Chapter 6
Six
“Evie! We’re going to be late!” I called down the hallway toward her room. Of all the days, today was not the day for her to be late.
“I’m coming!” she yelled as she hurried toward me.
My breath caught in my throat, and tears sprang to my eyes. “You’re beautiful.”
“Dad,” she said, drawing the word out like I was embarrassing her.
“I mean it, kid. You look amazing. That dress is stunning. High school graduate. Wow, time has flown by.”
She smiled, her eyes going misty as she tucked herself to my side and hugged me tight. I kissed the top of her head, wondering how many more moments like it I would get. She had a lot of plans with friends and work, and summer was going to fly by.
“Promise me we can do something at least once a week this summer,” I blurted.
She pulled back and looked up at me. “You’re making it sound like I’m not going to be here.”
I shook my head. “I know how fast the summer is going to go. Getting ready for college, seeing your friends and your mom, working. We’re going to be dropping you off at school before we know it. I just want to make sure we take some time to see each other. Even if it’s just dinner.”
Evie nodded. “Okay. We will make sure we do something every week. But not just dinner. We should do fun things.”
“You’re on, kid.”
She chuckled.
“Okay, now we really need to go, or we’re going to be late.”
“You mean you were kidding before? We weren’t late?”
“No, we were,” I said as I shuffled her out the door. “But now we’re going to be even later.”
She laughed as she hurried to my truck, her short white dress flowing behind her as she stepped carefully in her heels.
She looked like a woman. Gone was my little girl.
The kid who reached up for me to pick her up when I would get home from work.
Who laughed with delight when we would swim in the lake and I’d toss her into the water.
Who curled up next to me on the couch and fell asleep watching a movie.
Soon, she’d find someone to spend her life with. Someone who would be her world, who would devote their life to her.
Who would never be good enough for my little girl.
I smothered the thought as I got in the long line of vehicles trying to make it to the high school for graduation. Evie’s class was more than a hundred kids, and the graduation ceremony was at the high school so they didn’t have to worry about tickets or anyone not being able to watch.
When we made it into the parking lot, I crept along, watching for a space to swing my truck, but Evie’s foot tapped the floorboards with anxiety.
“Do you want to jump out and run in?” I asked as I turned to go down the lane next to the school.
“Maybe I should. There’s more people here than I thought there would be.”
“Go,” I said, stopping the truck. “I’ll find you after. Love you!”
“Love you!” she called back as she slammed the door and raced toward the school.
Before I made the next turn, I saw her hugging Katie and Maddie in front of the school.
I rubbed my chest. Damn. It was hard to let her go. She was going to do amazing things, but it was hard to know she’d be doing it all without me.
I really needed to get a life.
My thoughts flashed back to my stolen mornings and secret kisses with Reegan. In the week since our first kiss, we’d only had a few minutes together before one of us had to run off, usually me, but every time she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine, I didn’t want to let go.
She was only there for the summer, but it was nice to have a distraction when the summer was going to be so tough.
I found a parking spot at the far end of a row and swung into it, sighing in relief. There were still dozens of vehicles circling, and I knew many of them and the ones who came later would end up lining the streets through town and walking to the high school to catch the ceremony.
I joined the crowd heading to the football field, scanning for Oscar and Christy. They both wanted to support Evie and said they’d be at graduation.
Unfortunately, I found Hannah and Brian first.
“I thought you were going to be here earlier. Did Evie have an issue?” Hannah asked, her tone accusing.
I shook my head. “We’re all good. She’s inside, ready to walk.”
“Were you late?”
“Nope. Nothing has started yet.” I was not going to tell Hannah I tried to get out the door earlier and failed. All that mattered was Evie was there before graduation started.
Hannah pursed her lips as though she wasn’t buying it, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t prove anything. “We have seats.” She gestured to the front row of the bleachers where a blanket and two coats identified the seats as taken.
“Josh!” came from farther up the bleachers, and I spotted Christy and Oscar waving.
I waved back to let them know I saw them and said a silent prayer of thanks that they made it there before me and saved a seat. “Oscar and Christy are here. But thanks.”
