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Rinsing his plate and silverware, he busied his mind with thoughts of Jimmy. He already missed his son. He didn’t have a problem with the idea of sharing with Patty. But he only got time with Jimmy on her terms, and last night, she’d only taken the baby to prove she could.
Tomorrow, he would find himself a second job. Half the money would go to his mom; the other half could go back to the lawyer. His mother might refuse to testify on his behalf, but he would make the best possible home for the baby, which had to count for something. The only way to do right by his boy was to make it happen.
Resolved, he sat down on the soft, tan, second-hand loveseat and unfolded the note Robby had written.
I had a great time hanging out with you the other night. I’m psyched to play with a friend I have IRL.
Sorry it’s a day late, but I brought the headsets as promised. I know you probably don’t have a PS+ account, but they offer a free 30-day trial, and I hope you’ll give it a try. My username is RobHulkSmash. I’ll be online tonight.
—R
He’d looked into getting a Plus account a year before, but he just couldn’t justify the sixty bucks when it could be spent on diapers or food. But a free trial wouldn’t hurt. Worst case scenario, he’d lurk online, hate it, and never come back.
It only took a few minutes to fire up the PlayStation and get the trial set up. Scratches and dings covered the console—he’d bought it used at GameStop—but it worked fine. A quick search later, he’d found Robby and sent out an invitation to connect.
Thankfully, he was playing one of the only two games Matt owned.
The headphones sprang to life with a cacophony of voices. He teetered on the verge of pulling the device right back off when he heard Robby speak.
“Matt! You made it.” He sounded downright happy about it.
He forced himself to answer. “Hey, Rob.” It was the best he could do. Too many strangers in the conversation.
Playing with real people didn’t change the dynamics of the game much. He still killed his targets, only now he focused his kills on the other team. Robby tried to engage with him a few times, but he only managed a few grunts.
About thirty minutes in, his phone chimed with a text.
Robby: Wanna break off to a private party? We can stay on the team and just have the two of us on the headset.
Matt shot back a thumbs-up emoji and set up the two-way connection. It was a relief not to have so many voices in his ears.
“Shoulda realized the noise might be too much, man. Sorry.”
“Nah.” Matt shook his head, even though no one could see him. “It’s fine. Thanks for the invite.”
They fell into the game, and at first, only Robby spoke, but as Matt’s discomfort fell away, he found himself answering more and more.
The conversation centered entirely on the gameplay, which helped. Like, “Look out for the sniper,” or an occasional, “Bull…I totally hit the target.”
Before he realized it, the clock had ticked past midnight, and he found himself downright yelling at the screen when their team won by the skin of their teeth.
“Great job, man.” Robby’s words were a little slower than usual. “I’ve got to sign off, though. I’ve been up since five.”
He glanced at the clock. Normally, he would have gone to bed hours ago. “Sure. It’s cool.” He winced. Hopefully, Robby hadn’t heard the disappointment in his voice.
Robby hummed. “Hit me up if you want to play tomorrow. I’ll be on around four.”
“Later.” He’d barely said the word before Robby disconnected.
Climbing in his bed, he considered his plans for the next day. He’d bring diapers to Patty’s in the morning, a perfect chance to check on his son. Job hunting in the afternoon. PlayStation with Robby when he was done.
A total break from his regular monotony. His skin tingled with excitement.
He fell asleep, dreaming of a real-life military mission, Robby at his side, taking down the enemy with a partner who had his back.
Chapter SIX
Matt
