“The summer on my grandparents’ farm became my whole personality, and I ended up choosing to stay with them every summer until I finished high school.”
“Every summer?”
“Yup.”
“Did you start wearing cowboy boots and a hat?”
He leaned back. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I didn’t answer, suddenly struck by the alluring image of Duke in a cowboy hat.
Thankfully, he kept going. “My parents are also a little gray. They’re good people. They mean well. They do lots of good in the community. But what if I told you that I was only sent to my grandparents’ house because my parents already had a trip to Europe planned for the summer? They paid for all the mailboxes and then told all their friends they were sending me away to the farm to straighten up.”
My brow furrowed. “They didn’t make you pay for the mailboxes?”
“I had never had a job at that point. Honestly, I think it was easier to just pay for it than to take the time to teach me to work. Probably a big part of why I spent so much time goofing off.”
“More like damaging personal property, but go on.” I motioned him to continue with a wave and was rewarded with a sheepish smile.
“Anyway. Let’s just say that I owe my grandparents a lot.” The softness in his tone and the pride in his voice caused my heart to burn for some reason. All the while, my mind reeled with this information, though I was still not even close to knowing the full picture.
“So…back to your company. Why do you not think it will work? Is it the money to start up?” Instantly I blanched, remembering myself. The waiting room was full, noisy even for the middle of the night, but we were tucked away into our own corner, leaving a cozy kinship kind of feeling. That had to be the cause of my loose tongue.
Duke didn’t seem worried by my tactless question. “No. My parents are planning to loan us the money to move into a building downtown, but I’m not sure. We hired a designer, and we have one client so far. I’m just having a hard time getting into the idea of it all.”
“Why?” The freedom and money to do whatever he wanted felt like a lavish dream to me. That he would be so flippant with the idea made my insides physically ache.
“I just… I’ve tried a few business ideas before, and they’ve always fizzled out. We lost quite a bit of money on the last idea I had. I’m having a hard time finding something I’m passionate about long term.”
“We?”
He shifted. “My parents.”
“Do they hold it against you?”
He scoffed, laughing a little bitterly. “Not really. They’re so focused on me becoming successful that they don’t care about the money.”
“Is there a family business they want you to take over one day?” I asked, folding my arms and turning in my seat toward him.
He tapped my foot. “You watch too many movies.”
“Am I close, though?”
His teeth were pearly white and perfectly aligned in his mouth. I’d know, because I was learning that Duke was the jovial sort who’d happily flash me a smile even when nothing we were talking about was particularly funny.
“They don’t care much about what I do as long as I’m as successful as them or close to it.”
“Did your parents fund all your other ideas?” I couldn’t get off the money thing. The idea of this was so foreign to me.
He seemed a bit embarrassed. “Not completely. But yeah, they’ve helped a lot.” He ran his hands through his hair and gave me a wan smile. “Sorry, this all probably seems so dumb to you. I just need to get out of my head and do it.”
What would it be like to have been raised like Duke? His life wasn’t as perfect as I’d imagined in my head, though he had at least lived in a somewhat functional family setting. They could go to school without having to worry about how much food was in the cupboards over the weekend. Their rent was a mortgage, and it was always paid. He could play sports and be in the chess club instead of working to make ends meet. To have parents that were in a position to help when needed. Parents whowantedto help. A flame of jealousy shot through me before I squashed it. I couldn’t blame Duke for his upbringing any more than I could be blamed for mine.
“Anyway…not sure why I went off like that. Probably your intimidating demand for more information.”
“Hey. You gave me unsolicited advice. Do you want mine? It’s only fair.”
He laughed, motioning with his hands for me to continue. “I’m all ears.”
