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Verona, Colorado: Prologue

Nothing Can Come of Nothing

Jeff didn't want to be here. It wasn't his idea to move to some tiny, backwater logging town to 'get away' from the city. It certainly wasn't his desire to get crammed into a tiny high school with more athletics electives than academic classes. Most of all, he definitely didn't want to deal with being the target of any student who'd happened to have a bad day or a chip on their shoulder. Instead he was stuck living through that very nightmare.

Of course the real issue was far deeper than that. Honestly, he didn't really want to be anywhere. Being somewhere only made him realize how much he never fit in and every school he'd been to so far revolved around finding some niche to become a part of.

Part of that was his own attitude. A blend of cynical frustration and naivete that can only be stewed the the cauldron of his teenage years. He knew very little about himself or where he wanted to go. Lacking any direction he never really found a home with any of the social groups that sprung up in school.

Part of it was being a grey fox. It was an established stereotype. Foxes rarely left urban areas. They tended to like the dense population and the ability to disappear into a crowd. Here among horses, bears, wolves and half a dozen other forest dwellers he stuck out like a sore thumb. It was like they could smell the concrete on his fur and the smog in his breath.

Most of it was just that he was awkward. He didn't really care that much about anything outside his own head. His clothes were commonly out of fashion and the few unique affectations he had were pulled from obscure sources. He'd show up his first day of school with an attache case and a checkered newsboy cap. The reception had been less than kind.

Still he didn't have much option. Being in school, he had to roll with the punches; both literal and figurative. Most of his time was spent trying to be as low profile as he could, darting from class to class or hiding out in the library or the far corner of the lunchroom. Every day seemed to start the same way though.

He'd stare down the hallway at the classrooms, the thought of just walking out the door and vanishing into the forest behind the school or running away down the highway out front lingering at the back of his mind. It'd never happen of course. Despite desire to run, he thrived on following the rules. They usually kept him safe and he in turn felt obligated to uphold them.

Usually, he'd linger in his thoughts for far too long and wind up snapping out of it only a minute or so before class. Today, though, he had a little outside help.

The staccato sound of metal against metal yanked him out of his head. Behind him, his locker door had been slammed shut courtesy of one of stallions on the basketball team. School always had a way of establishing dominance and ever since Jeff walked through the doors, he'd been marked as an outcast and a target. It wasn't the first time he'd been indirectly assaulted by the jocks and it probably wouldn't be the last.

He'd had been at a low ebb all day, stretched thin by his frustrations and anxieties. As the massive horse walked away in a slow, measured gait, Jeff felt his lips curl into a snarl. He'd faced spit, fists and hurled insults but the arrogant dismissal of his very existence was too much. He growled and swung the cheap, plastic binder he'd been holding with all the force he could muster and slammed it into the stallion's back.

The bully didn't even break stride. He simply walked the rest of the way down the hall and turned the corner, blithely unaware of the tepid assault. Jeff's teeth disappeared behind his lips as he stood there staring at the short flight of stairs. In a moment, his burning rage was snuffed out and he didn't quite know what to do.

It meant nothing. He'd ignored every bit of advice given by a counselor before and he didn't even get any sense of satisfaction out of it. They could get away with breaking every rule in the book some days and the one time he did, it was even more pointless than his adherence to them in the first place.

Turning to his locker, he spun the dial to unlock it and slid his binder back inside. That was it for him. Even if he managed to convince himself that there was something worthwhile here, that just proved how wrong he was. Maybe he couldn't convince himself to walk out the door but the rules kept him here and they could at least offer another way out.

He strode down the stairs to the bottom floor, rounding the corner and walking straight into the Vice Principal's office. The older badger looked at him askance for a moment and stood up just as Jeff began to speak.

"I want you to suspend me for fighting."

Jeff then promptly sat down on one of the aging orange chairs opposite the walnut desk and folded his hands in his lap. Silence passed for a long moment as the vice-principal simply gaped for a moment before waving down one of the secretaries in the office. They spoke but Jeff wasn't paying attention. All that mattered was that the rule of law was consistent. He fought another student, he'd get suspended and grounded. Then he could walk out that door and be done with this shitty day.

They pried the name of the other student out of him and a few minutes later, the disaffected stallion had been pulled out of class. It wasn't the first time the stallion had been involved in an altercation like this and so he was immediately put up as the prime suspect. Jeff wouldn't have it. Every time they attempted to shift the blame, Jeff would say his bully was blameless. By the letter of the rules, the young fox was correct. The stallion had been an irritant but had not actually accosted Jeff and walked away when assaulted.

