19/
fallyn
Ididn’t want to admit it to Elliot, but being at the con for two and a half days was draining, and I’d been grateful for the excuse to cut out early. Not that I wasn’t having fun at RinCon—this was an experience I’d never forget, and I’d definitely do it again. The spectacle, the atmosphere, the collective excitement… It was all amazing.
But I’d also beenaccidentallygroped more times than I cared to count, and interacted with more people in the last two and a half days than in the last five years.
As I walked into Elliot’s house and let King off his leash, he took off immediately to run around then return to my side. This was the kind of company I needed after the last few days.
Would I be coming back next year? Without question. Now that I knew what to expect, I could schedule in breaks. Besides, Link and Elliot…
I followed King into the living room and settled onto the couch. It was weird being alone in this house, this mansion, that was big enough to make a family of ten comfortable and that Elliot rambled around in by himself most of the time.
Yeah, things got off to a rough start with him and Link, but the longer I spent with them, individually and together, themore I appreciated their company. I hadn’t met a lot of people in my life who made me feel like it was okay to just be me, and regardless of what Elliot said about being a Grinch, I saw those hints underneath of what Link saw.
I should do some work. Play a game. Upload a video. Something. Instead, my rambling thoughts kept falling back to Link and Elliot, and I couldn’t pull my gaze from an empty corner of the living room a few feet from the fireplace.
The spot that was just begging to have a Christmas tree in it. It was probably a bad idea to remember where Ria said the ornaments were kept, but now that the thought was there, I couldn’t shake it.
I whistled and King came running. “Come on,” I said. “Let’s go explore the basement.” Partly so I wasn’t leaving him alone, but mostly because basements were creepy places. I couldn’t carry him and use my phone as a flashlight, so I put him back on his leash and harness. He tried to run toward the door, and whimpered when I tugged him away.
“We’re going someplace else fun.” I guided him toward the basement entrance that Ria had pointed out. And bymore funI meantpotentially terrifying, but he didn’t need to know that.
When I opened the door, Puppy realized we were heading someplace brand new, and he yipped and tugged against the leash.
I flipped the light switch on at the top of the stairs, and a covered bulb flicked on, illuminating polished wood steps, painted walls, and a lightly textured ceiling. This was the opposite of creepy. So far I liked it.
When I reached the bottom floor, there was carpet. Clean, new, barely walked on. I flipped the next switch and a giant, empty room lit up. This wasn’t at all what I expected. The walls were painted a boring white, the carpet was beige, and the roomwas immaculately finished. The ports on the walls said it was also wired for internet—or at least networking of some sort.
This space was probably bigger than my entire condo, and there was nothing in it except a bicycle and some weights pushed against the far wall.
“Wow.” The way my exclamation bounced back at me sounded fantastic. Not too hollow or echoey,
Puppy barked several times, and I got the same experience with the sound, but amplified. If I had a room like this in my place, this vast, open space, it would be where I set up my office and did all my streaming. The large, blank walls made a perfect canvas for a green screen, there was plenty of space for VR, and if Elliot was responsible for the wiring, I bet the internet down here was great.
Not why I was here. I crossed the room to a door, where I found boxes and boxes stacked on the other side. This space wasn’t as nicely finished, but it still had a bare bulb for light, and sheet rocked walls.
The Christmas decorations and tree were right where Ria said they would be. It took me a while to go through everything—there was far more here than I needed for a single tree—but I managed to create a separate pile to haul upstairs.
I took breaks to make sure King got to go outside, and in between hehelpedme put up a tree and decorate it. Most of the ornaments were elegant but simple—gold and white. Glass balls, and crystal icicles that looked more like they belonged on a chandelier than on a tree.
It was almost seven when I finished, and the entire thing looked beautiful.
Where was Elliot? Would he be pissed when he saw this? It was a thought I hadn’t allowed myself to linger on during setup, but now I couldn’t help but focus on it. I was pretty sure Linkwould love it. Not that this was his house, but I was starting to get the impression it might as well be.
If Elliot was going to yell at me for it, so be it. It looked lovely and this place needed to feel a little warmth. Something that wouldn’t hurt him to experience either.
I grabbed my laptop, settled in on the couch again, and checked the game site. Still down. Poor Elliot and Link.
I busied myself with other activities instead, while I waited for Elliot. As the clock neared and passed eleven at night, my eyelids were growing heavy. I wanted to wait up for him, but I wasn’t a night person, and it had been a long few days…
20/
elliot
Long nights and weekends came with the territory, and I didn’t mind them. But walking into the house at three in the morning, after a day of repairing an issue I didn’t know the root cause of, was the kind of draining I couldn’t define.
The game was back online. I wouldn’t trust it to stay that way until I did some more digging, but I knew my limits and when my brain was this oatmeal-like consistency, I was as likely to make things worse as to fix them. I’d sleep for a few hours, and head into the office tomorrow… Later today.