Must Love Flowers(53)

“Appetizers and beer sound perfect.”

“Kurt insists beer sharpens his intellectual skills.”

“I’ll have to give that a try, then,” she said, her good mood rising with each minute. Maggie hadn’t gone out for a fun evening like this in ages. She couldn’t recall the last time she felt this carefree without the burden of her father weighing her down. She’d struggled for so long, and it felt heavenly to relax and be with friends.

Helping her down from the truck, Nick claimed her hand and led her through the restaurant to the bar in back. Several high-tops were situated around the room in front of what looked to be a small dance floor. A table was set up there with a microphone resting on the top. People of various ages milled around, waiting for the competition to start.

Kurt saw them from across the room and raised his arm, indicating that he already had a table. When Nick led them over, he introduced her to Bruce.

“Do you work with Nick and Kurt?” she asked, sliding onto the raised chair at the high-top.

“Yes, but I’m in the engineering division of Harbor View Construction.” He reached for the pitcher of beer in the middle of the table and poured himself a mug.

Nick claimed it next and filled both his and Maggie’s mugs.

“Nachos and chicken wings are on their way,” Kurt mentioned, sipping his beer.

A server stopped by and delivered pencils and papers. One sheet was for the answers, and there were several smaller ones, which Maggie guessed were provided for them to share their responses without any other team overhearing.

“Are there prizes?” Maggie asked, surprised she hadn’t thought to ask earlier.

“First place is light-up shot glasses.”

Maggie had no idea such a thing existed.

“Second place is Washington state lottery tickets.”

“You mean to say the shot glasses are more valuable than lottery tickets?”

“A bird in the hand,” Bruce said, setting down his beer.

“And third place is a five-dollar Starbucks card.”

“Yahoo.” Maggie raised her fist in the air.

“She works at Starbucks,” Nick explained.

“And your team routinely wins?”

“I wish,” Kurt grumbled. “See the table over there?” He pointed to a team three tables over. “The Wizards are in the money every week. We don’t even know their first names and we hate them.”

Maggie laughed, knowing that was an exaggeration.

A middle-aged man with a balding head and a stomach that hung over his belt buckle spoke into the microphone. “Welcome, trivia buffs. I’m Darrin, your friendly and fair trivia master. Is everyone ready for tonight’s competition?”

A cheer of hopeful responses filled the room.

“Now, everyone raise your right hand and say along with me: It’s only a game.” A chorus of unified voices followed.

Darrin nodded approvingly. “I’ve counted ten teams. We welcome back the regulars,” he said, calling out the team names. “And give a nod to our newest team The Quizzie Rascals.”

A few people called out, “Welcome.”

“Just more competition,” Kurt grumbled.

Having said his piece, Darrin continued. “All right, let’s get down to business.”

“Which team are we?” Maggie asked in a whisper, leaning close to Nick.

“Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow,” Nick whispered back.

Maggie rolled her eyes.

Darrin glanced at the screen on his iPad. “First question: What was the title of Bruce Springsteen’s memoir?”

Maggie’s mind was completely blank. She didn’t realize one of her favorite performers had written a memoir. Most of her reading material related to her schooling.

“I got this,” Kurt said, and quickly scribbled down his answer on one of the small pieces of paper. He turned it around so the others could read it: Born to Run.

Nick, Bruce, and Maggie didn’t have an answer so Nick, the team leader, wrote that response down on the answer sheet.

After a few minutes and mumbling around the room, Darrin continued. “Next question. Where was Catherine the Great born?”

Maggie thought she knew. With her own German heritage on her mother’s side, she recalled that Catherine had invited immigrants from Germany to settle in Ukraine. She quickly scribbled down “Germany” and saw that both Bruce and Kurt agreed.

Nick shook his head and twisted his paper around to reveal his answer. Poland.

“No way,” Kurt insisted, and pointed to his answer.

Nick remained adamant. “I read her biography years ago. Trust me.”

While her teammates continued to look skeptical, Maggie sided with Nick. “I think we should trust Nick. He’s the smart one, remember?”

Bruce scoffed a laugh. “Is that what he’s been telling you?”

There were ten questions, and while they couldn’t be entirely confident they were all correct, Maggie felt they had a good chance of placing.

Darrin gave the teams a few minutes to review the ten answers. Maggie noticed that a number of the teams had their heads together, silently discussing and debating the questions.

Breaking into the waves of whispers, Darrin continued in a raised voice, “For tonight’s bonus question, there are double points.”