“Boooyah!” Boomer yelled. “I just schooled you all. I am the king of Warrior Melee 8!”
“Only because I have a handicap,”
“You’re forgetting that I’ve already won three times,” Don, Tech’s friend, said. “Not to mention the five times that Tech has won.”
Tech signed something, but Wilanna did not understand it as she walked by. Judging by the laughter, though, it involved teasing. She shook her head as she looked at the several screens and game consoles that the boys had set up earlier that day. Tech had asked permission to play video games with his friend in the lobby. It had not taken long for Boomer and Jordan to join in, and Wilanna was pretty sure that Nero would join in once he got home from the store.
“Here are some snacks,” Wilanna said as she set down a tray with chips and carrots. “Don’t make a mess now.”
“You’re an angel,” Boomer declared.
“You’re like my mother,”
“You’re the best, Mrs. O,” Don said as he grabbed a handful of chips. “And now it’s time to dethrone the Warrior King.”
“I vote you all have to play with your worst characters since I’m essentially playing with one hand,”
Wilanna laughed as the guys started selecting the parameters for the next game. She was not a fan of those ‘beat-em-up’ games, but the boys sure loved them. Personally, Wilanna loved hosting parties and having people over. She had actually started making cookies once she had approved the use of the lobby as a gaming parlor. Since she was pretty sure these guys would be playing well past lunch, she had decided to get some sandwiches together as well.
“You need to start charging people,” Vire said as she walked past the video gamers. “At the rate this place is going, it is going to be like a club or an amusement park.”
“Please don’t install a rollercoaster,” Wilanna begged as the two women went into the Owens’ apartment. “I don’t like those things.”
Vire laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve already dealt with amusement park drama and will not inflict that on you.”
The timer on the oven went off and Wilanna hurried over to pull the next batch of cookies out. While Wilanna prepared the next cookie sheet, Vire helped herself to several of the snicker doodles on the cooling rack. Nero had teased his wife many times that she needed to open up a bakery so that he was not the only one getting fat off her delightful goodness. She would always tease him back that it was to be expected when a man who liked to eat married a woman who liked to cook.
“Is something wrong?” Wilanna asked as she noticed Vire staring blankly at the wall. “What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, I’m just hoping Carmine will come by soon,” Vire said.
“Is he still on crutches?”
“Yes, but that’s not the problem,” Vire admitted. “Yesterday is the day Carmine usually goes out and pays his respects for the dead. I’m just hoping he’s not depressed. I mean, he usually doesn’t get that way, he bounces back from disaster pretty easily, but you never know when a bad day might just sneak up on someone.”
“Does the poor dear need anything?” Wilanna asked.
“No, don’t worry,” Vire reassured. “Carmine has incredible self control. He’ll be fine. I just have to worry since that’s the duty of family.”
“Of course,” Wilanna agreed. “In the mean time, forgive me for intruding, but has
“For the love of…my life is a soap opera. When did you bet he would? And don’t tell me you don’t know. I know about the betting pool.”
“So does he,” Wilanna teased.
Hehehe. Yay.
ReplyDeleteI love the writing, Away. It is like reading a tv show with the chapters as episodes.