It took quite a few trips for us to empty both cars and get all of their stuff in one bedroom. By the time we did, both moms had made the beds and started to put clothes away in the wardrobe.
Deemed as 'useless' and 'in the way', the moms sent us out with Dad.
"Take them to the store and get some snacks and drinks for the room." Mom instructed Dad outside the door. "Rhys was kind enough to supply the mini fridge and microwave, so it's only right we stock up for them." She waved us away.
"Okay…" Dad answered. "Text or call if you ladies think of anything else they might need for the room."
"Thanks, Wayne." Mrs. Johnson smiled.
The five of us headed for the car.
Noah glanced up at Zeke and Rhys. "You guys are just going to trust them to decorate your room?"
Rhys chuckled. "Yea. Why not? We can always change it if we don't like it. If Mom's happy, I'm happy."
"I think they're enjoying this more than you two." Noah rolled his eyes.
We got in the car and Dad drove us to the nearest store. He pushed the cart as Zeke and Rhys started to fill it up with all kinds of items.
"Don't you have a cafeteria to eat in..?" Noah watched as they picked three different cereals to put in the cart.
"The caf isn't open twenty-four hours." Zeke replied. He picked out a thing of bagels and put it in the cart. "Since Mom and Dad are willing to pay for our first grocery visit, we need to take advantage."
Dad's lips twitched, but he didn't fight it.
Zeke and Rhys combed through the aisles, grabbing microwaveable meals, snacks, and then a couple cases of water and Gatorade.
Noah and I were just along for the ride. We did have to help bring the items in though after getting back to the school. Mom was satisfied with all that we had bought and helped them organize and make room for it all. No space in the room was left.
In the evening, Mom picked out a nice restaurant for us to go to with Rhys and his mom. The whole dinner was great with a happy atmosphere. Occasionally one of the a.d.u.l.ts would remind Rhys and Zeke about studying hard, but not making school their whole life.
"I want you boys to have fun and really take on the college experience." Mom said. "But, I swear, I better not hear of you knocking a woman up, getting into fights, or needing to be bailed out of jail. Having fun and being lawless are not synonyms."
"Mom." Zeke rolled his eyes.
Rhys laughed. "Don't worry, Mrs. Atkins, I'll keep Zeke in line."
Mrs. Johnson reached over to give Rhys a light slap on the shoulder. "You're the one that needs babysitting. Don't think I won't be dropping by to check on you two, because I will. Randomly throughout the week or on the weekends. I have time."
Rhys rubbed his shoulder. "You act like I won't be coming home every weekend."
"You can't do that." She argued. "You have to live the college life. Parties on the weekend."
"How is that being responsible?" He laughed.
"You're only allowed to come home one weekend a month." Mrs. Johnson told him.
"Can we still come by for laundry days?" Rhys asked, jokingly.
"Of course!" His mom nodded. "It'll be better than using those crappy machines at the university. Trust me."
"Sounds good. Thank you." Zeke responded politely after a pointed look from Mom.
After dinner, we went back to the school and parked in front of their dorm building. Oddly everyone got out and Dad turned off the car.
"Guess it's time to say goodbye." Noah said nonchalantly, putting his hands in his pockets.
Rhys reached out and messed up his hair. "For now."
Mom was the first to pull Zeke into a hug. Mrs. Johnson also reached out to Rhys. Dad got his turn with both, giving a more manly slap-hug, before letting go.
Rhys smiled at me and Noah. "You kids be good and don't slack on your training without Zeke around. Maybe we can plan a baseball game trip one of these weekends after school gets going. We can stay at my house and whatnot."
"Sure." Noah nodded. "Jeremy mentioned we could see him on the weekends too. We'll have to look which teams are playing home games on what weekends." He looked up at Zeke.
Zeke reached out and pulled him into a small hug for a second before letting go. "Try not to get in too much trouble. For Mom's sake."
Noah laughed and pushed off him. "I'll see what I can do."
Zeke looked to me next. "It'll be up to you to make sure Noah doesn't get too crazy."
I straightened up.
Zeke let out a small laugh and pulled me into the same small hug he did with Noah. "Don't hesitate to call or text. Especially if the twins are giving you guys a hard time."
I grinned as I stood beside Noah. Zeke may act fair and impartial, but that's not true. He always took our side over the twins. It'll be weird with him gone every day now.
Mom gave him one last hug, then it was time to go. Rhys and Zeke wait on the sidewalk and watched as we drove away.
I could hear Mom sniffling in the front passenger seat while Dad tried to comfort her.
"Mom, you know you have to cry this much for each of us in order not to show favoritism, right?" Noah grinned.
"Of course I will!" She nodded like crazy. "Just the thought of you boys growing up and leaving me alone makes me tear up. I'll cry for each of you on your first day of college."
Noah laughed. "So you won't cry for me because I'm not going to college? Are you backtracking already?"
She blew her nose into a tissue before glancing back. "If I can convince Zeke to give college a try, then I'll be able to convince you too!"
Noah snorted. "You weren't the only reason for Zeke to go to college. There were so many outside factors influencing him these last few months."
Mom shifted to look at me. "What about you Jake? Will you break my heart and not go to college too?"
I held back a smile. It looked like her heart would break no matter what decision I made.
"Mary." Dad reached out to pat her leg. "The two of them have a couple of more years. Let's work on the twins first."
She groaned. "Those two! I'll get them to commit to a college this semester even if it kills me."
"Mary." Dad said again.
"Okay, I'm not that crazy." She laughed to herself. "Zeke didn't decide until the last second so I won't give up until I see them actually moving into the dorms of a college."
"I just wonder if they'll go to the same school or not." Noah mused. "Did either of them like any of the schools they got to visit this past summer?"
"Nothing definitive." Dad answered. "Kyle likes one place more, and Dave likes another place. They might be considering their options of entering the draft too. I told them not to worry about tuition, but I think having an athletic scholarship is what they're aiming for."
We spent the rest of the car ride home talking about the twins options and what they might choose and when they might choose. There was always the possibility of them committing to a college, but then reneging after getting drafted. Choices.
