Julien Gregg's Saguaro University Arizona Chronicles - The Story of Jake Miller Chapter Four

Copyright © 2025 by Julien Gregg 
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The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

Four

That’s the way things went for the two weeks that Evan was with me in Quincy. We’d code, play baseball, walk in the park, play miniature golf, ride go karts, and have a good time. I was sad to put him on plane and send him back to Los Angeles. Travis tried to keep my spirits up.

I coded a lot when I was alone and played ball with Travis and the Devils at least once a week. Truth was I missed school and that was saying something. I got a lot of coding done over the summer and I was happy for that. Calls went back and forth between me and Evan and the summer went on.

Evan returned for my birthday but only stayed that one day and then flew back. I got lots of stuff for baseball or my computer for my birthday. Evan gave me a sculpture of David to put in my room at school. I loved it.

I went to pick up Travis with all of his stuff. He was staying with us that night and then we’d get on the road to school in the morning. He about shit when I told him that the drive was like twenty-two hours or so. I laughed at his struck expression and told him we’d be fine.

We packed the truck and put a tarp over it and secured that. Then we had dinner with Jacks who told me he was going to miss the hell out of me while I was in school. I told him I’d miss him too. Then we were in my room watching television. Travis slept in there with me that night. He was completely respectful and didn’t touch me once.

Bright and early at five in the morning we got up made sandwiches and grabbed snacks and then got in the truck. I stopped for gas and drinks and then we were on our way. We talked about the school for most of the drive. He said it would be neat to go to a school that didn’t center on religion. I told him that there were churches in Osage if he wanted to attend. He said he’d think that one over.

We were on the road for twenty-three hours because of traffic. We pulled into Osage at about four in the morning. I drove us straight to the frat house and told him he could sleep in Todd’s bed. We went to sleep and slept the whole day away. Then he had a meeting with the president and they got him a room. We unpacked the truck and moved into the frat house. I showed Travis where everything was and introduced him to Rose. He liked her on sight.

I had mail in my port in the kitchen. It was from the new president. He wanted to meet with me at my earliest convenience. I hunted him down and we had a chat. He wanted me to read essays and questionnaires. I was fine with that and told him so. He asked how my coding was going and I told him that I was about to post a notice on the bulletin board for three coders that I would pay to work on the game. He said he might be able to help out. His major was the same as mine. He asked what I was paying and I told him I was paying a hundred per section and he shook my hand.

I went and got my laptop and transferred his section of the code to his. He said he’d work on it as he could. I told him I was going to post my notice anyway and he said that he thought that was a good idea.

I went and posted the notice but I wasn’t expecting a reply to it soon. People were just moving back to campus and freshman were abound. We’d have a new batch of hopefuls soon too. I had already agreed to read essays and questionnaires and I knew I’d have my picture taken for the look book and wear a “Who Am I?” t-shirt for a while. I’d also be a big in this pledge class. I was ready for it.

Travis and I hung out for a bit and we went to the baseball field to check in with the coach and for me to try out for the team. Coach Keller was a tall man with dark graying hair and dark eyes. He told Travis to go and talk to Coach Meyer about his strengths and position while he talked to me.

“Mr. Miller,” he said. “I was surprised that you didn’t come to talk to me last year. I know your record and you had a scholarship at one time. What’s changed, Son?”

“I stopped playing because of pain in my legs after the crash,” I told him, using my favorite line when people asked why I wasn’t playing. “That’s gone now and I’d really like to play.”

“You don’t have to try out,” he said. “I was one of the scouts at your high school games. Tell me, have you played much this summer?”

“Every week we played a game in the park,” I said. “I worked out with the team and played short stop just like always.”

“Well you’re good at short stop and Blake just clearly isn’t. So I’ll move him to the outfield and put you at short stop. Now your batting average is good so I’ll put you in the rotation. We’ll have one practice a week until we get to baseball season then it’ll be two a week. You can pay for a uniform and cleats?”

“I have cleats, and I can pay for a uniform and all of my gear,” I said.

“Good then, welcome to the team, Son,” he said, looking at my bag. “Suit up and practice with Blake. Maybe you can whip him into shape. Always good to have alternates.”

“Yes, Coach,” I said and headed for the locker room.

