Traffic crawled to a standstill as the sun sank lower in the sky. Inside his recently purchased, but slightly used, Honda Civic, Jacob sat mumbling expletives under his breath. The sea of brake lights seemed to stretch on forever in front of him with no end in sight. Letting out a yawn, Jacob toyed with the buttons on the radio and pondered the choices in life he had recently made.
Why did I ever take this stupid job in this stupid city, with all this stupid damn traffic?
His mind raged, letting out a sigh of relief as the cars in front of him slowly crept forward.
It was an exciting time in Jacob's life. Finishing college meant the beginning of his adult life with a new career and new adventures. As soon as school was over, he, along with two of his friends, went in on renting a townhouse in the suburbs. A few interviews later, Jacob landed himself an accounting job in a firm in the heart of downtown. The pace of life was fast and was fun. Finding the right job he went to school for and then going home each evening to hang out with his closest friends, fit the mold for a perfect life to a fresh face out of school. However, the novelty wore off steadily, and by Labor Day, here he was, cursing nearly every decision he had made since the start of the summer.
Eventually reaching his exit, Jacob's mood remained salty as he turned into the neighborhood and parked in front of his house. He noticed he was the last one home for the day, as he locked the car and plodded his way up the driveway past his roommates' vehicles. Closing the front door behind him, he halfheartedly greeted his friends, who were lounging in the living room. Loosening his tie, he grabbed a cold beer from the refrigerator and joined them. Plopping down with a heavy sigh, he took a big gulp of beer and kicked off his shoes.
"Bad day at work?" asked his roommate, Matt.
"Traffic is unreal."
"I didn't hit any traffic today," Jacob's other roommate Andrew quickly quipped.
"Screw you," Jacob and Matt both rang out in unison, bursting into laughter.
"You lucky jerk, some of us don't get to work from home and play Xbox all day, you ass," Matt chuckled.
"Yeah, what do you just watch porn and yank it all day?" Jacob quickly retorted.
"Ah, screw you both, you're just jealous," Andrew poked back.
They jabbed each other for a while, drifting in and out of what was happening on SportsCenter. Andrew stood up and grabbed the group another round of beers as their subject changed to Labor Day weekend plans. Jacob had nothing going on per usual and felt thoroughly disappointed when he learned that Matt and Andrew were taking their girlfriends hiking and camping up north.
"Damn, guys, what am I supposed to do now?" Jacob said with dejection.
Andrew and Matt glanced at one another, both feeling sorry for their friend. When it was time to be with the girls, they usually hung Jacob out to dry. It was still fresh in their minds, the awful events that unfolded with Jacob and his now ex-girlfriend shortly before graduation. Matt and Andrew stumbled upon their former roommate, Mike, and Jacob's girlfriend, getting busy when they returned home after a long evening of studying. Jacob had elected to stay back at the library a little while longer, saving him the agony of happening upon the scene himself. Jacob was too close a friend for the pair not to inform him about what they had seen. At first, it was tough going, but with a brotherly bond, formed day one of freshman year, the two young men helped their close friend through the breakup and hardships thereafter.
Since the breakup, Jacob focused solely on his career and nothing more. He didn't go out on the weekends, opting to stay in and sober-cab whenever the two couples needed him. The stresses of his new lifestyle were taking a toll on him, and his roommates could see it a mile away.
"Hey, I know what you can do this weekend," Andrew said with an exclaimed snap of his fingers. "Why don't you go check out your mom and dad's new place?"
Jacob thought for a moment about the idea. He had been meaning to see the new house, but those plans got put on hold and he hadn't gotten the chance to see the place. His mom and dad had moved out of the old house where he grew up and bought a new place across town. His dad, making partner at his office, immediately enjoyed and the pay raise that was out of this world. Jacob's mom recently told him about the large backyard and how they had added on to the patio to make it even bigger. Andrew's idea was the only good one he had heard. His weekend plans consisted mostly of lying around, playing video games, watching TV and probably lots of porn.
"I'll give my folks a call and see if they're home this weekend," Jacob said, perking up a bit. He went into the kitchen and gave his mom a call. "Hi, mom, say are you guys doing anything this weekend, by chance? I would love to come check out the new house if you are around?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie, we won't be in town. Your dad has a work conference and we won't be back until Labor Day."
Jacob huffed out a defeated sigh. Looks like it's going to be yet another boring weekend, he thought before his mom spoke again.
"Actually, Jacob, would you want to do us a big favor?"
"Sure, mom, what's up?"
"Well, since we just got settled into the new house, your dad doesn't really feel comfortable leaving it all alone for the long weekend. Would you want to come stay here and watch over the place? Of course, if you have nothing planned?" his mom asked in a chipper tone.
