“Huh. So if it’s not that…then you have a lunch date with your mom?”
“Crap,” I say under my breath. “I don’t. But thank you for the reminder that I’m failing as a son.”
“You’re not failing. You’re just trying to find a way to juggle everything at once,” he reassures me.
“Thanks,” I tell him and I knock on Jerry’s door. I push in when I hear his muffled voice tocome inand look back to see Carter resting on the side of a desk in someone’s cubicle, telling me he’ll wait for me. Rolling my eyes, I open the door and see him hunched over his computer.
“Need a bigger font, old man?” I tease and drop down in the seat in front of his desk.
Jerry has the biggest office, but his things only take up a small portion. We all joke that he should just take up a cubicle, but then people would have to put up with his constant mumbling.
“Watch it. I’m not that much older than your dad.”
“I know.”
In a weird twist of fate, when I landed this internship and told my dad, he was elated it was here. Him and Jerry went to high school together. Although they were never thebest of friends back then, they also never spoke a bad word about each other.
“What’s up?”
“What was the first date you took your wife on?” I ask, deciding to just go straight to my questioning.
His bushy eyebrows fly above the lenses of his glasses. “Have you been hiding something from us?”
“No.”
“Okay,” he says, and I know this isn’t the last of the topic. “Well, it was our third year of college, and I took her to pizza at one of the student centers because I had no money, but I had a meal plan and a dream. Then I took her to one of the plays that the drama department was putting on, which turned out to be The Rocky Horror Show.”
“She liked that?” I ask with a crinkle in my brows.
“That she did. I was also studying her for years before finally asking her out. I knew what she liked and what she didn’t like. So when the time came—meaning I finally put on my big boy pants—I wasn’t floundering when I asked her out.”
“Um…”
“Oh, hush. Back then, we called that romantic. Nowadays, you kids like to just stalk each other's location and hope to “turn up” wherever their crush is at.” Jerry leans back in his chair and places his hands over his protruding belly. “This girl—sorry, this woman. You must like her enough to come in here and talk to me.”
“Yeah,” I draw out. “I’m taking her golfing tomorrow and I wanted to let you know that I have to head out to get her outfit.”
“Do you have any other meetings today?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head.
Jerry shrugs. “Just take the rest of the day. Start your weekend early.”
“Really?”
“Why not? I might give everyone a headstart to their weekend.”
“Huh,” I start and stand up, heading toward the door, “maybe I should come to you with dating questions every Friday.”
“Not a chance. Get out of here.”
Chuckling, I step out of Jerry’s office to find Carter still sitting on the desk. I head back to my office to gather my keys, phone, and wallet, all with my best friend trailing behind me.
“What’s up? Are you leaving?”
“Yeah. Don’t tell anyone, but Jerry’s thinking about sending everyone home early.”
He fist pumps the air, but then looks at me like a lost puppy. “Where areyougoing?”
