Free What if I Fly? by Jayne Conway Page B

spring, he’s been working at Petersons Yachts, learning to build boats from the ground up and he loves it. He gets satisfaction working with his hands, building something that’ll bring pleasure to other people. He’s making pretty good money, but his father doesn’t consider it a suitable career.
    “I didn’t pay for your education to watch you become a laborer. You’d be taking our family backwards, not forward. Do you want to live like my father, slaving outdoors all day, scrimping pennies? I’ve worked hard to give you every opportunity in this world. I expect you to take advantage of your good fortune.”
    Except for leaving Princeton, Will’s done everything expected of him, by his parents, and by his friends. Blindly, he’s followed the path set out for him since birth and it doesn’t feel right anymore. But he’s tired of arguing with his father. They’ve always had an easy relationship and it’s been strained since he finished his degree in December.
    His father says he wants what’s best for him. How can he possibly know what makes Will happy? He’s never asked him what he wants. Hell, I don’t even know what I want! He feels like he’s just starting to figure things out for himself.
    Last night, his mother came to his room to have ‘a talk’.
    “Will, what’s going on with you? Why don’t you take one of the jobs you’ve already been offered?” He sat on his bed and sighed. “What is it sweetheart?”
    “Mom, my heart just isn’t in finance. I don’t know what to do.”
    “Well, dear, you could’ve changed your major at any time, but you didn’t.” She patted his knee, “No one told you to go into Daddy’s field.”
    He thought about going into engineering when he transferred to URI, but he didn’t. He wanted to make his father proud, so he chose to follow in his footsteps. It’s his own fault, he put himself in this situation. The last thing Will wants to do is disappoint his parents again, and after his mother left his room last night he realized he has to learn to live with his choice.
     
    This position in Washington is a compromise in his eyes. His father wants him to get a job in the private sector, but at the very least Will needs to find greater meaning in his work, even if he is a small cog in a giant machine. He’d rather contribute to the greater good than work for an equity firm making a few rich people, richer. It’s not in his nature to make waves, and it’s time to make peace with his father.
    Since the wedding, he’s stayed away from the yacht club except to go sailing on his dad’s boat, and has for the most part avoided his old circle of friends. The few times he’s been in their company he felt awkward. They’re strangers to him now.
    Something shifted in him, he’s looking at everything through a new set of lenses and he doesn’t like what he sees. He was struck by how much his friends value appearance over substance and couldn’t believe he never noticed that before. There’s a total disconnect between the life Will was living and these new feelings of dissatisfaction. Even when he was hanging out with his friends he felt lonely and that is an unfamiliar, uncomfortable feeling. Moving away from Rhode Island would be a good thing…a new beginning.
    He misses Julia so much. He’s replayed the night of the wedding a thousand times in his head, what he can remember of it. The guys did leer at her. They made comments to him about how sexy she was, and how lucky he was to have a ‘hot little number’ like her. He didn’t stop them. He was proud to have Julia with him and objectified her as much as they did.
    Julia is beautiful. She is sexy.
    But the difference is he loves her. If he thinks those things, he should tell Julia, not some jerks. When he told Ellie what Julia shared about her experience at the wedding, his sister stared at him, wide-eyed, mouth hung open. Finally, she shook her head and walked out of his room, saying, “I’ve got