She Cries, Victorious

So it's another night at Casa Twist. We'd sent the servants home early, leaving the two of us to sip our claret by the roaring fireplace. I'd taken the house trolley down to the library, and had returned with a Neal Stephenson novel. Cher had foregone the pleasure of reading to hunch over her DS, her face a portrait of intense concentration.

I sat down on the couch beside her, book in hand. Marmalade, refreshed from a day of sleeping, jumped up beside me and proceeded to curl up to sleep yet again, the effort of walking from the bedroom to the living room being more than enough exercise for him. I opened my book, too a sip of my drink, and proceeded to read.

Then Cher screamed.

Marmalade shot into the air. When he landed, he tore across the table, nearly sending my beverage into the upper atmosphere as well. My heart--I truly believe--actually stopped.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Cher said. "But I did it! I beat it!"

Despite the chaos,I could not but smile.

After five months, my wife had finally, finally defeated....Puzzle Quest.

We high fived. She gave me the details of her final boss battle, of how she had slipped into the depths of despair, but decided to give it 'one more try.' I got the blow by blow account of spells used, of tactics employed. And then I simply bathed in the radiance of her triumph.

"My life may be in the shitter," she said, "but I beat Puzzle Quest."

I nodded sagely at her battlefield philosophy. And reflected:

Puzzle Quest was the best nineteen bucks I ever spent.