Michael Reinhardt was in the kitchen fixing a tray. A single large bowl of his Irish Stew, two spoons, half a loaf of his mother’s Irish Soda bread, a pitcher of water and half a bottle of nice merlot. Placing the tray on the dining counter, he goes for napkins, then kneels, going under the cabinet and pulling out an old fashioned push button phone with a long coiled cord from handset to the telephone itself. The cord from the phone to the jack was also super long, so the phone could reach literally anyplace in the house. He drags the phone to the couch and sets it down on the cushion, then he returns to the kitchen, takes his tray and heads for his bedroom, calling out. “The house is all yours, Tris! We’ll even piss out of the window!” then he pauses. “Never mind, the glare tells me we won’t.” and, laughing, he closes the bedroom door firmly behind him, noting that he has closed them in with a good two minutes to spare.
Tony Penhall made himself comfortable in the living room of the apartment he shared with his father. He found it amusing that he, Mason and Tristan were about to do this completely outdated thing, and that he was the one who could make it happen, even though he was the only one of the three of them NOT grounded. Because of his and his father’s relationship with India Tor and Kagiso Jackson, his was one of the houses that had signed up for three-way calling when the island had been cut off and had been forced from necessity to create its own telephone company. Now a lot of houses on the island had those old fashioned phone jacks, from the days before cell phones. It was the newer houses, like Tristan’s that had them installed after the island had been separated. Bowl of popcorn and bottle of soda at hand, Tony picked up the phone and, looking at the notes on his cell phone, dialed Mason Stanley’s landline.
Mason Stanley was not happy to be grounded. For him that ALWAYS meant he was stripped of every electronic product that he owned. And that meant being stripped of nearly everything except his bed and his clothes. His parents knew the best way to torture him. But he was glad that old fashioned analog phones didn’t count as electronics in his fathers mind. Now he took the phone from its place on the counter by the back door and dragged it into the garage, setting it on the concrete steps. Then he went back in the kitchen and brought a bottle of pop and a large bag of potato chips into the garage as well. Settling into a beanbag chair he’s thrown in there earlier, he put the phone in front of him and stared at it until it rang. Then he snatched it up. “Tony?” he breathed.
“Yea. Who else would it be?” Tony asked.
“Hell if I know. This thing has no caller ID on it.” Mason rolled his eyes. “Now you CAN call Tristan .. eh?”
Tony sounded confident. “Yea. Just hold on a minute …” it sounded like the line went dead,
But then Mason heard ringing followed by Tony’s voice. “Now he just has to answer…”
Tristan looked very grateful for his parents efforts, especially Michael and laughed at his piss out the window joke. The door closes and in no time, the phone rings. With fascination he answered “Hello?” He had all his painted figures and dice lined up and his character sheet ready.
Tony smiled when he heard Tristan's voice. “Hey man! I got Mason here, too. Say hello, Firebug.”
Mason snorts. “Oh shut up, Tony! I’m grounded until the first of next month!!” he nearly whines. “You two are free … free to live life in a modern age I am stuck in the damn Eighties!” he sighs in exasperation. “So what have you guys been up to?” being without technology has been hard on him, and it’s only been a week.
Tristan cracks up at Tony "Firebug...nice." He looks at the phone and sighs "No face time or emotes here. He pauses. “Uh well if it makes you feel better Mason, I'm grounded from my VR headset....but I still have my other stuff. Hey guys who's the DM for this one?"
Tony raises his brows. “Hold on!” he exclaims, sitting up, even though no one can see him do it. “YOU got grounded? The Japanese Golden Child?” not that he could talk, he didn’t get in all that much trouble himself. Usually … it was Mason.
Mason sighs, staring at the garage wall. “I know it’s weird!” he complains and then blinks. “Yea .. what did YOU get in trouble for?” he asks, genuinely curious. “Walk in on your parents?” Both of them had ignored the question of DM because … well .. Tristan in trouble doesn’t happen a whole lot. That was worth a break in the play they hadn’t even started yet.
Tristan laughed nervously. It was meant to be a one off comment, not put him on the spot. "Geez you guys...Japanese golden child?" He scoffs. "I was busted for gaming really late..school night. My mom...anyways, who's the DM?" He suddenly really wanted to get this campaign going before they grilled him any more. He started throwing out ideas real fast "We could play that dragon hoard one again.....or the haunted dungeon." He shook his dice for dramatic effect.
Tony blinked. He could hear the dice, but he was still distracted. “Nuh uh. You were gaming late on a school night? Late as in what? Midnight? And by your Mom?” That he could see. Tristan’s mom could get kinda scary. Dragon hordes could wait. Gossip between friends was always more interesting, he felt.