By now everyone in the room was confused, the stallion more so. He had been in the office enough times to know the way blindfolded. Yet here he was being adamantly defended by a fox he wouldn't even give the time of day to.

Eventually, the whole thing was dismissed. Jeff's record had been spotless until now and without a classically dysfunctional child to blame for the disruption, the administration had no clue what else to do. Jeff was flabbergasted, the vice-principal rubbed his furrowed brow and the stallion shifted nervously in his seat for the first time in recent memory.

After everyone was sent on their way, Jeff entered his class completely disheartened. Everyone stared as he shuffled through to find a desk, as far to the side as possible. The teacher cleared her throat and continued with the lecture as Jeff felt himself sink further and further into his seat.

By the time school was over, he had settled into his usual haze. The world was background static. All he could really make out were the double doors leading to the parking lot and the promise of a two mile walk home along the rural highway at the bottom of the hill. He barely even felt the hand on his shoulder or heard the voice behind him.

"Jeff?"

The voice was familiar and Jeff turned slowly in response. Standing there with a furrowed brow and a white t-shirt pulled over his broad frame was the grizzly from his Film class. Both of them had never really interacted outside of class, save for a wave in the hallway or a request for notes. He'd seemed like a nice enough guy to Jeff but he was a senior and Jeff was a junior, the two social groups rarely blended. That fact only added to his surprise at being singled out.

"Look, Mike's a jerk. You shouldn't be trying to get suspended over him."

"I'm just exhausted," Jeff rubbed his head with a paw. "I didn't want to be here anymore and that was the easiest way of getting a day off."

"You know that's a load of bullshit."

Jeff shrugged, "I don't have a lot of other options, Casey. I'm too much of a wuss to skip and too exhausted by this place to just smile through it."

"Why don't you come over sometime?"

"Wait, what?"

Casey scratched his cheek, "you never come to stuff after school and you seem like a nice enough guy. I've seen you in class, shoved in the back corner and trying to disappear. Maybe you just need something else to do with your day. It's not healthy to hide like that."

"High School's already pretty unhealthy." Jeff attempted to deflect from the more serious concern, that this was one of the few times someone invited him to do something and the threat of screwing up always loomed large in his head. "...but, sure. Why not? I doubt my parents would be unhappy about me not spending my time locked up in my room."

Casey smiled, "cool. I'm just up the hill from you, drop by after school. We can hang out."

Jeff nodded as Casey gave him a pat on the back before leaving. That had all come out of the blue, as far as he was aware, and it left him with a bit of unease. There was always the sense that the other shoe was going to drop. Glancing after Casey for a moment, he considered that perhaps he should just go back to flying under the radar to avoid any additional surprises.

By the time the final bell had rung, Jeff had almost forgotten what happened earlier. Navigating through lectures, pop quizzes and scantron tests throughout the day had been distracting. He gathered his things, strolled down the main stairs behind the crush of the rest of the students and made his way towards the street that connected up with the rural highway that ran in front of his school.

Sticking to the unpaved sides like usual, the stream of cars passed him by on the left. Most were pickup trucks or beater cars in various stages of decay. The rural town and limited funds of the average high school students meant there was little likelihood of seeing anything built in the last decade.

He turned as a honk sounded behind him, catching Casey's wave as he drove up to the shoulder.

"Did you want a ride?"

Jeff shrugged reflexively. Normally, his walk home was a pressure release for the day. Hard to still be stressed when you've had a half-hour of near silence to walk through. Still, he wasn't eager for the foot ache and exhaustion once he got home. After a moment he nodded and reached for the door handle. After climbing inside, Jeff settled into the seat and pulled the belt over his shoulder.

As Casey shifted into gear, the car lurched forward for just a moment before the two of them began to coast slowly down the steep hill. Conversation was awkward, the two of them having had very little chance to know each other outside of a few Drama classes and the discussions in Film class.

"Why," Jeff started to speak before biting his lip. "Why'd you invite me over?"

Casey chuckled softly as they rounded the first of the rural highway's smooth curves around the mountain. "I need a reason?"

Jeff sunk down in the seat, turning his gaze back out towards the windshield. "Yes? No? I didn't think I really registered with most people."

"I see you in class every day, Jeff."

