Follow You Follow Me

Chapter VII : Another Brick in the Wall

I didn't need to ask who James meant when he said 'he'.

"Yeah. I draw and paint, along with photography. I also work to identify unknown paintings and prove whether certain paintings are the real deal or not. I'm actually here with two of my coworkers on a project for the photography aspect of my job."

"That's really cool. Who do you work for?"

"I got a huge gig with Chris Taylor."

"That's amazing. Holland freaking loves his work and I'm pretty sure that she's actually obsessed."

"He is pretty awesome."

"She also likes to gush over his relationship with his wife, Jordan. She thinks they're undeniably gorgeous together while always wondering whether they're really like that behind closed doors."

"I can confirm that there is no difference with them whether the door is open or closed. Those two are so in love that it isn't even funny. Jordan told me that after her last marriage, she was happy to meet him."

He laughed and I said, "You should hear the two of them. It's nice though as well as the fact that he actually offered me the job before I graduated. I was actually extremely elated."

He laughed, and I asked, "What about you?"

"Well, I also went to college. I majored in psychology and so did Holland."

"Psychology?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," He admitted sheepishly.

"That's sort of unexpected."

"My mom has some psychological issues and she's had them all her and my life. When I started college, I actually didn't know what I wanted to do. Halfway through my associates, she couldn't take the pain anymore and she took her own life," He ended in a sad voice.

"I'm sorry James," I said with sympathy, especially since I know all to well what it's like to lose someone that you love.

He said, "Thank you."

"What do you want to do with your degree?"

"I want to teach psychology at UCLA. I'm almost done with my PhD and I actually am doing an internship under one of the psychology teachers there."

"You're almost done with your PhD?" I asked.

"What most people don't know is that during high school, I was actually doing online classes at UCLA. It's why I actually had so many free periods which I used to study and get work done. I graduated with my AA and was one semester into my bachelor's."

"That's really great. What about Holland?"

"She got her Master's in the same thing and is now a therapist. When I say therapist, I mean that she's crazy good at what she does."

"What do you mean by crazy good?"

"Without divulging too much information, she had a family who was suffering through hard times. Something about attempted suicide and divorce. She literally repaired the family and as far as I know, they are still a family."

"That's great. What do you two want to do about family?"

"We want to have one of our own. We know we want two kids and hopefully one boy and one girl."

"That's great. How about Brendon and Kyla?"

"They're also good. Do you not talk to Kyla?"

"Not really, honestly. If you promise to keep this to yourself...," I trailed off.