BOARD TO DEATH in Salt Lake City

Now, of course, the in-store cafe was a overmuch bigger perk. And 1 that I’d taken vantage of astir each time since returning location to Salt Lake City a mates months agone with small to my sanction but the stack of books I’d accumulated during my clip arsenic a professor, my dignity (questionable), and a raging caffeine addiction.

It was the small things, arsenic they say.

I sipped my earl grey latte—iced and with a small whipped pick connected the apical due to the fact that I was trying to get into the self-care question successful a mode that didn’t impact spending excessively overmuch of my recognition paper bounds connected sweaters for my dog. I manned the currency registry arsenic if I were a skipper surveying his sinking ship. Too often, erstwhile I managed the store finances (or astatine slightest attempted to with that aforesaid encephalon of excavation that got a D- successful Pre-Calc), that’s what it felt like. 

At 2 months backmost successful my hometown Salt Lake City, I disquieted astir days that I would tally the committee crippled store Dad spent implicit 30 years gathering into the ground. Hence the lasting uncomfortably down the currency register. Hence the latte. Not that the caffeine did maine overmuch favors; with what it offered successful presumption of comfort, it took distant with twitchiness.

Of Dice and Decks looked astir precisely the aforesaid arsenic it did erstwhile I’d near it past to “find my destiny” oregon astatine slightest a unchangeable vocation aft finishing my PhD and saying goodbye to moving astatine the store done my full puerility and each summertime aft leaving home. Every country of the store was stuffed with rows of committee and paper games. You could find enactment and household games arsenic good arsenic much niche items similar minifigures utilized for the much analyzable games and Dungeons & Dragon regularisation books. If you could play it, it took up astir overflowing abstraction here. Our enactment benignant was, successful a word, “precarious.” If it could beryllium said that we had an enactment benignant astatine all. It had ne'er been Dad’s beardown suit, though the customers ne'er faulted him for it.

It was a spot wherever you could walk hours perusing the shelves and ever find thing new, thing that sparked your attraction successful a mode it hadn’t before.

At immoderate constituent astir a period ago, the gathering had (like truthful galore stores successful the Sugar House vicinity of Salt Lake) started beingness arsenic a 1 floor, three-bedroom cottage. When Dad began leasing the spot successful the eighties, however, it had already been renovated to relation arsenic a tiny store with a kitchen. 

There were 2 main rooms: 1 spacious-as-one-could-get-in-small-spaces beforehand country for browsing and different with 5 circular tables (the champion signifier for playing astir anything) that customers could usage to play the games we had disposable to effort retired oregon rent by the hr for gaming groups and freelancing space.

Only 2 oregon 3 customers lingered astir that country midday, arsenic it was now. More flocked astir those tables successful the evenings, erstwhile roleplaying groups came to big their campaigns oregon we held themed nights (or themed weekends, successful the lawsuit of the infamous and only-once-attempted Risk tournament).

A staff-only doorway down the gaming tables led to a retention country that made the remainder of the store look arsenic minimalistic arsenic an IKEA catalog acknowledgment to Dad’s near-legendary deficiency of enactment skills.

With an espresso instrumentality and a insignificant renovation to make a pass-through model from the room to the beforehand room, Of Dice and Decks ran an in-house cafe for patrons, which sold chiefly “healing potions” (herbal teas) and “power-ups” (caffeinated drinks). The odor of java gave the store a lulling benignant of consciousness (for me, astatine least, though immoderate of our Mormon patrons tended to look astatine it similar a vampire successful a humor slope who had sworn disconnected drinking the stuff). 

Besides the fewer customers utilizing the gaming room, we’d deed an day lull. At the moment, determination were nary customers successful the beforehand room. The barista, Sophie Vaughn, leaned against her window, eyebrows raised implicit her glasses. “Now’s your accidental to measurement retired down the registry and marque yourself approachable.”

Sophie, whose hairsbreadth had been buzzed arsenic agelong arsenic I’d known her (and she’d tally the cafe since the nineties, agelong capable that I could retrieve her picking maine up from preschool erstwhile Dad was engaged manning the shop), usually donned a tee garment of the geeky variety. The thought according to her was that would get the customers to grin and, ultimately, bargain a drink. It tended to enactment successful her favor.

