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with him over to Uncle Errol and Aunt Maggie’s for Sunday dinner instead of with anyone else in the family: Forbes let him play with the high-tech radio.
    “Did you get everything straightened out with the registrar’s office to graduate in December?” Forbes slid the sleek sedan into the light traffic on University Avenue.
    “Yeah. My advisor hadn’t signed off on my internship from last summer, so they hadn’t counted the hours.” Jonathan settled on a station that labeled itself as “Christian Alternative.”
    Forbes, who usually kept it set on talk or news radio—or greatest hits of the ’80s when assured no one else would hear it—adjusted the volume down from the controls on the steering wheel. “So they’re letting you count your work with Anne last summer as an internship?”
    “No, the job I had working with Meredith in the Facilities Management Department at B-G—I helped her out with a lot of the OSHA stuff: made sure that safety rules were being enforced, that appropriate signage was posted, and stuff like that.”
    “I forgot you’d done that. If you’re serious about going into business law, that’s a good foundation to have.” He’d only recently convinced Jonathan that law school was the next logical step after attaining a degree in human resources—and to insure he had more options than just going to work at Boudreaux-Guidry Enterprises.
    “Yeah. You know, in talking with my advisor, I’m actually thinking that I might pursue a master’s degree in HR, instead. The university has a program where I can work full-time and take classes on weekends and in the evenings.” Jonathan flipped down the sun visor and looked at himself in the mirror. “And Dad and I have been talking about a position in B-G’s Human Resources Department, if one comes open. If not, I think Meredith might could use me.”
    “Could. Not might could; it’s redundant.” Forbes couldn’t help but vent his frustration by correcting his brother’s grammar. “Are you sure you’re not just looking at doing that because it’s the easiest option?”
    The sun visor flipped back up with a pop that made Forbes look to make sure it hadn’t broken. Jonathan’s lips formed a straight, thin line, and he stared through the windshield. “Nothing says I have to go to graduate school immediately after I finish my bachelor’s. I’ve been in school for a long time now, and I’d like to take some time off, just work for a while, make some money, enjoy not having to study and write papers every night.”
    “But if you want to be successful in your field—”
    “I’ll be working in my field, which is more than I can say for a lot of people who’ve gone to law school or graduate school immediately after college. I’d rather work for a couple of years and figure out what direction I want to go, instead of locking myself into a path right now, investing a couple of years in it, and then figuring out I wanted the other thing.”
    Though he didn’t say it in so many words, Jonathan’s tone clearly said, lay off. For now, Forbes would have to concede the point. “You’re right. You have to do what you feel is best. I just don’t want you to miss out on any opportunities because you didn’t think of them.”
    He pulled up and parked on the street behind a white Volvo SUV, out of which Meredith and Major exited.
    Jonathan hopped out as soon as the Jag’s wheels stopped turning. “Hey, y’all! Didn’t see you at church this morning.”
    Forbes caught Meredith’s eye and smiled at her as he climbed out of the car. His married sister. The first of the seven siblings to get married. The thought twinged. Up until their younger sister Marci had gotten engaged on New Year’s Day, Forbes had always been the first at everything among the seven of them. The first to get his driver’s license; the first to graduate—high school, college, law school; the first to have a job; the first to not work for Mom and Dad’s