"Harry Truman, Doris Day,

Red China, Johnny Ray,

South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe Dimaggio,

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon,

Studebaker, Television,

North Korea, South Korea,

Marilyn Monroe!"

Eighties Evolution blared from the radio on the counter as Bobby tried in vain to get the spot off the table. And when he said 'the spot',he meant "THE" spot. That damn thing had been there since he arrived, and it wouldn't budge. It drove him NUTS trying to get rid of it… and it was showing. He had locked himself in the dairy cooler four times already that day: a new record.

At least the music helped a little. Billy Joel was one of those sponge singers, as he liked to call them. There was a rougher, depressing side to his music, and then there were the pop tunes and sing alongs. This one, for instance, was cool: it was like a history lesson in 3 minutes. The abrasive guitar riff (did he use that word right?) helped him get into a scrubbing rythm, although it did very little to help.

The door bell rang, and Bobby didn't even need to look up to know who it was. Vito always came in at the same time every morning, so it was easy to recognize him.

"Hello, Bobby!" he said cheerfully, walking up to the counter. "You haven't seen your grandpa around, have you?"

"Sorry, Vito, I haven't…" he said, not looking up from the spot. "I think he was upstairs a few minutes ago. Do you mind waiting?"

"Oh, not at all! I got a new scoop on old lady Agatha last night I've been DYING to tell him! Did you know that she-"

The door to the bodega flew open, knocking the doorbell off. Roberto stood in the door, breathing heavily.

"BOBBY! -gasp- I-Im here on -gasp- time! I made it! -wheeze-"

"Dad?" Bobby asked, walking over to his father. "What are you doing?"

Roberto looked up, raising his eyebrows.

"Uhh… Hector said I had to be here today to start my job. 10:30, right?"

Ooooohhh… now that he mentioned it, Bobby remembered. He wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer when it came to memory. It had been a full week since his father re-entered his life, and it had been relatively calm. They had gone to the park a few times, eaten at some street carts along the way… Roberto had told him all about his world travels. He particularly liked the one about him being attacked by a moose in Canada, but there were other classics, too.

"Uhh, yeah, you're on time. Why don't you go upstairs and get Grandpa?"

He nodded and began to head out the door, picking up the bell and placing it on its hook again.

"Oh, and tell him Vito needs to tell him something!" Vito yelled as he turned the corner. He focused back in on Bobby, now having another conversation piece.

"So, that's your papí, huh?"

"Yep," he replied, nodding his head. "He's been… interesting, to say the least."

"Oh, I can imagine. My dad was the same way; one minute he'd be telling someone about his soda cap collection, next thing you know, BAM! Yelling his head off!"

He snapped his fingers to represent the yelling, and the comment made Bobby chuckle.

"Yeah, he's a good guy… I sure did miss him. -sigh- You know, Vito, I've seen a lot of stuff like this on TV where the dad leaves in the end, but I don't think this is like that. I think he actually wants to be a father again."

"Ehh, you can't be so certain, Nino. This stuff takes time to figure out. Has he been doing stuff with you?"

"Oh, yeah! We went down to Hanks Original the other day and had corn dogs," he said, walking in front of the counter to grab a broom. "He told me about how he went all around the world! Did you know he met the Queen?"

"...Really?!"

"Well, of the New Orleans Mardi Gras festival, but hey! You can't be too picky!"

Vito gave a hearty laugh, which made Bobby smile. Getting Vito to genuinely laugh was like a video game sidequest; it wasn't a piece of cake. Hector did it all the time, but with most people it was a fake chuckle.

"And that sister of yours, have they been hanging out?"

"Well…" he said, trailing off. Roberto and Ronnie Anne were… well, they weren't exactly getting off on the right foot to start. They had hung out once, and from what she had told him, it didn't go well. AT ALL.

"It's been alright," he said, giving a little white lie. "I think that he's just kinda worried about getting to know her, you know? I mean, they've never met before a week ago…"

"True, true… I wish I could relate to that, but I really can't. My dad was there for me and my brother until he died… he was a good man. Cold at times, but had a heart of gold…"

The door swung open, and Roberto and Hector walked in. Vito snapped out of his reminiscing, shaking his head.

"Hector! Just the man I've been needing to see!"

He walked over to Hector, who became distracted.

"Vito! I've GOT to tell you what Rosa said yesterday! Oh, Bobby, show your father the ropes, would you? I have to go sign off with the mango guy in a minute."

"No problem, Grampa!" he said, turning to his dad. Roberto was now wearing a green apron, contrasting over his dirty khakis and shirt.

