“You’re ridiculous,” Annabel says to Jude and then she flicks a piece of her salad at him and without missing a beat, he catches it in his mouth.

I laugh.

I’m going to miss this.

No matter which way you cut it, one of us is going to be gone next week.

“We have something special tonight, babies. Laser tag!”

The backyard has been transformed.

Planks of wood have been cobbled together into makeshift walls, and various inflatables and giant wine barrels are strewn about, along with old tires and the kiddie pool, which is now full of water.

We’re standing beside Jude on the porch while he yells at the “babies” through his megaphone. Since the yard is being used, everyone’s assembled on the deck and in the living room, listening through the open sliding glass door. The crowd grows each time we have one of these. The bets have already been placed, and now Jude is going over the details for the challenge.

“Each of our players will get a gun and a vest. The vests are set up to flash and emit a loud, unique sound when you get shot by your opponent. Three shots and you are out. I have a scorecard here that’s wirelessly connected to your vests.” He holds up a square black object. It resembles a toy-car remote, except bigger. “So we’ll be able to keep track of each hit. Beast?”

Beast slides onto the porch, coming out of the darkness like a killer submarine emerging from the deep.

“Ladies first,” Jude says.

Beast holds the vest up so I can stick my arms in the holes and then he fastens me in.

“Don’t get too crazy out there, babies. I don’t want my biggest sources of income to get injured.”

The crowd laughs.

“Your concern is touching,” Fitz says drily.

Beast helps him into his vest and then hands each of us our guns.

“Fitz, Reese. Please step into the yard.”

We jump off the porch onto the grass.

“A demonstration, if you will! Fitz, go ahead and shoot Reese in the chest.”

He hesitates.

“It’s a laser gun, not a real gun. You aren’t gonna hurt her. Just do it.”

He pulls the trigger. My vest lights up orange and makes an obnoxious yodeling sound, much to the delight of the audience.

“Now you,” Jude tells me.

I don’t hesitate, shooting Fitz right in the heart. His vest lights up bright yellow and emits a jarringly loud rooster crowing, eliciting more laughter and claps from the assembled group.

Jude holds up his scoring machine to show the crowd what it looks like on his tablet. “I will reset this bad boy and give a big thanks to the engineering department for designing these wonderful toys. Now then, babies, let the games begin!”

As soon as he finishes his sentence, the entire backyard plunges into darkness.

I can’t see anything. It’s pitch-black. People are still on the porch, talking and laughing, so I move away, onto the course. I trip over something and then all of a sudden, colorful lights are flashing all around, reds and blues and yellows and greens—like I’ve been dropped into a disco ball.