I chose a locker and put my lock on the door. Then I changed into my baseball gear which was my home uniform for the Devils. I got my bat and my glove and headed out after locking my clothes in the locker.

I practiced with Blake who was thrilled that I had joined the team. I got him to catch the ball on the ground and in the air. I told him he had to pay close attention when he played this position. He asked if he was being moved to the outfield. I said I wasn’t sure. Coach said something about it but then told me to work with him.

We practiced for a while and then I was told to go to batting practice. I moved into position and a pitching machine fired fastballs at me. It was just like the batting cages. I never missed a ball. I smacked them all over the place and six went to the home run mark. Coach smiled as he watched me. When practice was over I showered with the team and changed into my normal clothes. Coach handed me an order form for the uniform. I’d need two. One for home games and one for away. I knew that already.

I took the form to my room and filled out the sizes and ordered three of both uniforms so I wouldn’t be doing laundry all of the damned time. I mailed the form off with a check and went to dinner.

Neal caught up with me and told me he had a bunch of monsters made. I told him that Dan Coleson was going to help with coding and I had posted a notice on the bulletin board for three more coders that I would pay one hundred for each section of code they wrote. He said that was great.

We talked for a while and then he went to get me a CD of his monsters. I took that and we went to my room so I could see them. I told him they were great. He’d put them in every position that they would fight in inside the game! I was happy with what he’d done. Then I told him that I would give him credit for graphics on the game. I wouldn’t pay him the way I was paying the coders. He was a co-creator of the game because I couldn’t make the game without his graphics. He liked that.

I introduced him to Travis and he and Travis talked for a bit about their majors and what they wanted to do with their lives. Then I went to my room to code. Todd still wasn’t there but then all of his stuff was gone. I didn’t understand it. He usually left the bean bag couch and television but it was all gone. His posters and stuff were off his wall too. Maybe I was getting another room mate.

It turned out that I would be getting a freshman, maybe my little. Todd had asked to change rooms because I kept him up at night when I was coding. I wished he’d said something to me about it. But at least I didn’t have to sleep with the earplugs that night. I saw Todd a few days later and he talked to me like he always had but didn’t mention the room change. I didn’t either.

I spent most of my time coding. I coded the monsters in and added their graphics. I’d have to get with the film school to do the fight scenes that could be added to the game a bit later. I got sections ready for three other people to work on and then I worked on my section. In each section coding was already started. They just had to go with what was there and code more. It was pretty self explanatory so I was set.

Then classes started on the Thursday the eighteenth. Then before I knew it there were freshman at the first party of the year. I had essays to read. I read them in my room and scored them. Then I had questionnaires to go through and I scored those as well.

We had a meeting in Dan’s room to go over what we’d learned. I showed them what I’d done with the essays and questionnaires. I’d made two piles of questionnaires one for desirable and one for undesirable. Then I as glad when four other brothers agreed with me. 

There was a chart put up with all of the names of the freshman. There were two legacies that didn’t write essays but had filled out questionnaires. It turned out that one of them was in my undesirable pile. The names that had both good essays and questionnaires had stars beside their names. The committee wouldn’t meet again until after the third party with all of the alumni.

Evan was back for that party and I was very happy to see him. He stayed with me in my room while he was there. They had congressmen and a senator, four businessmen and two game designers. I stayed away from all of them but collected their performance cards on their way out that night. Then the committee met again.

A brother named Breck Phillips was to be pledge master this year. We had two names on the board that were the legacies, Landry Carter, and Brady Collins were on the board with green stars. They were already part of the ten. We had to find the other eight. The one I was pulling for was Drake Hoskins he was a track star with brown hair and gray eyes. He had a great essay and a superb questionnaire. His alumni cards were all favorable as well. A green star went up next to his name. Then we talked about Tyler Franks. He had a good essay and a great questionnaire. His cards were all favorable and he got a green star next to his name.

Conversations with Alex Moore were favorable. His essay was a bit on the dull side but his questionnaire was perfect. He got a green star. Tyler Fillmore had a stellar essay and a good questionnaire. His comment cards were favorable. He got a green star. By the time I was ready to fall asleep on them the ten had been found. I was thankful because it meant that I could go to bed.

