City Boys

Alex

He wiped his mouth before answering. “About thirteen years. I left the summer I graduated.”

I quickly did the math and pegged him to be thirty, maybe thirty-one. “College, or did you just leave to leave?”

He laughed. “Maybe a little of both. I was born and raised here. Any vacations we took were to local towns. The farm never allowed my grandfather the chance to really get away for a week. The day I graduated, I felt like I sprouted wings. I couldn’t wait to spread them.”

“Did you immediately go to New York?” I pressed, realizing I was essentially interviewing him. I told myself it was all part of me assuring he was ready for the farm.

“I did. I went to NYU. Took a while but landed the job at the magazine and that’s where I’ve been.”

I had to laugh. “So, you flew one coop only to find yourself locked in another?”

He grinned. “I suppose that’s accurate, although my coop in New York was a little bigger and a little more eventful. I was young. I needed excitement. I craved the big c