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“Thanks for having us over, Mrs. Watson,” I greet River’s mom as I come in. I haven’t been here before because River and I always work at his dorm, the library, or random coffee shops with free Wi-Fi and cheap refills. But Arielle has been here several times and seems comfortable, throwing Mrs. Watson a wave and then flopping onto a lounger by the pool.
Arielle is talking to a very cute blonde with her hair in matching messy buns on either side of her head. That must be Riley, I realize, the friend Arielle talks about nonstop.
“Hi, boys, Arielle!” Mrs. Watson says warmly. I appreciate the welcome. “Dad’s inside, River.”
River holds up a finger to me and heads toward the back door, but it swings open and an older version of River steps out. Mr. Watson is a little shorter and narrower than River, but the blond, blue-eyed good looks are unmistakable.
“River! Good to see you, Son!” he calls out, and the two men meet in the middle for a hug. Not some awkward, side crunch of a hug either, but a back-clapping, tight, affectionate hug. “Missed you.”
“Missed you too, Dad,” River says easily.
His dad travels for work, though I don’t remember what he does. But the love between the two is obvious. Mr. Watson misses his family while he’s gone.
“All right, I need the steaks on the grill in ten minutes. I’m going in to make salad and mash the potatoes,” Mrs. Watson says, and Mr. Watson hops his feet together, saluting her.
“Yes ma’am. On it.” He’s smiling at her, eyes bright as he catches her with a soft tap to her butt as she scoots by.
“Dad, we have company,” River complains.
“I know, that’s why I just swatted her. If it were just you kids, I’d have kissed her.” Mr. Watson laughs good-naturedly. Before River can complain more, he offers me his hand. “You must be Noah? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Yes, sir. Nice to meet you.”
“I’d better get this fire going if I want any mashed potatoes. You boys want to help me?” Mr. Watson asks.
In actuality, he taught River and me how to stack the mesquite briquettes, pour some sort of fancy fire starter stuff over them, and light them. He was friendly and engaging, joking as he blew on the small flames to encourage them to grow as he told us all the hows and whys of fire making and grilling. It was a lesson I’d never had before because we didn’t have a grill. But also, because I didn’t have a dad to teach me those sorts of things.
When the steaks are done, Mr. Watson takes them inside, telling us that he and Mrs. Watson will get everything finished up. River rolls his eyes and tells his dad, “We know you’re only going in there to kiss on Mom.”
Mr. Watson winks and carries the plate of steaks into the house like a caveman taking a saber-toothed tiger back to his cave, strutting with swagger. I see where River gets his own confidence.
River and I sit down at an umbrella-shaded table by our sisters, who are engaged in whatever deep, important discussions eighteen-year-old girls have. If Arielle’s bitching about work again, I might scream. She’s got an asshole regular at the mall restaurant where she works who keeps taking up one of her tables and not leaving her a tip, all the while trying to ask her out.
“You ready for the next chapter?” River asks me, grabbing two cans of beer from the cooler beside us. “At Life Corp?”
I nod, cracking open the beer and taking a sip. “I wish it had been different.”
“How so?” River asks in surprise. “We paid our investors off, made money on the deal, and got sweet jobs. It could’ve been a lot worse. You know how many apps and tech startups fail. You did the research.”
I nod, still not mollified. “I get it. But we failed, River. Sort of, anyway.” I can’t explain it. I’m proud of what we did, but I feel like it wasn’t enough, and I worry we took the easy way out because Life Corp started flashing cash around. Figuratively, of course, because it’s all zeroes on contracts, loans, and bank statements.
“If we failed, we failed upward,” River says, holding up his beer in a toast before taking a sip. “That’s not failure in my book. It’s how success and legends are made.”
I mull that over, trying to see what River’s saying because he’s not wrong. Not exactly. But as I’m quiet, Arielle and Riley’s conversation comes into focus, grabbing my attention.
“So, I was thinking, why not see what I can do?” Riley’s telling Arielle. “I mean, we’re going to college, so I can use my free time to make a business of it. And who knows, if it takes off, I might not even finish college.”
