Not the One

It was night time. I was at home, miserable, knowing that Jane was leaving in a matter of minutes. I was disappointed that I couldn’t see her leave at the airport.
I hated myself. Mostly because I wished I confessed my love to her earlier. Another reason for my self-hatred was that I wished I had bigger goals. Then maybe we might have had a chance together. But I thought long and hard, and nothing came up. I was not meant to have big goals. I finished high school, without a set plan. I had no interest in going to college mainly because my parents could not afford to send me. Also, I didn’t have the best grades and I wasn’t the brightest kid in my school to receive scholarships or rewards that would make me stand out.
Thinking back to the conversation Jane and I had on my dad’s birthday, I realized how much of a loser I was. I seriously thought if I waited long enough and then told Jane my true feelings, she would accept me and we could start a family together. Stupid me. I had no idea she wanted to live a bigger dream, which obviously did not involve me.
Sitting around at home with nothing to do made me more and more sad. The only way for me to even get to the airport was to run there. There was no way I could run 20 miles in less than thirty minutes.
There was nothing for me to do to distract the immense pain I was feeling in my chest. I lost the love of my life. I wasn’t even sure we could be friends anymore. It seemed like she wanted to leave me permanently, just like how her mother wanted to happen ever since we were young.
My life felt incomplete without Jane. It hasn’t even been a day yet, and I felt like everything in my life changed.
The only solution I could think of was to climb into bed and let the tears fall. At least no one had to see me in such misery.
I was getting comfortable in bed, listening to the soft rustle of the trees outside my window. It was soothing, but my sobbing drowned it out every now and then.
My mom knocked on the door. I didn’t answer.
“Honey, Leo, come out. I made vegetable soup. Come and drink it while it’s still hot,” she said.
I gave her a muffled reply. I never told anyone my secret crush on Jane, and there was no way I was telling my mom now. She would laugh and tease me.
I heard the door close. She was gone, and I was glad.
It was the next morning. I was supposed to be helping my dad water the corn, but I really did not feel like doing any work. When he came in, I told him I felt sick.
Outside my door, I heard my dad say, “He must be sad that Jane left. She was his best friend, his only friend.”
My mom sighed. “Well, we can’t stop her from pursuing a career of her choice.”
Their short conversation motivated me to get up out of bed. Even if I didn’t have big plans like Jane, I could at least live up to my word of staying in Iowa and helping my parents.
I put on a huge smile and greeted my parents who were sitting at the dining table, eating toast. “Good morning! I feel great. I’m ready to tend the corn!”
My parents gave me a puzzled look. Okay, maybe I was too enthusiastic, but I didn’t want them to see me depressed over Jane’s departure.
I grabbed some toast and went outside. I was going to start my life anew. One that did not include Jane. She would be in my past. I wanted to forget about her. All the memories we shared. It was going to be hard, but I had to do it if it meant a better future for myself. There was no reason to be pining over someone who would never love me.
For the rest of the day, I carefully watered the corn. Each one receiving approximately the same amount of water. I couldn’t wait to see them grow nice and ripe. I loved riding in the truck with my dad going to the market to sell the corn. We always sold all of them because everyone loved ours and our prices. I had something to look forward to in the near future.
When the sun was setting, I went back inside and helped my mom make dinner. I prepared fresh lettuce and tomatoes to make a simple salad. I could smell the macaroni was she making.
After a nice, quiet dinner, I washed the dishes. With so much time after that, I decided to do the laundry for my parents. I had nothing to do after that so I went to bed early.
For the next month, my schedule was the same every day. The only exception was today, the last Sunday of June.
My dad came over to me after lunch and announced, “Son, we’re going to the market today. I stayed up all night picking the corn so we would have them ready for today.”
“Awesome! I’ll help you load the corn into the truck.”
Yes! Finally something exciting happening after a month of dullness and boredom. I still thought about Jane every day, but as each day passed, less and less of those thoughts involved her.
I got in the passenger side of my dad’s truck. He came over to the window. “Why don’t I let you drive today?”
“All right, I’ll do it,” I replied. I loved driving his truck. One day, I planned to get my own so I could use it whenever I wanted.
The market was a little ways outside of the farm area. It was located in a section of the city. I only ever came here to sell corn with my dad. It was nice to see a lot of people walking around, talking, and eating.
I helped my dad set up our stand next to the popular grocery store, Mr. Grocers. Once when I went in there, I had to wait an hour in line just to buy a pack of ham. It was the only big grocery store in the city so I wasn’t surprised it received a lot of business.
It was the late afternoon, and I was a little bit disappointed that only five customers came over. Usually we would get at least 20.
I glanced over at my dad, and I saw his face glow. He was smiling and waving to someone in the distance. I looked and saw a guy walking over.
“Hey, hey! Long time no see, Mark!” the guy called.
“How have you been, Daniel?” My dad asked the guy.
“Great. Real great. I see you’re selling your corn today. How’s that coming along?”
“Ah, not well. Barely anyone came over. Not the usual, I guess,” my dad said, a tint of sadness in his voice.
“Ha, don’t worry. I came here to buy corn today. I’ll take… hmmm… three dozen.”
“Wow! Okay.” My dad grabbed some bags, filled them up with corn, and gave them to Daniel.
“Who’s this?” Daniel asked, looking at me.
“He’s my son, Leo. He usually comes along with me to sell corn.”
“I see. How old are you?”
“19.”
“Do you have a job?”
“No, sir.”
My dad included, “Well, he helps me with the corn. And sometimes his mother with the baking. I consider those to be jobs. Even though we don’t necessarily pay him.”
“Not in college?” Daniel questioned.
“Nope,” I replied.
“All right.” Daniel stood there. He looked like he was thinking hard about something. “Tell you what. I’m going to offer you a job as a janitor working for my company in Malibu. I’ll pay $10 an hour. I only need you for 2 months because our head janitor went to the hospital and we couldn’t find a suitable replacement. Sounds good?”
“Um, I’m not sure.” I looked over to my dad, hoping for him to say something.
“Excuse me, Daniel, can I have a moment with my son?” My dad asked.
“Sure, sure. Take your time.”
My dad and I went over to the side of the stand.
“Leo, I think you should take this job. It’s a good opportunity for you to leave Iowa, and you know, explore somewhere else. Going to California for 2 months might be a nice change for you. I know, being a janitor isn’t the best job, but it’s something. Think about it, please?” My dad said.
I stood there, silently thinking about this. Should I go? Did I really want to leave home? Jane obviously did. Maybe I should too so if she ever came back and talked to me, I could tell her I actually left the state. Yeah, I should do it.
“Okay, I’m doing it.”
We went over to Daniel.
“Sir, I would like to work for you,” I said, proudly.
“Good. I’ll pay for your plane tickets. Also, I have a spare guestroom in my house so you can use that. No expenses needed.”
“Nice. Thanks.”
“Also, I’ll come be at the airport waiting for you in 3 days. Have all your things ready by then. I’ll see you guys later.”
“Okay, thanks! It was nice talking to you again, Daniel,” said my dad.
This was it. I was going to go somewhere new, start something new.