Mason nodded. “Yes Japanese Golden Child. You hardly ever get in trouble and this has to be the first time you got grounded. And yea … What is late? One?” he’d been busted by his Mom at one in the morning … It was at least a week without electronics so he was very careful NOT to get busted. He was usually the one in trouble and so was eager for info on any of the other two doing it.
Tristan smacked the dice against his forehead "God you guys must be bored.....it was 4. Four am. I was gaming with people in other time zones......just whatever guys. It happens." He cleared his throat and opened his D&D books "So I'm thinking either way we go we're going to need a healer right. So I worked up my Celestial Warlock Character......unless we want more stealth? What do you think?"
Tony’s eyes flew to the window, as they couldn’t fly to the screen of his smartphone. “Four in the MORNING?” he sounded shocked and impressed. “Dayumn brutha! What were you playing at four in the morning? Hell, my Dad woulda smacked my ass back to Africa!”
Mason's eyes grew big. “Oh man! Four in the morning.” he lets out a loud, low whistle. “Yea .. what were you playing and with WHO cause it wasn’t either of us?” he moved his hand back and forth between himself and the garage wall. “And your mom caught you? And I didn’t hear her screaming at you?” now he sounds mildly disappointed.
Tristan's eyes went wide. Would they ever let up? "You've never stayed up until four am? Tony? With all your music life? Mason...with all your mad hack skills? I was just goofing around in VR chat." He decided to try and say it without saying it all, at least for now "I hang out with someone from Australia...it's a challenging time zone. We were exploring a Star Wars world. You can role play and fly ships and stuff. I have a millennium falcon now....i had to at least take it out for a spin...."
Tony scoffed. “On a SCHOOL NIGHT? Nooooo way! Back. To. Africa.” he insists. “Last time I tried to get a drink of water after midnight on a school night my Dad threatened to smack to black off me.” he pffts. He arches his brows. “Australia. Who you know in AUSTRALIA?” he demands.
Mason shook his head. “Not till FOUR and I would NEVER do it on a VR headset. It cuts off your peripheral vision. You can’t see your enemies coming until they start screaming.” he pauses. “Can’t even HEAR them and you guys live in one of the tiny houses, which means you didn’t hear your mom coming out of her room.” he narrows his eyes. A pointless facial expression on a landline telephone. “And … Australia .. the prison place, right?”
Tristan just shakes his head and laughs at Tony's first bit and then defends himself to Mason "It's not that blocked out hearing wise....but yeah that night I didn't hear mom right away. My... friend.. did...and now I'm not using it for awhile. I guess I'm not so golden after all. But she didn't smack me back to Japan..." He jokes "I met a guy from Australia and we game in VR chat. As far as I know he's not in prison since he seems to have pretty unlimited internet access. Do they have that in prisons down under?" He's being intentionally flippant now "Have I answered enough questions to earn a D&D game yet lads?" He was aware he paused before the word friend but hoped it slipped by. "I'm really thinking about that dragon hoard. We didn't fully collect on that on the last round." Tristan thumbed through his D&D book, willing them to move ahead.
Tony has moved to the edge of the couch he is sitting on. Some would say he is the sharpest of all three of them. Very observant. “Nah, nah, nah, my brutha.” He basically shoots any ideas of D&D for a while. “Sounds to ME like…” and he breaks into an old Biz Marke song "He got .. got what you need .. but you say he just a friend.... Oh you say he just a friend..." he raps, making arm movements no one can see. Then he speaks. “And we ‘sposed to be your friends and you don’t wanna tell us nothin?” he protests. “The dragon hoard can WAIT.” and he folds his arms stubbornly, the handset of the phone between his ear and shoulder.
Mason is about to give up, not willing to push too much more. He’s in enough trouble with his parents, he isn’t going to push his few friends. Then Tony speaks and raps and his eyes go wide. “What?” he drags the single word question out for a good five seconds.
Tristan slams his book shut and gives up "Fuck you Tony." He says, although jovially and then adds "And fuck you Mason." Then he inhales and admits "Ok. I have a boyfriend. A gorgeous hilarious Australian boyfriend. Are you happy now assholes?" Tristan takes a bow he thinks no one can see but as he rises from it he sees his mother emerging from the bathroom and looking at him with wide eyes "Uh oh shit...."
Stephanie gives him a side eye and then smiles at him and gestures to the phone whispering "We'll talk later..." and then head back into the other room with Michael.