"Yeah but I don't go out of my way to be visible."

Casey shrugged, "it's harder to hide in classes than you think. Besides, I heard about what happened and..."

"And?"

"And I wanted to know why you hide so much. Why you'd want to get suspended. Just what's going on in that gray furred head of yours."

"Very little, most of the time."

Casey pulled to a smooth stop and glanced over at Jeff. "Very little hiding or very little going on in your head?"

"I'm ahead and on the left," Jeff motioned towards the continuing highway before glancing down the smaller road to the right. "I just try not to think that much about anything. It gets me even more depressed than I usually am."

Pulling away from the stop sign, Casey took the slow turn up the hill. Houses slipped past as the small car protested it way up the incline and through the narrow curves.

"It's not like you're the only one having a bad time," Casey pause the car for a moment at the intersection at the top of the hill. "Most of the people in school aren't happy to be here. I'm planning on moving out as soon as I graduate."

"Where were you going to go?"

Casey pulled past the stop sign, passing Jeff's house and pulling slowly up the second hill that lead further up to his house. "Not totally sure. Lately, I've been thinking about Colorado."

"Colorado?" Jeff sat upright, "we're already out in the middle of nowhere. Why would you want to be even more remote?"

"Colorado has big cities you know. It's a better mix of people and nature." Casey pulled slowly into his driveway before lurching to a stop. The car let out another sputter as he turned the key off and pulled the parking brake. "Mostly, just like you, anywhere but here has to be better."

"You drove past my house," Jeff said as he opened the door and stepped out.

"I know. You can call and let them know. Besides, it's just a few houses down. It's not like you're trapped here." Casey smiled, "and everyone's gone right now. I've got the place to myself."

Jeff's lips quirked into a meek smile as his ears flattened against his head.

"C'mon. I don't bite." Casey jingled his keys and walked up to the front door. Jeff found himself following after without even realizing at at first.

Casey's house was quite a bit different from his own. The layout sprawled quite a bit further than the small doublewide Jeff was used to. Stairs lead upwards to the master bedroom and a guest room. Casey and his brother's rooms occupied the lower floor and another set of stairs lead downward into a furnished basement with a couch, TV and stereo.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Jeff blinked for a moment, shifting his backpack strap up over his shoulder. He hadn't given it much thought. "I'm good with, whatever..."

"Really?" Casey's smile changed as he waved Jeff towards the staircase downward.

The basement was cozy enough and attached at the side to the garage. The couch had clearly seen better days but was covered in a few blankets and amply covered with throw pillows. A scratchy, muddy brown carpet covered the concrete floor and provided a minimum of padding as Jeff walked across and set his backpack down to the side. He'd noticed a few games stacked onto a nearby short bookcase and smiled a little. He enjoyed the occasional board game, maybe they could play one of those.

Casey's broad paw came to rest on Jeff's shoulder, a tingle of deja vu creeping up the fox's spine, and he turned slowly. As he did, the grizzly leaned in close and pressed his lips firmly against Jeff's.

In that moment, Jeff froze. A billion thoughts raced through his head as the sudden kiss drew a little bit more intense. He'd never thought about this; never even considered what he'd do if anyone came close to expressing this level of interest. All he'd ever done was hide for too long in the shower or beneath the blankets with safe, predictable fantasies. Did he even like guys?

It took a moment for him to realize the kiss had ended a few moments ago. Dumbfounded, he stared into Casey's eyes and found himself panting steadily. The grizzly cocked his head to the side for a moment, "are you alright?"

Jeff's only answer was to surge forward and stumble into another kiss. His hands clutched Casey tightly as his eyes fluttered closed. The two of them stood there for a moment, Casey's paws slipping down to the small of Jeff's back, before they both leaned into the kiss.

Something about the physical contact washed over Jeff like a tide. The feeling of someone else's hands on his body, lips pressed against his, it was intoxicating. The kiss lasted for a while longer before the two parted and stared at each other for a moment. Jeff's ears remained flat against his skull as Casey chuckled softly.

It didn't go any further that night. Jeff's rather clumsy kisses and nervousness eliminated just about any chance of that happening. Instead, they just talked about what happened. About high school and all the pitfalls involved. Even about fantasies of being with another man and what sexuality meant.

Jeff had never even really given it a serious moment's pause. High School bullshit and teenage drama had devoured so much of his day to day that he barely even considered himself as a sexual being. Sure, he'd steal away far too much time in the shower and pleasure himself under the warm water, but somehow he'd never connected the two things up.

