You’re probably wondering what I’ve been up to these past several weeks. Maybe you suspect that I’ve been continuing to lounge around at my brother’s, wasting my days and nights drinking and carrying on. Or maybe you think I’ve found my way to Bali, where I’m sponging off my friends. In either case, you’d be wrong.
It might surprise you to find out I am still in San Felipe, where I intend to stay. I’m not at my brother’s luxury villa, but rather in a flat I share with two other guys I work with at the Turtle’s Head Pub. And, no, sadly, I am not living my Tom Cruise inCocktailfantasy life, tossing bottles of vodka over my shoulder only to deftly catch them whilst soaking up the adulation of the clubgoers. Instead, I’m a lowly busboy.
For now.
Last Monday, I applied for the University of Santa Valentina’s education program, and I’ve been on pins and needles while I await their answer. Pierce seems to think I’m a shoo-in, but to be honest, I wasn’t exactly at the top of my alchemy class, so they may take one look at my grades from the University of Valcourt and stamp my application DENIED in red ink.
I’ve put quite a lot of stock in the results of my application. It’s not just about my future career, but my future happiness. You see, I haven’t told Brianna the truth yet. As of this moment, she doesn’t know I gave up everything because I’m madly in love with her, or that I’m going to make a go of a good life here on the island, or that I’m even still here. As much as I want to rush to her, I need to have something real to offer her before I take that chance. I need to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt—to her and me—that I have what it takes to be the man she needs.
I know it’s risky, and I have the urge to rush to her and lay my heart at her feet at least twenty times a day. But I can’t. Not until I know I won’t mess up my future and bring her down with me. I just have to trust she won’t find someone else in the meantime. And for the moment, I should be safe, because she’s busy with her exams. In fact, she’s probably sitting down to write the last one right about now. Then this weekend, she’ll be busy with her sister’s wedding, which honestly does concern me a bit. I mean, there could be an eligible bachelor thrown in her path, and she may just decide to give him a go since she thinks I’m a long-gone loser.
My heart pounds at the thought of it. Maybe I should just rush to her right now. I could wait for her outside her exam, and when she comes out, I could pour everything out right there on the sidewalk in front of the school of law building.
As soon as I finish scrubbing this sticky mystery substance off the kitchen floor. My roommates, who are still sleeping, had last night off, and from the looks of things, they had their own party here. Since neither of them have any intention of cleaning up, and I have no desire to walk in filth, I scrounged around to find a mop and bucket, and I’m doing the best I can with some dish soap and hot water.
My mobile phone rings and my heart jumps. Bugger. It’s not Brianna, but my mother on the phone. “Hello, Mum.”
“Leo, I’ve had the most alarming call that you’ve decided to stay on that dreadful island and that you’re working as abusboy. Tell me it isn’t true.”
“Okay, it’s not true, Mother.”
“So it is true?” she asks, sounding panicked.
“Yes, I’m afraid so, but don’t worry, because it’s only temporary. I have a plan.”
“ThankGod, because I don’t think I can suffer the humiliation of having you work as a busboy on a permanent basis.”
Might as well wind her up a bit. It’s been a while since I’ve had any fun. “I’m on a three-year plan working my way up from bellboy to busboy to pool boy, with an end goal of cabana boy—that’s where the big bucks start rolling in.”
A strangled gasp comes from the other end of the line, and I stifle a laugh while she starts going off. “Pool boy? You think of that as stepupin the world?”
“Strictly speaking, no. I suppose the pay’s not much above busboy, and the tips are nonexistent, but it really is the only way to get to cabana boy.”
“I can’t believe this. After everything I’ve done for you, all the sacrifices I’ve made! And this is what you want to do with your life?” She moans sorrowfully, then continues. “Never mind. It doesn’t even matter, because I’ve convinced your father to let you have a crack at an intern position at one of the companies. Entry-level, you’d be at the headquarters in Dublin, and you can stay at my cousin Edna’s while you work your way up the ladder. It won’t be easy, but at least you’ll be much closer to home, and in time, I know you can prove to your father you’re ready to take your rightful place at Davenport Communications.”
“No, thank you,” I say.
There’s a long silence, while she most likely processes what she’s just heard. “Pardon me?” she asks stiffly.
“No. Thank you, though. I really do appreciate the effort on my behalf. The truth is, I do have a plan, and it’s a very good one. I’ve actually applied for university here. I want to be an elementary school teacher.”
“A teacher?” she sputters. “But you hated school, and you were an awful student. Absolutely dreadful.”
“But I do think I’d love teaching. I love kids, and it’s an honest profession, Mother.”
“An honest profession that pays nothing,” she quips.
“The pay is enough. As crazy as that may sound, I’ve discovered that having a purpose is as important as cash when it comes to happiness.”
After a long pause, Bunny says, “Is this about that woman you were living with? Did she talk you into this?”
“If you’re referring to Brianna, I haven’t spoken with her in weeks, so, no. Besides, she’s not the type to manipulate people into doing what she wants.”Unlike some other people I can think of…
“This is ridiculous. I’m going to march straight to your father’s office and get him. Then the two of us are going to fly down there and pick you up. That’s enough of this nonsense. You need to come back home where you belong.”
“I am where I belong.”
“I’m not going to have one of my sons embarrass the family by working as ateacherfor the rest of his life.”
