Chapter 4: Game Night

“Ugh, why even call this place a neon?” asked Naomi as she followed Luke through the brightly lit, pastel colored walkways. This new neon was purely residential, each entryway leading to a family’s humble abode, and was colored differently to foster a ‘suburban family vibe.’ Naomi gestured around her before saying, “Look at this. Unfit to be called a neon.” Her face curled into a sneer as she spoke.

“You do know that my twin sister, who is pregnant with my future godchild, lives here with her boyfriend? Right?” asked Luke in exasperation. He had invited Naomi to the hallowed tradition of game night at his sister’s new place, but she was proving to be a bit of sourpuss, bothered over the aesthetic of the newly renovated neon. In truth, Luke could see her point, but he thought it best to avoid making anyone angry. That tended to work out for him no matter the situation. “Maybe cool it a bit when we get in there? Please, for me?”

Naomi did not hear Luke’s pleas. “Poser trash. Worse than living on the Node and I know that from experience,” she said, putting her hand on her hips conceitedly.

As he walked over to Lisa’s door and rang the doorbell, Luke sighed and said under his breath, “I should’ve invited Grarek.”

“Oh no, you should not have invited Grarek. He doesn’t do well in competitive situations,” replied Naomi.

“Really? What, is he, like, so competitive it ruins it for everyone else? ‘Cuz I can handle that.”

“No, the opposite. Just ceases to function.”

“Huh,” replied Luke as he rang the doorbell again. “Seriously though, please don’t piss anyone off.”

“Oh please, I know how to make a good first impression,” said Naomi with a nod. “After all, I made a good first impression on you, didn’t I?” Luke choked on his breathe as the door opened to reveal Lisa, wearing a loose sweater to conceal her small baby bump.

“Luke, oh my goodness, I’m so happy you came,” Lisa cried as she pulled him into a hug. Luke wrapped his arms around Lisa, but then coughed due to the strength of her hug. Once she pulled away, Luke could see tears flowing down her face.

“Uh, sis,” said Luke as he motioned towards his eyes.

Lisa dabbed at her eyes and realized they were wet before chuckling. “Oh jeez, damn hormones. I don’t even notice when I’m crying anymore.”

Naomi stepped up from behind Luke and waved politely, saying, “Uh, hi, I’m Naomi-“

Lisa interrupted her with the waterworks. “Oh, you brought a date! I’m so happy you’re moving on after Becca,” Lisa wailed. “I was actually beginning to think that you’d never meet anyone here.”

Luke tried to shush his hysterical sister by placing a hand over her lips, but her cries were only muffled. “Lisa, stop,” he said. Lisa cried harder in return, breaking free from Luke’s grasp and shoving her hand into his face, pushing him away.

“And you’re so beautiful! You’re so cute together!” Lisa exclaimed as she took Naomi’s hand and looked her over. Naomi looked at Lisa sweetly before getting pulled into another bear hug and practically lifted up off the ground. Naomi then looked up at Luke, her face wearing the largest shit eating grin Luke had ever seen on a person before.

“Lisa,” said Luke, half impressed that his sister could still lift another person like that.

“Yes?”

“Naomi is just a friend from work.” Lisa dropped Naomi like a sack of potatoes.

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re making friends, at least,” said Lisa with a hint of disappointment in her voice as she walked further into the house.

“Sorry about that,” said Luke as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Don’t worry about it,” replied Naomi as they followed Lisa.

***

Luke laid out some finger foods on a tray. He then grabbed the tray and walked over to Naomi, who was leaning on a cabinet. Before he could put it down, Naomi reached a hand out to grab one, causing Luke to jerk the tray away from her. She gasped and pouted as Luke placed it on the cabinet.

“So, who’s coming to this thing?” Luke asked both Maro and Lisa, who were getting the game set up in the living room.

“You guys, two couples from the neighborhood, Joey and, I think, their partner, and some people from your sister’s office,” explained Maro, as he placed the board on the coffee table.

“Really? These people are new, right?”

“Shut up,” said Lisa, trying to sound embarrassed but failing.

“No, they’ve been to these before,” said Maro.

“Uh, what’s the deal here?” asked Naomi.

“Right, so, remember when I said I could handle competitive people? She’s why,” replied Luke. “I once invited a coworker from The Restless and they went at it all night,” Luke explained.

“I kicked his ass so hard, it wound up being one of the best nights of my life,” said Lisa with her hands on her hips and a proud look on her face. Maro sighed in frustration.

Luke leaned in to Naomi’s ear and whispered, “I wanted to murder her.”

The doorbell rang. “Can you guys help finish setting up the game?” Lisa requested as she walked off to go open the door. Luke and Naomi walked into the living room and grabbed all the pieces from the box and placed them on the board. Maro then placed his screen in a little indentation in the wall, causing a large, holographic interface to appear directly in front of the wall. Maro then opened the app for the game, causing the game pieces on the board to jolt to life.

“Are we playing one of those trivia games?” asked Naomi.

“We are,” answered Luke.

“Ooh, so I might have to take Lisa back to school,” said Naomi, rubbing her hands together, a grin etched onto her face.