Today, it was a tank-top with the bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail ready to attack. An effectual choice. Nerds loved quoting Monty Python, and from there, it lone took a fewer changes of speech topics to person them that they needed a coffee.

It stared backmost astatine maine menacingly, arsenic if it would so onslaught were I not a capable capable store manager. I’d accidental Dad was close and that I should person gone to concern school, but that he’d encouraged maine the infinitesimal I finished assemblage to hide grad schoolhouse and tally the crippled store with him.

“In your opinion,” I said, “how indispensable would that be?”

“Not mandatory. Nothing’s mandatory. But conversation’s amended for selling games.” Sophie frowned. “You’re not frightened of the customers, Ben… are you?”

It took maine a portion to answer. Shoving my hands successful my pockets was overmuch easier.

“What if,” I muttered, conscionable large capable that she’d person a accidental astatine proceeding me, “they don’t similar maine truthful overmuch that I ruin the full business?”

“For heaven’s sake, Ben, you’re thirty. You’re excessively aged to beryllium shy.”

Thirty, yes—as of today, successful fact. But I had nary involvement successful correcting her. It would lone marque maine look self-conscious astir my age, and I was trying precise hard not to be. My extremity was to not person 30 beryllium a milestone day but to person it walk quietly, and without the mysterious backmost symptom each Instagram meme seemed to committedness would travel erstwhile I deed it.

“It’s not shyness. It’s self-preservation. Look astatine me. You deliberation idiosyncratic similar maine had a pleasant clip successful precocious school?”

She gave maine a look, sizing up my messy haircut courtesy of Bargain Clips (trademark “It’s Adequate!”) and my overgarment with the useless patches astatine the elbow. It had been sensible capable erstwhile I was an adjunct professor. Now, it conscionable made maine self-conscious that I was nearing the property wherever radical commencement to person “midlife crises” alternatively of the friendlier, astir amusive sounding “quarter-life crises.”

“I don’t cognize however to reply that,” she said, “but I ideate you spent a sizeable magnitude of it playing games.”

“Gaming is 1 thing. Making a bully content is another. What if I marque a fool of myself and we suffer customers?”

“I consciousness similar we’ve been having this speech each time for the past month.” Sophie made a shooing question with her hand. “Your dada whitethorn beryllium prickly, but astatine slightest helium chats up the customers. You request to bash the aforesaid if you privation to marque money. You bash privation that, don’t you?”

“Alright, alright.” I made a amusement of stepping distant from the register. “I’ll bent astir the store front, effort to marque myself useful. Is that what you want?”

“It is,” she said. “Now uncross your arms. Customers won’t attack you unless your assemblage connection invites them to.”

I grumbled, adjacent though I knew she was right. I had a store to tally and unless we couldn’t spend rent successful the aboriginal (a aboriginal that seemed worryingly nearer each day), that would not change. Thanks to each the tech start-ups turning the adjacent Utah County into what radical who had majored successful overmuch much applicable things than maine called the “Silicon Slopes,” affording rent successful Salt Lake City was an progressively pugnacious feat.

I besides had to springiness her credit—her proposal worked. Standing among the committee games alternatively of the currency registry (and, yes, uncrossing my arms), customers really approached me. They asked maine questions astir the games and, contempt my rising nervousness talking to radical I didn’t know, I recovered that committee games were the 1 taxable too books I could clasp a speech on.

Over the adjacent fewer hours, I sold a transcript of Apples to Apples to a rambunctious household of six and troubleshooted an overly analyzable escapade crippled that came successful a container thicker than Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s chest.

“I’ll admit,” I said arsenic I picked up a miniature figurine of an alien, “I cognize this one’s fashionable close now, but I haven’t played it. Did you bring successful its acquisition manual?”

The lawsuit gave maine a anemic grin that seemed much pained than 1 should beryllium portion discussing committee games. He past handed maine a booklet that was truthful extensive, it would marque George R.R. Martin tempted to walk it disconnected arsenic the adjacent Game of Thrones.

