Samuel studied the woman before him as he rubbed his chin. “Don’t go getting too comfortable, there’s more to come.” He looked over to Henry and chuckled, then patted her on the shoulder gently.

The dark-haired woman turned toward her father. “So, Dad, if that was the wrong answer, what’s the right one?”

Henry reached for the shot glass, handing it back to Brian for a refill. “Plead insanity. It’s your best shot.”

“Here you go, Sammi. Open mine next.” Crystal pushed a brown paper package across the table towards her cousin.

Sam eyed the paper and laughed. “Thanks, Crystal, or should I wait to see how badly you embarrass me with this?”

“Hey, I am sorry I didn’t have time to wrap it. Heck I just got it in the mail right before Peter picked me up.” The feisty blonde raised her hand to her mouth to hold in a laugh as she watched her cousin examine the very plain brown wrapper, and then cautiously open it.

Seeing the book inside, Sam turned redder than a beet. “Crystal!” Green eyes glared at the woman sitting innocently on the couch. “I can’t believe you did this to me.”

“What is it,” Ida spoke up. “I can’t see.”

Sam reluctantly held the book up with one hand as she covered her face with the other.

“Damn, I left my bifocals at home.” Ida elbowed C.C., “What’s the title?”

The room grew silent as all the women looked to Sam.

“I think that’s your job, Sam. Isn’t that right, Randi?” C.C. pointed out.

“Yeah, she’s right, kiddo.” Randi held in the laughter that wanted to explode from her mouth. “The bride has to answer any questions about the gift.”

Sam brought the book into her view and read the title aloud. “The Kama Sutra of Lesbian Sex.” She hung her head and sighed. “There, are you happy now, Crystal?”

“Hey, how in the hell am I supposed to know what to get the two of you?”

“Oh God, I didn’t even know that they made such a book.” Sam’s blush was getting a deeper shade of red by the minute.

“Neither did I, Sam.” Crystal rose from her seat and took the book from her cousin’s hand, flipping through the pages. “Hmm…maybe we should pass this around.” She handed the book to Randi and moved away from her seat. “Say, Cuz, could you show me where the little girl’s room is?”

“Sure, anything to get out of here while that goes around the room. “Come on, follow me.” Sam rose from her chair and headed down the short hallway.

Before Sam knew what was happening, her cousin pulled her into the bathroom and the door was hastily closed. After producing the flask from the back of her jeans, Crystal opened it and downed a swig.

“Oh, that’s good.” The nurse let out with a little yelp, then offered it to Sam. “Here ya go, Cuz.”

The blonde eyed the familiar looking flask, and then slowly accepted it. Hoisting it to her mouth, Sam took a drink with a very audible gulp. “YUK!” The blonde handed it back to Crystal amid a bevy of gasps and coughs. “Let me guess, Randi let you borrow it?”

“Yeah,” Crystal nodded.

“Just trying to put me at ease, huh?” Sam shook her head and tried to focus on her cousin.

“Huh? No. I just didn’t want to drink alone.” Crystal smiled and took another little nip before sealing it.

“Well, thanks for inviting me, Cuz.” Sam pointed to the flask, losing her balance as she leaned a little too far for her footing.

Preventing the young woman from falling, Crystal steadied her, then opened the door. “Come on, Sam. Let’s go see what the rest of the perverts got you with all those dirty little minds.”

Sam nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s go see.”

The tall woman threw her head back as another round of liquor emptied from the shot glass. Smacking her lips, Brooke set the glass down and slid it across the table to the official keeper of the bottle, Rick.

“Okay, that wasn’t so bad. When do the tougher questions start?” Brooke looked to men around her.

“Okay,” Peter shrugged. “Here comes one now.” He shuffled through the cards in his hand, then stopped and began to read what was on it. “You want to go to the big game for the weekend and she doesn’t…do you go, or stay home, doing useless chores that she deems are necessary?”

Blue eyes narrowed as Brooke tapped out a rhythm on the table with her fingertips. “Football, basketball or hockey, which sport?”

Surprised by the question, Peter drew back and looked to the men on either side of him. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah, it does.” Brooke stopped the drumming and looked from one married man to another.

Rick cracked under the pressure as intense blue eyes settled on him. “Come on, Brooke,” he laughed nervously. “It’s a shot of independence. Who cares what the sport is.”