“Please don’t,” pleaded Maro. “She’s worked very hard, and I don’t think I – or the baby – can handle her going back to school.”

Naomi made an ‘is-he-serious’ look and Luke nodded in return.

***

After Lisa and Maro’s neighbors began to arrive, Luke and Naomi had a shared revelation: neither of them could relate to parents. And after a few too many misunderstandings about their relationship, Luke and Naomi retreated to a corner of the room, glasses of wine in hand.

“We don’t really seem like a couple, do we?” asked Luke.

“Maybe they can’t relate to us in the same way that we can’t relate to them,” guessed Naomi as she tapped the side of her head. “So, they just assumed something that would help them relate to us.”

“There’s some old saying about that. ‘Assuming things makes an ass out of you and me,” he replied with a chuckle.

“Heh, an ass out of the two of us or us and all of them? That’s the question,” said Naomi.

Luke paused for a moment, stroking his chin. “Heh, definitely not us.” The pair laughed until Luke noticed someone with short cropped, bleach blonde hair, nervously looking around the room.

“Joey?” he asked.

“Luke? Hi!” they said, feigning excitement. “I’m not late, am I?”

“No, no, no. It’s just us and the new neighbors that have shown up, we’re waiting for Lisa’s coworkers to show up.” said Luke as he gestured over to Naomi. “Oh, this is Naomi.”

“Before you say anything, we’re friends from work,” said Naomi, almost threateningly. Luke a gave her a look that asked ‘c’mon.’ Naomi’s eyes widened as if she was caught in headlights and mouthed a ‘sorry’ to Luke.

“I wasn’t gonna say that,” replied Joey.

“Joey’s a friend of Maro’s from college,” explained Luke.

“Yep, we took creative writing together, and now, I’m stuck with him,” said Joey with a smile.

“Wait,” said Naomi, as she looked over at Maro, who was attempting an old human dance where he leaned to one side, outstretched one leg, and wiggled said leg with another Chereshan. “That guy’s a writer?”

Joey sighed in indignation. “Yep.”

“Is he, like, published?” asked Naomi.

“Yep,” said both Luke and Joey, voices completely flat.

“Huh,” was all Naomi could say.

Silence took over the trio for a moment as Luke and Naomi sipped from their wine glasses, Naomi practically gulping most of her glass down.

At that moment, Luke remembered that Joey’s partner was also supposed to coming to game night, so he asked, “Hey, Joey. Where’s Stefan? I haven’t seen him anywhere.”

“Oh, he shipped out,” said Joey, staring down at the floor.

“Oh,” said Luke sadly.

“Don’t go feeling sorry for me, man. I knew what I was getting into when I started dating him.”

“If you say so. Still sucks though.”

“You’re telling me,” said Joey as they looked off to the side. “Oh, Lisa just noticed me. I better go explain what’s going on.”

Joey began to walk off, but Luke stopped them before saying, “Hey, if you need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask. Okay?”

“Got it,” replied Joey as they walked off.

Luke could tell Naomi was staring at him through his peripheral vision, but when he turned to face her, she looked away. “Why were you staring at me?”

“I wasn’t staring.”

“You were totally staring.”

“Ugh, fine. Look, sometimes I forget that some people are… just nice to other people,” Naomi said. Luke cocked his head to the side. “Just, like, I don’t know. I guess I didn’t have you pegged for that kinda guy.” Luke looked down at the floor and smiled to himself.

Once he looked up, he noticed that him and Naomi’s wine glasses were close to empty. “Refill?”

“Oh, yes please.”

The pair then walked over to the dining room, where bottles of wine were laid out on the table. After pouring them both another glass, Luke looked toward the entrance, where he saw something no young man in his mid-to-late twenties wants to see after they’ve moved out.

An older woman only just beginning to show her age, blonde hair tied up in a bun, a purse large enough to be considered a carry-on during travel, and dressed for comfort over fashion, like someone who’s traveling a great distance. She wandered into Lisa and Maro’s house looking generally baffled.

“Mom?!”

Lisa then grabbed their mother by collar and pulled her to Luke, before grabbing him as well, before taking them both to a room filled with boxes and closing the door. “Mom, I’m happy to see you, but what are you doing here?! Where are you even staying?!” she asked in a panic, with tears streaming down her face.

“What? Did you really think I wasn’t gonna come to help you handle the pregnancy?” replied their mother.

“It hasn’t gotten to the point where I would need help, though. Plus, if I do need help, Luke’s here,” answered Lisa. Luke nodded his head in agreement.

“Oh, nonsense. Luke’s out of his depth on this, you need someone who’s been through this before.”

“Hey!” exclaimed Luke. “I can handle it… on my own.”

“Uh huh,” said their mom. The triad looked at each other before their mom spoke again. “Look, I’ll only be here for a month. Then, I’ll be out of your hair. Until the baby is born, that is.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t answer the ‘where,’ Mom,” retorted Lisa.

“I got a hotel, my bags are already there. It bit into our savings a bit, but your father and I will manage. Again, I’ll only be here for a month to help as much as I can, then I’m gone.” Lisa looked unsure for a moment.

