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.
