CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

2007 –  A Report From The Field

By late March, I’d been fully onboarded to civilian life.  I’d started my policy analyst job at Mundo’s father’s consultancy.  He’d offered me a very good-but-not-ridiculously-lavish salary with decent health insurance and three weeks of vacation per year, which was a week more than most entry level positions received.  Plus, the office was closed for all major holidays and between Christmas and New Year’s, so I felt I’d be able to hack it. 

 

The work was not exciting, but it was steady and I liked that it was a real job, nothing at all like the errand boy/janitor/face man roles Mundo used to palm off on me.  I found a quiet sense of comfort in taking the subway to Broad Street every day, sitting at my desk, turning in my reports and heading back out with the rest of the regulars, five days a week.   

 

And the fact that I was heading home to dinner with mom and dad every night further underscored the fact that I was finally completely back in that loop Mundo and I used to joke about having dropped out of, all those years ago.  Back when we were young and doing dumb shit.

 

My probation officer was very pleased to see I’d had such a successful re-entry.  Supportive parents- check.  Legitimate, white collar job- check.  No substance abuse issues- check.  No history of gang activity- check.  I was probably this guy’s most boring case number. 

 

I was already mentally starting to flip through the months on the calendar until I was fully free.  I was looking forward to being able to travel.  And I knew it would greatly ease my parents’ minds to have the majority of my case file sealed away from future potential employers and prying eyes in general.  They were cautiously optimistic that I was finally turning into the fully functioning adult they’d always expected me to be.  And I didn’t want to cause them any more heartache and/or disappointment. 

 

I wanted them to enjoy this moment- the three of us, all under the same roof, all gainfully employed, stable and successful New Yorkers. 

 

Living in Brooklyn. 

 

My parents’ American dream.

HQ BK: The World Is Yours

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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

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CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN