Page 97 of Love Medley
Wyatt shakes his head. “Are you kidding me? We’re just what Dad’s made of us. He’s dictated our paths in life since we were in diapers. When Dad says jump, we jump. When he says do something, Sterling and I are fighting each other to be his yes man. But you? You chart your own course.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t have anything to do with courage. I’m just not built like you guys—you have buckets of ambition and drive and the smarts to back it up. I might be able to make the grades, but I just don’t want it that much. You’ve never wavered from the path.”
Wyatt gives me a half-smile. “I don’t really think that’s as positive a thing as you’re making. We never strayed because we didn’t dare to. But you? You know who you are. You’ve always gone after what you’ve wanted. You understand what people need. You always have. You made me laugh when I was upset about something Dadsaid or when I was crushed by a bad grade. That’s valuable, Jake. Nursing is the perfect job for you. No matter what anyone says.”
I’m completely thrown by this conversation. Over time, I’ve accepted that I won’t impress anyone with my career choice. I’m a happy-go-lucky guy, but I’m average by any metric. And I’m okay with that most days. But then this?
This shakes my view of myself.
And my mom too. During our recent phone call, she recognized my teaching abilities and acknowledged that my dad treated me unfairly.
And Luke. His words at TNT a few weeks ago reverberate through my head.You just need to man up and realize how awesome you are. I had kind of laughed off his comments and put them aside.
And finally, Lucy. How many times has she told me how much she admires me for standing up to my family and doing my own thing? How proud she is that I’m forging my own path?
But now Wyatt is saying the same thing. If all these people that I admire are saying these things to me, maybe I’m not seeing myself in the clearest of lights.
It’s a lot to unpack.
“Wow, thanks, Wyatt. I… guess I never thought of it that way.”
“You should. Because to me, you’re more of a superstar than any of the rest of us in this fucked-up family. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the courage to tell our family that I’m gay. You, on the other hand—you know what you want, and you just go for it.”
“Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment.”
“When’s the last time you caved to our father’s expectations?”
“Med school…” I mutter.
“And then you found a way to drop that and pursue what you really loved, no matter what our parents thought. And to anyone else with eyes, you’re impressive. I mean… doyouknow any other hard-working nurses that also play in a piano bar?”
I don’t know why I’ve never told Wyatt about my part-time gig. Maybe I was worried he’d look down on it. “You know about that?”
“I work a lot, but I don’t live under a rock,” Wyatt chuckles while taking another long sip of his beer. “You definitely lead a much more interesting life than I do. I’m super boring in comparison.”
“You should swing by TNT sometime,” I say. And to my surprise, I mean it.
“I will. I’ve wanted to for a long time.”
We drink in silence for a few moments.
I clear my throat. “I don’t think I can stand smelling this takeout anymore. How about we dig in?”
“Sounds good.”
Wyatt’s gone all out with his order: fried egg rolls, fried rice, noodles, beef and broccoli, General Tso’s chicken, and my favorite, mushu pork. As we eat, we exchange lighthearted banter and reminisce about ridiculous pranks we played on each other when we were younger.
It’s nice. Really nice.
After we finish eating and clean up the leftovers, Wyatt mentions he probably needs to get going—he has an early morning meeting.
As he gets his shoes on, I say, “Hey, don’t be a stranger.”
“I won’t be,” Wyatt says, and I believe him. Maybe there’s hope for us after all.
But after Wyatt leaves, his questions remain. They echo in the staggering silence.
Is he right? Is Lucy just going to leave me?