The next day we threw a party for them but they were bartenders and servers. The pledges from Obiz were cocktail waitresses for the event. They served the brothers and the sisters from both Aboo and Obiz. The party was a success and they didn’t lose a pledge on either side.

The next day they were all in the basement and the Trials had began. I stayed away from them for the next week. I coded a lot and got a lot done. Three people had answered my notice on the board and were now working on sections of code for the game and a lot more was getting done. Evan had given me his finished section and took another section back to Los Angeles with him.

Of course we had baseball practice and frat things to do in the middle of all of that. Then it was time to wear the “Who AM I?” shirts and have our pictures taken for the book. I got a kick out of it. Travis did as well. We trapped pledges as they walked from here to there on campus and pointed to our shirts. We recorded points in a notebook. I didn’t hunt them down. I found most of them in the cafeteria.

We gave them shopping lists and mine were always a bit short on money. I gave a point to one of them for leaving items off the list so that I could pay for it all. I told him he was supposed to put money with it. He just put his head down.

They went to trios the second week. Then they were partnered with brothers. I was one of them. I got Brian Moss and Tyler Franks. They were agreeable guys it was just hard to get any coding done with all of the things I had to tell them and quiz them on. We stopped wearing the “Who Am I?” shirts. I guess they figured if they didn’t know the brothers by now they weren’t going to.

Then they were paired with their bigs and only five of them were left. My little was Brady Collins. He moved into my room with me. He was a computer science major so we got along pretty good. Plus I was there for him every time he had a question. He ordered a few things out of his welcome box but told me he couldn’t afford a lot of them. He was here on a sports scholarship for track. I told him I understood.

I finally got back to coding. The three student coders who had answered my add were finished with the sections they’d been coding. I was excited. There was just the section I was coding on and the section that Evan had. I payed them their hundred apiece and thanked them for helping me. Then I called Evan. He told me he was about done with the section I’d given him. It was time to talk to the film school students.

Evan flew into town to give me his section. The coding was done until the little movies were shot. I got them shot a few days later and then I was adding them to the coding. I ran through the game and it was beautiful. Neal’s graphics were on point. I found no major problems and declared it finished. I did have to go back and straighten out a few lines of code but that was all. I was ready to present the game to a company.

I took a week off school because Evan had gotten me meetings with three major gaming companies. Neal went with me to each of these meetings and I sold the game to Microsoft and got a deal that I would work for them when I got out of school and I could still go back to school to go further in my career. I was stoked. Evan was happy and we celebrated with dinner in his and Aubrey’s restaurant. I got to meet Aubrey and the food was amazing. We flew back to Arizona the next morning.

They cut checks to me and Neal and we were paid handsomely. I was so happy. I called Jacks and told him about what had happened in Los Angeles. He as happy that I already had a job when I got out of school. Yes I had it in writing and yes they bought the game from me. So coming soon was “Legends Rise” from Microsoft Games. I was ecstatic. I couldn’t believe it.

My programming professor gave me an A just because I’d landed the job with Microsoft and sold them a game that they had agreed to release. I got phone calls from them left and right telling me about press releases and release dates. They were polishing the code but told me it was brilliantly written. I just kept smiling.

Of course in all of this I still had three classes a day. I wrote reports, solved equations, and looked up statistics for said classes and did piles of homework. I was at a loss for free time. I didn’t have a game to code and Microsoft asked me to hold off until they released “Legends Rise” in November. I couldn’t believe it would be released in November!

Neal got a deal from Microsoft as well so that meant he was moving to Los Angeles when he graduated as well. Then unbeknownst to me he and Travis had started a relationship and they were together all of the time.

“So you sold your game?” Brady asked as I came back into the room after classes one day.

“Sure did,” I said with a smile. “Got a contract to work for Microsoft when I graduate.”

“That’s awesome,” he said.

“You have no idea,” I said. “I was wondering where I’d work, you know which company I’d work for and then I had Microsoft. I know that a lot of people hate the company but they hired me and I’ll work for them.”

“I don’t think they’re an evil company or anything,” he said. “I like the games that come out of their company. I’m a little exasperated with their software but I still use it.”

“Thanks, Brady,” I said with a smile.

“So are you going to work on another game?” he asked.

“No they asked that I hold off until November when ‘Legends Rise’ will be released,” I said.

