63. Langdon
Sixty Three
Langdon
T he weather is absolutely stunning. They couldn’t have picked a better day for the graduation ceremony. The whole family is out on the lawn finding seats. Even my grandparents came. Delia and I are seated two rows apart from each other since they’re going by last name but I keep stealing glances at her. She’s beaming. Cap perched just so on her sexy little head. She catches my eye and gives me an excited thumbs up. I laugh.
In twelve weeks, we’ll be leaving to move into our dorms, but until then I get to spend every weekday at RootBound with her and hopefully every weekend too. She blew into my world like a tornado—shook everything up and set it back down slightly askew, but in the best way possible.
The commencement speaker takes the stage, but my attention is still fixated on Delia. Her presence, like a gravitational force, pulls me towards her. She shoos me with a hand gesture to focus. So I do.
Diploma’s are handed out. The Valedictorian gives her speech and then and eruption of cheers explodes as we all toss our caps.
As our caps soar through the air, my heart swells with a mix of pride and anticipation. Delia and I meet in the middle, amidst the chaos of flying mortarboards. We embrace, basking in the sheer joy of this moment. Our journey together has been nothing short of extraordinary. We make our way to our respective families and take what feels like a million photos. At least there were a could good ones of me and Delia together. And at least fifty of Delia, me and Anderson hamming it up.
As we get ready to leave, Delia pulls me in close.
“Mom and Gramps are doing a little cookout tomorrow. So I have to go help out at the house with that but then I’ll be over to you for your party.”
I nod and kiss her full, soft lips. “See you soon.”
***
I float through the rest of graduation day in a happy daze. After so many years of hard work, it feels surreal to finally be done with school. I head home and change out of my cap and gown, then get ready for my graduation party.
My family decorated the backyard with balloons and streamers. All my favorite foods are laid out - pizza, wings, chips and dip. I’m so grateful they put this together to celebrate my achievement.
Niko and Lyra are the first to arrive, goofing around and reminiscing about our time in school together. More friends and relatives trickle in, congratulating me and sharing funny stories.
I’m having a great time, but I keep glancing at the driveway, waiting for that one special guest. Finally, I spot Delia walking up the driveway carrying a gift bag. My face lights up when our eyes meet. I give her a big hug, breathing in her sweet scent.
“Congratulations babe,” she says, handing me the bag. I open it to find a photo album filled with pictures of us together over the last year.
“How did you get these? Most of these are from my camera roll,” I ask.
Delia laughs. “Witchcraft,” she says pushing up on her toes and kissing me.
“I love it. Thank you.”
“Good,” she says taking my hand. “Let’s go party. I’m starving.”
I lean down to her ear. “Maybe later after the adults have bailed we can all play seven minutes in heaven.”
Her cheeks turn pink and she swats at me playfully. “No need for the game, I’ll voluntarily take seven minutes in a closet with you any day.”