At the designated start time for the game, the girls shouted their war cry, and you could hear them running in the woods. It was a little unnerving. I found a spot in a bush where I could hunker down. I could hear paintballs being shot near our flag. When you were shot, you were supposed to call out your name.
“Paul!”
“Wolf!”
“Brook!”
“Flo!”
Names were all shouted out in short order. It reminded me of the
“David! Come out and play!” Cassidy called.
I figured they had our flag, so I had to find theirs. I quietly moved to where I’d heard their war cry to start the game. Their flag had to be in the clearing where Cassidy and Brook had ambushed me when we rode the four-wheelers.
I circled around and glimpsed movement. It was Jane; she was facing the clearing. I didn’t have a clear shot. I heard running and saw Cassidy holding our flag. The little shit wore a huge grin on her face. Her running through the trees made it difficult to shoot her. I decided to wait until she cleared the trees. She burst into the open with victory in sight.
I lined up my shot and smiled when Cassidy realized that she’d been hit. Jane heard the shot and rolled right as I fired off a quick one aimed at where she had just been. She got off a lucky shot that hit the tree next to me.
I needed to move. I figured Jane would never expect me to charge her, so I did. She had rolled into a bush and had nowhere to go. I shot her and sprinted to grab their and our flags. Cassidy gave me an evil look.
“Cassidy!”
“Jane!”
Now all I had to do was either shoot Fritz or get the flags back to our base. My heart was racing, knowing that Fritz was out there looking for me. I decided I should take my time because I was sure Fritz was close. While I scanned the trees, I thought about how Paul tried to get some elevation. I crept back towards our flag, freaking out at every little sound.
Then my phone rang. SHIT! It was unbelievably loud. I felt a paintball hit my ass, followed by a chuckle. Fritz had his phone out. The bastard had called my number to find out where I was.
“That was totally cheating,” I complained.
It was all in good fun.
We spent the rest of the afternoon running around the woods, shooting each other. I think the most fun was when we did a free-for-all where everyone was against … well, everyone. Cassidy won that one. Even Fritz was impressed with her shooting. She had a knack for shooting guys in the nuts.
◊◊◊
After dinner, I took the little ones to Pam’s to go swimming. Duke wanted to go, but Pam said their condo association had banned him from the pool area. They made a big deal about Labs shedding and what it did to pool filters. Labrador retrievers are water dogs. They actually have webbed skin between their toes.
Peggy said that the last time he’d been over, he’d been good until Coby began to fuss. Duke dove into the pool to make sure he was okay. Once Duke figured out what the pool was all about, they’d had a hard time getting him out. One woman on the COA (Condo Owners Association) board wasn’t happy when he got out and shook water everywhere.
Peggy thought we might need to put a pool in so Duke could play. I bought into that just as much as I’d bought into Pam’s claim that Coby needed a $200 purse. Sometimes they made it easy for me to say ‘no.’
The doorman had announced us, so Lacy and Pam had the door open when I got off the elevator.
“There they are,” Lacy cooed.
Both boys perked up when they heard her. She took Coby from me, and Pam reached for Little David. They were already in their swimsuits, so they sent me to change. When I came back, I was put in charge of all the stuff that had to be carried. They’d gotten the boys ready for the pool.
We took the elevator upstairs to the top floor, where they had a hot tub and an exercise room in addition to the pool. It also had access to the roof where they’d set up a patio area. Pam told me it was where most everyone sunbathed.
I almost had a cow when Pam walked to the edge of the pool and jumped in with Coby in her arms. They both went under, and it took a second for them to break the surface.
“What the heck?” I complained.
Both Lacy and Pam laughed at me.
“He knows to hold his breath,” Pam said.
“It’s a reflex to protect their airway. Most infants do it,” Lacy said.
“Most?” I asked.
Lacy just shrugged like it was no big deal. She did the same with Little David, and I held my breath while they were under the water. Both boys seemed to be okay, so I calmed down. I handed them the flotation devices. The boys enjoyed floating around. I was a little nervous, but the longer I watched, the better I was with it. Something Pam had insisted on was that Coby be comfortable around water. If he ever fell into a pool, she wanted him to be safe.