“You called it ‘Legends Rise’?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s a multi player online game where you and your friends have a choice of characters to play and you go on quests.”

“Cool,” he said. “I can’t wait to play it.”

“They’ve asked me not to showcase it yet or I’d let you,” I said with a smile.

“Oh I’ll buy a copy,” he said. “Is it PC or console?”

“Both,” I said. “They’re releasing the PC version and the Xbox version at the same time.”

“Awesome,” he said. “I’ll buy a copy.”

“I have to buy a Xbox,” I laughed.

“You don’t have one?” he asked.

“No, I play the Xbox,” I said. “I’ve played on Xbox before but usually at my friend’s house. He had all of he consoles.”

I showed him the basic environment of the game and went through character selection with him. He liked what he saw and said he couldn’t wait for November when he could buy a copy. Or his parents would buy it for him for Christmas. I hadn’t even thought of Christmas. They were releasing it in November just in time for Christmas. That was amazing. It was already October third!

I called Jacks to tell him that the game would be released for the PC and Xbox November first. He was excited about that and I told him that I’d give him a copy when they sent me my bundle. He thanked me.

Then I called Evan to enthuse about the game some more. He told me that they had him working to smooth coding and that they had it set up for PC and Xbox already. That made me happy. He said the first commercial for the game had been shot and to look for it on television soon.

Then we were all gathered around the television for the commercial. It showed people fighting monsters and calling out to each other. Then the splash title was on the screen. It said Coming in November. Everyone patted me and Neal on the back for it. We were smiling from ear to ear. Even Rose was excited for us. She asked our favorite meal. Then she cooked it for us.

Everyone was slapping us on the back for a while. People on campus were talking about the game and asking about tester copies. I told them to log on to Microsoft's website and check on that.

Then before I knew it people had beta copies of the game and were playing it together. They all told me that it was really cool and they loved this and that about it. They couldn’t wait for the standard copy with Easter eggs in it. I told them there were several. They smiled at this and went back to playing.

It was in the house at Aboo as well. The brothers were playing the tester version and saying how much they liked it. They played with each other and Obiz. This was getting bigger and bigger. I liked that they were all playing it. But November first the game itself was released and they had advanced orders of the game. That made me happy. They sent me a box with ten PC and ten Xbox editions of the game. I put one away to give to Jacks and one to give Evan. Then I handed them out to my core group of friends. I even gave one to Brady.

Then for days that’s all they played. I loved every minute of it. Sales were through the roof and Neal and I were both very happy about that. We received royalty checks. And they were big. I just added it all to my account and went about my day. We were gearing up for Winter Break now. The last day of classes was December sixth. Finals were eighth through the fourteenth. I was prepping for finals way ahead of time. I’d kept exquisite notes and I studied them every night.

When I finally started taking the finals I was all set for them. I breezed through the programming final. The others were a bit difficult but I got through them. I was done the tenth and so was Travis. He told Neal that he’d call him on Christmas they hugged and kissed and we got out of there.

When we got to Quincy there was snow on the ground. We slept through the day but Jacks let us get away with it. When I got up that evening I gave him his copy of the PC version of “Legends Rise”. He loved that it came in it’s own box with graphics and everything.

“This looks good,” he said. “It even has your names on it at the bottom here on the back.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That was one of our stipulations. We’re in talks with a company that wants to make a role playing version of the game, and a toy company that’s already printing action figures from the game. It’s all really exciting.”

“Sounds it,” he said, smiling. “I’m proud of you, kid.”

“Thanks Jacks,” I said, smiling back at him.

“Is Travis going to sleep all night,” he asked.

“Probably,” I said. “I’ll go back to bed in a little bit myself. I just woke up and wanted to give you your game. I haven’t seen you in a few months so I wanted to chat and tell you all of the news about the game.”

“Well get some sleep if you need it,” he said. “I’m working from home the next few days. We can chat later.”

“Thanks Jacks,” I said and went back to my room.

I slept until morning and Jacks had waffles on the table for me and Travis. His brother had moved to Florida so any time he came back to Quincy it would be with me and Jacks. Evan called to tell me that they were printing the books for the game and the monsters to make it a roll playing game with rules almost exactly like D and D. I told him that was great. He asked about the action figures and I told him that they were sending me one of each. Neal was getting the same thing. When the roll playing game was done we’d get copies of that too.

