I giggled. “McDonald’s is you’re spider-free area?” I asked Isaac as he pushed the glass door open.

He shrugged. “Well, if it weren’t, the board of health would’ve shut it down by now, wouldn’t they?” he asked logically.

Sighing, I said, “I guess you’re right.”

We walked up to the cashier. I thought it was strange how empty the little eatery was for a summer afternoon. If we had been in Warren as opposed to Tulsa, I was sure it would have been packed.

The girl behind the cash register looked to be about eighteen. She had sleek brown hair pulled back in a pony tail and shining brown eyes. Her name tag read “Jill”. She flashed a smile and said, “Welcome to McDonald’s. May I take your order?”

I gave a quick look around to make sure we hadn’t walked in on the making of a commercial. No video cameras in sight, I turned back to Jill and smiled as well. I gave her my order and Isaac did the same. A minute later, the food was ready and Jill was arranging it on the tray. She glanced up momentarily and told us our total.

Isaac and I both went for our wallets. Putting his hand over mine, Ike said, “I’ll pay.”

I smiled uncomfortably. “That’s okay. I can cover myself.”

Isaac didn’t remove his hand. “No, really. I want to.”

I looked at Jill, who’s smiling face seemed to say, “Well, somebody pay me,” and sighed helplessly. “Fine. Pay,” I said to Isaac. He finally removed his hand from mind and I replaced my wallet to my back pocket.

Isaac paid Jill and picked up the tray. We sat down at a small two-person table and he began distributing the food.

I picked up a French fry and looked at it doubtfully. Isaac sighed. “Did it really mean that much for you to pay?” he asked finally.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just kinda feel bad. I mean, I come into your house and take over your bedroom, and now you’re buying me lunch. It’s . . . I dunno. Weird, I guess,” I tried to explain.

Isaac nodded. “Well, I guess I know what you mean. I just . . . Well, I just wanted to buy you lunch. I didn’t want to make you feel bad,” he told me.

Something about the way he said it made me smile. “Okay. Let’s drop this,” I said. “And,” I added, “thank you.”

Smiling, he said, “You’re welcome.”

About an hour later, Isaac and I arrived back at the Hanson house. We walked into the kitchen to see Evie, Lynn, Zac, Taylor, Jessica, and Avery around the table, giggling and passing playing cards around clockwise. Five spoons laid in the center of the table.

Not wanting to disturb the game, Isaac tapped my shoulder and mouthed, “What are they doing?”

I smiled and put my index finger to my lips. “Watch,” I mouthed, turning back to the table.

Lynn picked up the card Jessie had passed to her. She got rid of another card in her hand, and in the same moment picked up one of the spoons from the tabletop. Within seconds, Evie noticed this and grabbed a spoon as well. Taylor and his sisters all picked up spoons at the same moment. Zac kept picking up cards from the massive pile that had accumulated to his right. Finally, he noticed everyone staring at him. “Oh, man!” he cried. “I can’t believe I lost again!”

Laughing, Lynnie said, “I told you, you have to keep a look out for the spoons!”

“What on earth are you playing?” Isaac demanded. Everyone looked at him, apparently noticing him for the first time.

“Three guesses,” Evie told him. “Starts with an ‘S’ . . .”

“Spoons?” Isaac asked.

Everyone at the table started clapping. “Very good,” Eve said, grinning broadly.

I pulled up a chair and sat down in the large gap between Zac and Avery. “Can I play?” I asked. A chorus of agreements came up from the table.

“What’s the point of this game?” Isaac asked, apparently still stuck on the fact he didn’t know what was going on.

Evie sighed. “The object of the game is to pass the cards around until you end up with four of a kind. When you get four of a kind, you pick up a spoon. When one person picks up a spoon, everyone else has to hurry up and grab one. If you’re the one who ends up without a spoon, you lose. Get it?” she asked. Then she added, “Only, since there’s so many of us, we’ve got two decks and you have to get five of a kind.”

Grinning, Tay added, “It’s fun.”

Isaac shrugged. “Okay, I’m in,” he said.

“Grab two more spoons,” Zac called. Isaac obliged and set the extra spoons on the table.

“Poor Zac,” Jessie said. “He thinks if there’s more spoons, he might win.” She giggled. Zac made a face.

Isaac pulled up another extra chair into the only space left - between me and Avie - and Lynn handed the cards to Zac. “Your deal,” she said.

Zac split the oversized deck in half and shuffled each half separately. He then passed five cards out to each of us and asked, “Ready?” We all nodded, and Zac picked up the first card. Rejecting it, he passed it to me.

I flipped the card over just enough to see what it was. A three. I didn’t have any threes in my hand. However, I did have two fours. I passed the three to Isaac.

Zac passed about five cards to me before I found another four. Taking a ten out of my hand and passing it to Isaac, I glanced at the spoons. Two . . . four . . . yep, all seven still there.

Ten cards passed by. None were fours. Taking yet another card from Zac, I glanced up at the table instead of at the card. I was handing it over to Ike before I actually looked at it.

Isaac closed his fingers over the card, but I didn’t let go. “Hey!” he called.

I still didn’t release the card. Finally, I managed to pull it from his grasp. Grinning triumphantly, I slid the card next to my other fours. As I did so, I glanced at the spoons. Or, rather, spoon.

Isaac seemed to notice it as well, and the two of us grabbed for the last spoon at the same moment. Each of us snatched up an end of it and began a sort of tug-of-war over it. A wave of laughter shot up around the table.

I leaned off the side of my chair in an attempt to gain control of the spoon, but only succeeded in losing my grip and falling backward into a painful half back-bend over the chair. Laughing, I propped myself off the floor with one arm. “Ow,” I said, my back straining from the odd angle. “Somebody help me up, please.”

Isaac grabbed my arm and hauled me up, waving the spoon at me. I just shook my head at him.

When I turned back to the table Zac laughed. “Hey, I didn’t lose this time!”

I reached over and ruffled Zac’s light blond hair. He just laughed again and handed me a pile of cards. “Your deal,” he said with a grin.