This time spent with Arik around others opened her eyes to how well versed he was in everything.
The man knew something about all things she’d never think of.
He must gobble up knowledge as if it were chocolate during the worst time of the month.
“Can I get you another drink before we sit to eat?” she asked.
“I’m good,” he said.
He had a beer on the table in the living room that was only half finished. The few bottles of wine he’d brought were being drunk by the women.
It was thoughtful of him to do it when she’d told him he hadn’t needed to.
Ten minutes later, the table was set, everyone was seated, and the food was being passed around.
A ham large enough to give everyone leftovers for several meals.
“Natalie told us you’re trying to find something to occupy your time here,” her mother said.
“I am,” he said. “Probably sounds ridiculous.”
“No,” her father said. “Retirement did that for me. I still help Carter out a few days a week to get out of the house. Vanessa isn’t much for leaving the island, but we get itchy feet.”
“Lots of projects around the house,” her mother said. “And I enjoy watching my grandson when they need me to.”
“I have a lot of options, but it’s settling on something,” he said. “I’ve toyed with trying to create a few different apps. Even games. Done some research on it.”
“Like a phone app game?” Natalie asked. It was the first she was hearing this. But it sounded like he was all over the place filling his time.
“Yeah. There are two ways to go about it. Create and sell to someone else to maintain, or keep and maintain but collect all the royalties. The problem with that, you have to stay on top of all cellular system upgrades. It can turn into a full-time job.”
“Which you don’t want,” she said.
“No. I just need to come up with a good concept for a game that hasn’t been created yet.”
“Why does it have to be a game?” Avery asked. “Why can’t it be something to better people’s lives? This is crazy, but my mind goes in this direction. Why not come up with some app for pet parents? Do you know how much money people spend on their pets?”
“No,” he said. “Tell me more.”
She sat at the table and watched Arik and Avery carry on a conversation, his absorption of the topic and questions that followed impressed not just her but her family.
She didn’t understand why he was always so concerned about not being able to stick when he could soak up so much knowledge around him as easily as breathing.
“It sounds to me as if you’ve got something to sink your teeth into.” Her elbow nudged him some at the table, her family witnessing the move.
“It sure the heck beats trying to do an app for puzzles.”
“Like puzzle pieces?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been toying with having people pick a picture or upload one they want, then the app randomly breaking it into puzzle pieces. You pick the level you want. Then slide the pieces back into place.”
“That’s a great idea,” her mother said. “I love puzzles and they take up so much space on the table.”
“Looks to me as if you’ve got two ideas to work on.”
“Damn. Oops, sorry. Darn. I’ve never gotten inspiration like this around my family.”
“Looks like you’re close to being on your way without us,” her father said.
