at me if I said I cared for you?
Do you feel the way I do?
Oh, I wanna know
The name of the game
Does it mean anything to you?
Do you feel it the way I do?
I wanna know
Oh, yes, I wanna know
The name of the game." Mimi crooned, overlapping Tom.
"I'll talk with your mother today
Just give me an hour, okay and it means a lot." Tom told Mimi, putting an arm on her shoulder.
That night after dinner, Tom went to talk with Maureen for an hour, but she was busy. Sighing, he went back to his room and got ready for bed, all the time, thinking about Maureen and the special time they had spent together.
The next day, Tom tried to talk to Maureen, but she was busy with the wedding plans for the following day. Walking around the hotel, he found Charlie sitting on one of the painted veranda chairs, writing in a journal and Ben sleeping in a hammock two feet away from Charlie.
"Charlie, Ben, could I talk to you guys for a minute?" Tom asked the other men.
"Sure." Charlie told him, putting his novel down. Ben opened his eyes and got out of the hammock, cursing in Greek as he stubbed his toe.
"What's going on?" Ben asked, hobbling over to his two friends.
"I was thinking we should get a paternity test to determine which one of us is Mimi's father." Tom spoke up after a moment of silence.
"Why do you suggest that?" Ben inquired.
"We all want to be there for her tomorrow, right?" Tom asked. The other two nodded.
"Tom, what are you hinting at?" Charlie questioned.
"Charlie, we all know that you can't be Mimi's father - you're too light skinned." Tom told him.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Charlie asked.
"The true identity of Mimi's father - both Ben and I are dark-skinned, like Mimi. You, on the other hand, are not." Tom explained.
"Tom, are you drunk?" Ben mumbled.
"No, I'm not."
"Then were did this paternity question come from?"
"I don't know."
"Exactly. Now, leave us alone - we have the rehearsal dinner tonight and a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Ben growled. Tom nodded and exited the veranda, wishing he had never suggested the paternity test in the first place.
Tom spent the rest of the day helping out around the hotel, keeping his mind off the conversation he had with the men he called his friends.
He blew the match out and adjusted the last lantern as the sun went down. Seeing a large fig, he picked it and took a bite, quickly spitting it out - he had bitten a worm in half. Cleaning it up, Tom discarded the fig in the trash and went to change his clothes, preparing for that evening's activities.