I gulped and worked harder astatine deciphering the substance than I had defended my doctoral thesis. After immoderate heated brainstorming and respective YouTube tutorials, we could theorize however successful the satellite it was meant to beryllium played, and helium bought a fewer other figurines for my trouble.
A small earlier lunchtime, a pistillate and a miss fractional her tallness came in. Them I knew. Her sanction was Dr. Britt Petras. Her wife, Yael Flores, ran a cinnamon rotation transportation store called Nice Buns respective blocks down the street. Utahns loved fewer things much than they loved home-delivered baked goods, and Yael’s store ne'er had to interest astir rent. 

Dr. Petras was a Medieval past prof astatine the University of Utah—and she had the prematurely grey hairsbreadth paired with outrageous sweaters to beryllium the accent and eccentricity a vocation successful academia had thrust upon her. Today, she wore a large purple 1 with a snail illustration successful the mediate of it. The miss with her dressed similarly.

While she was finishing her dissertation astatine the adjacent Westminster College, Dad would wage Dr. Petras to tutor me, from 3rd people speechmaking assignments each the mode to AP English. I credited her with my passing the trial arsenic good arsenic my determination to aboriginal go an English professor—even if I had lone been 1 for 5 years post-graduation. I’d ne'er truly known my mom, nor overmuch astir her too that she and Dad were happier apart, but I’d ever had Dr. Petras to crook to for world (and precise occasionally personal) advice.

Over the past fewer weeks, she’d travel into the store regularly–sometimes to trial retired a caller game, and sometimes conscionable to drawback up. I appreciated the acquainted face. Little astir Of Dice and Decks itself had changed implicit the years, and neither had I. I’d ne'er been 1 with a knack for chatting with radical I didn’t know.

I checked the clock. “Thursdays astatine eleven, connected the dot. Are you definite you’re not a witch?”

“Depends connected who’s asking,” said Dr. Petras. “But Bea’s been convinced she’s a demigod lately truthful you’re not acold off.”

Bea clutched what appeared to beryllium a weathered publication successful the Percy Jackson series. The screen lone conscionable hung successful determination acknowledgment to the duct portion keeping it successful place. “Water damaged” would person been a gentle mode of putting it.

In short, it was loved successful the mode that each books lone could anticipation to be.

I smiled. Percy Jackson was published past my childhood, but I had erstwhile been tiny capable that my full satellite revolved astir a fictional one. I’d dreamed arsenic a kid of becoming a wizard pondering successful immoderate magical room implicit arcane lore, and my little clip arsenic a prof hadn’t seemed truthful acold off. If you ignored each the griping astir the constricted security options disposable to adjunct professors, which I doubted wizards had to do.

Reading was inactive 1 of my favourite forms of escapism, up determination with moving (for sport) and moving (away from my problems).

Ultimately, I’d done my dissertation connected the influences and beginnings of the modern phantasy genre. In the fewer years since graduating, I’d taught a fig of generals but besides courses that allowed maine to indulge successful my interior nerd, similar Introduction to Tolkien Studies and Philosophy and Metaphysics of the Portal Fantasy.

As acold arsenic secondary careers went, “board crippled store owner” acceptable maine good enough.

“Bea’s your niece, right?” I asked.

Dr. Petras snorted. “Really, you’re excessively flattering. She’s my granddaughter.”

“We’re looking for a transcript of Rummikub,” Bea added.

“Rummikub.” I rubbed my chin successful thought, past pointed successful the absorption of the household crippled section. “We should person a transcript successful stock. If not, I tin bid 1 for you.”

“Ah, convey goodness. I disquieted that you’d lone person the obscure games successful stock, but I wanted to cheque present earlier stooping debased capable to sojourn Walmart.”

We’d mislaid capable of our customers to Walmart or, worse, Amazon arsenic it was. Not that I could blasted them, of course, but it stung nevertheless erstwhile mentioned to my face.

“No request to bash that,” I said mildly arsenic they followed maine to the shelf. “We’ve got plentifulness of the classics.”

It took maine a fewer moments of scrambling, but I recovered the crippled they were looking for. It was down 5 copies of Candyland, each of them dustier than the last. Kids were getting excessively blase for Candyland. These days, it seemed similar they went consecutive for Clue.

“Wonderful!” Dr. Petras held the crippled retired and beamed. “I utilized to play this with my great-grandma, let’s see… forty years ago? How has it been truthful long? It’s silly, but I’ve been waiting for 1 of my grandkids to beryllium aged capable truthful I could thatch it to them.”

“Do you deliberation she’s ready?”

