Will didn't get it. It wasn't just that the glamorous Helen Magnus looked out of place in the grungy bowling alley Ashley had dragged them to—which she unequivocally did. A thin layer of grease coated every surface in the joint, and though Magnus had pulled on an uncharacteristically casual pair of denim jeans, she couldn't hide the innate high-class glamour that just oozed from her. No, what surprised Will the most was that bullets-and-leather Magnus couldn't strike a pin to save her life.
"Woo-hoo!" A whoop lifted from the next lane over. Will thought Ashley looked a bit more at home, with frayed cut off shorts and a slouching t-shirt. Her fists pumped in triumph at yet another cleared lane. She'd been knocking pins left and right all night, leading the board with every game.
Henry and Will had been battling for second place, but Magnus had sunk to fourth place on the first throw and stayed there. Right now she trailed with a measly 46 points in the 7th frame, where Will and Henry had just broken a hundred, and Ashley was edging into the 200s.
"See, you I get," Will told Ashley as she plopped down into the bucket seat beside him. "You're slaughtering us. I'd have thought your mom would too, but…" He waved towards the lane, where Magnus had guttered her second ball.
Ashley watched as her mother paused to observe Henry's flippant toss, and winced in sympathy when the tech scored a 7-10 split. "Yeah… She never really got into bowling." She shrugged. "I don't think she'd ever tried it until Henry and I went for a birthday party once. She tags along when we come out, but it isn't her thing."
Will considered that. He nodded. "But you'd think she'd have picked up a few tricks. I mean, I've seen her learn things just by observing."
"She probably could, if she really wanted to. Mom always says that the fun isn't in the bowling; it's in the people." Ashley elbowed him. "You're up, sucker. Bet you an order of nachos you can't strike it."
"You are so on."
He picked up his bowling ball from where it'd been returned to the ball rack, and slid his fingers into the three holes. The fit was a little loose, but the weight was good. He could do this. He toed the approach, considering his plan of attack. Maybe he could try hooking it. Seemed to work for Ashley, so…
A hand on his shoulder broke his concentration, but the touch slid away before he could say anything. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Magnus sit next to her daughter, who immediately looped an arm around her mother's waist and wiggled closer for a playful cuddle.
The fun is in the people. Will flushed with contentedness. Finally, he felt like part of the group. He was being allowed to see this, to join in, and it was no small honor, though he doubted any of them saw it that way. He focused on the ten pins at the end of the lane, blinking when they wavered. When his vision cleared, he took three powerful strides then let loose and waited for the tell-tale thwok of a strike.
"Hah! Pay up!"