“Hmm…” Brooke sat back in her chair and looked up to the ceiling in deep thought. “A shot of independence or sleeping with my wife that night…” she contemplated her answer while she tapped a finger on her chin. After a long pause, she began to speak. “I guess…” she watched as all of the men leaned forward, their attention hanging on her next phrase. “I guess I’d stay home. Seems to me… that would be the most fun sport of all.” Brooke grinned as she drew in a deep breath, feeling very proud of her answer.

Torn between his wish to have his daughter be happy and his thoughts on the subject as a man, Samuel was the first to offer his judgment. His pleasant smile and nodding of his head came off a little deceiving as he finally verbalized his thought. “My God, she’s got you trained already.”

“Yes, she does,” Brooke confirmed her father-in-law-to-be’s suspicion.

“It’s a hopeless cause, gentlemen.” Samuel shook his head. “She’s already beyond our help.”

“So, wait a minute…” Brooke raised an eyebrow in challenge. “If I answer right, does that mean I get to make all of you drink?”

“URP! Wrong answer.” Her father held out another filled shot glass for her to consume.

“Wait, what do you mean wrong answer?” Brooke looked to her father as she took the glass and then threw it back, along with her head.

“URP!” Brian mimicked Henry, “Wrong answer.” He smiled broadly as he brought a filled shot glass out from behind his back and presented it to his sister-in-law.

Stunned by the double team action, Brooke opened her mouth to speak but was stopped before she could utter a single word.

“Brooke,” Rick spoke up. “I’d be careful what you say,” he cautioned her holding a third shot glass for her to consume.

“Well, let me put it this way…” Brooke took Brian’s glass and downed it, then returned it to the table upside down. “Given a choice between watching grown men smack each other on the ass and scratch themselves or stay at home with Sam so she can smack my ass or scratch me…” she took Rick’s glass and consumed it, also turning it upside down on the table before continuing. “Which one do you think I’m gonna choose?” Brooke gave a little snicker as she wiggled her eyebrows.

Each of the four married men glanced from one to another then, as if timed perfectly with years of practice, they let out their battle cry for the night. “URP! WRONG ANSWER,” was shouted as each one righted their shot glass on the table. Taking the bottle from Rick, Peter hastily filled them up.

Brooke blinked at the sight before her. All of her esteemed party throwers stood there before her, gloating. “What’s the name of this game, anyway? Is someone going to tell me the right answers?”

They all glanced around to one another and smiled.

“Why, the name of the game, Brooke, is…” Henry silently counted off the cue on his fingers until at the thrust of the third finger, all yelled in unison. “TAKE IT LIKE A MAN.”

Brooke watched as they all started laughing. Singling out her soon to be father-in-law, Brooke directed her question to him. “What do you think, Mr. Moleson?” She waited until the man looked in her direction. “She’s your daughter, what do you think?”

Caught off guard, Samuel cleared his throat as he looked over to Henry. “Hmm…” Sam’s father crossed his arms over his chest and sized the woman up. “Right now, Brooke,” he nodded his head, “I’m kind of glad that you’re not a man. I think you’re going to make my daughter one happy wife.” Samuel let a subtle smile come to his face as Brooke got up from her chair.

Her long strides made the space between them disappear in no time as she threw her arm around him and gave Samuel a vigorous one-armed hug. “Take that one, guys.” She looked to the other men in the room, and then gave a laugh, squeezing the man’s shoulders even tighter than before. “Thanks, sir.”

“Okay,” Sam called out. “Bring on that next mystery box.” She looked around the group of women. “Whosez next?”

Hearing her future daughter-in-law’s slurred speech, Mable acted on her motherly instincts. “Sam, are you alright, Dear?”

Sam looked a little confused by the question. “I…well…yeah I’m…”

“Nervous, Mom.” Randi interjected before the blonde could finish. “It’s her nerves; remember how you were the night before your wedding?”

“Oh yes,” the matriarch giggled. “I was more nervous at the reception for the actual wedding night to come. Now that was a story in its own right. Why I remember being so nervous that…”

Sensing that all eyes were on Mable as she became caught up in one of her stories, Crystal took the flask from behind her and slipped it into her mother’s hand. She leaned over to Sandy and whispered in her ear, “Your turn now,” then stood back up. Keeping her eye on Mable, Crystal moved around the room, taking the first seat she found, and plopped into it as the story was drawing to a close.

Mable rocked back and forth in laughter as she ended her story. “Oh, God, I don’t know how any of you were conceived, especially you, Randi. I still can’t believe that you were conceived on that night.” The woman wiped a tear from her eye.