“I am,” said Bea. “And I tin perceive you.”

“She’s smart,” agreed Dr. Petras. “Her ma said she finished the library’s summertime speechmaking programme this twelvemonth in, oh, 3 weeks.”

I pretended to gasp. “Three weeks! You’re a genius. How’d you negociate that truthful fast?”

“You get a publication if you win,” added Bea. “Of people I hurried. Hello, Grandma Britt! Free books!”

Grandma Britt. It was hard for maine to fell my grin arsenic I checked them retired astatine the cashier’s station, on with a fewer treats they had picked retired by the front. Those were casual our astir fashionable items, arsenic nary committee crippled nighttime is implicit without a snack. I felt the lukewarm fuzzies that made maine consciousness amended astir leaving my (if not comfy past predictable) teaching job.

Board games brought radical together. They were the champion happening I knew for loneliness oregon a longing for connection. I’d ne'er been the champion astatine tiny speech oregon making caller friends, but committee games seemed to get escaped of each the awkwardness successful favour of bonding implicit a shared passion. It was bully to facilitate that alternatively of arguing with a freshman connected whether I could beryllium a morganatic English prof and hatred Hemingway.

The reply was yes, and lone excessively easily.

“Oh, to beryllium young and walk an evening connected a household crippled nighttime aft finishing the summertime speechmaking program,” remarked Sophie aft they’d left.

“I’d settee for a time astatine the schoolhouse publication just and unlimited spending money.” I ran my fingers done my hair. “Man, what I’d springiness to beryllium successful 2002 for a night, trying to enactment retired Settlers of Catan with my dad.”

“Is helium coming successful the store this week?”

I froze. “Depends connected whether he’s up for it, but yes. He’s scheduled tomorrow, I think.”

“Oh. Right. He doing okay?”

“Why don’t you inquire him erstwhile helium comes in?”

My dada was, aft decades of putting afloat (and often overtime) enactment weeks into the committee crippled store of his dreams, moving part-time.

“I effort to, but Martin–I mean, your dad–always avoids my questions,” she said. “And I don’t privation to marque him speech astir it if helium doesn’t privation to. But I inactive attraction astir him, you know?”

I looked away. It was hard for maine to speech astir Dad. I was inactive figuring retired however to bash it without getting caught successful my emotions.

“He’s, you know… hanging successful there. We’re fortunate the doctors caught it early. But past not truthful lucky, since we lone knew what signs to ticker for due to the fact that it runs successful the family.”

“I get that. It’s similar that with my ma sometimes. I’m gladsome she inactive remembers maine and my sisters, but the Alzheimer’s takes truthful overmuch of her distant from me. It’s not just getting older, is it?”

I cleared my throat, arsenic it was feeling excessively choky for my liking. It was inactive hard for maine to speech astir Dad’s condition, adjacent if it was somewhat expected.

“Maybe not. But helium ever says it beats the alternative. And it gave maine an excuse to travel home, astatine least.”

Never caput that I inactive felt truthful blameworthy astir leaving astatine each successful the archetypal place. Still, what could I person done? Hard capable being openly cheery successful Utah now. Unthinkable adjacent ten, 15 years ago. You tin lone instrumentality truthful galore radical telling you that you wouldn’t spell to eden earlier you started believing it. Especially erstwhile you’re young.

“He’s astir the accustomed status age, isn’t he? Maybe that would beryllium bully for him.”

He was. Not that it meant much. Convincing Dad to discontinue was an easier happening to accidental than bash due to the fact that successful practice, it would beryllium impossible.

“That would necessitate convincing him to bash that successful the archetypal place,” I said, rubbing the span of my nose. “Don’t deliberation I haven’t tried. Sometimes I wonderment who’s his existent favourite child: maine oregon the shop.”

Before she could accidental thing else, a dependable that chopped done the aerial similar a rusty weapon close betwixt the enarthrosis blades interrupted our conversation. “Hey! Mr. Rosencrantz Junior, right? You look conscionable similar your dad. Got his ears, didn’t you?”

Excerpt from BOARD TO DEATH: A Board Game Shop Mystery by CJ Connor. Copyright 2023 by CJ Connor. Reprinted with support from Kensington Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

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Board to Death volition deed shelves connected August 22, 2023. Mark your calendars!