Red Hotel on the Strand

Reprinted with permission from Mslexia.

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Neil would be the racing car. Monique knew he would make sure of this when he offered to set up the Monopoly board in the dining room. Probably he stole it and put it in his trouser pocket; when Monique took out the plastic bag that held the playing pieces and offered it to Gary, the absence was noted. (Gary's right eyebrow rose.) And the racing car stood waiting on 'Go'. Monique imagined its engine revving.

Gary chose the dog and passed the bag to his wife Celia. She dipped her silver nails inside to rifle the contents, while Monique licked her lips to soothe the ache caused by the crunch of polythene and the teeth chatter of pewter or lead or whatever metal made those pieces. Then Celia pulled out something unexpected.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Oh," said Monique, "my ring."

She saw Neil's jaw calcify. He didn't look at her.

"It kept slipping off last time, remember? I must have taken it off and forgotten."

"You packed up the game," Neil said.

"Not by myself," she reminded him.

The room filled with the smell of words that could not be said but had to leak through the pores of skin instead.

"Well then," said Celia, and put the ring on 'Go'. Monique chose the unassuming flat iron; she set it beside the ring. Why had Celia made this move? The ring had never been in that bag. Was she starting a whole new game or merely complicating her usual one?

Monique's game was simple. All that mattered was getting the Strand; she was less bothered about Fleet Street and Trafalgar Square, though of course she had to buy them before she could have buildings. She couldn't say what attracted her; the Strand was red and the red properties had always been special to her. The fact they were red seemed enough in itself. Red meant importance, a fact that needed to be understood, a seminal idea. And the Strand sounded like a fundamental noun, like Truth.

But on this evening she made five circuits of the board without landing on any red property. Whereas Celia's ring found the Strand straight away.

"It's got your vibes," she said, and laughed. But she didn't purchase the deed. Next time round she landed on Park Lane, hesitated, then bought it.

"Hey," Neil protested.

"I'll sell it to you as soon as Monique is settled," she promised.

Neil played Monopoly as Monopoly, the game as described in small print on the underside of the lid. He would acquire most, if not all the streets on the last quarter of the board. He would accumulate his