The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued

Page 377

Tommy rolled his eyes. “I’m just playing smart.”

“You’re playing sneaky,” Dennis said, but he was grinning. He didn’t mind losing. Not here. Not with them.

The radiator ticked. Outside, snow fell in slow, silent flakes, but inside was all warmth and light. His mother’s laughter was the kind that made you feel like you’d just been hugged. She sipped her tea and teased his father about mortgaging the electric company. Tommy made a show of building hotels, stacking the red plastic roofs like trophies. Dennis clutched his little iron token and plotted a comeback that never quite came.

But it didn’t matter.

Because here, in this dream, no one had left yet. No one had grown old or apart. No one had said goodbye.

The game went on, round after round, as if time itself had agreed to pause. The dice clattered like music. The Chance cards were always kind. And when Dennis landed on Marvin Gardens, he didn’t groan. He laughed, because Tommy had built a hotel there, and it meant he’d have to trade his last railroad to stay in the game.

“Fair’s fair,” Tommy said, and for once, he didn’t gloat.