“I can’t believe how successful this game has been already,” Evan said. “I mean I knew people would buy it but advanced sales, action figures, and roll playing versions? I never thought that would happen.”

“Neither did I,” I said. “It’s all great though.”

“Yes it is,” he said. “I’m so happy for you. You’re not working on another one are you?”

“No,” I said with a laugh. “Microsoft asked me not to.”

“That’s because of the exclusivity clause in your contract,” he said. “I was a little surprised that they offered you a contract before you got out of college.”

“I was too,” I said. “But they were really happy that I signed it.”

“Oh I’m sure,” he said. “You’ve been the topic of conversation at work since they started the polish.”

“I have been?” I asked.

“Yeah, some of my colleagues are amazed that you got the contract while still in college,” he said. “It’s not usually done.”

“They said they might send me code to work on,” I said. “I said I’d work on it as classes and baseball allowed.”

“I bet they loved that,” he said.

“They kept saying of course,” I said. “They were really excited to have me on board.”

“Yes, they’ve been asking me about you all month long,” he said. “I told them that they knew all there was to know about you. You were a college student who came up with an idea and started to code it. I told them that you farmed out coding to other people at the university and paid them for their time. Then you shopped for a company and they bought the game and gave you a contract. There was nothing else to say about you that they needed to know.”

“Okay, thanks,” I said. “Jacks is trying to figure out how to play the game.”

“He’ll figure it out,” he said. “The game is easy to figure out. That’s one of the best things about the game.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Well that’s all I have time for,” he said. “I have some coding to do.”

“Thank you for calling,” I said. “I love you.”

“You’re welcome, congratulations and I love you, too,” he said.

When I got off the phone I sat there for a moment smiling at the floor like an idiot. I couldn’t believe this was happening for me. I was so amazed by it all. The game was out. People had bought it. Some had bought it in advance. They were making action figures and a roll playing game. This was so much bigger than I had ever imagined that it would be.

“What are you doing?” Jacks asked as he stuck his head in my doorway.

“Smiling at the floor like an idiot,” I said. “I just got off the phone with Evan.”

“Ah,” he said. “Young love.”

“It was a little of that but he was telling me that I’m the topic of conversation at work. Everyone is talking about the hot shot designer who’s still in college and they’re making action figures molded after the characters and monsters in the game and making the roll playing game. They’re all shocked. I’m shocked. I knew the game was good. I just didn’t know it was that good.”

“Well congratulations,” he said. “I don’t say it enough but I’m damned proud of you.”

“Thank you Jacks,” I said. “This is like a dream.”

“Well you can either sit there and dream or you can come out of your room and have lunch with your uncle and close friend,” he said.

“I’ll come out and have lunch,” I laughed.

“Was that your boyfriend on the phone?” Travis asked.

“Yes,” I said. “He called to tell me I’m the topic of conversation at his work.”

“Is that a good thing?” he asked.

“It’s a great thing,” I said. “They’re talking about the advanced orders for the game and the action figures, the roll playing game, and my contract. All of that before I’ve even graduated from college.”

“That is great when you say it that way,” he said. “Neal’s getting calls about his graphics being used by the action figure company to build the action figures, and the roll playing company for using them in their books.”

“Yeah he’s getting a contract with each of those things,” I said. “Each time it will give him a little more money. Well it’s not a little more it’s a lot but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, he’s rich now,” he said.

“Well more like well off not rich,” I said. “We have to make a few more games to become rich.”

“Well you’re already rich,” he said. “You have the money from the crash.”

“Yes, I do,” I said. “I don’t like to think of it as money from the crash though.”

“Okay, sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “You didn’t know.”

Jacks put food on the table then and shut us up. It was chicken alfredo and I loved it. I got a huge plate of it with garlic bread. I ate it happily. Jacks didn’t cook this. It came from a restaurant but I didn’t know which one. There weren’t many in town that made chicken alfredo.

“I’ve been seeing someone,” he said to the room while we ate.

“Someone?” I asked.

“Her name is Lisa Brummel,” he said. “She’s the court reporter in Judge Sapp’s courtroom.”

“Am I going to meet her soon?” I asked.

“Tomorrow night she’s coming to dinner,” he said. “I’m telling you this because I think it’s serious.”

