I went to a video game store a little bit ago, the kind that has all kinds of second hand stuff, retro style video games lining the walls, old Mario posters adorning every inch of the space. I was there trying to find a copy of my favorite video game from my childhood, Ape Escape 3. I know I could just get an emulated version of it to play it again, but to have it in my house as a physical item would be a joy. The game meant a lot to me because my dad and my little brother would play it together almost every night.

To my disappointment, the store once again did not have any copies of Ape Escape 3 in stock. I’ve asked about it each time I come in, to the point that the guys who work there know me as the person who will always ask about Ape Escape 3.

Instead of letting myself get consumed by the dreams of a childhood I’ll never see again, I began to peruse the aisles for some other video games or merchandise. I thought of how my dad was so invested in video games, that I really am still just exactly like him. I saw a copy of an old Spyro game, one where he had once made it his goal to collect every single rupee. And he had. I was taken back to the days of Spyro. Then I looked up and saw a video of an old Smash Bros. tournament playing on the big box TV right above the register. I couldn’t tell when the tournament was from or who was playing, but it was a 1v1, with Fox and Mario.

I ended up watching the match for a bit too long. My focus was broken when a little boy, probably about six years old, wearing a blue baseball cap with a Koopa on it pointed up at the TV, telling his mom to look at the match too. “Mom! Look! It’s Fox! Isn’t that so cool? He’s from a really old video game but they let him be in the new ones still!” he exclaimed. He began excitedly telling his mother all about the Smash Bros lore. She smiled and nodded along. I began to actually explore the aisles of the store in-depth but I could still hear the boy’s excited chatter.

When he finished talking, his mom said he could get a Fox toy if they had one here. It was clear she didn’t really follow the game, but she was trying. She was just happy to see him happy. The two of them ended up finding a Fox plush. “Go show your dad that toy, he’ll think it’s cool,” the boy’s mom urged him.

Beside me, observing a copy of Call of Duty, was the little boy’s dad. The little boy raced over to him, and gently tapped him on the elbow to get his attention. Normally I mind my business, but since this happened right next to me in a very small store, I saw it all. After the boy tapped on his dad’s elbow, the dad barely turned to look at him. The dad begrudgingly set down the CoD copy.

He finally looked down at his son. “What? What do you want?” the man said with an unexpectedly gruff tone. His brows were furrowed together as if some annoying little creature had beckoned him for attention. His son held out the Fox toy, excited to show it off. “Dad! Look! It’s Fox!” he exclaimed.

Honestly, what the dad did next made me so upset. I don’t know these people or anything about them. I was just a stranger in a store, that was all. Maybe the dad was having a bad day. Whatever. So maybe I didn’t have a right to feel so upset on the boy’s behalf.

The dad looked down at his son, looked at the toy, then didn’t say a single word to the boy. He just frowned. He stared at his son blankly for a moment. It was at least ten seconds of silence. The Fox toy had a more animated expression than the father did. Then, to my shock as an eavesdropping, ultra nerd, the dad said to his son, “It doesn’t look that cool to me.”

The little boy just let out a tiny, “Oh.” And sadly walked away from his dad, holding the Fox toy limply in his hands. His mom had this kind of stone-faced expression. She gave her son a pat on the back and walked over with him to the register. The boy looked hurt. He wasn’t talking anymore and just was kind of slumped over. Even the employees had witnessed the exchange, as the store itself was small.

I don’t know what came over me, but I was so mad at this random father’s lack of enthusiasm for his son’s excitement. It just pissed me off so much. My dad would’ve never made me feel bad for my interests, especially ones so harmless. I didn’t want this little tiny kid to just internalize that his interests weren’t cool. Saying something so coldly to a tiny kid like that just felt wrong. Maybe I’m too sensitive. I’m not sure. But I wanted to change things.

I walked near the little boy and his mom and pretended I hadn’t heard the whole exchange. I looked up at the TV which still had Mario and Fox going at it.

I loudly said, “WOW! Fox is SUCH a cool character! I love him! I wonder if they have any Fox toys in here!”

The little boy practically ran up to me to show me his Fox toy. I asked him if Fox was also his favorite, what he liked about him, etc. The little boy was ecstatic. “I LOVE Fox! He’s the strongest!” he said while holding up his toy proudly. I told him that was the coolest toy in the whole store. He was beaming with pride.

He told me his favorite Fox facts for a moment and seemed thrilled to have someone to hear him. He did have some good Fox facts indeed. Anyway, the quick conversation ended as his mom to pay for the boy’s toy. His dad was already outside the store, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground and smoking a cigarette.

As the boy, who was now happily holding the Fox toy, and his mom left, she turned to me and mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ with a smile on her face. She placed her hand on her son’s head and playfully patted him. “That is a really cool toy,” she said.

EDIT: Thank you for the love guys!

I am not going to search for Ape Escape 3 online, not because I don’t want it that badly, but because I prefer the thrill of finding things I’m hunting for in person. So thank you endlessly for the kind offers of sending the game to me. I’m going to have to decline, but thank you so much!

And I’m really happy my story is being so well-received. I’m mainly used to daily journaling or writing stories in my Notes App on my phone. So to think this silly little encounter got so much respect made me happy.

I am trying to write more of my little life snippets from my journal and put them on here in the digital format, so please give me a follow if you would like! Writing is one of my favorite hobbies, truly.

EDIT 2:

I’m not a man.

Please stop assuming such and accusing me of white knighting or being some kind of pervert. Additionally, my best friend who is a man, is a kindergarten teacher. Men can be good caretakers to kids, stop being freaks in the comments.

It’s not a crime to make children happy, most people in my life would do the same as I.

Accusing me of wanting to have sex with the boys’ mom, accusing me of wanting to play ‘daddy,’ accusing me of worse things… It’s really weird.

I just wanted to share a cute story, that’s all. Please stop hating, it’s really weird.

Thank you to most of you who are having normal and kind responses. I appreciate you!