“Okay, okay. It’s not like I can say ‘no,’ so…” said Lisa, beginning to cry once more. “Stupid hormones.”

Their mother wrapped her in a loving embrace and then opened the door. “Do you wanna join us for game night? I might need a teammate.”

“Of course, sweet pea. But first, I need to speak to your brother.”

“Sure, meet us in the living room when you two are finished,” said Lisa, as she closed the door behind her.

After Lisa left the room, Luke’s mom look shifted from one of happiness to one of melancholy. She then pulled a large envelope out from her purse and presented it to Luke. Worry stretched over Luke like a blanket. “Becca wanted me to give this to you.”

“Uh, what is it?” asked Luke, his voice hitching just a bit.

“I’m not totally sure. I have a hunch, but… I think you shouldn’t read it until you get home,” she replied. Luke took the envelope from his mother and held onto it tightly. Luke looked down at the envelope with concern and was tempted to just open it right that second, but his mother had a better idea.

“So, how about you introduce me to that pretty girl you were talking to?” she asked.

“Oh god.”

***

The game had progressed nicely over the night. Luke and Naomi were neck and neck with his mom and sister, the only teams left. The other teams had all been eliminated by this point and were content to watch their host finally lose a game. If he and Naomi could steal this question and answer correctly, the game would be won. Luke had never lasted this long during a game night and was happy to help end his sister’s reign, but a small part of him was hoping the game would end soon.

Luke shook his screen and everyone looked at the holographic dice that rolled out. He rolled a five and the piece shared by him and Naomi moved forward onto a yellow spot. After looking at the question that appeared on his screen, he tried to keep a poker face.

“Mom, which human actor had a cameo in the hit Chereshan film Life in Moonlights?” asked Luke with a smirk.

“Oh, goodness. I don’t know, I’ve never seen that movie. Lisa?” said their mother, sweetly.

“Hah! This is easy, its…” Lisa said as her face shifted from proud excitement to one of terror. “Oh god, I know this. Shit, fuck!”

“Language, honey. You have company,” chided their mother in hushed tones.

“Thirty seconds,” Maro reminded everyone as he pointed to the large holographic timer ticking down.

Lisa strained her face as Luke looked over to Naomi. If Lisa was a wounded deer, Naomi was the wolf waiting to pounce. “Damn it,” cursed Lisa as the timer ran out.

“Naomi, you wanna guess?” asked Luke. Naomi yelped in delight before taking a big gulp of her fourth glass of wine.

“HARVEY CHANG! Hah, I win! Woohoo!” exclaimed Naomi in a slurred voice as she jumped up from her seat on the couch and started a goofy celebratory dance as if no one was watching.

“Alright, now that I’ve finally beat my sister at one of these I think its time we head out,” said Luke as he grabbed the envelope in the one hand and tapped Naomi on the shoulder.

“Oh, c’mon. Are you guys sure you don’t want a rematch?” asked Lisa. A chorus of jeers and boos erupted from the other participants, including Maro. “Really, hon? You too?”

Maro shrugged in response.

Luke waved goodbye to everyone as Naomi latched herself onto him, and together they walked out the door.

***

Luke relaxed in the back seat of the taxi and sighed to himself. Luke looked over at Naomi and could from her contented expression that the high of winning would likely last for quite some time. Or at least until the hangover hit.

“Oh, man. I cannot wait until I get in my bed,” said Naomi as she leaned back deeper into the seat. The pair was silent for a moment. “Your sister is nice.”

“Yeah, but only because she likes you,” Luke explained. “If you guys didn’t hit it off, tonight would’ve gone way, way differently.”

Naomi mumbled some words for a moment as she tried to find the right words to say. “Was it weird, that everyone thought we were dating?” she asked.

Luke rubbed his chin. “Not really,” he said. Naomi looked at him with a confused look on her face. “I don’t know. It just didn’t bother me.” Luke was lying, it did bother him, but not in a bad way. Luke looked over at Naomi, who had begun to stare out the window, the bright lights of the neon reflecting stunningly off her olive skin. Luke was struck by her image.

“Oh,” said Naomi as she lurched forwards with the movement of the taxi. “Who’s Becca? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but… I’m drunk and curious. And I might forget in the morning, you never know.”

“My ex. And my best friend Joel’s little sister,” replied Luke, slight slur to his speech.

“Really? He was cool with you dating his sister?”

“I don’t know, I think he was just glad that I’d actually by joining the family or something. Joel shipped out for the war a few months before I moved here,” clarified Luke. “I don’t know what he’ll think of us breaking up.”

The pair sat in the taxi in silence for the rest of the ride. Luke avoided making eye contact with her, while she tried to keep from herself for blowing chunks all over the inside of the taxi. After a few moments, the taxi came to a stop in Naomi’s neighborhood. Before she could say goodbye, she ran to a trashcan and hurled. Luke cringed, but then Naomi picked her head up before waving goodbye and walking to her apartment.

Luke closed the door and looked at the envelope in his hand and decided that whatever was contained inside could wait until he wasn’t drunk. He then typed the address to the Pod Palace into the taxi’s computer and went home.