“Finally,” I sighed. “Jacks I’ve been waiting for you to put yourself back out there.”

“Well I’ve been waiting for you to go off to college,” he said with a smile.

“Oh,” I said. He’d been waiting until I wasn’t in the house in case I didn’t get along with the woman he chose. Well that was nice of him. It meant he finally accepted that I was moving to Los Angeles after college.

“Yeah, oh,” he said. “She’s going to be with me a lot over the holiday. I wanted to tell you about her before she just showed up with gifts and food.”

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll be on our best behavior, right Travis?”

“Oh sure,” he said. “Congratulations Jacks.”

“Yes, congratulations,” I said, smiling at him.

“You took that much better than I thought you would,” he said.

“You thought I’d have a problem with it?” I asked.

“Well you’ve had me to yourself since you were fourteen,” he said.

“Yes, but I’m moving to Los Angeles when I graduate, Jacks,” I said. “I won’t be here.”

“I realize that,” he said. “I just thought you’d have a problem with my dating again.”

“I don’t have a problem with it. I think it’s great,” I said.

“She has a thirteen year old son,” he said.

“Oh, so you’re going to need my room for the boy, then?” I asked.

“Not until you move out,” he said. “I wouldn’t take your room away from you and she’s not moving in any time soon anyway. We’re getting serious but there’s still a lot of steps to take before we move in together.”

“Okay,” I said. “You keep looking at me like I’m going to start screaming or something.”

“Well I was worried about what you’d think,” he said. “She was married before but he was abusive to the boy. She left him.”

“As she should have,” I said. “You were married once before, too.”

“You really don’t have a problem with any of this do you?” he asked, looking startled.

“Of course I don’t,” I said. “Jacks you have to live your life. You took in your nephew not a warden. I’ve never tried to tell you what to do and you’ve never really tried to tell me what to do. We have a great relationship. I think it’s great that you have Lisa and her son. There’s room in your heart for all of us.”

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to be saying to you?” he asked.

“I think you’re thinking of the heartbroken kid who moved in with you at fourteen,” I said. “He might have needed to hear that then but he’s an adult now with his own dreams and a lover that’s waiting for him in Los Angeles.”

“Thanks, Jake,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” I said. “So what’s his name? The child.”

“Rodrick,” he said. “She calls him Rod.”

“Okay,” I said. “Does he like baseball?”

“He’s a Comet,” he said.

“Well then he and I will get along fine,” I said. “He can have my room when I move out. I’m not planning on coming back to live here. When Evan and I come here we’ll stay in a hotel and spend days with you, Lisa, and Rod.”

“That’s great,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to push you out, Jake. I hope you know that.”

“I do,” I said. “I’m moving out willingly. I mean I’m not here much through the year now but after next year I’ll move out completely.”

“I know,” he said. “And to make myself not go nuts over you leaving I have been talking with Lisa about it. She’s made me see that this is natural and that I can’t hold on forever.”

“I like her already,” I said with a smile.

“Well she’s been a fan of your baseball for a while,” he said. “Her younger brother was on your team.”

“Brummel,” I said. “Tim Brummel. That’s Lisa’s little brother?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Then I’ve met her a time or two,” I said. “She gave us rides to the pizza parties sometimes and she was there for Tim almost every game. She bought all of the t-shirts for the summer league that year.”

“That’s Lisa,” he said. “I’ve known her for years but she was married all that time and now she’s been divorced for three years and is ready to try again.”

“That’s awesome,” I said. “I’m so sorry that she and her son had to live with that in their lives.”

“People have it rough all over,” he said.

“Yes but they don’t need a parent beating on them,” I said, looking at Travis. He was looking at Jacks instead of me. I knew that his father had been physical with him a time or two. We’d all known it.

“No they don’t,” Jacks said, looking at Travis.

“Well I can’t wait to see her,” I said. “You remember her, don’t you Travis?”

“Yeah,” he said. “She was always nice to me.”

“Yeah,” I said. “So she’s coming over tomorrow night?”

“She’s staying over tomorrow night,” Jacks said.

“Oh so you’re telling us this so Travis will sleep in my bed so Rod can have the couch?” I asked.

“That’s part of it,” he said. “I wanted to get your reaction before I call and tell her she can stay.”

