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in the bathroom that morning...
    “Don’t you want to put hotels on!?” Chloe nudged her aunt under the table, making a face. “You’re not paying attention!”
    Damn. Caught. Leila bought four houses, arranging the green plastic pieces on the board, glancing at the clock. Her sister should be back soon to pick up Chloe, anyway. There was no way they were going to finish this game.
    Rich made fake punches in his seat, watching the fight. “Oh, man, he opened himself up for the leg sweep!”
    “Boardwalk!” Chloe squealed, bouncing in her seat and waving an orange five-hundred dollar bill. “Gimme, gimme!”
    Leila, as banker, gave over the property and a hundred dollars in change.
    “Dude!” Rich yelled, jumped up in his seat. “Fucking choked him out!”
    “Rich!” Leila warned, nodding her dark head toward Chloe.
    “Whoops.” He walked toward the kitchen table. “Sorry, punk.” He ruffled Chloe’s hair as he went by, heading for the refrigerator. “Nothing you haven’t heard before, right?”
    “Not the point.” Leila watched him standing in front of the open door, the light casting a glow over his strong jaw. Sometimes, like now, he looked so much like his father it made her heart hurt.
    He grabbed a Heineken, screwing the lid off and tossing it on the counter. She watched him down half of it, still standing in front of the open door, her eyes watching his throat working as he swallowed.
    “Hey, that better not be the last,” Leila said as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
    Shutting the fridge door, he came to sit at the table between them. “Plenty left, Ma. So, who’s winning?”
    “Me!” Chloe piped up, fanning out her properties for him.
    He raised his eyebrows, smiling around the rim of his beer. “Regular Donald Trump, aren’tcha?”
    “Not so fast.” Leila flashed Baltic and Mediterranean. “Technically, I’ve got the only Monopoly here!”
    Chloe snorted, flipping her brown ponytail over her shoulder. “Well, I’ve got all four railroads and both utilities!”
    The front door opened and Tanya breezed in, carrying dinner—her payment for Leila’s babysitting services.
    “It better not be sushi again,” Rich muttered, trying to see around his mother to peer at the bags his aunt was carrying.
    “I heard that, mister.” Tanya set the bags on the table, breathless. “Boston Market—a normal chicken dinner, I’ll have you know. Nothing raw—even the veggies are cooked.”
    “Did you get everything you needed?” Leila asked, raising her eyebrows at her sister. Tanya had gone Christmas shopping for Chloe.
    Her sister nodded. “Almost.”
    “Mom, I’m winning!” Chloe jumped up and grabbed her mother’s waist.
    Tanya continued unpacking the bags around her daughter. “Good, sweetie.”
    “Actually, you won.” Leila started to sweep the board. Rich helped her put away the pieces and she smiled a thank you.
    “Can’t we finish?” Chloe begged, watching the money and properties disappear into the rectangular box.
    “Sorry, babe.” Tanya crumpled up the empty bags. “We gotta get home.”
    “Aren’t you staying to eat?” Leila handed the box top to Rich, watching him put the rest of the game away.
    “Can’t,” Tanya replied. “Bill’s coming over tonight.”
    Leila raised her eyebrows, glancing at Chloe. “On a school night?”
    Tanya rolled her eyes. “At least I’m actually seeing someone and not pining away for some...”
    Tanya stopped, glancing at Rich, whose eyes moved between his mother and his aunt.
    Leila snorted, standing up and going to the cupboard to get plates. “I don’t know if ‘seeing’ is the word I’d use.”
    “Come on, Chloe.” Tanya held out her hand to her daughter. “Time to go.”
    “See ya, punk,” Rich said to Chloe, who flashed him a shiny metal smile as he opened one of the plastic containers of chicken.
    “Thanks for watching her, Li.” Tanya pulled Chloe toward the door.
    Leila shrugged, putting the