Tristan almost hyperventilates "My mom heard me....I hadn't told her yet....shit shit shit shit..."
Tony listens and smiles. “Who’d have fucking thought YOU would be the first of us to get a any kind of friend.” he marvels and laughs until Tristan mentions that his mom heard. “Shit! Do you have to go? Is she gonna be mad cause you have a boyfriend? You're not that much Mommy’s Little Angel, are you?” he pauses again. “Wait. Your DAD knows? Or neither knows and just your mom heard you?”
Mason is slack jawed. “Holy hell … that's AWESOME!” he marvels. Then hearing about Tristan’s Mom he quickly throws out lines. “Tell her we’re playing some stupid game .. not D&D something … else. Like some fucked up version of Truth or Dare.” Mason always feels the need to toss out excuses when he is caught doing … pretty much anything.
Tristan winced about his mom “Yeah Dad knew first. He used to be gay...well whatever I guess he’s bi. I mean it doesn’t really matter. Love is love right? Not that Pancake and I say the L word... still too new. Sorry Pancake is his VR name. He’s Jo, short for Banjo. Weird I know but common down there. He’s 14. He writes his own comic. It’s online now...I’ll send you guys a link. Thanks for being cool. I knew you would be. I was just shy about it all.”
Tony’s brows raise until they seem they will vanish into his short afro. “Dad, huh?” he's only known Tristan since the disaster that cut Alexandra off from the rest of the world, but his step father had always been ‘Mike’. “Well you can’t always just look at someone and say “Oh he’s gay.” he rolls his eyes. “And who cares, anyway.” he listens and smiles and then realizes no one can see him doing it. “That is SO COOL man and yea, send the link so we can read the comic.” and before Mason can say anything about it, he adds. “I’ll print it out and have my dad give it to your dad since you’ll be living in the 1950’s till May.” and he smiles again. “You’re my friend. We’re all weird and freaky … but we’re friends.”
Mason chuckles, although he didn’t catch the name change of Tristans Dad. “I love his names .. both of them! It IS cool …” and he is about to protest when Tony offers to print out the comics so he can see them. “That’s what friends are for .. and don’t sing it Tony for the love of fuck!”
Tristan laughs and laughs at Mason's request not to sing directed at Tony. He didn't know why he'd held back on telling them about Jo. Of course they were cool with it. He had the coolest friends on the planet "You guys are awesome. And yeah Mike is Dad. He's been really cool about everything." He blows out a big breath "Alright anyone else's love life need dissecting before we get to our game. Tony? Any more charades to birthday girls we need to know about? She's pretty fuckin into you man....Mason you've never talked about girls. Do you like girls? I shouldn't assume anything." He opens his book again figuring they'll eventually get there.
Tony flips Mason the bird before remembering they aren’t on video. "Fine." he snorts and pauses, then breaks out in another song. "Friends! How many of us have them? Friends! Ones we can depend on?" because ... singing is what Tony does. Then he catches himself sticking his tongue out at a Mason that can’t see him, but it's a good thing as Tristan turning all the romance stuff back on him makes him blush. He sighs. “Daphne?” like Tris could mean anyone else. “She’s a’ight .. I guess…” and then he sighs and just out and out confesses. “OK, you told yours, so It’s only fair I tell mine. I was going to ask her out when we got reconnected. You know, take her into Vancouver for a movie or something. But my Dad got wind of Covid and wasn’t having it, even though he took HIS girlfriend out for a weekend. Then the ferry stopped .. and the stay-at-home shit started so … no date." he shrugs. “Cause I don’t know how we can go on a date like in Zoom or anything. So I gotta wait it out, I guess…” he fumbles with an awkwardness that only his friends and family are allowed to see.
Mason listens to both of them and rolls his eyes, especially at Tony choosing a DIFFERENT friend centered song to sing. “I like motherboards.” he announces. “And if I could find someone who understands computers, I might take an interest in them. But … I dunno. Boys .. girls … whatever.” he snorts. “As long as they’re more careful with a soldering iron than I am.”
Tristan sets his dice case down emphatically on the table and it gives a one shake rattle "I knew it! I knew you liked her. And you can totally have a Zoom date...or try VR Chat. You can do it on a computer screen just like a desktop game man. It's kinda like going out somewhere. You could even find her some unicorns...upload some farting sounds...." He teases. Then he shifts to Mason "Motherboards huh? And more tame and sensible than you...we should write you a depressing personal ad Mace." He looked down at his book and dice "So do you guys want to kick some dragon ass now or what?"
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