The activation button then filled out like a loading pie and spun about for a moment happily, finishing the reboot sequence. Wes’ mouth dropped open a little.

            “Did that really just work?” Jace wondered.

            Wes did the same thing to his nephew’s quartz, and got a repeat result. He breathed a sigh of relief, handed it back, and put in the desired date again.

            “This time, I’m a little hopeful,” he said, and squeezed the little rock.

            The duo disappeared through time, and reappeared on a hot summer’s day next to the dumpsters, now full of festering garbage. Their previously chilled clothing warmed up quickly after they stepped out into the sunlight, and got a look at the half-full parking lot of the Treasure Trove.

            “All right, well, that’s one problem down,” Wes said. “I really thought André would’ve been the one to fix them, but it was all you, kid.”

            “Nah. You helped, too. We going in?”

            “Y-yeah…” Wes took out his sunglasses and slid them over his eyes. “Hoodie up, Jace. It’d be a bad idea to let my younger self see you in there.”

            Jace brought his hood down to his eyes, and the two headed inside. The venue was one big hall, with faded and stained red carpet, dozens of token games that spit out prize tickets, a food area with tables, and about a hundred kids and parents. A man in a shoddy pirate costume patrolled the floor to keep kids from cheating at the games. The yo-yo at the prize claim counter needed those 500 tickets to be legit, after all.

            “That mildew-pizza smell brings me back…” Wes said, sniffing the air.

            “I can’t believe the place lasted this long,” Jace replied as he took in the sights. “Not an actual video arcade game anywhere. No wonder it didn’t stick around.”

            “Guess the owner didn’t believe in them. Not that these sorts of games aren’t still popular even in the, uh, present—at certain tourist spots, at least.”

            “I see party balloons,” Jace said and pointed them out.

            They were a short distance away, not far from the cheap pizza that baked under lamps all day at the buffet. The two approached cautiously, using the game cabinets as cover, until they could both get a good, safe view of the small birthday table.

            All of them in party hats except for Charlie, Wessy sat between Jared, Arthur, and Colin, chatting with his friends happily… as his parents talked nearby.

            “Um, Wes? Are both your mom and dad supposed to be here?” Jace asked. “Was there, like, a scheduling mix-up or something? They don’t look happy.”

            Adult Wes didn’t say a word as he tried to make out his parents’ conversation. For now, the long-divorced couple were just bickering, trying to keep things at a simmer as their oblivious, energetic seven-year-old son celebrated a birthday with his little pals.

            “Far as I remember, this was the last time they spoke in person,” Wes murmured after the adults took the conversation elsewhere to spare his younger self from seeing it.

            Colin’s mom was the other adult on birthday duty, and she stepped in to watch the kids and give Wessy’s parents some time to resolve their issues. Unknown to them, their fully-grown time-traveling son followed in the shadows close behind, determined to spy on a discussion that he was never meant to hear.

            His mom, with her arms crossed, stopped by a shut-down crane game machine and turned to her former husband, with a scowl on her face.

            “How did I know that you’d screw up something so simple?” she groaned. “Our kid’s birthday party, and you both pick him up late—he was the last one to arrive—and you leave Lucy behind. I took him to her last party, and she’s not even here.”

            Wes’ dad grumbled a few words before replying audibly, “She was out of place at his sixth. Come on, you saw that. I still brought the present she picked out, and they can hang out together at my place this weekend. Look at the kid—he’s having enough fun with all his friends already. What would there be for Lucy to do?”

            “Gee, I don’t know, maybe be here to be part of a family moment?”

            “I just don’t see what the big issue is. They’re only half-siblings. They don’t have to do everything together. I thought we agreed on all this last time.”

            “Wessy still has a sister who needs to be in his life, Barry. He’s good at making friends—though I’m not sure about that Charlie boy—but those will come and go. Everything I’ve read about siblings says that they need to establish a bond when they’re young. Those two are going to be a part of each other’s lives for longer than anyone.”

            “You and your new-age parenting guides again…”

            Wes’ mom pinched her nose and sighed, “Do you think you’re sparing him embarrassment or something here? Did you even ask Lucy if she wanted to go?”

            “Yes. She shrugged.”

            “That’s what she always does when you ask her something. She doesn’t like to make the decisions, because she thinks she’ll make the wrong choice. You know she doesn’t like to take the initiative. You have to actually talk to her about things.”

            He glared at her and shot back, “You think you know my kid better than I do?”

            “I see it when she visits. It’s like she’s afraid to ever speak up. And meanwhile, her brother does all the talking at the dinner table. Why… is she like that?”

            “So she’s quiet. Is that a crime? Running your mouth isn’t always admirable.”

            “Is that what you think Wes—”

            “I wasn’t talking about him. I’m just trying to make a point.”

            “… Did you at least get him a present he’ll actually enjoy?”

            “Sure. It’s not something he asked me for, but he’ll like it.”

            “Really. I got him a Super Soaker and a few… video games.”

            “Actually, this is when I get my Super Nintendo…” Wes whispered to Jace.

            “And what’d your dad get you?” Jace asked as Wes’ dad hesitated to elaborate.

            “It doesn’t really matter. I don’t even remember, so it must’ve not been great, anyway. Ugh… This is such an insight into what he’s like.”

