Chapter 78 – The chosen one
Since there was cake for dessert, he decided to make something light for the main dish. He began to put together a mixed salad, with a lot of greeneries, tomatoes, mushrooms, chicken, and a simple salad sauce based on olive oil. His two sisters were monitoring each of his movements as if that could hasten the process somehow. It was a simple enough dish to fix and he was done soon, to their joy. He turned toward them and asked them to call the rest of the family down, which they rushed to do. Two minutes later and everyone was sitting on their chair, the meal starting and the girls devouring everything. He always readied large portions so that it wouldn't be a problem but with the main dish being lighter today, it disappeared even faster than usual.
He removed the empty plate of salad and put the cake in its place. Their expressions suggested that they looked forward to it very much and he cut it into eight equal portions, distributing one to each of them. Their pieces disappeared almost as soon as they arrived on their plates and when they were done, they all started to eye the last remaining piece. Benjamin sat down back to eat his own, appreciating his hard work. It was quite good and he felt proud of the result; he thought that he did well for his first cake ever. When he was done, he saw that there was tension in the air. Chloe tried to take the last remaining piece for herself with a combination of fake innocence and looking like she wasn't doing anything special, only to be blocked by five other hands.
"Not so quick, kiddo. This is mine."
"No way, Grandma. I had my eyes on it from the start."
"I want it too."
"With my authority as the mother of the family, I claim this piece for myself."
"Dream on, Mom."
"I finished my share quicker so it should be mine."
"What sort of logic is that?"
"Quiet, I said it's mine."
The argument was getting bigger and Benjamin decided to stop it before they began fighting again.
"Wait."
Hearing him talk, they all stopped arguing and turned toward him.
"I also want it for myself so let's determine who should get it fairly."
"How?"
"Let's see... What about a game? Something like poker? It's been a while since we did anything other than watching TV in the evening so it might be a good opportunity for a change."
"Poker, huh? Why not."
"Sounds fun."
"I'm in."
"I'll get the cards!"
Chloe, as energetic as always, rushed upstairs to get a deck of cards from the storage room on the second floor. The others cleaned up the table, Benjamin leaving the piece of cake in the middle as a trophy for the future winner. When Chloe came back, they all headed to the side of the living room, deciding to use the low glass table there to play the game, everybody sitting on the floor. Benjamin felt a gaze on him and, when he looked up, he saw his grandmother winking at him before speaking.
"Just playing the game normally sounds a bit boring. What about we make it more thrilling?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean strip poker!"
There was a moment of silence before their mother and Nova exclaimed.
"What!? Are you crazy?"
"No way!"
On the other hand, Grace and Chloe seemed surprised but very interested, checking Benjamin from top to bottom. Even Olivia, who usually stayed neutral, took quick looks at him, somewhat attracted by the idea.
"Sounds fine."
"I am totally for it!"
"I don't really mind..."
Their grandmother laughed, happy with her success.
"Seems like we have a majority for. Give up, Clare, Nova."
Clare was their mother's name, which only their grandmother used from time to time.
"How can you all agree with that? Benjamin is participating, you know!"
He smiled and answered lightly.
"I don't really mind. Aren't we within the family? It will make the game more serious, no holding back. You girls better play well or you will end up in the nude before you know it!"
He laughed and his grandmother followed suit. The two recalcitrant ones still didn't seem completely convinced about it. Their grandmother went to them and started to whisper something in their ears. Soon enough, they looked toward him, and, after a few minutes of persuasion and a long glare at him, they finally nodded their heads.
"Fine, but let's not go too far, alright?"
"Of course. Here is how I think we should do it. We can follow the five-card draw rules and the one with the worst hand removes a piece of clothing. Is that fine with all of you?"
Everyone nodded except for Chloe and Olivia, who asked for an explanation of the rules.
"This version of the game is very simple. You get five cards at the start and you are allowed to either keep your hand as it is or change any number of cards with new ones from the deck, even your full hand if you want. When everyone is done changing their cards, we all show our hands and the one with the worst one loses. If you don't know the hand rankings, you can check them on your phone. Is it all clear?"
"I got it."
"Me too."
Chloe and Olivia checked the hand rankings on their phone, which they put down on the table next to them to be able to refer to at any time. Benjamin and Nova followed suit since they also didn't remember everything by heart. Only Grace, their mother, and their grandmother felt confident enough not to use any references.
It was time for the first round of the game and the tension and excitation could be felt inside the living room. Only their grandmother looked relaxed as she took the role of the dealer, distributing the cards to everyone. Once she was done, Benjamin checked his first hand.