The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona - Volume II

Summer On The Shore Part III

In the process of me showering and getting dressed again, the rental company had stopped by and set-up our outdoor dining tables and chairs for the week. (They would be back later on Friday morning, to set up the clambake party decorations.) Despite the fact that the rental house was huge, it didn't have much in the way of patio seating. 

The rental place we hired, even brought in pieces to comprise an outdoor kitchen for our chefs to use for the week. Our group was excited that our caterers had offered to cook some dishes table-side, and I was excited to watch professional chefs in action. I guess I am a, 'forever student,' as my desire to learn new skills, never seems to end.

Once dressed, I joined the majority of our group downstairs, in the open-concept main room. It was about a half hour before Rachel and her wife were set to show up. Maddy was in Callie's arms and everyone else was lounging on furniture or in the kitchen talking.

"Arizona, Callie, and Sophia? I have a challenge for your family!"

Renee was smiling, as she handed me a sealed envelope. I looked at Callie at the same time she looked at me. We were both perplexed and intrigued by this unexpected quest as we looked back and forth at each other with confused expressions.

"What's all this, Renee?" I was staring at the envelope as I spoke. The outside of the envelope simply said, "Open me."

"I'm not going to say anything, other than this is a quick challenge for your family to solve. Good luck, ladies!"

"Might as well do what the envelope says, Arizona." Callie was smiling, but still looked just as befuddled as I felt. 

Nonetheless, I ripped open the envelope to discover a card inside that said, "I am an object you can open to discover wealth, bills or even junk within. My contents change daily, but just not on Sundays or holidays. Make sure to use my flag, or otherwise, your items may never leave. Open me to find your next clue."

The room had grown silent while I read aloud. I even noticed that Ari had rejoined us (from where ever she just was) in time for the reading of our first clue. Since this clue seemed obvious to me, we decided to let Sophia guess on her own.

"Sophia? What do you think that clue means?" 

"My guess is a mailbox. Should we go outside and look, Moms?" Soph looked eager and excited as she answered.

"I agree with your guess, Bug. Let's go check it out!" Callie responded to Soph, as Ari took Maddy out of her sister's arms. Within seconds, the three of us went outside to find the rental house mailbox. Sure enough, the flag was up on the box and once Sophia opened it, there was another clue waiting inside.

The 2nd clue said, "I don't have a deep end, or a diving board. However, I'm acutely aware of how obtuse I can be when it comes to various angles that people play."

Callie read the next clue, as Sophia gave us a confused expression. Sensing she might need to coax the next answer out of Sophia, Callie said, "Read the clue again Soph and really think about what each word is saying."

We watched her reread the clue a few times out loud and then she paused for 10 seconds. "A swimming pool has a diving board and usually a deep end. But there isn't a swimming pool at the house." We both nodded to encourage her thought process to continue down it's current path.

"But, there is a pool table in the game room and people have to make shots that go in all directions on those. Do you think it's the pool table?"

I nodded in unison with Callie as the three of us made it back in to the house and headed to the game room. I was conscious at this point that our family was eagerly watching and literally following our progress along the way.