“I’m just feeling so insecure.”
Vic cocked his head to the side, not really computing Toby’s statement. “About what?”
“It’s a lot of responsibility.. peoples lives are in my hands… I can’t fuck up.” Sweat beaded on his forehead as his mind spiraled into the worst case scenario… losing a patient because of carelessness.
Unaware of his friends anxiety, vic chuckled a little. “Bro, you shouldn’t have let your narcissism decide your career!”
Toby knew he was joking, but it rubbed him the wrong way. “That’s so invalidating,” he said, eyebrows crinkled disapprovingly. “Now I understand why Violeta’s emotional intelligence is nonexistent.”
There was a tense silence as Toby instantly regretted his words and tried to take them back…
“I didn’t mean that…”
Vic isn’t the fighting type, valuing harmony instead, but couldn’t help being a little snappy and defensive in response. “Yes you did.”
“I shouldn’t have said it… that was out of line.”
“You’re right, you shouldn’t have. And you’re right that I was being invalidating. If I’m being honest, it’s strange for me to think of a privileged straight white boy feeling insecure about work. But I guess you are human, even if you act like a robot sometimes.”
Toby gave an uncomfortable laugh at Vic’s lame joke. Then before Vic could continue babbling, Toby looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m not straight.” He turned like a million different shades of red, but didn’t break his friends gaze.
Vic’s heart jumped a little. He’d kinda known this already, and felt a little relieved at the confession, but tried not to let it show. “Okay, well you’re still a white dude. Lots of privilege wrapped up there.”
“And still allowed to feel insecure,” Toby insisted.
Vic playfully rolled his eyes. “Fine, I hereby validate your feelings, sir Toby.” He made a gesture as if knighting him (or whatever it’s called), then got serious. “But for real, you’re gonna be fine. Your heart is in the right place and that’s all that matters.”
“My heart is located in my thoracic cavity, just like every other human. That doesn’t mean I won’t fuck up.”
“Oh you’ll definitely fuck up, especially if you take shit so literally like that. But you’ll learn from your fuck ups and become even better, then help even more people. It’s all part of the process. But you know that already, right? Cuz if you don’t… maybe shrinking isn’t the job for you…”
Now was Toby’s turn to eye roll, even though he felt a deep admiration for Vic. There was something about his vibe… the way Vic just enjoyed life without being too careless, the way he took care of his family without feeling obligated…. Vic seemed perfect… normally a red flag… but their relationship felt… right.