When I got inside I saw that Jack was busy in the kitchen. He was clearly freshly showered and only wearing a pair of boxers as he did some dishes.
"Hey! Right on time!" He said excitedly as he took the groceries from me and set them on the counter....next to a couple cases of beer and a few bottles of liquor.
He saw my look of confused concern.
"Alex and Jim are coming over tomorrow. Their wives let them free for a couple of days."
My heart sank a little. I was hoping to have Jack all to myself. But I quickly realized it was unfair to think he wouldn't spend time with his best friends.
He saw my disappointment. "Ah! Don't worry. It'll be fun. I promise. We usually go away together this week. But with everything going on with my divorce and all, we decided to pass this year and just hang out here. I probably should have told you that. With that in mind, I need to talk to you. I have some good news and bad news."
"What? What is it?"
"Let's get this place cleaned up and ready for the weekend first. We have to get the patio straightened out too. Then we can sit down and talk."
Ohhhh....I didn't like the sound of this at all. But I got busy dusting and straightening up. It was pretty late by the time we finished with the patio.
We plopped down on the couch, each holding a beer. "So what is it you need to tell me?"
"What do you want first, the good news or the bad news?"
"What's the bad news?" I braced myself.
"Next week I have to leave on a business trip so I need to cut my vacation time. I'll be gone for 2 weeks. There's nothing I can do about it. It's required for the position and I'm still pretty new there."
I sighed. I was clearly disappointed but it didn't sound like protesting was going to change anything.
"Ok. So what's the good news?"
"Well, if your interested, I've lined up an internship for you at my firm. Once you graduate you'll qualify for a three month unpaid position. If they like you it'll turn full time, permanent, with full benefits."
I was ecstatic!! Aside from being stressed out about classes and projects and tests and homework, what I would be doing after graduation loomed over my head. It was like a huge weight was lifted of my shoulders.