Later on that evening, Lucy and Genny were sitting across from each other at a booth in the arcade. They were each nursing a beer. Tim was in the arcade with Alex and Tyler. Genny and Lucy could hear cheering and they both smiled. Lucy sipped her beer.

"I'm glad they're having fun," Lucy commented.

"I think Tim is having more fun than the boys," Genny said with a chuckle.

"Thank you for coming out with us tonight."

"Trust me, I was happy I didn't have to cook," Genny told her. "Who knew that half of adulting would be figuring out what to eat for dinner every night."

Lucy laughed. "That is a challenge."

"And I could tell you needed some girl time," Genny added.

"It is nice to have female companionship. I worked so much in New York that I didn't have many close friends there and I don't know anywhere here so…"

"Well, you know me. And I can tell we're going to become fast friends."

"Me too," Lucy said with a smile. She had liked Genny from the first time they met at the little league field. The woman had an easy way about her and Lucy hoped she would quickly become a close friend. It would be nice to have a female companion and confidant. And it didn't hurt that Genny's brother happened to be kind, handy, and incredibly attractive.

"From what Tim told me, your ex seems like an ass," Genny commented. "What he said to you today? That was uncalled for."

Lucy sighed. "Yeah, I know. The sad thing is he was never a bad guy in our relationship. I think I stayed with him for as long as I did because he was a nice guy. He just fell much harder for me than I ever did for him and he's having a hard time with it. But I like to believe that things happen for a reason. Adopting Alex, breaking up with Chris, even my aunt dying. Not that I'm happy about that last one, but It all brought me here to this moment."

"I like that outlook. I guess the same could be said about me and my ex-husband."

"You said it was an amicable divorce?" Lucy prompted.

"It was. We met in college on the West coast. He was from here. I fell head over heels and by the time we both graduated, we were engaged and I decided to move with him back to his hometown. We were happy for a while, but we both grew up and started to drift apart. There was no big scandal or fighting. We just weren't happy anymore. But he's a great dad and we're friends now so, like you said, everything that has happened in my life has led me here and I'm not mad about it. And it's nice having Tim here."

"It is," Lucy concurred.

Genny lifted an eyebrow at her. "So what is happening between you and my brother?"

Before Lucy could answer Tim walked over, dropping himself into the booth next to Lucy. Genny immediately noticed that he hadn't chosen to sit next to her and she smiled just a little.

"How's Pac-man going?" Genny asked.

"We whooped his butt!" Tyler exclaimed, racing over to the table with Alex in tow.

"Don't say butt," Genny scolded.

"I thought you were a Pac-man expert," Lucy teased as she looked over at Tim.

"Maybe I should have mentioned that the last time I played Pac-man was when I was ten."

"Come on, mom, your turn!" Tyler shouted.

"Unlike your Uncle Tim, I didn't spend my childhood playing video games," Genny replied. "I don't think I've ever played Pac-man."

"We'll teach you!" Tyler said.

"Yeah, you all should come into the arcade with us!" Alex begged, literally tugging on Lucy's sleeve. "It's fun!"

"Ok, ok, we'll all go into the arcade," Lucy agreed. "After we have some pizza."

"Pizza!" The boys shouted simultaneously.

A waitress brought over two large pizzas. One with plain cheese and the other pepperoni. Alex sat down next to Lucy, causing her to scooch in a little closer to Tim. Their thighs bumped against each other and Lucy muttered an apology. Tim waved it off, not at all irritated by the sudden close contact.

"Mom, Alex said that he used to ride the subway all the time," Tyler said, biting off a large piece of pizza. "Can we go on a subway?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Genny said, handing him a napkin. "But yes, someday we can go on a subway."

"Alex said he'll take me to all of the cool places in New York," Tyler continued.

"Yeah, like the deli down the street from our old apartment that had the best chocolate cream pie," Alex explained. "And there's a huge museum with dinosaur skeletons and old things. It's awesome!"

"Can we go to the museum, mom?" Tyler begged.

"Maybe this summer," Genny replied.

"We could all go together," Lucy said. "I'd be happy to play tourguide."

"That sounds great," Genny replied. She looked at Tim. "Maybe we can squeeze in before you go back home."

"Yeah, maybe," Tim said, glancing over at Lucy and then concentrating back on his pizza. The truth was that he would love to go to New York with Lucy, Alex, and his family. The problem was, he wasn't sure if he would be around long enough to go.

As they all ate some pizza and the boys chatted about Pokemon and baseball and other things, Coach Chuck, the boys' Little League coach, approached the table with a second man beside him. The two men looked very similar and Lucy guessed it was the coach's brother.

"Hello boys," Chuck said cheerily.

"Hey coach!" The boys chorused, their mouths full of pizza.

"Hey Chuck," Genny greeted.

"You boys ready for the game this weekend?"

"Yup! We're gonna crush the other team!" Tyler exclaimed.

"That's what I like to hear," Chuck said.

"Chuck, this is my brother Tim visiting from California," Genny introduced. "You didn't get the chance to officially meet at practice the other day."

Chuck shook Tim's hand. "That's why I came over here actually," Chuck explained. "This is my brother, Chip. He's the chief of police in town."

Chip shook Tim's hand as well and everyone exchanged pleasantries.

"Would you two gentlemen like any pizza?" Lucy asked. "We have plenty."

"No thanks," Chuck said. "We're waiting for our kids and all the grandkids to arrive. It's my niece's ninth birthday."

"How nice," Genny commented.

