 ‘ You realise that you’re cheating, right? ‘ he stated, keeping his gaze fixed on the game in the middle of them and trying to figure out how Caleb was managing to not drop any of the marbles.
 ‘ You can’t cheat at Kerplunk, you nitwit, it’s just a matter of which stick is holding the most and which one looks like it’s holding the least.. but in the end it’s just pure luck, ‘ Caleb responded to the mildly offensive remark with haste but he did have a grin on his face.
 Up to now, Cecil was losing by quite a bit because the marbles on his side could fill a soup bowl, but the marbles on his own side were somewhere between six and twelve. This was maybe their third round in the last hour and it seemed that neither were going to quit until Cecil had won for once. Caleb was willing to admit that he didn’t use any special tactics, because this was a game for kids and it was as simple as just hoping you didn’t lose too many marbles on your turn, so the idea that he might have found a hack for it was just the other feeling sorry for himself.
 ‘ Okay, if I pull this one and lose a dozen marbles again, we’re gonna call it quits, ‘ Cecil looked determined this time as he reached for the stick, thumb and finger glued to the very end as he slowly, painfully so, pulled it out and lost one marble once it was halfway, then two, and as the stick came all of the way out, half the set of marbles inside poured out, bouncing over the little container on his side, across the table and onto the floor.
 ‘ Maybe we should just flick through the television until the girls get back? ‘ Caleb offered, trying to tone down the amusement in his voice because he’d managed to hide it in the expression on his face, somehow. Cecil only nodded in response, the title of loser ringing in his head in a very repetitive manner, but he didn’t let it show for long.
 ‘ Right.. ‘ was all he said, scratching the back of his neck as he felt very awkward for reacting as he had over a childrens game. He figured a few more tries would see him actually win for once, but the fact remained that if he couldn’t win at least once in over an hour, he wasn’t going to try any harder. ‘ Talitha and I are running down to the beach later to catch some waves.. you and Hel coming with? Tal said she hasn’t been able to get Helene in the water since they were kids, but I figured an invite was due ‘cause we’ve been going twice a month for the last two years. ‘Â
 ‘ If I can persuade her, sure. I think I’ll get her to tag along anyway, even if she won’t go into the water, we can just hang back on the beach while you guys do, ‘ Caleb offered; he knew his wife was unlikely to even paddle because she had experienced some sort of trauma related to the ocean a long time ago, but he had yet to find out what. Perhaps he would find a way to get it out of her sister instead, providing Talitha wouldn’t mind sharing what caused his wife’s phobia.
