*THUMP* *Click*
"Come on Ky, hurry. We're gonna be late!"
I sighed, pulling my dress shirt out of my pants slightly. I felt comfortable with a bit more flexibility. Call me weird, but for some reason, I had truly gotten used to wearing either loose fitting or form fitting clothing that allowed for a high range of movement. That game is just too damn real.
*Tick* *THUMP*
My backside landed in the soft leather seat of our car as I reached for my seatbelt. "Where are we going again?"
Ethan, my dad, glared at me with an irritated expression. "Holy shit, man. I told you about this multiple times. Your uncle is taking us out for dinner."
I furrowed my brow, pulling at the collar of my shirt for a moment before deciding to unbutton one more button. This exposed my chest a bit more but still retained the classy look necessary according to my dad. "Where are we eating?"
He pressed on the brake and then shifted the car into drive. "The Bryant. Steakhouse."
I nodded. "Ahhhh, gotcha. Wait, fuck, I forgot my glasses…"
I couldn't even finish my statement before I saw my dad's hand in front of my face holding my glasses. "Here. I knew you'd forget them. Still don't know why you need them when your eyesight is not bad enough to need them for anything other than reading."
I shrugged. "I need to wear them when I drink. Otherwise everything gets blurry. I should probably get my eyes checked anyway. Been getting some headaches recently."
He nodded. "Well, make an appointment then."
I sighed. "Ughhh, I don't even know how to do that."
We stopped at a red light as I said this and he glanced at me, rolling his eyes. "If you can command troops in an army, you can make a fucking optometrist appointment. Ky, I have no idea how you are doing so well in the game."
I found myself shrugging yet again. "Who knows? Luck is quite the fickle thing. Oh, that reminds me. I should probably contact HR at Boeing and tell them that I have to cancel my employment. I have too much money and not enough time."
Ethan rolled his eyes again, gently punching my shoulder. "You're unbelievably fortunate. You know that, right?"
I nodded, really thinking over his words. "Yes, I know. Apparently, I'm one of only three Jedi among the millions of players."
He sighed. "Haaaaa, I'm so jealous. Maybe one day I'll be a Jedi."
I shook my head. "Sorry, dad. It's something you're born with or something like that."
He shrugged and chuckled. "Well, being the Han Solo to your Luke Skywalker wouldn't be so bad."
We both laughed, enjoying this wholesome father-son moment. I really loved my dad. Even through his intense grief, he never failed to be there for me when I really needed him. He might have failed partly in the day to day aspect after mom passed, he came through when it was important because he loved me.
He really was madly in love with my mom. She was quite literally his better half. The missing piece of him that he found against all odds. By god, they met by chance while living on opposite sides of the country.
I remember the story of how they met. Believe it or not, my dad was heading to a Star Wars convention in New York City. Coincidentally, my mom was there for her PhD program at Columbia University.
On that one day, they ran into each other five times. How does that even happen? Well, it did. On the third time, my dad said hi and pointed out that they ran into each other three times at that point. On the fourth time, they found each other at a Starbucks, refueling energy for different purposes. The fifth time, well, they wouldn't tell me about the fifth time no matter how I asked. Being almost 22 years old now, I think I know what that fifth time consisted of…
Anyways, that was the day they fell in love. My timid geek of a dad and oddly athletic nerd of a mom. Quite literally all of the odds were against them. My mom came from a traditional Italian family. Her parents literally moved to the States before having my mom and her three brothers.
She was the Italian princess, and my dad was the Jewish nerd. Well, maybe those two things mix but who knows. I'd have to find my significant other someday and see what kind of "fairy tale" it turns out to be.
The car came to a sudden stop while I was amidst these heartwarming thoughts. I looked up and saw that we were in the all too familiar parking lot of The Bryant. This was the place my Uncle would choose every single time we went out for dinner without fail. I wasn't complaining though. I will quite literally never turn down a good cocktail and some delectable steak.
As soon as I disembarked from the car, I noticed the security detail surrounding the restaurant. They really did embody the typical bodyguard with their suits and dark tinted sunglasses. The slight bulge on their chest also showed that they were armed.
This told me that my Uncle was already inside. While I've always thought that his security detail was a bit ridiculous, I understand why he has it. Firstly, and probably the least important reason, was that he is in his late sixties. He was 23 when my mom was born. He is on the older side and can't protect himself.
