(Page 1 of 2) Towers and Trolls by Sean ReganSUMMARY: For the August 2008 flash fiction contest. Theme is unintended consequences.Laura and her son Max waited outside the restaurant. She looked at her watch. Two minutes late, Davis pulled his Accord into the lot. He waved as he passed and found a space.
Max held his game in both hands, and Laura touched his shoulder and said, "You can play after ordering. Be polite, say hello and thank you if he says anything nice. I think you'll like him."
"You said that about the last one," Max replied.
Davis walked up in a manner that was almost jaunty, springing on each step. Laura allowed him a kiss on the cheek in front of her son, and then Davis and Max said hello and shook hands. They went inside.
This was their fourth date. When Laura resumed dating after the divorce, she spent considerable time debating when would be the ideal moment to introduce her son. That was four years ago, and Max was now twelve. She decided date number four was right this time, but there was no such thing as too early. She and her son were a package.
They sat in a booth along the windows. The restaurant was quiet on a Tuesday night, which is why Laura chose it.
"You like burgers?" Davis asked Max.
"Salads," he answered, flipping through the menu. "Dressing on the side."
Davis glanced at Laura, his look asking if her son was serious. She smiled.
"My girls like their vegetables too," Davis said. "I have two girls, six and eight." He paused, evidently deciding not to tell Max that his daughters lived with their mother.
They ordered. Max went with salad, Davis and Laura chose fish. As soon as the waitress left, Max lifted the game from his lap, placed one of the earphones in his ear, and began to play.
The game was Laura's stratagem. Five months ago, she and Max had lunch with another of her dates. She didn't allow Max to bring his game, and he spent most of the lunch fidgeting, looking bored, and distracting both her and the date. They didn't meet again. So bringing the game tonight was her idea. After the early conversation, Max could play his game and allow her and Davis to talk. She thought it would be good because it would let Davis and Max meet without feeling the need to do more.
"You don't mind, do you?" Laura asked, gesturing to the game.
Davis shook his head and continued talking about things at his work - he was in IT - but after some moments, he became distracted by Max's game. Max briefly laid it on the table, allowing Davis to see the display. Davis laughed and said, "Towers and Trolls, right?"
"Yeah," Max answered.
"I've got the PC version," Davis said. "Have you finished it?"
"Yeah," Max replied, as he paused the game and removed the single earphone.
Before Laura could say anything, Davis and her son were chattering back and forth. They talked of wizards and battle axes and barbarians, and it made her son happy. Laura smiled and listened initially with amusement, for this coincidence immediately established some connection between Davis and her son. But the tone of her own feelings soon changed. Davis had forgotten he was on a date, and it was strange to hear this man, recently divorced and without custody of his two kids, talk with her son about magic spells.
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