Local Hero

Corporal.” Mitch slapped the boy’s shoulder as a Phaser II rocket disintegrated in a flash of colored light.
    “It’s your turn.” Radley relinquished the controls to his superior officer. “Watch out for the sensor missiles.”
    “Don’t worry. I’m a veteran.”
    “We’re going to beat the high score.” Radley tore his eyes away from the screen long enough to look at his mother. “Then we can put our initials up. Isn’t this a neat place? It’s got everything.”
    Everything, Hester thought, including some seamy-looking characters in leather and tattoos. The machine behind her let out a high-pitched scream. “Just stay close, okay?”
    “Okay, Corporal, we’re only seven hundred points away from the high score. Keep your eyes peeled for nuclear satellites.”
    “Aye, aye, sir.” Radley clenched his jaw and took the controls.
    “Good reflexes,” Mitch said to Hester as he watched Radley control his ship with one hand and fire surface-to-air missiles with the other.
    “Josh has one of those home video games. Rad loves to go over and play things like this.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth as Radley’s ship barely missed annihilation. “I can never figure out how he can tell what’s going on. Oh, look, he’s passed the high score.”
    They continued to watch in tense silence as Radley fought bravely to the last man. As a finale, the screen exploded in brilliant fireworks of sound and light.
    “A new record.” Mitch hoisted Radley in the air. “This calls for a field promotion. Sergeant, inscribe your initials.”
    “But you got more points than I did.”
    “Who’s counting? Go ahead.”
    Face flushed with pride, Radley clicked the button that ran through the alphabet. R.A.W.
A
for Allan, Mitch thought, and said nothing.
    “My initials spell
raw
, and backward they spell
war
—pretty neat, huh?”
    “Pretty neat,” Mitch agreed. “Want to give it a shot, Hester?”
    “No, thanks. I’ll just watch.”
    “Mom doesn’t like to play,” Radley confided. “Her palms sweat.”
    “Your palms sweat?” Mitch repeated with a grin.
    Hester sent a telling look in Radley’s direction. “It’s the pressure. I can’t take being responsible for the fate of the world. I know it’s a game,” she said before Mitch could respond. “But I get, well, caught up.”
    “You’re terrific, Mrs. Wallace.” He kissed her as Radley looked on and considered.
    It made him feel funny to see Mitch kiss his mother. He wasn’t sure if it was a good funny or a bad funny. Then Mitch dropped a hand to his shoulder. It always made Radley feel nice when Mitch put his hand there.
    “Okay, what’ll it be next, the Amazon jungles, medieval times, a search for the killer shark?”
    “I like the one with the ninja. I saw a ninja movie at Josh’s once—well, almost did. Josh’s mom turned it off because one of the women was taking her clothes off and stuff.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Mitch stifled a laugh as Hester’s mouth dropped open. “What was the name?”
    “Never mind.” Hester gripped Radley’s hand. “I’m sure Josh’s parents just made a mistake.”
    “Josh’s father thought it was about throwing stars and kung fu. Josh’s mom got mad and made him take it back to the video place and get something else. But I still like ninjas.”
    “Let’s see if we can find a free machine.” Mitch fell into step beside Hester. “I don’t think he was marked for life.”
    “I’d still like to know what ‘and stuff’ means.”
    “Me, too.” He swung an arm around her shoulders to steer her through a clutch of teenagers. “Maybe we could rent it.”
    “I’ll pass, thanks.”
    “You don’t want to see
Naked Ninjas from Nagasaki?
” When she turned around to stare at him, Mitch held out both hands, palms up. “I made it up. I swear.”
    “Hmmm.”
    “Here’s one. Can I play this one?”
    Mitch continued to grin at Hester as he dug out quarters.
    The time passed so that Hester almost stopped hearing the noise from both machines and people. To placate Radley she played a few of the less intense games, ones that didn’t deal with world domination or universal destruction. But for the most part she watched him, pleased to see him enjoying what was for him a real night on the town.
    They must look like a family, she thought as Radley and Mitch bent over the controls in a head-to-head duel. She wished she still believed in such things. But to her, families and lifetime commitments