Now, you might ask why he needs to protect himself. Well, that would be because of the second reason. My uncle used to be a Senator and was the chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He has a lot of secrets in his head that could become risks to national security if they were to be extracted in some way. Thus, he has opted to have a protection detail.
As we approached the door to the restaurant, one of the bodyguards intercepted us. "I'll escort you in."
Ethan sighed but nodded. "Yes, thank you."
We both knew this restaurant like the back of our hands. The front door had two sets of doors to keep the temperature from changing too much inside. Directly inside, you could see the entire dining room. To the right was a large dining area with windows surrounding it.
To the left was the hostess stand as well as another dining area that had windows in only one part of it. The other part was in a closed off area which was probably used for parties. This side of the dining room also had the bar.
The upholstery of the restaurant was quite luxurious. Half of the floor was wood while the other half was marble hexagonal tiles. Everything was dark stained wood and the seats were dark stained leather. It was quite moody in terms of color but it was comforting.
Our destination was in the back corner of the restaurant. There was a circular booth in that corner that was where we sat everytime. We approached the booth and found a man with his face buried in a menu.
Upon hearing the footsteps in front of him, his head shot up. "Oh! Ethan, Kyle!"
As his thick New York accent exploded across the dining room, he stood up from the booth and squeezed out. While he was in great shape, it was obvious that his old age was catching up with him due to how he grunted as he pressed his hands on the table to stand up.
He held his hands out. "Come here, Ky. Give your Uncle a hug."
I could only smile at his antics. He has always been an enthusiastic and welcoming person. It was probably a large part of his success in Politics. Thus, I went in for the hug. I felt him peck a kiss on the top of my head as he patted my back. "It's good to see you Uncle Paul."
He then pulled back, releasing the hug. Then he held out his hand, looking at Ethan. "How have you been, Rick?"
My dad shrugged while firmly grasping his hand. "Eh, not too bad. Been enjoying this new game with Kyle. Streaming has been way too good to me lately."
Paul nodded with a wide smile. "Ah yes! Galactic Expedition, right? I've actually tuned into a few of your streams. You're quite the entertainer, aren't you?"
Ethan's eyes widened with surprise as he heard that. "Wait, really? You've been watching?"
Paul nodded as he gestured towards the booth. "Yes, I have! My kids have been raving about how they watch your stream everyday after work. I decided I'd check it out one day and since then, I spend about an hour every evening watching it with my beloved glass of wine."
The three of us laughed as we all sat down. A waitress almost instantly approached the table as soon as our behinds landed. "Good evening, gentlemen. My name is Sarah and I'll be serving you this evening."
My uncle nodded. "Well, Sarah, any new wines in the cabinet?"
Sarah nodded. "Yes, Paul, we have a few actually. Shall I pull them out so you can take a look?"
He nodded, laughing heartily. "Wonderful!" He then looked towards us. "Order some drinks while you're at it."
I shrugged and glanced at the waitress. "I'll have the usual."
She nodded and then looked at my dad. "For you, sir?"
Ethan gestured towards Paul. "I'll just share a bottle of wine with my brother in law."
She nodded. "Very well. I'll be right back." After saying this, she disappeared into the restaurant.
I turned to Uncle Paul after taking a sip of the water that was on the table in front of us. "Where is Aunt Susan?"
Paul shrugged. "She's here, she's there. No idea. We may be happily married, but we live in parallel these days. You'll understand when you've been married for 45 years like I have. More importantly, congratulations on graduating! You got an engineering degree now, eh?"
I chuckled, scratching the back of my head. "Yeahhh, about that. I need to contact HR and tell them I won't be working anymore."
His brows raised as he finished sipping his water. He placed it down on the table and looked me over for a few seconds. "Well, I trust that it's a well thought out decision on your part. You were set to work at Boeing, right?"
I nodded. "Yes. I was kind of excited about it. Honestly, I don't think I could be happier there than with what I'm doing right now."
Paul laughed gently. "Oh, I'm sure. I doubt the stars ever get old. Am I right?"
I nodded vigorously. "Yes! It's one of my favorite parts about the game. Everything just feels so… real. I can even do things that I never thought possible. It truly is a fantasy."
Paul smiled, reaching into his suit jacket. "Regardless, this is a bit of a graduation gift from your Aunt and I. Let's call it a galactic investment. After all, I can congratulate you all I want but I should show it with my actions rather than my words. Ain't that right?"