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Jake
Living in downtown Houston comes with several perks. Being close to the office tops the list, plus being walking distance to the theater district and restaurants a close second.
My commute takes me less than fifteen minutes at six in the morning. Driving to an eco-friendly building that my grandfather helped to design fills me with pride. We applied and received the green building certification this year for all the energy-saving features. Bringing CJ’s boutique firm to consult on all aspects of design allowed me to partner with my best friend like we used to when we were interns.
Walking by my grandfather’s picture in the lobby reminds me that he’s no longer with us. I miss him every day and work hard to make sure that I keep his legacy alive. I’m forever grateful that he could see the completion of our new headquarters. Even though he retired five years ago, he would come into the office a few times a week. We made a point to have lunch together on those days talking about anything and nothing at all.
Folks often assume that I became an architect because of my dad when it was my grandfather who inspired me. My grandfather would let me sit in his design sessions even when I was barely tall enough to see the top of his desk. Back then, everything that my grandfather did, appeared larger than life. He answered all of my questions and took the time to explain his decisions. I regret not telling him he was my role model. He ran his business with integrity and kept his commitments. My grandfather taught me the value of hard work and building a stellar reputation.
CJ and Travis live their lives by the same creed which doesn’t surprise me. My grandfather ingrained in me that my friends reflected me. I glance at my watch, notice that two hours have passed and see Jim, my colleague, standing in my doorway. I’d been grappling with this one design element for my Boston client all last week and had an inspiration over the weekend that I’ve been working to put on paper before showing my boss, Tom, for his feedback.
“Jake, how was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?” asks Jim.
“Got in some training for the triathlon yesterday by biking 20 miles and spent time in the pool. How was your weekend?”
“Our oldest turned two on Saturday, so we had a birthday party with ten kids and twenty adults. I originally wanted to have the party at home, but my wife talked me into having the party at Chuck E. Cheese. Thank goodness that she’s the planner of the family. Once the kids got souped-up on sugar, it was every man for himself.” Jim shivers and laughs.
I’m happy for him and Bethany. It seems like just yesterday when I attended their wedding over three years ago. I used to wonder if I would ever find that one person in the world who was my soulmate. When I went on my vacation, I didn’t have “finding the one” on my To Do list, but fate played a hand in bringing Gabi and me together. I can’t wait until we get married. “Sounds like a good time. Can’t wait until I start a family.”
“Oh no, watch out, the future ‘wannabe Mrs. McAdams’ headed this way.”
I groan. Courtney will never give up, no matter how many ways I tell her I’m not interested. She started a year after I joined the company. To make matters worse, our fathers are fraternity brothers, so we run in the same circles. You’d think that she’d get the message by now since I’ve mastered dodging her advances.
“Hi Courtney,” says Jim. I give him the ‘really dude,’ scowl. “How was your weekend?”
“Not so good,” then Courtney addresses me directly, “I thought you were planning to attend the charity golf tournament on Saturday. I kept looking for you.”
“Oh, something came up I couldn’t avoid. Jim, I have this design that needs your input.” Hopefully, Courtney gets the hint.
Jim looks at me with a ‘what the hell are you talking about?’ frown. He hesitates, but says, “Yeah, now’s actually good. My next meeting doesn’t start for fifteen minutes.”
“Catch up with you later, Courtney.”
“Yeah, um, of course,” then as she walks away, she says in a low voice, “I guess that I’ll see you later.”
“Jake, that poor girl. What’s wrong with you? Why won’t you at least take her on a date?”
“No way, man. There are more reasons than I care to count why I would never date her. The biggest is because nothing resembling a spark or any type of chemistry exists between Courtney and me. Why don’t you introduce her to one of your friends?” Jim and I aren’t really what I would consider close, so I don’t mention the main reason is because I’m off the market. Gabi is it for me. I knew on the cruise that I would have asked her to marry then if I knew she wouldn’t think that I’d lost my mind after only knowing her for six days.
We talk about nothing, really just wasting a little time until we’re sure that the coast is clear. Then Jim looks down at his watch. “I’ll catch up with you later. Better head back to my office before I’m late for the meeting.”
“Sounds good. Catch you later.”
DISCOVERY GREEN PARK, in downtown Houston, over the years has become a true gathering destination with an ice-skating rink, restaurants, splash park for the kids, a small lake, and jogging trail that unfortunately becomes crowded depending upon the time of day. Hopefully, we found the sweet spot to complete our run by meeting an hour before the dinner crowd arrives. Today’s our long run day to ensure that we stay on track with our training. I still can’t believe that our triathlon is only two months away. I’m the virgin of the group since this is my first triathlon.
CJ corralled Travis into doing these with him a few years ago. I’m sure that the guys sensed I needed an outlet after losing my grandfather. Some days the grief would hit me out of the blue, especially on the days when I would pick up the phone to share an update with my grandfather, only to remember that he’s no longer here.
After stretching, we run in silence for a few miles before CJ says, “I like Gabi. She’s cool.”
I can’t allow this chance to slip by without teasing CJ. “I’m surprised that you knew any of us were there besides you and Sam.” He stumbles for a second before getting his rhythm back. Travis and I laugh.
“Y’all are assholes. Not sure why you two are even my best friends.”
“Of course, you do. You and I are both closet Lego geeks. Who else would have helped you build your Lego space shuttle? I can continue if you need more reminders.”
“Well, whatever man. I’ve been meaning to tell you I like her for you. You have a problem though.”
What is CJ talking about? “What problem?”
“Between me and Travis, who’s going to be your best man? You can only pick one.”
“He’s right, Jake. Curious minds want to know.”
“Shocker... but I’ve already solved for this.”
“When did you do this? Was it during the cruise or after this weekend?” asks Travis.
“Actually, it was after my first weekend back from the cruise with Gabi.”
“I told you CJ... he’s a goner,” says Travis.
“No, I see it too, Travis,” agrees CJ.
“Can you both stop talking about me as if I’m not here?”
“We’re just giving you a hard time,” says CJ and Travis at the same time.
“And for the record, we’re happy for you, especially after the near miss with Shelly,” adds CJ.
He’s right. I had a close call with Shelly, my girlfriend from my senior year of undergrad through mid-way of my master’s program. I’d never been in love and concluded that it didn’t exist. The decision to marry Shelly seemed logical. She was reliable, had been with me for over three years and made sense to me that this was the next step in our relationship. If it weren’t for CJ and Travis talking some sense into me, I would have pulled the trigger and asked her to marry me. After a candid conversation with Shelly, she shared she didn’t have deep feelings for me either but couldn’t figure how to end the relationship amicably. We broke up over five years ago.
“I owe you both for helping me realize my reasons weren’t a sound foundation for starting a marriage and now having met Gabi, I realize the marriage to Shelly would have been a disaster.”