That night, after he'd gotten home, he couldn't sleep. There were so many rampant thoughts rushing through his head now. Was he gay? Was he bi? What did any of these things mean? Should he find a boyfriend? Was Casey his boyfriend now? Did he have to tell his parents?

Next morning he drug himself out of bed and stumbled his way to school. The whole day was a haze from the lack of sleep and he found himself nodding off in classes. Some food and cold water splashed on his face helped get him through the rest of the day but by the time he walked out the front door, he'd barely registered that he'd even been there.

The walk home was equally disconnected. Anxieties and excitement bubbled over at this new discovery about himself. He wanted to explore more and find out something identifying about who he was. Everything else he'd hung his proverbial hat on seemed like it was just inherited from siblings or osmosed from the people around him. This was something that actually made him unique. It made him different in a way that wasn't an echo of someone else.

He stopped by Casey's house again after school. A few of Casey's friends were over at the time and seemed fine with Jeff's intrusion. He hadn't intended on being a fifth wheel, really he hadn't even thought that Casey would be doing anything else at the time. After all, most of his own evenings were largely devoid of activities beyond reading books or playing on his computer.

Now as he watched from his self-imposed sidelines, he started to realize something else. He'd had friends before but never really connected with them beyond a handful of shared interests. Once the school day ended, he crawled back into his room and shut himself away. Some part of him had just assumed that friends were something that happened right there. That interactions stopped once the final bell rung.

Meekly, Jeff worked his way into the group. This was completely new to him and just like that first kiss, it was awkward. While he worried they were just humoring him at first, they just laughed and chatted for hours. It helped that Casey was there and even more that the grizzly's paw found its way to Jeff's shoulder and squeezed it softly.

For the first time, Jeff was sad to see other people leave. While he'd only had a few moments with Casey's friends, it had been nice to at least attempt to interact with people. They'd been kind enough to humor him in return as well. In the darkness of the living room, long after the others had left, Casey and Jeff cuddled up on the couch. They talked for another couple of hours about whatever came to mind before Jeff noticed the time and apologized.

"I don't mind." Casey rubbed Jeff's ears, "I always thought you might be someone fun to talk to. Always so tightly wound and stuck in your head. Just wanted to find out what you were thinking about so much."

Jeff laughed and felt his cheeks flush, "less important stuff than I thought."

"Do you wanna get together as a group again sometime? We usually hang out after school."

"I'd like that," Jeff smiled.

It was a big step for Jeff, at least in his own mind, but it was one that paid off. Casey's friends had access to a car and a desire to explore. He'd regularly hook up with them after school and head out to the beach or into the city. While his social life had begun to expand, his responsibilities had fallen away. For the first time in his life, his parents had grounded him, and for the first time ever that actually felt like a punishment.

Coming out of his shell was the most excited and frightened he'd even been. Being around people because he wanted to be, and because they wanted to be around him, was so alien. Sometimes they'd sit around at a diner and eat french fries while they talked about what they were going to do once they graduated. Others, they'd sit on the beach and watch the tides roll in. All the while Jeff felt himself getting closer to these people and to Casey in particular.

The two of them would steal glances and kisses now and again. The group encouraged it, hooting and hollering them on when they would catch the two of them displaying affection. It was acceptance about something Jeff always thought people felt was shameful. He'd never felt that about anything in his life.

That's why it was so easy to sneak out of the house a few weeks later and steal away up the hill. Casey had slipped him note at school, telling him to come by after dark. His friends were busy with finals so it wasn't going to be another adventure, just the two of them. Jeff could barely breathe as he knocked on the door and felt his heart leap when Casey answered.

Hormones took over as soon as the door closed. Casey wrapped his thick arms around the smaller fox and pulled him into a deep kiss. Bodies pressed tightly against each other as the grizzly's hands explored all over Jeff's body. The fox could barely contain himself. He strained into every kiss and leaned into every embrace. He wanted this, needed this, so badly.

As only young people could, they stumbled their way into Casey's bedroom and shucked their clothes as if they were on fire. Tumbling into the bed, Jeff gasped as he felt Casey's meaty paw touching his bare hips and groin. The fox's paws grabbed the bear and pulled him tightly, pressing fur against fur and hips to hips.

