Dodge the question

“It went well,” I answer curtly, not wanting to get myself tangled in figuring out what to tell Mindy about it. “Have you started an online dating service yet?”

Mindy sours her face. “Nooooo...” She tries again. “Was it with the same woman? The one you said has baggage?” She snaps a piece in place.

“Nope. It was a new one.” I frown. The piece I thought was a match doesn’t fit right. “You should try it. It’s easier than you think.”

“Dating a woman?”

“Online dating... but I’m not going to tell you who to date.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“Not really.”

“Probably all weirdos on there”

“You’d fit right in.”

Mindy chucks a chip at me. Then gets up to get another margarita pouch, mashing it, then sitting again. “You can get your own refill.”

“I will.” I pick the thrown chip off the table and crunch it loudly as I walk to get the last pouch. Mindy picks up the puzzle box to look at it more closely.

“There they are!” Mindy shouts, swiping two puzzle pieces that were under the box. “Were you hiding them on purpose? What am I saying—of course you did!”

I have no idea what I am being accused of.”

“Uh-huh. There, that cage is finally done. Now that your dirty tricks have been revealed, I think you should get a penalty.”

“Yeah?” I chuckle. “Like what?”

“You...” She looks around, thinking. “You don’t get to look at the box for an hour.”

“That seems a little harsh.”

“Hey, I’ve been looking for those pieces for at least that long.”

“Okay. I accept the punishment for that thing I didn’t do.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Now lets talk about your punishment.” I set down the large ice cream container on the table. Mindy gasps, face turning red.