Chapter 14
Moore
“Dad!”
“What?”
“Why’d you just ult?”
“What’s an ult?”
“OMIGOD, Dad!”
In an effort to be closer to Jordy and Colleen, Moore had finally relented and joined them in a game of League of Legends.
League was a journey that required precision and intense teamwork, and gave you a chance to screw up and try again.
With phenomenal music, calibrated sound effects, and a genuinely fun world, it drew Moore in.
Even better? It gave him a shared experience with the two people he loved best in the world.
Also in his effort to get Jordy to move to Maine, Moore had bought him a brand new gaming computer.
Which meant Moore got his old one.
The two of them in his living room were quite the sight. Jordy had insisted on setting up their game computers in parallel, two folding tables replete with electronics, giant monitors dominating. His place looked more like the command center for a spy agency than a jeweler’s living room.
The thick noise-canceling headphones they both wore gave Moore an eerie sense of surreality, half in the electronic world of play, half grounded in real life. He could certainly see the appeal, though his gaming tastes were older.
Super Smash Bros. was really more his speed.
Jordy screamed at the screen and shouted with glee–all long, thin limbs and antsy, bouncing knees–and a flashback hit Moore.
He’d been spending the night in a friend’s dorm room before an early-morning class at the University of Southern Maine, a rare night away from Cammie and the baby.
For that one night, Moore had hung out like a regular college student, having a few beers, eating junk food, playing video games, and just being something other than a teen dad, a young husband, and…
A screw-up.
For five years, he busted his ass to get his bachelor’s degree and earn his way back into the good graces of his parents. To prove himself worthy of working at Love You Jewelers. To take care of his son and wife and give them a stable life.
And then he graduated. He did it. Mission accomplished.
A month later, Cammie disappeared with Jordy.
The mind wanders through the landscape of memory when it’s gathering pieces to put together into a whole and, for some reason, Moore took the recollection of that night at Lance’s dorm in Portland and slapped it right onto Jordy being taken away.
Moore swallowed hard, willing away the emotional wave rolling over him. His son couldn’t be stolen again. He was right here next to Moore, reeking of teen boy and pixelated adventure.
“Moore? You there?” Colleen asked, her voice reassuring through the headphones.
“Yeah. What’d I do wrong?”
It was a sentence he asked himself ad infinitum.
Colleen cut in over Discord, her voice filled with laughter. “An ult is a big ability you’re supposed to save for the right moment.”
“But Dad just blew it!”
“Uh, sorry? What do I do now?”
“You’ll just have to play safe, then,” Colleen explained.
“Safe?” Moore asked, expecting invective from Jordy, who was currently red with frustration.
“Just play under your tower.”
“Yeah,” Jordy grumbled. “Dad can’t screw that one up.”
“HEY!” Moore nudged him with his knee. Clad in an old Mumford & Sons concert t-shirt, jeans so faded they were practically cotton balls, and covered in Cheetos dust, Moore glanced over at Jordy, who had chocolate milkshake stains on his Love You Cupids t-shirt.
They were practically twins.
“Sorry,” Jordy muttered.
“How about I kill a bunch of the gnomes?” Moore tried.
“MINIONS, Dad! They’re called MINIONS!”
“But they’re not yellow with big eyes,” Moore replied, genuinely confused now. Seeing kid movies had always been a way to bond with his son, so at least he knew every major animated movie character. “And where’s Gru?”
“Moore,” Colleen interrupted. “Just kill the little things. You earn gold that way.”
“What do I do with the gold?”
“You buy stuff,” Jordy explained quickly, as if conserving words. His hair fell across his eyes and he shoved it away.
“Do I get another ult?”
Jordy exhaled with aggravation. “Yes.”
“Hey, Jord,” Colleen said. “He’s teachable. Remember that!” Encouraging but firm, she used a voice Moore knew all too well.
It was the same tone she used when her brothers were losing at darts at Bilbee’s Tavern.
Moore spent the next five minutes killing a bunch of gold-earning critters and ignoring Jordy’s heavy sighs.
“Now where are we going?” Moore asked as Jordy’s character began to walk away from his character.
“Going upriver,” Jordy said tightly, eyes focused on the screen.
“Like, on a river cruise?”
“DAD!”
Colleen explained, “You have to go to dragon.”
“What’s dragon?”
“COLLEEN!” Jordy shouted. “PLEASE JUST PLAY WITH ME!”
Now it was Moore’s turn to let out an aggravated sigh.
Moore’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Colleen.
Don’t let him get to you.
He set the phone against his hip, far from Jordy’s line of sight.
“Jordy,” she said on Discord. “Sportsmanship. If you ever want to play on an eSports team, you can’t be a jerk like this.”
“But–”
“Especially not to someone who’s just learning the game.”
“Fine. Just keep farming for now,” he said to Moore, eyes glancing at him for a split second.
