Roger and Kyle had been living on the same floor of their flat building for nearly two years now. Roger moved in by himself right after he finished college. Kyle had been living there for a little while longer, when he moved in with his father after his mother got re-married when he was ten. Like most people who shared flat buildings, Roger and Kyle barely knew each other and had little contact other than the occasional nod whenever they happened to share the lift. It goes without saying that they knew so little about one another that they didn’t even know each other’s names.
Roger wasted his graphic designer degree by working as a receptionist at a friend’s vet clinic a couple of blocks away from his flat. He did make more money, though, with one or another freelancing service, most of them designing web pages and social identities for start-ups. Kyle was at long last halfway through his final year at high school and his sweet day of freedom simply couldn’t come fast enough. Kyle didn’t have any kind of plan for his life after school and he knew that college was an impossible reality. The best plan he had come up with so far had been to wait a few weeks after graduation and start looking for anything at the local shops.
More often than not, Roger would come home with a stray animal he had rescued off the curb and would tend to the poor animal before putting them up for responsible adoption at the clinic. The very first animal he had ever rescued, though, a budgerigar he took from a foul-looking man three months after living there, still lived in his flat. Roger had decided to keep it and named it Jake. Jake had the whole flat to himself during the day and Roger was always certain Jake was happy to see him when he came home from work.
The only thing Kyle had to take his mind off things at school and at home was his skateboard. His father was rather strict about Kyle’s whereabouts and what time he left and arrived home for and from school, so Kyle didn’t really have the chance to explore the city as much as he would. But every day he would try to change his route a little bit, just so he could spend a little more time skating around. As the naturally easy-going person he was, Kyle got along well enough with pretty much everyone in his year, but because of his father strictness, he wasn’t really friends with any of the other kids. It was quite hard to maintain a friendship when you were forced to refuse every single invitation you got to go to a party, or the park, or the movies, etc.
When he wasn’t at school, Kyle’s father kept him busy enough with the house chores. By the time his father arrived home, Kyle had already cleaned the house, done the laundry, made the beds, cooked dinner, set the table, and done the dishes. And heaven forbid he hadn’t finished his homework yet. The only chore left was to wash the dinner dishes after they had finished eating. Kyle tended to it while his dad locked himself away in his room without barely saying good-night.
Roger and Kyle’s flat building was made entirely of two-bedroom flats. They were by no means large, especially the kitchen and the only bathroom, but Kyle had learned fast enough that the most peaceful way to live with his father was to tend to his needs at times he could be certain he wouldn’t be in his father’s way. His dad had never been physically violent towards him, but he did have a very short temper. Kyle knew very well how to count his blessings, and he never forgot what blessing it had been to get away from his mother’s new husband fast enough. A screaming father really was the least of his problems.
Roger’s timetable at his friend’s clinic was rather smooth. Because he lived so close to it, he allowed himself to have breakfast at home every morning and left home only at a quarter to nine, giving him just enough time to leisurely walk towards his workplace, most days whistling any tune while playing with the clinic keys dangling from his fingers. He would meet his friend already waiting for him at the door, unlock the chains and settle in for the day. He would let any early calls go to the answering machine while he hung up the posters outside and also while he brewed coffee for Liam and enough to have ready for the morning customers. Only then he would sit at his desk, listen to all, if any, voicemails and finally address them in order.
Roger and Liam had lunch together every day. Roger would lock the clinic’s front door, flip the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ and microwave the lunchboxes he had brought in his bag.
‘And how are mom and dad?’, Liam would ask one day during lunch.
‘Oh, you have to see how mom is excited! She already ordered her dress from a local seamstress and she can’t wait for the big day. Dad is doing fine. He says he wishes he could take you fishing some time before.’
‘Oh, I’d like that. I’ll call him when I get home tonight.’
‘Do so. He’ll like it. And mother and father? How are they dealing with their precious little baby finally tying the knot?’
‘Dude, can you believe my mother is still jealous?’ Liam said, sticking his fork back on the plate of stew and rice Roger had made for them. ‘I mean, I haven’t even lived with them since I started college, and how long has that been? And how long have I been dating Jen? You’d think mother would get used to it by now.’
‘What? Do you even know mother, Liam? Had she had it her way, you’d still be living at her house, eating nothing but her food.’
‘No, dude’, Liam said laughing and started eating again. ‘Had she had it her way, we’d both be living at her house, eating nothing but her food. By the way, this is delicious.’
‘Thanks.’
It had been like this since Roger and Liam left their small city to go to college. Liam was disastrous at the kitchen and they couldn’t afford eating out for every single meal, so Roger cooked for both of them. Liam helped by giving Roger extra money for groceries and that had been their mute agreement from the very first week they shared a flat close to school.
Although they had been friends apparently since birth, both Roger and Liam now secretly believed they were at the best stage of their friendship. They were still as close as two best friends for life can be, but now they finally had each their own place. Sure, the set of keys on both of their key chains was the same: the clinic’s, Liam’s flat, Liam’s car, and Roger’s flat, and they went and came as they pleased, except when pre-warned of their friend’s need of privacy. Liam’s and Roger’s parents had been friends since they had left college nearly thirty years ago. So much so that the four of them felt like parents to the two boys. And the two boys had no problem whatsoever with feeling like they had four parents.
Jen had come into their lives during their second year in college and Liam had fallen head over heels for her almost immediately. Roger was still single, but if he had ever feared that Jen’s arrival in their lives would risk his friendship with Liam, that feeling was certain to have vanished as fast as it had formed. Jen was also a great friend to Roger and she always knew and respected the bond he shared with her soon-to-be husband.
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