Easy Farewell

“You got everything you need?” Toby’s dad asked him. The end of summer had come quickly, and they were standing before the door of his dorm room. They had spent the morning moving his stuff in to the college only thirty minutes away from home, and now there was no real need for his dad to be there.

“I think so.” Toby said to his father, smiling. His eyes were burning, and he was outside of an all guys dormitory hall. Not a good combination.

“Alright then, I guess I’ll take off.”

“Dad?” Toby asked, and his dad looked up towards him. Toby could see the tears in his dad’s eyes, too.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.” Toby said, giving his father a hug. After being away for most of the summer, impossibly entangled in a world of immortality, it was weird to be going to... college.

“I love you too, son. And your mother would be proud of you, standing here today.”

“I know.” Toby said. He swallowed the rejections by his mind that his father wasn’t really his father. Regardless of the god named Zeus who held up the heavens and earth, his father was the man who raised him. The man who took him to the hospital when he needed it, yelled at him, worked with him, grounded him. All of that.

“I’m proud of you too, alright?” His dad let him go from the hug and stood back, smiling. “Now go have fun, and don’t knock anyone up. I’ve taught you better than that.” His dad said, rubbing his head.

“Alright dad. See you in a while.” Toby said and watched as his father walked towards the car, shoulders back, walking relaxed, tears streaming down his face.

“Single dad?” A voice came from behind him. Toby turned around to see the face of his new roommate. Toby swallowed, wiped the water out of his eyes and nodded.

“Me, too. He just left out the other entrance. I saw your shirt so I figured I’d come over and say hi.”

“Well, hi.” Toby managed. His roommate seemed calm. Nice. Ari had mentioned that she had kind of pushed to get him a roommate that he wouldn’t have problems with. Not that it mattered much, considering that Toby would barely be there during the night.

“So... Toby, right?” His roommate looked at him. Toby nodded.

“And you’re John.” Toby answered him, and he turned to walk back into the building. “We have a shit load of stuff to unpack.” And one hell of a year to start. Even without Kat. Yet.

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