Inexperienced as he was with intimacy, Jeff couldn't help but feel twinges of embarrassment and shame even as he was being fondled and caressed by Casey. Was this somehow wrong?

The feel of that silken furred paw on his throbbing groin pushed those thoughts out of his head quickly. His hips arched needfully upwards as he clumsily pushed himself into another kiss. Casey teased and caressed that thickening length between Jeff's thighs, nibbling his way down the fox's neck and collarbone.

Jeff whimpered softly as he felt a warmth press under his tail and the moistness rub against his hidden ring. There'd been an occasion to toy with a pawfinger in the shower but what he felt back there now was far more imposing. He gritted his teeth as he felt the rounded tip press against the taut ring and slowly begin to spread it open.

Arching upward, he whimpered as he felt himself spread open for the first time. His claws dug into Casey's thick fur as the burning rush of his body being spread open spread through him. The grizzly leaned own pressing his lips firmly to Jeff's as his paw once more wrapped around the fox's throbbing length. Stroking in time with his slow and steady thrusts, Casey slid his shaft to the hilt within the tight fox before rocking against him faster.

Jeff growled and whimpered, every inch of him on fire and tingling. It hurt but not completely in a bad way. Something about it made him want more and he slid his heels against Casey's back and urged the big bear on.

As also with youth, the two of them had short triggers. It wasn't long before Casey slid fully within Jeff's backside and growled as he unleashed his frustrations into the younger fox. Jeff's belly fur had already been matted with pre and a few last staccato strokes were all that was needed to milk the fox of his seed.

The two of them collapsed onto the bed and each other. Casey still half hard and buried under Jeff's tail while the fox nuzzled up under the bear's chin and panted softly. Despite the intensity of their first time, Casey was ready to go again shortly after and Jeff was all too willing to humor him.

Explaining why he stayed the night to his parents was a hard sell the next morning but after he'd managed to get back into his room and strip out of his clothes, he fell into his bed with relief. His backside was still aching from the encounter and it felt like a thick bear cock was still buried to the hilt inside him. The thought tickled the back of his mind and the tip of his own shaft already began peeking out of his sheath.

Fantasizing about last night, Jeff slid a paw over his needful length and began stroking it slowly. A whole new world of ideas had opened up to him. Thinking about the two of them on the beach naked in the moonlight. Or Casey being just a little more aggressive, pinning him down to the bed and riding him over and over again until he was raw.

Jeff's length twitched and let loose with another spurt of precum over his matted belly fur at the thought. That big bear slipping a collar around his neck and riding him or handcuffing him to the bed frame. Despite the lack of knowledge, each fantasy just felt more and more thrilling. He knew it would be alright with Casey because the two of them shared that moment. They had sex and that meant something.

Biting his lip, his paw slid down his length one last time before firing a few final strands of cum across his chest. His fur was a mess and his body ached all over but that didn't matter, he had a boyfriend now. He was gay and he found someone else to share that with.

Most of the school year went by in a blur. Jeff paid little attention to anything but Casey and this newfound part of himself. It was thrilling to finally have something defined about who he was. Of course, going to a small rural high school meant he had to be quiet about it. People already beat him up and called him gay without even knowing his sexual preferences. He could only imagine what would happen if the found out they were right.

Still it was hard to stay away from Casey. He made every excuse to hang around and spend time with him. That was what boyfriends did, after all. At first it seemed fine. He'd sneak in little shows of affection where no one could see and no one was the wiser. Casey was willing to humor his little outbursts, even if he did insist on keeping them short.

After school, Jeff spent most of the early evening at Casey's house. Within a week or two he'd become almost a fixture. There had been some awkward moments, when he would show up unannounced while Casey had plans. He'd just wind up tagging along by default. It didn't really matter as long as he was with Casey.

As summer drew closer, Jeff couldn't help but notice that Casey was busy more often. They'd fooled around a few more times after the first, but then it just stopped. Jeff blamed it on finals and everything else that came with being a senior at first. He kept trying to get involved with Casey and his friends again but that feeling of being a fifth wheel came back, and it didn't feel like it was just in his head anymore.

He couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong. At least, he assumed it was something he did wrong. Blaming himself for his shortcomings wasn't exactly a new thing for him to do. Whatever the reason, he tried to make up for it with the occasional gesture and giving Casey enough space. Space was the one thing that always made him feel better after all.