“Well call her and tell her,” I said. “She can come over tonight.”

“I’ll tell her you said that,” he said with a grin.

I didn’t know what made him think I’d have a problem with this. Hell even at fourteen I might have been mildly upset but I’d have never said anything about it. I’d have gone with the flow. Lisa Brummel was a nice woman who always went out of her way to make her brother and his teem mates feel at ease. She’d bought t-shirts for the group of us so we could participate in the summer league. She’d taken us to the pizza parties and chaperoned them.

“Well?” I asked when he got off the phone with her.

“They’re coming over in a little bit,” he said. “She said to tell you and Travis hello.”

“That was nice of her,” Travis said. “We always liked her.”

“That’s to the good,” Jacks said. “Because I think I might be in love with her.”

“Go Jacks,” I said with a smile.

“Thanks,” he said. “Rod is a gamer. He’ll like playing your game if I can ever figure it out.”

“Rod can help you with that,” I said with a smile. “Trust me he’ll know exactly what to do.”

“Is that so?” he asked.

“He’s a gamer and it was made for gamers,” I said.

“Well maybe he can teach me a thing or two,” he said.

“Maybe,” I laughed. “Travis have you played the game?”

“No,” he said.

“Well I’ll set you up in my room to play it if you want,” I said.

“Maybe,” he said. “Let’s wait and see what happens.”

“All right,” I said.

Jacks cleaned up the plates and I went to my room to set up the game for Travis. It would hold and he could either play it or not. I got the Xbox all set up and the game fired up. Then I sat at my desk and read my email. I got two from Microsoft. One was telling me that what sales of the game had gone through. The other was just telling me that more code was waiting for me. I downloaded that and got to work on it.

Time went by as I coded. Before I knew it I heard the door and then I could hear a female voice and the voice of youth. I saved my work and closed out of the writer program. Then I went into the kitchen and there was Lisa and Rod.

“Jake, it’s good to see you again,” said Lisa. “I’m glad you don’t have a problem with me and Jacks.”

“I can’t figure out why he would think I would have a problem with the two of you,” I said honestly. “I want him to be happy.”

“That’s the thing,” she said. “He didn’t know.”

“Well he does now,” I said with a smile. “You and him don’t bother me one little bit. I’m not going to be here much longer and he needs someone to love.”

“Where are you going?” she asked. “I mean when you get out of school.”

“Los Angeles,” I said. “I already have the job with Microsoft but I need to move there to be part of a coding team.”

“You make video games like the one that just came out that Rod’s over the moon about?” she asked.

“Actually if you’re talking about ‘Legends Rise’ I did write that one,” I said. “My good friend Neal did all of the graphics for the game.”

“That’s awesome, Jake,” she said, smiling. “You’re very talented.”

“Thank you,” I said. “If Rod would like the game is all cued up in Jacks’s room. He can go and play it in there. I’ve got it cued up in my room for Travis.”

“That’s great, thank you,” she said. Then she turned to Rod and asked, “What do you think of that?”

“That’s great!” he enthused.

Jacks took him into his room and got him started. Travis went in my room to play and before long they were playing with each other. Lisa talked about how awesome it was that I had written that game. I told her that I now worked for Microsoft in a deal of a lifetime. She was enthusiastic about that and asked many questions. I answered them as best as I could. I told her that most of what I was working on right now was top secret. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell her about it. It was that I couldn’t.

We had a nice little visit in the dining room. Jacks was smiling and I was happy about that. Lisa told me that I hadn’t changed much from the baseball player she’d known. I told her that I was still playing baseball at college. Travis was too. She thought that was amazing.

“You don’t want to go pro?” she asked. It was a standard question that I got all of the time.

“No,” I said. “I want it to be fun. Once it becomes my job it won’t be fun anymore.”

“You know others have said that same thing to me,” she said.

“Many of us feel that way,” I said. “We love the game but we don’t want to make it a job.”

“Well you already have a job and it’s an exciting one at that,” she said with a smile.

“Yes,” I agreed. “I love it already.”

“That’s good,” she said. “It’s good to have a job that you love.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I didn’t expect to get a contract while I’m in college but they said that with the game that I created I was a hot commodity.”

“Is that right?” she asked. “I would have thought that you’d have to wait till graduation to even get offers.”

