It was already six o'clock in the evening when Ethan Jones arrived home, forty minutes after leaving the Atari factory.
home, Thomas, Linda, and Evelyn were already seated at the dinner table.
Aunt Linda looked up in surprise at the sight of him.
"Hey—Ethan! You came back just in time. We just started eating. Go wash your hands and join us." She smiled and added, "Thomas was just talking about you. He's been wondering if you'd make it back tonight. If you'd arrived a little earlier, you might've caught him preaching."
Before she finished, Evelyn nodded quickly."Yes, yes! Dad's been going on and on—'Ethan must come back tonight!'—like a buzzing fly. Oh, and tomorrow I'm taking the Ford!"
"What?" Thomas reacted Just a moment ago he'd been smiling at his wife's words, but now his expression hardened.
"Evelyn! I was concerned for Ethan's safety, that's all! Worried something might've happened to him out there. And—what's this about the car?"
"Yeah, yeah, it doesn't matter. I was just talking too much."
"Oh? That's your attitude?" Thomas huffed. "that how you spoke to your father like that?"
Ethan watched their bickering with quiet amusement. As for the pickup truck Ethan sometimes drove was Thomas's pride and joy. As a farmer, Thomas spent more time in that truck than anywhere else—hauling produce, driving over fields and hills.
Normally, lending it out was unthinkable. On the rare occasions Ethan borrowed it, Thomas would lament as though he'd lost a limb.
Which made what Ethan had to say next even harder. He rubbed his face, sat at the table, and sighed. "Thomas… I'm sorry. Something happened today. You… might not see your Ford for a while."
"What?!" Aunt Linda's hurrying over to him. "Ethan—what happened? Was it an accident? When? Are you hurt?" She fussed over him, checking for injuries.
Evelyn's eyes went wide. "Did something happen on the road? But… I didn't hear a crash outside!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Thomas froze.
"Wait! When did you get into a car accident? Why didn't you call home? Sxxt!" His voice rose sharply. "How many times have I told you—if you run into something you can't handle, tell your family right away! Don't wait until afterward!"
He leaned forward. "What's the situation now? Did you call the police? What did they say?"
The sudden concern made the air heavy. Ethan's lips curled into a grin. The tension was building just right. He lifted his head pulled two checks from his pocket.
"Ta-da!" He waved them in the air, slid the $3,000 check toward Evelyn, and pressed the $2,000 check into Thomas's hand.
"Hahaha~ You all fell for it!"
"...???" Three blank stares met him.
When Ethan explained what had actually happened, the three were left with nothing.
"So," Thomas summarized slowly, frowning, "you sold the game—to Atari—had a celebratory drink, remembered you shouldn't drive after drinking, walked home instead… and when you saw me thinking about the car, you decided to scare me as some sort of… surprise?"
"Exactly!" Ethan beamed, clapped his hands. "Surprise!!!"
"You are surprise!!!" Linda snapped, smacking him hard on the shoulder.
"Ow!" Ethan yelped.
"Celebrate if you want, but why scare me like that?!" she scolded. "I thought you'd been in a crash!"
She gave him a glare, "Next time you try that, I'll whip you with the broom! I swear to God!"
"Okay, okay, Linda, that's enough," Thomas stepped in, catching her arm. He didn't think the joke was all that funny either—but watching Ethan get thumped was punishment enough.
Setting aside his worries, Thomas glanced at the check in his hand. His cheeks flushed as joy replaced his earlier anger.
"Ethan… these two thousand bucks… they're for us?"
Ethan straightened proudly. With Linda back in her seat, he relaxed again. "Of course! Just a little thank-you for looking after me."
Thomas leaned back and let out a belly laugh. "Hah! Now that I like. As for the gift…" He paused, then decided, "We'll hold onto it for you. Linda will keep it safe." He grinned. "If we forget that heart attack you gave us a minute ago—yeah, I'll admit it. This really was a surprise."
Thomas's acceptance made Ethan beam. His eyes slid toward Evelyn—who was staring at her check—only for her to kick him under the table.
"Surprise? Really?" she muttered, shaking the paper. "And why do I have a thousand more than you? Didn't we agree on splitting it half and half?"
Ethan's mouth twitched. He caught the smile she tried to hide and decided to let it slide. Sitting down, he reached for his food and said in mock seriousness, "Oh, Evelyn~ this matter is… complicated."
The truth was, after Nolan Bushnell handed him the check, Ethan's first thought had been to give most of it away—not to buy something, but to hand it straight to Thomas and Linda.
It was exactly as he'd said: a thank-you for taking care of him these past days.
The Johnson household's easy warmth made him genuinely happy. He liked the relaxed atmosphere, the feeling of being loved—and he was willing to give back to protect that.
When he first set foot in the United States in his previous life, he'd quickly realized that reality was nothing like the media's stories about
So when Ethan found himself in this time and place, To him, this peaceful home was heaven. By the time he finished telling his story, Thomas, Linda, and Evelyn understood exactly what his day had been like.
When Thomas learned that the six thousand dollars was only a down payment—and that more was on the way—he wasted no time. He uncorked two bottles of wine, insisting on a proper celebration with Ethan.
Ethan, equally overjoyed, gladly agreed. By the time he woke again, it was already noon the next day.
The sun was bright, the air was warm, and his mood was light. A hot shower, a quick bite, and then he was stretched out in the backyard, basking in the sun with a book in hand.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go out—there just wasn't much to do in this era. After living in the Internet age, where a phone screen could deliver endless videos, music, and games, the "old-school" pastimes of billiards, bowling, or disco felt… quaint at best.
And working? The market's buying power was limited. Flooding it with too many new ideas could crush an industry before it had time to breathe.
He was still wondering if he should kill some time at the family's orchard before the game launched, when something interrupted his lazy afternoon.
A nudge to his foot. He looked down to see Evelyn standing over him, dressed in a floral shirt and black trousers.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Reading," Ethan said, moving the book aside, still a little dazed.
"Come on. I'm taking you somewhere."
"Where?"
"A fun place. Bring your driver's license." Her tone was playful, almost secretive.
Ethan raised an eyebrow but got up without protest.
Half an hour later, after a drive filled with hints and no explanations, Evelyn pulled up in front of a small store in San Jose.