Epilogue
EPILOGUE
ONE YEAR LATER
“Ivy. Ryman.” The announcer’s voice boomed through the microphone, Ivy’s name echoing through the entire field at Brentwood Academy, where they all sat in lines of white chairs.
Nora fanned herself with the paper program as she sat between Gram and Blaze, beaming, while Ivy walked across the stage in her cap and gown. Her auburn hair fell in loose waves down her back, and coupled with her heels and a gold bracelet she’d borrowed from Nora, she looked more like a young woman than a girl.
Nora had been able to watch Ivy blossom this school year. Having quit her job at the high school, Nora had taken a position as an online social and emotional learning coach. She taught workshops and courses on social-emotional skills, like controlling emotions, resolving conflicts, and developing resilience. The job allowed her to help kids while also having the flexibility to travel and spend time with Ivy and Blaze.
Ivy shook the announcer’s hand as he handed her a diploma. Then she turned, a wide smile on her face, and pointed at Blaze before pumping her fist in the air. Gram blew her a kiss, and Blaze and Nora stood up and cheered. Jake whooped from his seat up front, among the other graduates.
How far Ivy had come.
After, they headed back to Blaze’s for the cookout he’d planned in celebration of Ivy’s graduation. She’d finished the top of her senior class at Brentwood, and she’d already gotten acceptance letters from three universities. She was still trying to decide where she wanted to go.
Over the last year, Blaze and Nora had gone on more trips. For these, Ivy and Gram had opted to stay at home. Ivy appreciated the freedom Gram allowed, and Gram enjoyed sunning herself by the Rymans’s swimming pool.
Blaze had surprised Nora with a trip out west to Montana, ticking that off her list, and they’d spent a week in Bora Bora—her favorite spot yet. He’d been right: the trips hadn’t shown her the meaning of life, but every excursion had opened her up to a new way of living and all the possibilities she had with Blaze.
When they got to the pool area, a chef had already begun to prepare the barbeque for the party, but that wasn’t the highlight. Ivy nearly fell over backward when she saw the band setting up in the corner.
“Is that…” She pointed at the lead singer.
“Yep. I pulled a few strings at work.”
Blaze and Nora had been in cahoots about getting Ivy’s favorite band, Slim Rocket, to play at the party. They were an up-and-coming group, discovered by Blaze and adored by his daughter. Their latest single, “When We Crash,” was climbing the pop charts, and it was only a matter of time before they were a household name for every teen in America.
Jake stepped up behind Ivy and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Whoa, is that Slim Rocket? Your dad is so cool.”
Ivy giggled and tossed her black graduation robe and hat onto one of the loungers. She wrapped her arms around Jake’s neck. “We did it!”
“We did.” He gave her a big hug. Then he raised his arms in the air. “Party time!”
Gram did a little jig, making them all laugh.
The heat settled upon them as the kids began to change into their swimsuits and jump into the pool while the band played.
Over the last year, while Ivy still dealt with grief over her mother, she had really grown into herself. She’d gotten involved in the after-school music club, and she’d even sold her car. As a graduation gift, Blaze told her he’d buy her a new reliable car so she could get around at college. She’d settled on a red BMW convertible on the condition he drive with her to the beach with the top down.
To Nora’s delight, Blaze agreed instantly.
The Next Day
“I thought Ivy was headed to the beach today with all her friends to celebrate graduation,” Nora said, as she stood in Blaze’s entryway.
In her final year of high school, Ivy had made tons of friends. She had bonded with one girl in particular named Natalie, who’d also lost her mother. The two girls were inseparable and were headed to the beach together, along with a group of their extended social circle.
Which was why Blaze’s request didn’t make any sense. He’d told Nora they’d planned to continue the celebration, and had asked her and Gram to come over this afternoon.
“She is. But she’s pushed her trip back till tomorrow.”
Nora sharpened her hearing. “Is there another band out back?”
Blaze held up his hands. “Guilty. It’s easy to do, given my line of work, and so much better than a DJ, don’t you think?” He led them across the shiny marble floors toward the back of the house.
Nora looked over at Gram for any additional explanation, but Gram just shrugged.
“When did you plan this?” Nora asked as they followed him.