“Well they wanted me to sign the contract immediately and be a part of the Microsoft team. That’s almost word for word what they said to me in Los Angeles,” I said.

“That’s great,” she said with another smile. “I’m just a court reporter but I love it.”

“That’s good though,” I said. “At least you love what you’re doing.”

“Right,” she said. “Well it’s so good to see you again.”

“You too,” I said. “Welcome to the family.”

“I like the sound of that,” she said, smiling. “Thank you.”

I went in the bedroom and coded a bit more. Travis was playing the game with headphones on so he could talk to Rod in the other room. I was happy that they were playing my game and seemed to love it.

I coded until it was time for bed. I could hear Rod telling his mother that he wanted to play a bit longer. She told him it was time for bed. Travis was already getting out of the game and turning off the Xbox. I saved my work and closed the program. Then I powered down the computer. I went to the bathroom and then came back in sleep shorts and a t-shirt. Travis did the same thing a moment later.

Then we climbed into my bed and went to sleep. The next morning Lisa was in the kitchen cooking and Rod was at the table with Jacks. I joined them after my shower. Rod told me how much he loved “Legends Rise”. He was telling me that he and Travis had fought orcs and wolves and so much more. I smiled at his enthusiasm.

“Pancakes this morning,” Lisa said. “Where’s Travis?”

“Still asleep,” I said. “You want me to wake him?”

“No,” she said. “I can make him a couple of pancakes when he wakes up. You sit and enjoy.”

“Thank you,” I said as she put a plate with two pancakes and two slices of bacon in front of me.

“You’re welcome,” she said as Travis came out dressed and ready for the day. “Sit down and eat, young man.”

“Thank you, Lisa,” he said as he sat down. It wasn’t long before she put a plate with two and two in front of him.

We all sat and ate our breakfast in silence. Then she took our plates and did the dishes while the rest of us moved through the house. Travis and I were going to take Rod sled riding at Berrian Park. We all put on heavy coats. Rod had a snowsuit to put on and then we got the sleds out of the garage and headed for the park.

We spent the morning sled riding down the big hill at the park. We had a blast there and it wasn’t so cold that we were freezing. Our sleds were the saucer kind and we sped down the hill for a couple of hours before my feet were cold enough to hurt. Then we piled back in my truck and headed back to the house.

Lisa made us hot chocolate and we thawed out at the table. Rod had a good time and that was what it was all about. He went on and on to his mother about what we did with the sleds and how steep the hill was. He told her he’d had a great time. Then he was off to play “Legends Rise” again. Travis went in my room to play. I went back to coding. I was finished with my code by dinner time and sent it back to Microsoft through my very own portal on their site. There was no more in there for me so I logged off and powered down my computer. 

Then I went out to the dining room to have dinner. Lisa went on and on about how I’d coded right through lunch but Jacks told her that happened all of the time and it was his fault for not telling me to knock it off and eat.

I just smiled at her and accepted a plate with fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn on the cob. She handed me two biscuits and I was set. Then talk went back and forth about this and that as we ate. Jacks told Lisa that I had told him to be happy and he was happy about that. Lisa told him that I’d said much the same to her. She talked about how silly it seemed now that he’d thought I’d have a problem with them being together.

Rod was going and on about the game and how much he enjoyed it. Travis got in on that discussion to talk about how much fun the game was to play. I just soaked all of that up. Lisa and Jacks smiled at me as Travis and the youngster talked about the game that I had created.

After dinner they went to play some more and I sat in my room playing a different game on my computer. This vacation was going smoothly and I was happy for that. I didn’t hear anything out of Lisa and Jacks until bedtime for the youngster. Then it was pleases and come ons before he actually acquiesced and went to bed. Travis shut down the game and then the Xbox and went to get ready for bed. He’d been awful quiet that night and I wondered what was up with him.

He came back and I went to get ready for bed. Then we climbed into bed and I heard him and felt him toss and turn. I finally asked him what was wrong. He sat up and looked at me in the semi darkness.

“It’s going to be the first Christmas I’ve had without my family,” he said.

“Oh Travis I’m so sorry,” I said. I hugged him. He fell against me and started to cry. Now this wasn’t something that I dealt with on a regular basis. But I was there for him.