Jacob's mindset changed dramatically. Sure, he might still be all by himself, but it beat sitting alone in the townhouse. This way, he figured he could get out into the country and change things up, something he hadn't done in a while.
"Sure, mom, I'd love to come stay."
"Okay, perfect. I'll let your dad know. See you tomorrow, dear. Love you."
"Love you too, mom, see you tomorrow," Jacob said with a smile, hanging up the phone a bit more excited than he thought he would have.
After work the next day, Jacob sat through the sea of traffic, a lot happier than he ever had. Navigating his way home, he packed a bag and was out the door in a flash. The others had already left for their camping trip, so he locked up before hitting the highway towards his hometown. He couldn't quite tell why he was so giddy about the whole idea. His life must be so boring, he thought, that getting the chance to house-sit sounded like quite the adventure. Brushing off the self-deprecation, he drove on, eventually finding his parents' neighborhood. Turning off the main road, he noticed all the houses were quite large, a lot larger than the one he grew up in. Driving along the winding, secluded street, he took in that a large yard separated every house. Some houses even had patches of woods that hid them from plain sight.
Arriving at his destination, Jacob was in amazement as he drove up the driveway to his parents' house. He couldn't exactly call it a house; it was a small mansion in his eyes. The place had a high roof with an enormous garage. The front yard, though mostly wooded and, from what Jacob could see, opened up beyond the house to a backyard that was as big as his mom had said. Parking his car off to the side, he grabbed his bag and walked through the open garage door. Giving a gentle knock, he opened the door into the house and called out.
"Hi, Jacob!" his mom exclaimed, rushing over and giving him a big hug and a kiss.
His dad strolled around the corner with a couple of travel bags and also gave him a hug. Quickly, his mom took him to the kitchen and showed him around. They chatted about several topics, catching up on family matters and how he was doing. His mom talked while she wrote a few names and numbers of the neighbors. She then introduced him to the freshly stocked refrigerator, freezer, and pantry to satisfy his hunger needs.
"Call if you have questions about anything," his dad said, giving him a final hug.
"Will do, dad, I'm sure I can manage."
"Love you, dear, enjoy the new place and please try to keep it clean," his mom instructed, giving him a kiss and hug before climbing into the pickup.
"See you on Monday. Have fun at the conference," Jacob waved as they pulled out of the garage.
His parents waved back and then pulled away, leaving him all alone in a brand new, enormous house. Jacob went back inside and slowly made his way through the house. His favorite feature upstairs was the master bathroom shower with dual showerheads.
Returning to the main level, he eyed up the big living room and his dad's office near the front door. Jacob nearly lost his breath when he arrived at the basement landing. On one side of the giant room was a huge bar, fully stocked with wine and liquor. A pool table sat in the middle of the room and on the other side was an enormous sectional couch. The TV was well beyond his standards and would be a perfect spot to set up his game console. Walking over to the bar, he opened the refrigerator and snagged a cold beer before going outside. Stepping out onto the freshly built patio, Jacob could only shake his head in disbelief. The patio was freshly pavered and new outdoor furniture was already in place. The grill looked large enough to fit an entire cow inside of it. A small, open-air gazebo in the corner housed a hot tub and finished his grand tour.
Jacob took a sip of beer and laughed. "Why couldn't Dad have gotten this promotion when I was younger?"
Feeling his stomach suddenly growl, Jacob returned upstairs to the kitchen, chowing down on a couple of granola bars from the pantry. He opened the freezer and retrieved a package of burgers, setting out to compile the rest of his dinner ingredients. As he thawed the burgers in the microwave, Jacob went over the list of names and numbers on the pad of paper. Rob and Stacy Andrews lived across the road, Paul and Rhonda Smith were to the south, and Veronica Gibson was the closest house just to the north. On the drive in, Jacob had made a mental note about how the house closest to his parents was even larger than theirs.
"She must make a shitload of money," he said, thinking about the size of the house next door.
Placing the burgers on a plate, he went out back and fired up the giant grill. Letting it preheat, he retrieved another beer and sat down on one of the patio chairs. The late summer sun was slowly making its way towards the horizon as he slapped each patty on the grate with a hiss. Turning around, he noticed some movement towards the neighboring property. A woman had stepped out onto the patio and sat back on an outdoor chaise. Even from a distance, Jacob couldn't help but get a little aroused by the sexy way she moved.
Turning back to the grill, he went about his business and finished the burgers. Enjoying his dinner and the rest of his beer, he continued to make glances at the neighboring property, hoping to see the woman again. Finishing, Jacob cleaned up and took everything inside. After a thorough inspection of the kitchen and knowing his mom would approve, he grabbed another beer from the fridge and went back outside.
