"Alright, but just one. Gotta take dinner out when the timer goes off," Carl said as he accepted the fourth controller from Rebecca as well as a seat next to her on the couch.

The game was a pure racing game, which was the only sort of racing game that Carl approved of. There were no weapons, no annoying camera controls, and the only buttons used were for acceleration and braking. Sure, maybe there were some crazy loops and jumps on the tracks, but that was just normal racing game stuff.

The game was also one he was familiar with. While Carl wasn't one to play games on his own time, it had been agreed upon—both in studies he'd read as well as a brief discussion with Annie, which was really just one time a much younger Bobby had nagged her about Why's Daddy Always Too Busy To Race With Me that had ended with father and daughter racing together shortly thereafter—that having him play games like this with the girls from time to time was a net positive, and so he'd done his best to remain current in that field, as he did with so many others. He didn't really have time to play the games themselves, but he did have time to watch videos of all the courses during his commutes in between catching up on other stuff.

So it was that the four-way race counted down for a track that Carl had never played before in a game that he had never played before. Despite this, he wasn't worried. Coincidentally or not, this particular track happened to be the one that he'd studied the most just in case he needed to play it.

"Mina, how're you so good!" Bobby exclaimed a short ways into the second lap when the oldest of the three girls made a clever cut coming out of a loop that brought her around into the lead.

"She's obviously played before," said Rebecca, now leaning back on the opposite end of the couch and sipping a glass of wine during her break from competing.

"No way, she was an ultranoob the first couple circuits we did," said Sammy as she physically leaned to her side while steering around a tight curve.

Carl deliberately tapped on his brake, allowing the tallest of the girls to slip past him into second place. He wasn't trying to win, obviously, since he wasn't trying to do that sort of showing off—and he wasn't totally sure he could, considering he'd only seen videos of the track and had never actually played the game, which his kids seemed like they were pretty good at—he was just trying not to lose. Third place seemed perfect in a four-way race with his daughters.

"Lot of noob-calling going on in here. Things must be getting serious," Annie remarked from the doorway leading to the kitchen.

"Daaaad, get out of—Mooove!" Bobby whined as he blocked her attempt to pass once more using a screen-peeking technique perfected decades before she'd even been born.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"What's that, pumpkin? Oh, are you trying to get by?" He moved in the other direction, which happened to be where Bobby was now trying to pass.

He'd spent most of the first lap employing a similar strategy with Sammy while she'd been in last place, but it seemed like his youngest daughter was more invested in the race based on how much more she was complaining.

Tragedy struck the second place racer shortly after, as Sammy's car clipped itself trying to take a turn too sharply and spun out.

Yes, it was truly an unfortunate situation for her.

"Dad, stop it," Sammy complained a few seconds later.

"Oops, sorry, let me—"

"Dad!" called Bobby.

"Oh, I didn't see you th—"

"Come on, Dad!"

"Okay, okay, I'm gonna stop so—"

"Ughhhh, what are you dooiing, Dad?! Don't brake here!"

"How are we both stuck behind you?!"

"I've done it!" Mina announced, holding her controller up over her head with both hands as her car crossed the finish line.

"Huh, I got second? Must just be some beginner's luck."

"Okay, I want a rematch."

"Yeah, rematch!"

"Hm, don't really think I've got time for that…"

The alarm he'd set in the kitchen went off at exactly the perfect time, allowing Carl to set his controller on the coffee table nearby and retreat to the kitchen, noting Rebecca's overt amusement, Bobby and Sammy's disgruntlement, and Mina's too-cute, cheerful jubilation on his way out.

"Nice driving," Annie remarked as she pulled the first of the baking dishes out of the oven. "Weird how they kept getting stuck behind you like that."

Carl grinned. "Meant to get third, but I was having too much fun." He threw on an oven glove and grabbed the tray of smashed potatoes and set it next to the dishes of chicken pesto that Annie had already put on the counter before he grabbed the smaller tray of green beans out of the toaster oven. "Thanks for grabbing those," he said after taking off the glove.

His wife glanced towards the den, then stepped towards him and planted both hands on the sides of his face before pulling him down into a short, but intense kiss that left both of them breathless when it ended. She gave him a quick peck and smiled that same, dazzling smile that he'd never been able to look away from.

Annie was the best. Her being this affectionate today might be a little unusual, but with how much he'd missed her over the weeks he'd spent away from her, he wasn't going to complain. In fact…

She turned to move away, and he placed a hand on her side, gently pulling her back towards him. Her head turned back with a confused tilt, and he kissed her.

Not that he'd had any comparisons in the last couple decades, but when it came to kissing, Annie was the best at that too.