The Lies and the Lives of the Taken

Frank 26

        "Come on, we can throw you a big party and-"

        "Yeah, me," I say, stopping him while he's ahead, "a party guy."

        Cody laughs at me. "It's you're going away party. And it could be your graduation party and-"

        I put a hand over his mouth. "Cody, two days ago when we graduated, you all went out. And I enjoyed staying home. I'm not a party guy. And I'm not saying I don't want to do anything at all. Dinner with you and Jenna and a few others would be great. But not a party."

        "You're moving away," Jenna says. "We should send you off with a bang."

        I flop down on their couch. "Or we order Chinese food and have a movie night."

        Cody glares at me with his hands on his hips. "Like we always do? Like we're doing tonight?"

        I shrug at him. "I'm enjoying tonight."

        "Okay, Mr. Photographer," Jenna says, sitting down next to me. The smile fades down and she gets serious. "How long until you move to Maryland?"

        "I don't know," I say, glancing down. "I mean, I've been getting a lot of offers these last couple of months since I moved back but...nothing like this. They're paying me twice as much for all the other jobs. I mean, a 22-year-old becoming a freelance photographer for D.C. politicians, I can barely fathom I was still offered it. And I mean, I haven't told them anything. I still need to decide if I'm going to take it."

        Cody and Jenna exchange looks before glancing back at me. "You are going to take it, Frank," Jenna says. 

        "I don't know, I need to think it over."

        "Yeah, think it over. But I could save you time and tell you that you're going to take it," Cody says. I look up at him. "Come on, this is the kind of offer you get 5 years out of college. Not the day after graduation. And they're paying you more than you could have asked for, which will get rid of all your student loans." I widen my eyes at the thought of needing to pay those off. "And it's also..."

        "I'm not doing it because of that," I quickly say.

        "I know it's not the only reason," Cody says. "But I know it's definitely a bonus."

        "If you move to Maryland, how far will you be away from Gerard?" Jenna asks. 

        "I genuinely don't know," I say. "I'm not sure where he lives since he's only visited me here. But I know I'll be really close."

        "You didn't ask him yet?"

        "What? Of course not," I say. "I first got to talk to my family and then I got to tell the company I'm taking the offer. And I also don't want him to think I'm doing this because of him. He wouldn't be happy. But it's not the case." I mean, if this job was anywhere, I'd take it. Well, maybe not anywhere. I don't want to move to the other side of the country. Although, I wouldn't be opposed to living back in Austria. But in Maryland, I wouldn't be too far from my family and friends. And this is a really good job. It's almost too perfect. 

        I know Gerard will worry about the reason why I took it. It's not like I can't live without him. The two months I've been back in New York, we've planned weekends where he's come up and we spent time together. And they were great. But the other job would be really good. "So?" Cody asks.

        I roll my eyes at him, laughing. "You're probably right," I say, "but I'm not focusing on that right now. Let's just watch the movie."