Page 73 of Totally Played
“They are, but you think they require some luck, too, so I’m going off that theory.”
“Okay, but you can only have five goes, just like the other machines.”
“Deal.”
I tap my phone to pay and line up the soft gray cat plush perfectly on the first go, but it doesn’t even lift it up at all. The claws slip through the soft fur of the toy and return to their starting position.
“One down, four to go,” Calvin says.
“What’s he doing?” I hear Tony ask.
“Adopting a kitten,” Calvin replies.
“Those are kids’ toys.”
“It’s symbolic.”
The claws only land halfway over the toy and dip to the side before closing on nothing but air and returning to the start again.
“Look,” Calvin snaps. “You made him miss.”
“Did not,” Tony whines.
“Did, too,” we both reply, and Calvin laughs.
“Come on, Ash, you got this. I know that this pretty kitten is meant to be yours. Think of those perfect little pink paws. Those cute tiny ears, and bright blue eyes.”
“Its eyes weren’t bright blue,” I reply, bringing down the claw over the plushy kitten. It grabs it and lifts it free from the pile for the first time but drops it again as soon as the claw moves to return home.
“Yes, they were, weren’t they?” he asks.
I position the claw again over the little fluffy body and hit the button.
“Nope,” I say as the claw comes down. “It had blue-gray eyes. Just like yours.”
The claw closes over the ball of gray fluff and carries it to the chute.
“Did you just win it? I can’t see.”
I grab the prize from the machine and turn the camera to face me, holding it up to my cheek, but before he can say anything, a child squeals, and I turn toward the sound.
“You are not going to believe this,” I say, turning the phone. “I should have gone again.”
A kid about ten or twelve is jumping up and down, holding the giant blue plushie.
“Aww, don’t feel too bad. You’re getting a kitten.”
***
We talked every night on the phone, while in Montana, and as I board my flight back to Savannah, a text comes in from Calvin.
It’s a photo of him and Tony at a similar game place to the arcade I went to, but Tony is taking the photo of them, as Calvin picks up some red plushy thing that he apparently dropped a second later.
ASH: Still the king of claw machines.
CALVIN: You wait until I get back. I bet I beat you at the chocolate one next time. I’ve been practicing, much to Tony’s frustration.
ASH: For a guy who likes to claim he’s the fun brother, he’s really a drag.
