Chapter 5: Parcheesi

...

The next morning, I got up late so as not to wake Anna up early. Extremely bored of being on the couch without shutting an eye, I got up and made pancakes for breakfast; like in American movies. By the time Anna woke up, at almost noon I should add just for the record, breakfast was served and I was reading a book by the light of the crack in one of the shutters that didn't close properly.

"Morning," she said with a smile.

Her hair was an absolute tangle, and the dry remains of a trickle of drool ran down her chin. Seeing an upper-class young lady in that guise was really unexpected, but I also found it endearing.

"Good morning," I answered smiling back.
"It seems like I'm still alive."
"I was beginning to doubt it."
"So late it is?"
"Don't worry, the sun is still in the sky."
"Fine then."

I finally raised the shutters and opened the window to ventilate a bit. Two adults and a dog in a house of this size for a whole night saturate the air a lot.

"What is that amazing smell?"
"Pancakes. You like it?"
"Have you made me breakfast?"
"Yeah, well, I had free time. I don't have to go to work, you know… I didn't know what you used to have for breakfast."
"I love it. Thanks."

She ate breakfast without even trying to comb her hair and apparently comfortable with the situation she was in.

"Have you rested well?" I asked to break the ice a bit.
"I hadn't slept that well in years. Sometimes cheap mattresses are the best."
"I'm going to try not to be offended by your posh girl comment."
"No offense. It's a compliment."
"You should check your way of giving compliments…"
"What about you? Have you got a good sleep on the couch?"

I paused, probably too long to be credible.

"Yes, I slept well."
"Okay. Then tonight it's my turn there."
"That's not gonna happen."
"Why? You slept well, right?"
"So I don't need to change."
"You do not seriously believe that you are making me fall into your shabby lie, do you?"
"I'll pretend yes."
"I refuse. Tonight it's my turn on the couch, and if you refuse I'll sit on top of you until you get off it."

'This girl doesn't know what she is saying.'

"No. I'll sleep on the couch and that's my last word."

She wrinkled her nose and continued eating breakfast. Afterward, she dressed and fought her hair until she was able to tuck it into two perfect braids that didn't appear to be the same hair I'd seen before.

"What now?" she asked as hoping I really had something planned.
"A… movie? A game?"
"Parcheesi! You're never going to beat me at that game! You've got it?"
"I have it. It was on the house when I arrived."
"What else do you have?"
"I don't know. There was a cabinet with a few games, but I've never had a chance to use them."
"Never?"
"You know, Sven is more into another style."

Sven felt called and climbed lovingly and abruptly into my lap.

"Alright, buddy. I know, I know…" I said giving back some love.
"Well, you're going to have a few days to pull your socks up with that. I am invincible at board games."

Anna turned out to be a very competitive person. She happily swept me over to Parcheesi, Dobble, Jenga, Mazzle, and three other games that I haven't learned the name of yet. And with each victory, she jumped, yelled, and did little self-proclamation dances that Sven signed up too, happy to move the body something more than the express exit that we were allowed during those days. It was surprisingly fun.

"You should be a little more alert. You've been able to eat me twice and you've not even noticed."
"Would you have preferred me to eat you?"

The color change in her cheeks took me completely by surprise and it took me a moment to realize what I had said. The same moment it took me to turn even redder than her.

"Elsa!"
"What?"
"She doesn't know that you haven't eat... murdered me!"
"Oh... you should run to tell her; I don't want to suffer her wrath."
"Yes, I'll do that."

Anna went to get her phone and spoke with her sister for over an hour. It seemed incredible to me how much she was able to speak to the same person after having spoken to her the day before.

The rest of the day was spent between meals, games with Sven, and more Parcheesi. And, indeed, that night she slept on the couch.