Rody sat on his front porch, tapping his fingers against the wooden rail as he watched for Vincent’s family car. The summer sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the quiet street, and he could already picture Vincent’s pout as he hopped out of the backseat, clutching his backpack and eagerly dashing toward him. Vincent was… persistent. Rody found it sweet, in that clueless kid kind of way.
Sure enough, there came the familiar red sedan rolling up the drive. The moment it stopped, Vincent scrambled out, not bothering to wave goodbye to his parents, who barely had time to wave back before they drove off. Rody chuckled, pushing himself up to meet him halfway down the path.
“Rody!” Vincent beamed, eyes shining with uncontainable excitement. He had the same look every time, like Rody was the coolest guy on the planet.
“Hey, Vince. You got your homework?” Rody ruffled the boy’s hair, only for Vincent to swat his hand away with an indignant scowl.
“Yes! But you don’t need to help me. I’m already finished with it,” Vincent declared, adjusting his backpack and falling into step beside Rody as they went inside.
“Of course you are,” Rody teased. Vincent always wanted to impress him. It was cute how serious he could get about every little thing, and he tried his best to make Rody proud. But Vincent also had his quirks. He’d been clinging to this habit of proposing to Rody every now and then, and no matter how Rody brushed it off, Vincent never gave up on his “promise.” They’d laugh about it, or rather, Rody would laugh, and Vincent would stomp his foot and swear he meant it.
After some pizza and a couple of Vincent’s favorite movies, the boy turned to him, already nodding off. Just before he drifted to sleep, he whispered, “One day, you’ll marry me, right, Rody? You promised.”
Rody snickered, wrapping a blanket over the kid. “Of course, Vince. One day.”
And then Vincent turned eleven, then twelve, and still, the questions came. Every time Rody had a girlfriend—and especially after he started dating Manon—Vincent got sulky, asking Rody to break up with her or making sarcastic remarks whenever she was around. Rody found it amusing, though, and Manon laughed it off, calling it harmless puppy love.
But the joke was losing its charm by the time Vincent hit fourteen. When Rody and Manon got engaged, he thought Vincent might finally give it up, but Vincent simply stewed in quiet disapproval. He hardly spoke to Manon anymore and made excuses to leave whenever she visited. He still asked Rody about that promise, but now there was something unsettling in his eyes when he did, something that left Rody chuckling awkwardly, unsure how to tell him it was time to let go of those childhood fantasies.
When Vincent was finally too old for babysitting, Rody thought the distance might help him move on. But even at fifteen, Vincent found excuses to come by. Sometimes he’d show up after school, insisting he needed help with some project or that his parents had “suggested” he keep Rody company. Rody started to worry Vincent was hanging on too hard, neglecting other friends or missing out on normal teenage experiences. But every time he tried to hint that Vincent should spend more time with kids his age, the boy’s jaw set, and his eyes darkened.
“It’s fine, Rody. I’d rather be here,” he’d insist. And eventually, Rody gave up trying to convince him otherwise.
When Vincent left for college, Rody thought things might finally change. A new city, new people, a chance for him to find someone his age and let go of that strange attachment he’d clung to for so long. Rody felt relieved; maybe this time apart would allow Vincent to see things clearly.
But after every break, Vincent was back at his doorstep. And every visit left Rody a little more unsettled. Vincent wasn’t a kid anymore, but he still had that same intense look when he talked to Rody. His habit of casually dropping comments about the “promise” hadn’t stopped, either.