I kissed Hannah’s cheek and ignored the irritated scoff at being dismissed, then climbed the bleachers. I apologized to the people on the end and crawled over everyone to reach Christy and Oscar, hugging them both.
“You saved me,” I said, knowing they understood.
“I thought she was going to demand you sit there,” Oscar said. He wore khaki shorts and an amethyst button-down shirt.
“She offered. Well, told me she had seats. Your shout was perfectly timed.”
“Oscar tried to yell, but you didn’t hear him. I figured the pissed-off look was for me. I was trying not to ruin the day,” Christy said. She was in an amethyst and black dress.
I squeezed her hand. “You could never ruin the day. My baby girl is graduating.”
“Uh oh,” Oscar said. “I know that tone. It finally hit you, didn’t it?”
I nodded. “She came out in her white dress, and I almost lost it. How in the hell did she grow up so fast?”
Christy rested her head on my shoulder. “I’ve wondered that about all of them.”
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s hard. The hits aren’t done yet. But it’s going to be exciting to watch her figure out who she is and find her place in the world,” Oscar said.
I drew a breath and let it out slowly. “Thank you both for being here. I didn’t know this was going to be so hard.”
Music started over the loudspeakers, and I reached for my phone to record the ceremony and take pictures.
Christy put her hand on mine. “You watch. Soak in the moment. Enjoy it. I’ll make sure you have pictures.”
“And video?”
“The school has a camera set up. You’ll get the video.” Oscar nodded to the video camera set up next to the stage, a student behind the camera.
And in front of the student were the first graduates.
Students filed out in either amethyst or gray robes over their fancier clothes.
The antiquated distinction of separating them by two genders was a ritual, but I was proud the school had allowed all the kids to choose which color they wore.
The mixture of school colors didn’t favor one color or the other but was a blend, like the students themselves.
One-hundred-six kids took their seats on folding chairs in the middle of the football field.
With Christy taking pictures and the school recording the graduation, I watched it without any distractions.
The class valedictorian gave a motivating speech about finding their paths and remembering where they came from.
The salutatorian spoke about being true to who they were and going forward with kindness.
The superintendent of the district congratulated the students and rattled off statistics about the scholarships the graduates earned, the variety of colleges they chose, and the things he knew they would do with their bright futures.
When they announced the procession of graduates across the stage, Oscar clapped me on the back. “This is it, man.”
I swallowed the emotion in my throat and watched the kids file through. Each student received a round of cheers from their family and friends watching in the stands, and when it was Evie’s turn, she was no different.
“Evelyn Margaret Morris.”
“Evie!” Oscar shouted.
“Woohoo!” Christy cheered.
I whistled loudly.
Hannah and Brian stood and clapped loudly. I noticed other students cheering for Evie and parents of her friends and former soccer and hockey teammates.
Evie threw her hands up in celebration as she sauntered across the stage, accepting handshakes from the principal, guidance counselor, and superintendent.
At the end of the stage, Evie threw her arms around Ms. Connor, her homeroom teacher of four years and personal hero. Ms. Connor encouraged Evie every step of the way through high school and had become a friend.
I wiped my eyes as Evie made her way back to her seat, her smile so big I could see it from where we were.
“You did good, Josh,” Oscar said, grabbing my shoulder and tugging me against him in a hug.
“Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without you guys,” I said, hugging him back, then reaching for Christy.
She wiped her brown eyes and hugged me, reaching for Oscar to make it a trio. “I’m so happy I have you guys.”
“You okay?” I asked, feeling like it was more than just emotions.
Christy shrugged. “Just thinking how different everything is going to be next summer.”
I swallowed against the tightness in my throat and hugged Christy tighter. Oscar did the same, placing a hand on Christy’s shoulder. “We’re here for you, too.”
She nodded. “I know. Today is not a day for sadness. It’s for joy.” She shook off the pain in her eyes and focused on the remaining graduates.
Her dad wasn’t doing well. He’d been failing for a while, but every time we talked, he was doing worse. The look on Christy’s face made me think he wasn’t going to make it another year. Maybe not even to the end of summer.
I made a mental note to check in with her more. I’d let things slide as Evie got closer and closer to graduation, but Christy had been there for me, and I wanted to be there for her.
And her father.