"Anyway, I came over to introduce you all to Chip for a reason, not to just interrupt your dinner," Chuck continued. "Tim, my wife heard from Genny that you're a police officer in Los Angeles?"

"Yeah, that's right," Tim answered, wondering where the conversation was headed. "I'm a sergeant."

"Well, as Chuck said, I'm the chief of police in town," Chip explained. "And one of our deputies who usually runs our gun safety classes went out on maternity leave a bit earlier than expected. We haven't found a replacement for her yet. Would you be interested?"

"In running a gun safety course?" Tim clarified.

"It's a six week course and it runs once a week. It's a requirement for all of our newest police recruits from here in town and a few of the neighboring towns. And it's recommended for folks in town who want to own a legal firearm. It's pretty basic stuff. There's a manual you follow and everything. Now I know you're here on vacation and to visit family, but it's only once a week and you'd be helping us out. I'm assuming your gun safety certification is up to date?"

"Yes, sir, but…"

In the way that Tim's posture had changed since Chip had brought up the mention of guns, Lucy could tell that his back was suddenly bothering him. It didn't take a therapist to understand that handling a gun again could be traumatic for Tim after what he had been through.

"Just think it over," Chip said. "Here's my card." Taking a business card out of the breast pocket of his shirt, he handed it to Tim. "The course starts next week."

"Thank you," Tim said, pocketing the card. "I'll think about it."

"Enjoy your dinner," Chuck said.

"Enjoy the birthday party," Genny replied.

Once Chuck and Chip had walked away, Lucy looked over at him. She wanted to ask if he was ok, but she knew it wasn't the time or place. Genny watched the silent exchange between the two of them.

"Can we go back into the arcade now?" Alex asked, clearly oblivious to the tension that was forming. Tim was glad for the distraction.

"Yeah, come on, mom, it's your turn to play Pac-man!" Tyler added.

"Ok, let's go," Genny agreed.

The three adults followed Tyler and Alex into the arcade. Watching her son running off happily made Lucy forget all about the troubles she had had with Chris earlier in the day and as she looked over at Tim, who had a big smile on his face, he seemed to be doing fine as well. As Tyler and Alex brought Genny over to the Pac-man game, Lucy eyed a row of three skee ball machines.

"Pac-man may have been your game of choice, but skee ball was always my favorite," Lucy commented.

"Want a match?" Tim asked.

"You're on," Lucy agreed.

They both paid the money into two games beside each other and the balls were released.

"How about a wager?" Tim suggested. "The loser has to buy the next round of beers."

"Wait a minute, you asked me out. What kind of gentleman asks a lady out and doesn't pay?" Lucy teased.

"Oh, I asked you out, did I?"

Lucy realized the error in her phrasing. Tim had asked her out, but he had also invited her son, his sister, and his nephew. It certainly wasn't anything close to a date.

"I mean, you didn't ask me out, out. You asked me to hang out. You know to get my mind off of Chris and…"

Tim laughed. "I did ask you. And I was going to pay for the beers anyway."

Lucy smiled. "That's because you're going to lose."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Lucy grabbed one of the balls and launched it up the ramp. She rolled it so hard that it hit the back of the game and bounced right back at her. She managed to catch it before it landed on the floor.

"I thought you said skee ball was your favorite," Tim remarked.

"I haven't played in a long time," Lucy said.

Tim took one of his balls and expertly rolled it up to the ramp. It hit the small hole for 40 points. He looked over at Lucy who rolled her eyes at him.

"Showoff," she mumbled.

"Here, let me show you how it's done."

Tim took a stance behind her. He put his left hand on her hip. She could feel her breath on her neck and she had to remind herself to keep breathing.

"You want to stand with your hips square to the ramp," Tim told her. He was suddenly very aware that he was very close to her. He took the ball out of her right hand. "Don't hold it so tightly. Point your arm in the direction where you want the ball to go. When you're ready, release with just enough force so that it makes it over the lip, but not enough force to send it springing back at you."

"Got it," Lucy managed to say even though her mouth was suddenly very dry.

"You ready to try it?"

"Mhmm."

Lucy could barely think. She felt his hand against her hip seering right through her clothes. His head was right next to hers. If she just turned, his lips would be within reach. Lucy tried to shake the thoughts from her mind and concentrate. With Tim's arm loosely hanging on to hers, she swung her arm back and launched the ball. It landed right in the hole that was worth 50 points.

"You got it!" Tim shouted.

"Thank you for the expert teaching," Lucy said as she picked up another ball. Reluctantly stepping away from her, Tim did the same. He tossed his ball down the ramp. It bounced and hit the 10 points by default.

"Better luck next time," Lucy commented as she launched her next ball. It fell right into one of the 100 point pockets off to the left.

"Beginner's luck," Tim said.

"We'll see."

Before Tim could throw his next ball, Lucy threw hers. She hit the 100 hole on the right side.

Tim's jaw dropped. "You played me," Tim stated, clearly impressed rather than angry.

"Maybe," Lucy said with a smile as she turned her attention back to the game. "Maybe I was a skee ball champion back in high school."

"skee ball champion, huh? Is that even a thing?"

"It was for me. I told you you were going to lose."

Tim didn't usually like to lose, but if he was going to lose to anyone, he didn't mind it being the pretty brunette who had suddenly come into his life. They both launched their balls. Lucy cheered when hers hit the 50 hole and Tim only hit the 20. Lucy did a silly dance, which made Tim burst into laughter. From across the arcade, Genny watched them and smiled.