"Yeah, uhh, sorry I was up there so long. Me and your sister got a little sidetracked…"

"No problem. Uh, Dad, I don't mean to be rude, but don't you own any other clothes?

"Hmm… yeah, I do, but they're not exactly good looking on me. It's hard to find clothes that fit well, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it…" he said, eying him suspiciously. "So, why don't we start with the cash register?"

The Casagrande Apartment…

Kick! Kick! Roundhouse! Punch! FINISH HIM!"

Ronnie Anne Santiago sat in her small closet-turned-bedroom doing what she normally did during the summer: playing video games. This one was one of her favorites: Normal Combat. There really was nothing normal about it, however - she was playing as Morty the Talking Fish Head in the underground city of Diamopolis. Oh, and did she mention she was fighting George Washington?

Yeah, it was pretty much an acid trip from start to finish… but hey, if it passed time, did it really matter? After all, she had nothing better to do. She COULD be trying on clothes with Carlota, or be a prate with C.J, OR, worst of all, be helping Carl with his pick up lines. Blech… and she thought Bobby and his girlfriend, Lori, were disgusting.

She heard footsteps in the hallway and paused her game. Someone had walked up the front staircase, and her aunt, who was out with her mother clothes shopping, had left her with clear instructions to monitor the hall. Granted, this would be the first time she did today, but video games trumped all other concerns.

She peeked her head out to find… oh, no. Him again.

Roberto stood in the hallway, timidly holding his hands together. A green apron covered his not so white shirt and brown cargo shorts, and his hair was curled into small dreadlocks. He saw Ronnie Anne, and before she could duck back into her room, he had made his way over.

"Hola, Ronalda… is Hector-"

"Yeah. In the back room."

"Oh," he said dumbly. "Uhh, thanks…"

He walked into the living room, and Ronnie Anne fell back on her bed. That guy was EVERYWHERE nowadays… one moment she could be minding her own buisness, and BAM! Roberto would be there out of nowhere. It wasn't just weird, it was kinda getting creepy at this point.

Yeah, she knew that he was her… -gulp- DAD, but that didn't really affect how she saw him. He was the definition of a deadbeat if she had ever seen one; scrawny, rat like, and overall… a LOSER. He was just so… so awkward around her. And she didn't like that one bit.

Don't get him wrong, he had been at least trying his best. He showed up about three days ago and asked her if she wanted to go get ice cream downtown by his apartment. She WAS gonna say no, but a quick glance from her mother convinced her to go. It was actually pretty fun at first - they had gone across the city on the subway, which she barely ever used. The ice cream wasn't half bad, either… the conversation, though…

Three Days Ago…

"So…" Roberto said as his daughter ate her orange sherbert. "What's something that I should know about you?"

She looked up with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

"You know, like, something that could help me get to know you better, you know? Like, a fun fact?"

"Uhh… well, I like to skateboard, I guess…"

It was his turn to look at her confused.

"Huh. Skateboarding, you said?"

"Yeah," she said with a scoop of her sherbert in her mouth. "I like to skateboard. So what?"

"Norhing, nothing! It's just, like, I've never really seen… you know, a girl be interested in that sort of thing…"

She looked at him, her eyes now slanted instead of open.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! Don't get me wrong, I mean, I think that's cool! Just that for me, at least, the girls I've known haven't been interested in-"

"Wait, wait, wait. So you're telling me you've never seen a girl who likes doing fun things?"

Roberto visibly gulped. This was not going the way he had hoped.

"Well, I don't know your definition of fun, that's the thing. You have to understand, I came from a family where women cooked and cleaned. And when I've been around the world, the men usually do all of the activity. Do you get that?"

"I guess so… but why? I mean, were the girls you knew happy with that?"

"Well, from what I knew…" he explained, biting a piece of his cone off. "Like a lot of other guys, I didn't really care about girls. We lived for ourselves, not for others."

Even after his explanation, Ronnie Anne didn't let her eyes off of him.

"Well, do you still feel that way?"

"...What?"

"You know, do you still feel like making yourself happy? Instead of others?"

"Uhh… that's not easy to-"

"Or do you still feel the same way? I mean, judging from you going off and leaving us, I don't think so…"

"Now hold on a minute-"

"What WERE you thinking, exactly? Did you not care about my mother enough to stay and raise your own KID? Who does that?"

"Listen, Ronalda…" Roberto said with slanted eyes.

"No, YOU listen! I don't know who you are, Roberto! I don't know you and I don't WANT to! You think you can just come back and get me to like you?"

"No! W-what do you think I'm doing here, trying to be nice to you?!" he said, standing up. His eyes were now raised, looking at her with shock.

