I started making dinner. Good old chicken and noodles. I got a pan out and heard the door open.

"How did it go boys?"

Adam had a tear in his eye, "Another disaster. Why am I so bad at this?"

"It's not you, son," Dad said with false hope.

"Then what is it then?" He turned to our father with a look of disappointment and anger.

"The times we're in?"

"No Dad. No. It's not ‘the times'. It's me. It's because I'm so young isn't it? Or because I don't have experience, or because, because-"

"Don't you ever talk like that young man. You hear me?"

"Dad, these things need to be said."

I interrupted, "So I'm guessing things didn't go to well."

Adam looked down at the ground, "Not really."

I gave him a big hug, "It's okay bud. I'm sure you'll get the next one. Now, who's hungry?"

Reluctantly they both started towards the table.

"It's going to be around twenty minutes, so sit tight."

They both sat with their head down. When dinner was ready they barely ate and not a word was said.

…

After I washed the dishes, I went up to my room to call Tommy.

"Hi Tommi."

"Hi. Is your bike working better?"

"Y…y…yeah. Thanks f...f…for helping."

"No problem. Hey, Are you in the middle of something?"

"No. Why?"

"I was wondering if you want to hang out."

"S…s…sure. Where?"

"How about the ice cream stand on the river?"

"I can do that."

"Cool. Meet you there in twenty minutes."

"Okay. Bye"

I headed for the driveway, got my bike, and rolled right down to the river. When I got there, Tommy was already waiting in line. He looked more confident then how he sounded on the phone.

"Hey, what kind of ice cream do you like?"

"Um, actually I thought we'd just meet here instead of getting ice cream."

"Come on. This place has the best ice cream you'll ever have."

"I didn't bring any money."

"That's okay. My treat."

"I really appreciate it but-"

"No buts, I'm buying. You look like a chocolate cone girl to me. A chocolate cone, with sprinkles."

"How did you know?"

"I'm an ice cream psychic. Now go get a bench."

So I did. I got one over looking the river. A few minutes later, Tommy came with our ice cream.

"Wow, good spot."

"Yeah." I tasted the ice cream. It was rich and creamy and perfect.

"Is there a reason you wanted to meet me here?"

"No, can't a friend just want to hang out?"

"Yeah I guess so."

It was quite for a minute while we licked our "delicious dairy treats" as they say in the ad bis.

"Okay, I do have something to talk about."

He looked intrigued, "Hit me."

"My little brother's looking for work and he keeps getting turned down and he's losing faith in himself and he's had twenty-three interviews and 71 applications and he can't get one and he's getting depressed and my dad's telling him to always believe and that's it all going to be okay but I don't know if it really is and-" I said that all in one breath, "I just need a friend to talk to."

His face showed me that was more than he expected, "I'll be here. So what field is your brother getting into, or is it just anything."

"He's trying for computers."

"What in computers? Programming, designing, building, selling…"

"Programming I think. Or coding. Is that the same thing?"

"Yeah. Is he any good?"

"I think so. But he doesn't know that much because he just started," I took the last bite of my ice cream, "Why do you ask?"

"Hmm. You know, my uncle is looking for a new trainee."

"For computer programming?"

"Yeah, of sorts. He programs the robots in factories. Right now he's working on this big job with General Motors."

"Wow, that's such a big company. They've been around for ages."

"I know. That's why he needs new people. He pays pretty well…"

"Oh my God. Do think Adam could…"

He nodded, "No promises, but I can put in a good word…"

I put him in an iron embrace, "Oh thank you thank you thank you! Adam will be sooooooo happy! I can't wait to tell him! Tommy, you're the best!" I gave him a big kiss on the cheek and rode off into the sunset. They never talk about how much the sun gets in your eyes when you do that.

I rode super fast on my way home. Adam will be so excited! Then I stopped. What if Adam didn't get the job? I couldn't get his hopes up like that. He's been through so much. I started peddling again. What should I do? We'd have to try. Maybe if he didn't know he was trying…

I got back home when Adam was already in bed. Perfect. I sought out my father.

"Dad. Guess what?"

"What honey?" He looked tired. On the inside tired.

"I meet a friend by the river and I told him-"

"Him?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes Dad. I have a friend that happens to classify as a male. Anyway, I told him about everything with Adam because I just needed to get it out, and he said his uncle is looking for a new trainee in programming."

"That's awesome honey! Oh Adam will be so happy!"

"Wait, back up. He said no promises. He can only put in a good word. By the way the streak is going, we shouldn't tell Adam."

"Just because he got rejected doesn't mean we shouldn't try."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't try."

That eyebrow of his worked it's way north again.

"Send in his résumé without him knowing. If we get as far as an interview… We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Tommi, did I ever tell you how smart you are?"

I dramatically flipped my hair, "Well, I mean I am pretty smart."

He laughed, "That's my girl. Now tell me more about the job."

So I told him all I knew, and he just got more and more excited. He said we've got a fighting chance. I think he's right; I've got a good feeling about this one too.

Little did I know, Adam got up to get a glass of water and heard the whole story.