Outside his front door were reporters from the major news stations, a city newspaper reporter, a reporter from the university newspaper, and a crying Heather who rushed inside his apartment.
"How about a quick statement!" shouted a reporter snapping a picture of him. The flash nearly blinded him.
"How does it feel to be hired by Heaven's Gate is it a dream come true?" another reporter asked.
"Come on say something anything!" said another reporter.
"Excuse me," Henry said closing and locking his front door.
"Those reporters are so mean. One asked me if we were going to break up. She said, bachelors, play better in the news and inform her as soon as we end things. Can you believe that?" Heather asked tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry about all this, I never expected this would happen. I'll call my uncle, I'm sure he can handle things outside," Henry said taking out his cell phone and dialing his number. Once his uncle answered, Henry, explained the press blitz outside his apartment door. His uncle promised to come over immediately and settle things outside.
When he put the phone down, he sat next to Heather and comforted her. The reporter's comments tapped into the anxiety she felt.
"What's going to happen between us, and don't change the conversation like you normally do," Heather said pressing Henry.
"Well, I don't know what's going to happen either. We've only dated for three months and you're moving back to Louisville to live with your family. I'm moving to Austin, and I don't see how this works unless we date long distances and see each other in the game. Wait—was this your plan all along?" Henry asked finally seeing the big picture.
"What's wrong with long-distance dating? People are already dating in-game, some without ever seeing the other person in real life. We can talk every night in-game. And if things progress further with us, we can move in," Heather said passionately, but the last sentence she said with a hit of embarrassment.
"Move in together?" he repeated a bit stunned.
"I said in the future! Not now, you moron," she said slightly angrily.
"Ha-ha, but won't we be living together in-game?" Henry clarified.
"No. Didn't you say the farmhouse would have four bedrooms? I planned to sleep in one of those. But I'm also not opposed to sleeping in the bed either," Heather said coyly.
"Pfft," Henry coughed, choking on the water he was drinking.
"Ha-ha, did I surprise you?" she asked.
"A little bit, yeah," he nodded.
"You should know that I'm a little hesitant about long-distance dating too. I never signed on to date a celebrity. Gabby announced on her feed she's interested in you. I worried that the distance would make us grow apart. I'm worried you'll find someone else closer to you either at work or in Austin," Heather said emotionally.
"I can't promise you that won't happen. Well except for Gabriella, I have absolutely zero interest in dating her," Henry declared. But that didn't stop him from thinking about Gabby, or Gabriella, who was the most beautiful woman in their graduating class, she was elected home queen, and was president of her Tri Delta sorority. But where she was outgoing, he was more introverted. They lived in totally different worlds.
"So, you can't promise you'll date other women?" Heather asked frustratedly.
"How can I predict the future? I don't plan to actively seek out women. I plan to go to work and play Heaven's Gate. I'll socialize with my new team, but that's probably it," Henry said noncommittally.
"Wait…You can't predict the future? You'll PROBABLY only work and socialize with friends? If you're not interested in committing, then we don't need to move forward with this. We should break up right now. The distance isn't going to change my commitment to you but, now that I think about it, you're right. I can't predict the future either, I might meet someone while you're in Austin," Heather said her mood completely shifting from cute and coy to furious. She stormed out of the room.
Sensing a major battle looming, Henry thought for a moment about how to proceed. Did he really want to remain with Heather? Was the trouble of long-distance dating going to be worth the hassle? There have got to be tons of cute girls in Austin. Henry was sensing that Heather wanted a real commitment that could lead to forever.
He walked to his bedroom, where Heather was sitting. He sat beside her in silence and took her hand.
"Ok, let me make something clear. I care about you. The relationship we have developed over the past few months has been great. We've been friends for four years, I consider you a major part of my life. And I'm getting the sense that you somewhat feel the same way even though you don't show it.
I know you didn't consider us living together. I don't want to change anything that we have together. But I think we can make this work. No, I know we can make this work. I'm willing to put in the effort to remain with you. I just want you to make the same commitment in return. I don't want you to be worried about me being with any other guys either because I only want you with you. I want only you…and I'm sorry for storming out," Heather said calmly.
"I can make the same commitment. I've to our daily conversations and I'm looking forward to you coming to Woodhaerst," he said honestly.
"You can make that commitment?" Heather repeated excitedly.
"Yeah, I want us to stay together," he confirmed.
"Really?" Heather asked excitedly kissing Henry.
The next morning, they woke up tangled together in bed. Henry cuddled Heather in his arms. Last night they passionately displayed their affection for each other time and time again. When they finished, they embraced each other and fell asleep.
"Argh, we have to get up! Are you going to the graduation ceremony?" Heather asked getting out of bed and turning the lights on.
"No," Henry said staring at Heather's naked body.
"Ha-ha, didn't you see enough last night, stop staring," she laughed walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower.
He pulled up his boxers and went to the kitchen to make coffee and put a bagel in the toaster. He sat down on a barstool at his kitchen counter and turned on the Heaven's Gate TV channel and opened the forums on his phone. He read and listened to the news. Most of the news was the same, it was the same guilds fighting with the guilds, only the fight's escalated each time.
Heather came out of his bedroom wearing the same clothes she wore yesterday. She grabbed half his bagel and poured herself a cup of coffee. She asked him, "anything interesting happen yesterday?"
