"Mom, why did I do this?" I screamed into the phone on the verge of tears.
"Relax, honey, you are so close to finishing! I know graduate school can be tough but just remember how much easier this will make the rest of your life once you finish. One test grade won't kill you, sweetie. You will do great tomorrow!" My mom reassured me.
"Thank you, Mom. I'll let you go. Tell the family I said hello and that I love them."
I clicked the end buttong on my phone and sat down on my bed, a lot less panicked than I was before. As I sat down my door opened.
"Hey Jack, you alright?" Matt asked. Matt is my best friend. We grew up right next door to one another. We are both the oldest of all our siblings and we both are in our last year of graduate school at Virginia. I am getting a Master of Accounting degree, while Matt is working on an MBA. We always have conversations about whether or not we are just picking degrees that will get us jobs rather than something fulfilling.
I am the oldest of 7 while Matt is the oldest of 6 kids. I know, it is a lot. I wouldn't have it any other way though. Matt and I were born the same year, about two years after my parents moved into the house that is next to his parents' house. After that, our respective siblings are almost the same age as one another. Both of our families are noisy and extremely messy, but it makes life interesting.
"Yeah, Matt." I looked up at him, frustrated. "I have that huge accounting exam tomorrow and I am just ready to be done with it. This is such a frustrating program."
"You realize you're completely set in terms of finding a job no matter how you do tomorrow?" Matt smiled as he looked at me a little sarcastically. He was right. I already had a job lined up at a company I had interned at during undergraduate. He starting walking out of my room. "But you should still study. You just shouldn't be stressing yourself out to the point of getting sick."
He has always been the logical one out of the two of us. I am the most anxious person in the world and he is always there to remind me that it is still turning and that I have nothing to be anxious about. It has always been that way. Suddenly he appeared back in my doorway.
"How about we drive home this weekend?" He suggested, "Your brothers and sisters are probably about to light the house on fire if they don't have you there to discipline them every now and then. It has been four weeks since you've gone back so how about it? We can take my car."
That was actually the perfect idea. I miss my family a lot, and I am sure my brothers and sisters are fine but I would still love to see them. My youner brother and sister both go to Virginia Tech, which is very close to our home outside of Roanoke. They live at home and commute in order to save Mom and Dad money, so they're always home.
"You know what, my friend? I might just take you up on that. We can listen to your music." I said with a slight cringe. Matt likes this cartoonish sounding jazz music. It is terrible music, but it is him, and he offered the ride so I should let him listen to it. In any other situation I would break the CDs in half.
He smiled a huge smile. "Jack Richards is letting me listen to my music?" He opened my window and pretended like he was making a public service announcement. I just sat there and laughed. And then looked down at the things I needed to study and almost began to cry.
"Alright well that sounds like a plan Jackountant," when he noticed I was studying again. I hate that name but I guess it fits.
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"Joe! Look who's home!" Mom wrapped me up in a huge hug. I could barely hear her over the chaos my siblings were causing.
Dad came and gave me a hug and then I talked with my parents for a solid 30 minutes about school, life, etc. Of course now that they're boy is 24 years old they're getting on my case about finding a girl to marry. And of course they were disappointed when I told them I haven't gone on a date since my last relationship ended 2 years ago.
"I swear is all you ever do is hang out with Matt? Why don't you two go on a double date or something? You two need to do something more than just study and eating and watching movies together."
She has a point. Matt and I are always together. She thinks we are just going to live together forever and act like we are 8-year-olds for the rest of our lives. Based on history, though, that is a remote possiblity.
"I know, Mom. I just haven't felt like dating anyone. I don't want to force anything."
At that her and Dad gave up. That's about when three of my siblings came storming downstairs.
"JACK'S HOME!!!! Don't look at your bed! Hang on we will be back down in ten." The three youngest are Jeff, Jeb, and Jackie. Jeff and Jeb are twins and are the youngest two in our family. They're both in 8th grade. Jackie is a sophomore in high school and is the most hyper person I have ever met. I don't know what they did to my bed but I don't think I want to find out.
"Jack?" My dad called out. "Will you run to the store and pick some dinner up? I will give you my card."
I took Dad's card and keys and went out to his car. As I walked toward the car, Matt was walking out of his house too.
"You're already running errands too?" He laughed. "C'mon let's drive together. We can make an adventure out of it."
And within an hour we were already back in the car with one another. The adventures of Matt and Jack, ladies and gentlemen.
Matt and I spent about an hour shopping for our respective families. Every time I do this for my dad I can't help but wonder how they stay afloat -- feeding a family of 8 people (9 when I come home) is so expensive. I have always wanted to come live nearby once i finish up graduate school and help out as much as I can. Just as I was thinking about it, Matt popped the question.
"So what are we going to do after we finish up school? Are you ready to get divorced?" He said with a chuckle.
I laughed a little. "Let's be honest we are probably going to find some way to end up living together."
"I've actually been thinking about going to New York to work," Matt said.
This kind of surprised me. I changed my focus from outside the window to Matt. "Really? Why there?"
"I don't know. I just want to feel the rush of it all, you know? Plus I watch all those Hallmark movies and New York seems like this romantic place where I am going to meet the girl of my dreams and go ice skating and all the things they do on TV."
"Are you going to play that dumb jazz cartoon music at your wedding?" I laughed.
"Maybe. And you'll have to be my best man of course."
We talked a little more about him wanting to move to New York. I could see him in a city. He asked me what I want to do and I really don't know. Like I said before, I big part of me wants to move back to Roanoke to help out my family. I just don't know if it would be the same without Matt there. I can't imagine being so far away from him. It is eerie.
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Straight Best Friends (Gay Love Story -- In Progress)
Romance"I laid in the passenger seat with my eyes still closed so Matt thought I was still taking a nap. I was in a fury of emotions and thoughts. I had never seen Matt as anything other than a friend. I had never even thought of another man as anything ot...
