I got a job in a new city, and next month I’m moving to another state. My boyfriend of four years plans to come with me. It felt like a big, exciting next step for us. Then he mentioned that his friend Craig might move there, too. Apparently, our fresh start has attracted outside interest.
We currently live in a smaller college town. Craig is from here. His family is here. From where I’m standing, he has roots, familiar surroundings, and several reasons to know the local roads.
A couple of years ago, Craig said he wanted to move to a bigger city in our state because there were more opportunities. He went with the goal of becoming a shooting instructor. During his year away, he struggled to make friends, and his work as a ranch hand wasn’t paying enough. Eventually, he moved back.
He’s been back for about a year. Now that my boyfriend and I are leaving the state for my job, Craig is talking about leaving the state as well. Specifically, for the place we’re going. That detail is doing quite a bit of work for me.
My boyfriend says Craig has nothing here for him. I keep getting stuck on that, because his family is here and this is his hometown. Obviously, having family nearby doesn’t obligate someone to stay forever. I’m leaving, after all. But I have a job waiting. As far as I know, Craig has us.
My boyfriend seems to find the whole possibility perfectly normal. He’s more concerned about my reaction than about Craig’s sudden interest in our destination. So now, alongside preparing for a new job and an interstate move, I’m wondering whether I’ve become unreasonable about municipal population growth.
Craig hasn’t even committed to going. There’s no actual move to react to yet, just a possibility my boyfriend mentioned. Still, I thought we were choosing our next chapter together. Is it really so strange that I wasn’t expecting his friend to consider the same address on the map?
