Into the Light

32

"What is that?" Tara asked, pointing at a brown and black console. "That's an Atari," Anna replied. "See, here's a game cartridge. You would just stick it in this slot, and flip this switch. The controller is this joystick right here." Tara raised her eyebrows and looked at the joystick with doubt. "So, that stick and that button is all you needed to play a game?" Anna laughed and nodded. "Yep. That's it. My favorite game was Pit Fall. I was master of that game. We had a Nintendo too, though. My favorite game on that was Duck Hunt. This is the controller that you used for it." She picked up a toy gun that had a cord coming from it. "I've seen that before," I replied. "My parents still have a lot of stuff from the 80's." She gave me a proud smile. "You really didn't have any normal toys or games?" Corey asked, with a slightly bewildered look on his face. "This was normal to me," Anna replied. She smiled, and I could almost see the memories playing in her mind. "I wouldn't change it for anything." Jake and Brennen joined us eventually, and Anna laughed over how Jake couldn't figure out how to use something called a Skip-It. He kept hitting his ankle with the hard plastic ball, every time he tried to jump over it. "You wanna try, Colby?" he asked me, as he detached the ring from his ankle. "Hell no," I answered, with a laugh. "I want to walk out of here, not hobble." "Good point," he said, as he started limping to Tara's side. After another few minutes, Anna set down a book with the title 'Sweet Valley High,' and turned to face the group. "Are you guys ready to eat? I know I've kept you looking at this old stuff forever." "I could eat," Brennen replied. "But, no rush. I kinda like seeing all of this. It's cool." Everyone murmured their agreement. "How about we eat, and then spend a little more time checking the stuff out? Maybe play a few arcade games," I offered. "Yeah, that sounds good," Anna replied. We made our way to a party table that was layered in blocks of bright colors. It ranged anywhere from bright pink to neon green, and had laminated menus sitting at each seat. I pulled Anna's chair out for her, and Jake couldn't resist taking a jab at me. "Aw look, our Colby is being such the gentleman," he said. I grinned and took the seat next to her. "Maybe Tara wouldn't mind if you did that every now and then, Jakey,"I replied. "Actually, he has a point Jake," Tara said, sitting down next to him. "Why don't you pull out my chair anymore?" "Oh, uh" Jake stuttered out. "I just wanted to let you be the strong, independent woman that you are." "Mmhmm," she replied, with a small smile on her lips. He laughed and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Do you guys see the names of these plates? I'm sure that they're supposed to be some 80's thing, but I have no idea what most of them are referencing too," Sam said, holding his menu in front of his face. I picked up my own to see what he meant. Sure enough, there were names like Smokey and the Bandit burger, Risky Business burger, and Doc Brown burger. There were even Chili Cheese Tetris Tots. I heard Anna giggle, and glanced over at her. She was staring at her menu with sheer delight. Seeing that smile on her face made my heart falter inside my chest. I took a deep breath, and started reading what my choices were. I wasn't going to worry about how unhealthy things were today either. I could always get a salad, but where was the fun in that? "Do you know what you want?" I asked Anna. She grinned and nodded. "I want the Risky Business Burger. I think...yeah, that's what I want. With fries, a water, and an E.T. Milkshake." I cocked an eyebrow at her. "An E.T. Milkshake?" I mused. She nodded and giggled. "Yes. Look, it's right there." I followed where she pointed and read what it said. "Chocolate peanut butter ice cream, topped with whipped cream and Reese's pieces...damn. I think I want that too." She nodded. "See! It sounds delicious and I would marry Reese's, if I could." The waitress walked over then, to take our orders. "Are you guys ready to order, or do you still need a few minutes?" she asked, pen poised over the little pad in her hand. "We're ready," I replied, speaking for Anna and myself. "It will be a few different tickets anyway." She smiled and nodded. "No problem. What can I put down for the first order?" I repeated what Anna wanted, then glanced at the menu again to remember what I had decided on. "I want to get the Smokey and the Bandit burger plate with no tomatoes, and no pickle. Fries with that, another water, and another E.T. Shake." "Will that be all?" she asked, checking little boxes off on her order sheet. "For now. We may want dessert later," I replied, with a grin at Anna. "We will definitely want dessert later," she replied, holding my gaze. I laughed. The waitress grinned and moved on to the next order. Everyone told her what they wanted, and no one was really worried about how unhealthy it might be. Tara even got her vegetarian burger. It was called the Gremlin Burger. "Wait," I said, after the waitress left. "Anna, you know that there are jalapenos and pepper jack cheese on your burger, right?" She nodded, looking at me like I might be a touch crazy. "Yeah, of course. I know how to read the menu," she replied. "You like spicy things? Why?" I laughed. She shrugged. "Because it's amazing. Gotta enjoy the spice in life." "A girl after my own heart," Brennen said, placing his hand over his chest. Anna giggled. "I hate spicy food," I said, then stuck out my tongue, like I was gagging. "You don't know what good is," Brennen replied. "Jalapenos on burgers is, like, the most slammin thing ever," Anna replied. "Hell no," I said, shaking my head. "What is fun about burning your taste buds off?" We argued good naturedly, until our drinks and then our food was delivered.