This cafe became their place. Every Saturday they'd meet there, chat about the world and life and jazz and everything in between, until one day, Peter developed a sense of adventure.
PETER: so i think we should meet
ANNABETH: meet? as in 'meet' meet?
PETER: yea
ANNABETH: hmm, i guess we could
This four-line conversation was actually not his, though. I was over at his place that night and jacked the computer for a minute, while he went to the bathroom. When he came back, he was steaming, but felt better after he realized he had a date.
From here, things were surprisingly typical. They went out, found the same kind of easy conversation they had in their second lives carried over, and began to fall in love. Matter of fact, they were increasingly nauseating as they got closer to the big day. That's right; they got hitched. They even had wax representations of their avatars cast and placed on top of the cake.
Casual Conversation
A month after that, I found myself at their house. Peter had gotten a much-needed promotion at his IT job and had purchased a brand new house in a little development outside of town. It was small, but it was their home.
The buzzer on the oven dinged, and Annabeth jumped up to grab it. Peter quickly followed, grabbing her waist and nibbling on her neck as they disappeared through the kitchen door (like I said, nauseating).
"OK, dinner's ready!" called Annabeth, her voice shuddering from a stifled giggle. I sighed, knowing I'd have to put up with their antics for the rest of the night. I stood and began to follow, but a noise from the computer distracted me. Peter had left Second Life on, and someone had started to chat with his avatar. I sat down, examining the blonde character that had begun the conversation.
ME: Hi there. Who's this?
HER: this is Bella. is this Peter?
ME: No, this is his friend Tom. He stepped away for a sec.
HER: oh, Tom! i'm his cousin. he's talked a bit about you.
ME: Really?
HER: yep. said we'd get along too.
ME: Working so far. ;)
"Tom, you coming?" came Annabeth's voice from the other room. I said I'd be a minute.
As the dinner in the kitchen started to cool, I wondered if this accidental interaction was the first chapter in my own gamer love story, and I hoped it was. And, as another chime sounded a new message, I smiled.
Tom Rhodes is a writer and filmmaker currently living in Ohio. He can be reached through Tom [dot] Rhod [at] Gmail [dot] com.