“I’d originally thought to have another party later in the summer, but when I told Ivy about it, she insisted we have it now. Since she and Natalie both got early acceptance to Vanderbilt, they’re moving into an apartment together after they come back from the beach.”
Blaze opened the back doors, and the place was full of people—many of them Blaze’s friends. But not all of them. Nora’s old colleagues from Oakland High were there too. Kim rushed over.
“Hi!” Nora’s friend gave her a big squeeze.
“Hi.” Nora looked over at Gram again, but got another shrug. “What are you doing here?”
“Blaze and Ivy invited us to the party.”
Ivy came over and draped an arm around Gram’s shoulders. “I hope I invited everyone,” the girl said. “I asked the chemistry teacher, Mrs. Edmunds—she came.” Ivy pointed across the pool area. “And she said I should ask Mrs. Rodgers, the orchestra teacher. She’s at the bar. And my old P.E. teacher, Jill Bryson. Then, I just told them to invite anyone they thought might want to come party with you.”
“Thank you,” Nora said, still a little confused by all the hoopla.
While she was surprised that Blaze would move a bash of this size up a couple of months just for Ivy, she did love that he was attempting to follow his daughter’s wishes. They’d really bonded this summer.
“Get a drink,” Blaze suggested. “We’ve got everything you can imagine at the bar.”
Nora and Gram went over to the bartender and got themselves a soda. When they turned around, Blaze had disappeared. Nora and Gram wandered through the crowd as everyone chatted happily, danced, and socialized.
Then suddenly, the band stopped, and the crowd quieted as Ivy took the microphone. The girl looked so much more like a woman, standing there. She was poised, confident, radiant.
“You know, it’s funny how life can hit you out of the blue,” Ivy said, her voice echoing through the yard. “Death, change, new friends… You can find yourself in an unfamiliar place or fall in love out of nowhere.” Ivy winked at Jake who was standing at the side of the makeshift stage.
“I’ve learned that it’s the things that come out of nowhere that are often the things that change our lives. A lot has happened for me over the last few years. Many of you know that. But there’s one more thing that would really round out my childhood before I embark on the next stage of my life.” Ivy stepped aside.
The band played a low drumming sound as if waiting for a big reveal.
Then Blaze took the microphone.
“Ivy’s not the only one who had life hit her out of the blue. I’ve spent the last year doing all sorts of things I never thought I’d do: I took vacations with my daughter; I traveled the world; and I met someone who completely changed me.” He held out his hand, drawing everyone’s attention to Nora. “Nora, would you come over here with me?”
The crowd whooped as Nora joined Blaze.
“You’ve upended the life I thought I wanted and showed me something better than I could’ve ever imagined. Will you…”
Nora stared at him, her breath still in her lungs.
“… help me take Ivy to college and get her settled in?”
“Of course,” she said with a laugh.
“And will you…”
She eyed him, silently questioning what he was about to say.
“… travel to more places with me?”
She grinned at him. “Yes.”
“And will you…” This time, he got down on one knee, and all the kids went wild. “Be my wife?” He opened a baby blue jewelry box, revealing a stunning solitaire diamond on a platinum band.
Tears of joy welled in her eyes. “Yes.”
He slipped the ring onto her finger—a perfect fit—as everyone clapped and hooted.
He stood up, and Nora threw her arms around his neck, as his lips met hers. All the cheers faded. Nora was lost in that moment with the man who took her breath away every day, not just this one.
Then, a new set of arms were around her. Ivy gave her a big squeeze. “He wanted to show me the ring before I left for the beach to get my opinion, and I couldn’t go until it was on your finger. With everything else we’re celebrating, we couldn’t leave this until later.”
While onlookers and friends clapped Blaze on the back and congratulated him, Gram took Nora’s hand.
“My eyes! I’m blinded by that rock on your finger. Holy cow.” Gram squeezed her eyes shut and then laughed. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”
Nora wiggled her finger, the stone catching the light and sparkling. “I can’t believe it.”
“Do you think you’ll keep your online job now that you’ll be Mrs. Blaze Ryman?”
The truth was, she didn’t know. She was starting to love the surprises life brought her when she didn’t have a plan. There was nothing better than those things, as Ivy so eloquently said, that came out of the blue.