Despite all this, Jeff couldn't just let it go. After the last week of school, he went up the hill to surprise Casey. With graduation over, there'd be nothing to interrupt them getting back together now. Only, when he got there, he saw Casey loading luggage into his car.

"Casey?"

The grizzly looked up for a moment and grimaced before forcing a smile. "Hey Jeff."

"What's going on?"

"School's over," Casey pulled a bungee cord from the back of the car and secured a dufflebag to the roof rack.

"I know that but where are you going?"

The grizzly stopped, took a deep breath and turned to face Jeff. "Look, what we had was fun but I wasn't in this for something else."

Jeff stood stock still as a cold chill ran along his spine to the tip of his tail.

"You were a sad kid. I felt bad for you and I knew you wouldn't come to terms with being gay without a push. We wanted to help you get started but then," Casey scratched his cheek, "you got clingy. It got even more awkward to hang out with you. We've got nothing in common, Jeff. You didn't see that?"

Tears began to well up in the fox's eyes, his paws clenching into fists.

"We're not boyfriends, Jeff. We were kinda friends but even that started to be awkward. That and you've got a whole 'nother year here. Me, I gotta get out of here. It's stifling."

"I... I... can get my GED. I can catch up with you in a couple months," Jeff blurted out through the tears.

Casey shook his head slowly, "dude, it was a pity fuck. Don't make it more than it was."

Trembling, Jeff turned and ran back down the hill. He didn't stop to see Casey sigh and continue to pack. He certainly didn't see the crack in the road that caught his foot. All he felt was the hard concrete against his shoulder and the radiating pain that was quickly drown out by his tears. He'd managed to have another first as a teenager, having his heart broken.

Casey left a day later. Jeff wanted to chase after him but all he could manage was hiding in his room, trying to cover up the sounds of his sobbing. All summer, he barely left the confines of his bed. Alternating between aching numbness and overwhelming sadness, he just rode out the time. Summer gave way to fall and winter. Each day rolled by unnoticed as Jeff climbed back into the comfortable confines of his shell.

Despite wanting to, he never could get all the way back. Being with other people had changed him and hiding away didn't seem as comforting anymore. Eventually, the sadness began to fade. He started to do more with his other friends in the hope that maybe he could get over it all. He'd managed to be sociable and friendly when he had someone, so he should be able to do that again.

Still it wasn't quite the same. There remained a lingering hesitance that he couldn't quite shake. One minute he'd be laughing and the next he'd wonder if they were laughing at him. He just floated, halfway between who he was before and where he'd wanted to be with Casey. Neither pole seemed within his reach anymore.

He blamed the town. The tiny, podunk, backwater piece of crap town that just lingered around him. There'd always been a desire to get away and the fragments of memories he had about Casey and what he'd lost, still lingered in the background as well. There was no chance to be himself here, regardless of what his friends might say. It'd always be this twilight sense of being.

It was graduation when he'd finally made up his mind about what to do. His parents were happy to see him finish school as they'd hoped. They wanted the best for him and had let him cope with his anguish in his own time. When his mother began talking about college in the nearby town, Jeff stood up slowly.

"I'm moving to Colorado."

Both of them were taken aback and confused. They knew he wasn't happy living in a small town but the choice seemed to come completely out of the blue. For Jeff though, it had been a long time coming.

There was a medium-sized city there. He'd been looking at it ever since Casey mentioned moving there. Big enough to be interesting and small enough to not completely overwhelm him. He'd get a job there, build a life and try to put these odd shaped pieces of who he was back together into a person.

It had to be somewhere else, though. As far away from everything he'd known as possible. If no one knew who he was, what he was or where he came from then he could start fresh. People would know who he was now and not some image of him as a child. At the very least, it was big enough to get lost in and that's how he felt, like he wanted to just be lost.

For their part, his mom and dad did their best to accommodate him. They made arrangements for transportation and set aside a little money to help him get settled in once he got there. The one thing they knew from their own lives and the lives of their other children was that once something got into their heads, it was difficult to convince them otherwise. Stubbornness didn't run so much as gallop through the family tree.

Once he was packed and ready to go, he hugged his parents one last time. They told them how proud they were to see him want to make something of himself and let him know he could call anytime he needed anything. Teary goodbyes were exchanged as they waved from the bus stop and watched Jeff slip past those doors. He told them not to worry, that he would be fine.

Still, as the bus pulled slowly out of the station, the two of them held each other tightly and hoped he knew what he was doing.