“You say that every semester.”
“This time I mean it.”
“I got the internship.”
“You are calling me before the grade is even posted. That tells me everything.”
Or:
“I got the internship.”
“I knew you would.”
“You did not.”
“I absolutely did.”
The ring got him through the first locked door.
Or, when he was stressed and pretending not to be:
“Did you eat?”
“That’s my question.”
“I asked first.”
“So yes. Peanut butter counts.”
It was never just the ring. That’s important. The ring got him through the first locked door. After that came overtime, cut corners, skipped comforts, and me pretending none of it was hard.
Do not be late.
I didn’t mind that part. I minded him ever thinking he had to stop because of me.
Then came graduation.
Jack was one of the student speakers. That mattered later, though I did not know it yet. I just thought it meant I had to sit through more speeches before hearing his name.