"I don't know, trying to BUY my love with ice cream?!"

"Seriously?! Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not!" she said, standing up and walking over to him. She pointed her index finger and stuck it into her father's stomach, which made him look down in shock.

"Roberto Santiago, you may be my father, but you are no dad of mine! A real dad wouldn't have left his family because of some stupid midlife crisis he was having! How do I know you aren't gonna leave again, anyway?! I don't NEED you to know me, and I don't WANT you to know me! So don't even bother!"

She walked away, leaving Roberto standing shocked at his table. A few people were staring at the spectacle, but they pretended to not notice when he began to look around.

Present Day...

Roberto wasn't mad at all afterwards, she had learned. Her mother had called him after she got home and made her apologize to him, which she did… with crossed fingers. He said a whole lot of junk about understanding and other bull… she didn't buy it. And she probably never would…

Well, speak of the devil himself. Roberto peeked his head into the room, staring at the TV screen. Ronnie Anne looked over at him, her eyes narrowing again.

"What?"

"...Is that… Normal Combat?"

She raised her eyebrows. She looked at the screen as if to know herself, even though she knew what she was playing.

"Uhh, yeah. How did you know that?"

"Geez… you never told me you liked video games, Ronalda."

"Yeah, I do. Why do you care?"

"Well… I may or may not have played when I was younger," he said as he walked into the room (without even askibg! Who did this guy think he was?!). "Mind if I watch?"

"Uhh… sure. Just sit on the...floor…"

He plopped down next to her on her bed, and before she knew what had happened, he had already opened one of her orange ice cream pops and taken a bite. He only noticed her incredulous stare after a few seconds, to which he gently put the bar down on its wrapper. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the screen.

Minutes passed as she struggled to beat her opponent. She had tried almost every kick, punch and combo trick in the book, but in the end, America's first president stood victorious.

"Ugh!" she said, throwing down her controller. "This guy is impossible to beat! I've been trying for WEEKS and I still haven't got him!"

Roberto listened to his daughter rant for a few minutes before clearing his throat.

"-ahem- Uhh… do you think that, you know… I could try?"

She stared at her father as if he had just told her Santa wasn't real.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! I mean, I'll probably lose, but I haven't played this since I was a kid… it's a Katari 500, right?"

"Yeah… do you know the controls?"

"Eh, I'll pick it up eventually," he said as he took the controller from her hands. "I just need to clear the rust off a little."

He clicked Start, and the city of Diamopolis generated around his character. The father of our country rode in on a white horse and hopped off, assuming a fighting stance.

"ONE TWO FIGHT!"

Ronnie Anne had started to play a game on her phone, ready to take over when Roberto was done. There was no way he was going to beat George on his first try; it was impossible unless you knew-

"VICTORY! PLAYER ONE WINS!"

Her head shot up in amazement. Morty the Floating Fish Head stood over a battered George Washington, his fists raised in victory. Ronnie Anne turned to her father, this time not with scorn, but amazement.

"H-how did you do that?!"

"Eh, I just used the ultimate power move. You know that one, right?"

"Uhh… uh, yeah! Yeah, totally! Should've thought of that before…"

What the actual hell was the "Ultimate Power Move?!" She had worked for WEEKS trying to beat that stupid powdered wig prick, and then her DAD wins on the first…

Did she just call him Dad?

"Uhh… do you want the controller back?"

She looked over. Her father was handing over the controls to her again… as if she was even worthy of playing after that performance.

"No! No, you should play another round. You probably just had beginners luck!"

He chuckled, pulling the controller back to his chest.

"Honey, you're talking to the same man that beat Super Mario Bros 5 hours after it came out. I'm no beginner here."

Wow. Just… wow.

Roberto had just pressed the start button again when Grandpa poked his head in through the door.

"Roberto! What are you doing?! You're supposed to be working!"

"Oh!" he yelped, jumping. "Hector! I was just, uhh, coming upstairs to get you! Uhh…"

"Really? Because it looks like you're playing video games…"

"Uhh… Vito wants to see you!"

Hector evil glare lightened at the mention of his friend.

"Well, why didn't you tell me?! Come on! I have to show you the ropes, anyways!"

"Yeah, heh…" he said as he put the controller down. Ronnie Anne picked it up as he turned back to her.

"Hey, when I'm not busy, we gotta play each other. I bet I could show you some new tricks!"

He turned and walked down the stairs with Hector, leaving Ronnie Anne sitting in her room dumbfounded. At last, she gave a small, toothless smile.

Maybe her father… Dad, was kind of cool after all...