Farming means getting gold, she texted.
He texted back: Killing minions?
Right.
For five whole minutes, Jordy didn’t treat Moore like a moron. His phone buzzed again.
Don’t use your ult, she texted.
“You have your ult back, Dad. Don’t blow it again.”
“Okay. How do I know when to use it?”
“When we fight.”
“Sounds good.”
Colleen texted: Aim for the AD Carry.
What’s that? he texted back.
“Who are you texting, Dad? Eyes on the game.”
“Sorry,” he lied. “Work thing. Can’t help it.”
Jordy grunted his disapproval.
Didn’t you bother reading that beginner’s book on League I sent you? Or the YouTube videos? Colleen chided him via text.
I didn’t get around to it.
Men. You never read the manuals.
“Man, my monitor’s refresh rate is so high. I can see so smoothly,” Jordy said as he killed more minions. “This is lit.”
“Enjoying the new system?”
“Yeah. Thanks,” Jordy grunted out.
Moore texted Colleen: That’s his version of I love you, Dad. Right?
She texted back a heart.
On screen, Colleen’s and Jordy’s characters began heading toward the dragon. Moore followed.
“Stick with us, Dad. We’re going to secure the dragon.”
“Okay.”
Aim your ult at the AD Carry, Colleen texted.
Do I shoot now? Moore replied.
NO!!
The enemies appeared on screen, making Jordy’s entire body tense.
“They’re coming back from reset,” he announced.
“We’re going to have to fight,” Colleen said, her voice coming over the earphones.
“Do I use my ult now?” Moore asked.
“NO!” they called out so loud, he nearly pulled off his earphones.
“They’re engaging on us!” Jordy screamed, a big beefy person appearing onscreen. The figure jumped on Jordy’s character, stunning Jordy.
Use your ult now! Colleen texted, Moore glancing at his phone then shifting instantly back to his computer, launching his ult.
“OH, SHIT!” Jordy shrieked, laughing.
“LANGUAGE!” Moore shouted. “Just because I screwed up doesn’t mean you get to swear at me.”
“You didn’t screw up! You saved me!” Jordy’s hand went to Moore’s shoulder, shaking him in brotherhood.
“I did??” Moore gasped. “Hot damn!”
“LANGUAGE!” Jordy and Colleen shouted in unison, both descending into giggles over the Discord channel.
Colleen’s character took the dragon, her battle cry over the audio making Moore laugh even harder.
Jordy bounced in his chair. “They surrendered! WOOT!”
Moore watched the game chat onscreen, the opposing team writing “gg” over and over. He turned to Jordy and asked, “Good game?”
“For a beginner, sure.”
“No, I mean, ‘gg’ means good game?”
“Yeah.”
“See?” Colleen piped up. “Teachable.”
“I can’t believe you’re so good at Super Smash Bros. and so bad at League,” Jordy said to him as he reached for a handful of chocolate popcorn.
“You think I’m good at something?” Moore joked with him, but the look Jordy gave him spoke to the deeper message under Moore’s tone.
“I, uh, yeah. You’re really good at Super Mario Brothers, too.”
“Thanks. I’ll practice more with League. Do more with you guys.”
“That’ll be fun!” Colleen said in an overly enthusiastic voice.
Moore wished she were here, hanging with them. He’d suggested it, but she’d backed off, countering with the offer to play online. Probably didn’t hurt to have some distance between them.
It was getting harder and harder not to touch her. Be affectionate. Show how much he cared for her.
Crossing that line in his own apartment with Jordy there might blow up what little progress he’d made with his son.
He hated being pulled in two different directions, though. Long term, the delay was worth it, and that’s all this was, he assured himself.
A delay.
“Colleen? Gotta go.” Jordy pulled off his headphones and used both hands to feed himself enormous amounts of sugar and chips.
“Moore still there?” Colleen asked.
“I am. Jordy’s headphones are off.”
“Oooo, does than mean we can have Discord sex?”
Moore nearly did a spit take with his soda.
“Is that a thing?” Moore rasped.
“It’s ten-thirty,” Jordy said, standing, grabbing the empty snack bowls. “At home, this is bedtime. But I don’t have school in the morning.”
“Hang on, Colleen,” Moore said into his mic.
“I’ll just start undressing,” she replied, his body revving at the thought.
“Dad?”
“You have the tour of the new school at eleven tomorrow.”
“Yeah. You’re just dropping me off, right? Like we said? Not coming in.”
“Of course not,” Moore said as he imagined Colleen peeling out of her clothes–as opposed to having them cut off by him with a knife to save her life. “I won’t intrude.”
The grin he received from his kid was so genuine, it went straight to Moore’s heart.
“Awesome.”
As Jordy left the room, Moore said to Colleen, “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
“You want me to finish? I can do that. My hand is going between my legs and I–”