            “Look, I just don’t think he needs quite so many toys and games in his life,” Wes’ dad eventually replied. “The kid’s hyperactive enough, and now those friends of his are going on about ‘being cool’ or having ‘awesome stuff’ when they visit. What good will all that do when he’s looking for a job? He needs at least one useful gift.”

            “Barry, he’s seven! He wants to have fun, and should be making good memories with his friends. Kids his age need to be learning social skills more than anything else.”

            He exhaled sharply. “We always did have very different ideas on parenting…”

            “And I think that’s why he told me last week that he finds weekends spent at your house so boring,” she replied, getting glowered at in the process.

            “I just bet you think I have him cleaning the gutters and learning about wood carving. We get pizza, and we go to movies or watch HBO at home. Is it ‘wrong’ if I teach him how to do a few chores on the side? Help with his manners?”

            “No, it isn’t, but I don’t think you’re trying to bond with Wes, either. Do you ever ask about his day, or what he likes? Or are his visits one big schedule you made?”

            “I don’t know what you want me to do,” he muttered angrily. “I really don’t.”

            “Just forget it. I don’t want to fight with you anymore. Let’s just go see him open his presents before we really get pissed off at each other.”

            “Yeah. Good idea. Better than reliving the past again.”

            Without either of them “winning” the argument, they turned and headed back to the birthday party. Wes groaned, took off his shades, and dangled them at his side.

            “That was bad, but not ‘never speak to me again’ worthy. So, I bet they had a few talks on the phone before things really blew up. We probably saw a good preview, though. They tried, but they were never meant to be together.”

            “Do you feel any better after watching that?” Jace asked. “I mean, I don’t really get most ‘adult issues,’ but, yeah… Kind of a jerk move not to bring my mom.”

            “It didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. But, um… Growing up, I sometimes had this thought in the back of my mind, having separated parents and everything, that I was kind of, you know… A mistake?”

            “C’mon, man. Don’t say that. Every time I sleep over at Wessy’s, it’s really obvious how much your mom adores you. The guys joke about it, but it’s true.”

            “Let’s just get out of here.”

            Wes turned and began power-walking out of the place, with Jace struggling to keep up unless he wanted to start running. But his uncle came to a quick stop once he could see the party table again. He apparently still wanted to see a present get opened.

            Wessy’s parents trying their hardest to smile, his mom gave him a gift on the larger side, and the boys all came in close to watch—except for Charlie, of course. Even at his age, emoting seemed to be outside his definition of “cool.”

            Wessy unwrapped his SNES console in its iconic black and red box, complete with a copy of Super Mario World. He beamed as he showed it to the others. Colin, who apparently had the system first, began prattling on about the best games to rent or buy.

            “Wasn’t all bad…” Adult Wes murmured, and headed out.

            Jace was about to leave as well, but instead chose to stick around a bit longer, curious what Wes’ dad was about to give him. Wessy’s smile all but disappeared when he opened a box of toy power tools, though Charlie did let out a snicker.

            “It’s the biggest set the toy store had,” Wessy’s dad said. “You like it, buddy?”

            Put on the spot, Little Wes answered, “Um, y-yeah… Sure, Dad… Thanks.”

            The bus stopped near Captain Salty, closed for the day, and Wes and Jace stepped out, now nearly penniless. Wes was in one of his less talkative moods again following what he had seen in the Treasure Trove, but Jace could respect that, now having seen another reason for his ongoing contention with his dad. At least his uncle had that determined glint back in his eye, and he seemed focused on the task at hand.

            Wes glanced at one of the security cameras covering the vacant lot that would one day be King Arcade, figuring that if André was watching, he wouldn’t call the cops on them. He found the segment of the fence they had come in through about a week ago their time, took a few steps in, and examined his quartz.

            The park had developed a bit in the last year and a half, now having a foundation and several major walkways in place, and loading zones for material so the construction crews could start putting together the rides and buildings.

            “Right… A quick hop back to July ’95, and then from there… April 1^st, 1996. This should be the main entrance to the park, so I don’t think we’ll space-time-fuse with anything on the ‘other side.’ Then again…” Wes stared back into the crystal, “these things probably have some failsafe to prevent that, anyway.”

            “Not ready to experiment today, Unk,” Jace said.

            “Yeah, same. Well. Think I’ve had my fill of 1992. You ready?”

            “Sure.” Jace grabbed his own quartz. “I mean, unless there’s something you wanted to, like, talk about first… Because that was kind of rough back there.”

            “Nope,” Wes replied affirmatively and squeezed his dialed-in crystal.

            The position of the sun and the temperature barely changed as they were transported almost exactly three years into the future, shortly after they accidentally left that day for a cold one in late 1989. The park, however, had seemingly built itself up around them, and was suddenly nearly complete again. Without any workers present and already past the security fencing, they were free to walk back to Galaxy Hub.

            “We shouldn’t run into our older selves,” Wes said confidently. “I advanced it a few minutes past our previous departure time. We’re right back where we left of.”

            “And maybe we should actually clean up the place this time.”

            “I’ll do what I can,” Wes replied as they started walking, and looked down at the attaché case that was almost glued to his hand. “But that isn’t what I’m worried about.”