Nick joined her and started the engine. He appeared to be in a happy mood, and for that matter, so was she. She’d been excited and pleased when Nick had asked her to join him and his friends for what was sure to be a fun evening.
“Tell me about your trivia team,” she said, wanting to be prepared.
“You already know Kurt.”
“Right.” He was the one who came in each weekday morning with Nick.
“He has a lot of general knowledge about movies, actors, and that sort of thing.”
She nodded.
“Then there’s Bruce. He’s an engineer, so the technical stuff is his thing.”
“What’s your strength?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I’m hopeless with pop culture, but I read a lot, mostly history and science, which is why Kurt calls me Einstein.”
Maggie smiled.
He glanced away from the road. “Does Kurt’s nickname for me amuse you because it annoys me?”
“It isn’t your nickname I find laughable, it’s your humility,” she said. “I suspect you invited me for my medical knowledge.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, and then grinned as if hiding a secret. “The truth is it was a good excuse to spend the evening with you.”
Maggie had her suspicions. “Are you really down a team member?”
He hesitated before answering. “Okay, confession time. Each team is allowed four members. The three of us are pretty competitive and show up every week. Not so much with Tyler. He’s more of a floater and comes when he feels like it. He hasn’t shown up for the last two weeks. We can’t depend on him, so I called him earlier and said we had a fourth person this week.”
“You did not!”
“I did,” he confessed. “Besides, when it comes to anything having to do with medicine, Kurt, Bruce, and I are at a loss.”
“Now I understand. You invited me for my brain?”
“Rest assured there are other parts of your body that interest me as well.”
Maggie blushed and let the comment pass. She wouldn’t say it aloud, but there were parts of him that interested her, too, and more than his apparent intelligence.
“Obviously your input on medical questions will certainly help the team,” he said, briefly looking away from the road and at her. “On the other hand, I wanted a chance to get to know you better and this felt like the perfect opportunity. Are you upset?”
“I’m actually flattered.”
“Good.” He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Within a few minutes, Nick pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant and angled into an empty space. “The trivia game is played in the bar. We order a few appetizers and beer, but if you want anything else, let me know.”
“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.