“You look like you have a lot on your mind.” Zachary flashed down the contents of his glass and put it down on the table next to him. “And you cannot say that I am wrong since I know you a little too well, son. You have a tell.”
Now, it was Victor’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “A tell?”
“Yes. Why do you think I have never allowed you to join me for my poker games?” Zachary laughed.
“But I have played with you before.”
“Yes, just me. But I have played with your brother and some of my business partners…together.”
“Surely, I can’t be that bad,” Victor said remorsefully and Zachary frowned.
“If it were up to you, I am sure you would have blown your entire trust fund on games.”
Victor forced out a laugh.
“So, like I said, you have a tell and it doesn’t take rocket science to prove that there is something cooking in that future legal brain of yours.”
Victor felt a chill run down his spine when his father said that. He was only making the situation more difficult for him. It was now or never. He didn’t think he was going to get another chance and, in his mind, he kept on thinking that there was no time like the present.
“Victor,” Zachary said in a soft voice.
He was just about to drop the bomb when his mother walked in.
“So, this is where my boys have been hiding,” she said smiling. She walked up to Victor and kissed his cheek. “I’ve hardly seen you all day.”
“I wanted to keep off the crowd today,” Victor said. It was not really a lie. He was actually avoiding company because he was scared that he would blurt out his true intention to just anyone after having one too many drinks. His heart was pounding as he looked at his parents. It was now or never. There was nothing else standing in his way.
“But you have always loved the Fourth of July parties,” Annalise said as she looked at Victor. She turned her attention to her husband. “Zachary, what is happening?”
“I asked him the same question just a few minutes before you walked in.”
“Everything alright, son?” she asked and Victor nodded. “Then what is it? This is not the usual jolly Victor I know.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Zachary said.
At that moment, they were both looking at him and Victor felt like he had a giant spotlight on him.
“Just say it,” he said to himself. “However you say it…there will never be a good way to put what you want into words.”
“Victor,” Annalise said again as she looked at him and he sighed loudly.
“Why don’t you guys sit down?” he said and his parents exchanged a worried look. They could both tell that something was up, but neither of them would have ever guessed what he was thinking about. He took a long deep breath and began pacing up and down.
“Victor, will you say whatever it is already? You are giving me a headache,” Zachary said and Victor ran his fingers through his thick brown hair.
“Is this about college? Did something happen?” Annalise asked and Victor wondered what he was supposed to say.
In essence, it was about college. Just not in the way they thought. He took another long deep breath.
“Yes, it’s about college,” he finally said when he found his voice.
“What about college? What happened?” Zachary sounded more concerned than ever.
“I won’t be graduating from Stanford,” he said and Annalise shook her head.
“What do you mean that you are not graduating from Stanford?” she asked.
“Just how much more do you need to put in so you can get to graduate?” Zachary asked. “Are you short a few credits or something?”
“I am short a whole lot of credit,” he thought as he looked at his parents.
“No…yes…okay, something like that.” He shook his head. “I am graduating just not from Stanford.”
Annalise raised an eyebrow. “What…what are you talking about?” she asked. “What do you mean you’re not graduating from Stanford?”
“I dropped out of Stanford,” Victor said.
In his head, he was not very sure if he had just imagined that he had said those exact words or that he had actually said them. But the way Zachary and Annalise looked at him made him realize that he was not imagining things. He had actually said it.
“You did what?” Zachary asked, raising his voice.
“Yeah, I need you to say that again because I could have sworn I heard you say that you dropped out of Stanford,” Annalise said matter of factly.
“That is exactly what I said, mother,” Victor said in the calmest voice he could master. “I moved to San Francisco and enrolled at San Francisco State. I’ve been studying for a science degree and emergency protocol.” He took a long deep breath. “I will be graduating in three weeks.”
He looked at his mother and then his father, waiting for them to respond, but the silence seemed to be never ending.
“Do you have any idea how many strings we had to pull just to get you into Stanford? Do you know the sacrifices we have had to make…just to have you there so you can join RFH Advocates?” Zachary asked and Victor shook his head.
“I never wanted to be part of RFH and I told you that from the beginning,” Victor said. “Law was never my calling.”
“RFH has nothing to do with calling, Victor. It is your legacy!” Zachary said as he looked at him. “Where is all this coming from anyway?”
“Zachary, wait,” Annalise said as she put her hand up even though she was looking at Victor. “Son, would you explain to me just what is going on? What is happening with you?”
“I have never wanted to be a lawyer and I told you guys that time and again…over and over but you were always pushing me…”