"Nope, it's the same thing as always: battles, dungeons, and farming mobs for gain levels. But the anchors showed screenshots of a new territory a Level 100-125 desserts with a troll citadel," he answered.
"Oh, that sounds nice. I wonder what herbs they'll find?" Heather asked curiously.
"Last night, I forgot to mention I finished your birthday present," Henry said sipping his coffee.
"Oh, what'd you make?" Heather asked curiously.
"I'll send it to you tomorrow in-game on your birthday," Henry smiled.
Heather started to say, "Can't you tell me n—," but she was interrupted by a knock on his apartment door.
"Who is it?" she nervously?" worried that their activity last night would be on the morning news.
Henry walked to the door and looked through the peephole. He sighed when he noticed it was his uncle. When he opened the door, he noticed all the press was gone.
"Heather meet my Uncle Mike, Uncle Mike this is my girlfriend," he said introducing them.
"Heather it's nice to meet you. I decided to come this morning because you seemed…preoccupied last night," Uncle Mike winked at him.
"Oh god," Heather said embarrassed hiding her face.
"Ha-ha, it's okay. I came to let you know I spoke to the press on your behalf. Your uncle made the nightly news. You can pull the last night's video on your phone if you want to see it. It's just the generic boilerplate. But we do need to talk. Last night, I received several phone calls from people who want to sponsor your live stream channel," Uncle Mike explained.
"But I don't have a live stream channel," Henry replied.
"Listen, kid, these companies are willing to offer you millions to live stream. All you have to do is wear their clothes or mention their products," Uncle Mike advised.
"Ah, I don't know?" Henry hesitated.
"What companies?" Heather asked curiously.
"Cargill, John Deere, Rural King, and more. I didn't come by to talk you into anything. If anything, you need to clear this with your employer. I've never handled a live-streaming contract, but I've done plenty of contracts in my career, and these are the most favorable contracts I've seen. Still, something is nagging at me, I don't know what it is, but I think you should be careful," Uncle Mike said dropping off the contracts.
"Thanks, Uncle Mike, I'll be on the lookout," Henry said hugging him.
"Remember come find us after graduation we're taking you out for dinner to celebrate. And we have a surprise for you as well. That is if you aren't planning to hang out with Heather's family," Uncle Mike teased.
"I've never even met her family," Henry said hugging his uncle goodbye.
When his uncle left, Heather gently coughed to get his attention, "Actually my parents would like to meet you. Can you meet us for brunch tomorrow?"
"Um, okay, yeah sounds good. I guess you've already met my uncle. I should meet yours," Henry said nodding in agreement.
"Great it's a date. I'll let mom and dad know," Heather said, kissing him before leaving.
Henry leafed through the contracts. All of them were large agriculture or husbandry businesses. They promised him all kinds of magical seeds, farming equipment, and 5% of the in-game sales if he helped them enter Heaven's Gate. His uncle was right these terms were way too lucrative. Big Agricultural had a massive lobbying presence in the United States. And he wasn't sure he wanted to be their Heaven's Gate poster boy. The big agricultural industries were facing pressure from climate activists, and he had no desire to put himself in the middle of that.
At this point in his life, he was financially comfortable. He had no large debts, a good-paying job, large investment accounts, and a cryptocurrency mine. He didn't need any more money. Yet something gnawed at him. If these companies formed a consortium and entered the game, he'd miss out on 5%. Yet, with that amount of money, the possibilities would be endless. He thought about all the ways it could be used for settlements. Then he decided to think about it later, he didn't want to make any rash decisions.
He checked his messages from last night, he had over 100 messages from numbers he didn't know. But, about 30 of them came from Dustin. He encouraged him to come out last night or just answer the phone so he could show off to a girl that he was friends with a celebratory. He sent the same text this morning, begging him to meet him at Final Exercises to help him get laid.
While he didn't want to walk in a procession, he decided he owed Dustin. He showered and threw on a white button-down, graduation gown, and khaki pants and hopped on his bike. He pedaled to the Lawn which wasn't too far away to watch Dustin and Heather's College of Arts and Sciences' graduation. The other college's graduation was scheduled for the afternoon.
When his graduation was over, he watched all the graduates hugging their parents or family. He wished his parents were alive to see him graduate. As he was reminiscing about his parents, his Uncle Mike and Aunt Susan and cousins found him. They wore big smiles and hugged him. They congratulated him.
"Your mom and dad would be so proud of you," Uncle Mike said proudly.
"Thanks, hearing that helps," Henry mumbled.
"Congratulations, dear," Aunt Susan said kissing him on the cheek.
"Okay, let's hurry to the car. I made reservations at a nice steak house. And if we're late we may lose our reservation," Uncle Mike encouraged.
"Wait—Henry, before you go. Here's my number maybe we could hang out before you leave." Gabby suggested.
"Thanks," Henry said reluctantly, walking away to catch up with his family.
The rest of the day was dinner and partying late in the evening. Dustin led him from one house or frat party to another. While Dustin relished the spotlight, Henry found constant questions overwhelming. At one in the morning, Henry finally called it quits and headed back to his apartment. Dustin was so engrossed in a woman that he didn't notice Henry leaving. He walked back to his apartment, exhausted by the day's events, and collapsed in his bed fast asleep.