Chapter 30 Grace #3
“You look gorgeous, as always.” He dots my heat-stroked cheek with a kiss.
“Aw, Daniel. Kiss her cheek again for the camera this time! I wasn’t ready.”
“Janie, enough. Poor Bee is about to collapse.” Mae grins, standing cool in the shade.
“Wait!” Tessa comes running out of the house, holding two graduation caps. “Mom, you have to get a picture of them wearing the caps I designed.” Almost tripping over her bare feet, she does a little jump off of the front porch and dashes toward us.
I crouch down slightly and reach out for a hug, like I always do for Tess. Even though she’s twelve now, she still squeezes me just as tightly as she did when she was five years old.
I gave her complete control over designing the tops of our mortarboards. Standing next to me, Danny releases a barely audible groan. He was not pleased with the decision to let her run wild with them, assuming she’d write “dweeb” on his cap in pink glitter glue.
“Close your eyes!” Tessa claps her hands together excitedly, and I comply before she carefully places a cap in my hands.
“Okay, open them!” she squeals. Even though my cheeks ache, I paste on a smile in advance of even seeing it.
My forced smile becomes genuine as I inspect the cap.
It’s lined with painted paw prints in different shades of brown.
Winding in between the paws is a long green stethoscope made with glitter.
The words “Round of A-Paws for the Future Dr. Sinclair” are printed in small rainbow letters in the cap’s center.
I brush my fingers against the words Dr. Sinclair. “Tess. This is so thoughtful. I’m going to have the best designed cap there.”
“Not sure about that,” Danny interjects, his voice low with emotion. “Mine is pretty great.”
Glancing down at his cap, I take in the white block letters “MVP” written over a green painted background, meant to represent turf. Mini footballs line his cap with golden glitter dusting them.
Danny turns the cap in his hands, admiring it from every angle. “Thank you, Tessie.”
“I’ll keep this forever,” I add.
Tessa nods before throwing her arms around Danny’s torso. “I’m going to miss you. I wish you didn’t have to go to college!”
It breaks my heart to see her already dreading the absence of her big brother. He crouches down to her level and wraps her in a hug. As he whispers reassurances into her ear, Janie looks on with tears in her eyes. After a few sniffles, Tessa giggles at something he said.
Danny clears his throat as they separate. “Let’s do this thing. We gotta head over for the rehearsal. We’ll see you all there!”
“Wish me luck!” I chime in.
“Good luck with graduation! See you there!” Tessa yells after us.
“I meant with his driving,” I mumble.
Danny playfully shoves me. Picking up my purse off the ground, I open it and make sure the essentials are packed.
“Bee, can I grab you for a second?” Mae calls.
“Sure!” I join her underneath the tree in Danny’s front yard.
She looks me up and down and beams. “Before you leave, there’s something I want you to have. I know your father tossed some of your mother’s things after she passed. I’m still pissed about that.” Mae’s jaw clenches.
My own memories have faded over the years, partially due to my age when she passed and partially due to the trauma I experienced at the hands of my father. Mae has shared so many stories about my mother this past year, and I’ve soaked each one into my soul.
“Well, I wanted to give you this.” She opens a necklace box to show me a delicate golden chain with a dangling letter M.
“It’s hers, and I think it should be yours.
I gifted it to her on her high school graduation day.
The ‘M’ was for Melanie, of course. But I thought…
well, I thought that it could stand for ‘Mom’ now, if you want to wear it. ”
I wrap Mae in a huge hug as tears well in my eyes. She carefully clasps the necklace around my neck.
Running my fingers over the necklace, I kiss her on the cheek. “Thank you, Mae. This means the world to me.”
She pats me on my arm. “Now, now. Get going, or else you’re going to be late for your graduation.”
Danny is waiting for me across the yard, and as I meet him, he gently asks, “Everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is perfect.” My lips curve into a wide smile.
As we walk toward his car, I slip off my gown to get some air. I smooth out the wrinkles in the new dress Mae surprised me with this morning. It’s short and white with a v-neck halter top and a flared skirt. Delicate lace that looks like petals lines the hem and frames the neckline.
I reach Danny’s car on the street in front of our houses, only to realize he’s stopped walking. When I turn around, he looks like he swallowed his tongue, and I remember that he’s only seen me in my graduation gown today.
“Gracie, you’re stunning.”
Just as I was cooling down, my cheeks heat all over again. “Um, thanks. You look great, too.”
“You’re always beautiful. But wow,” he breathes, “I’ve never seen you in a dress like that before.”
“Yeah, Mae bought it for me as a surprise. Janie actually helped pick it out.”
The corners of his lips turn up as he opens the passenger door for me. “Remind me to thank them later.”
I climb in, and he starts the car. Before shifting into gear, he glances at the graduation cap in my lap.
“You know, if you do end up keeping your graduation cap forever, it’s going to need some editing.”
“What do you mean? It’s perfect!” I exclaim, affronted on Tessa’s behalf.
“The last name looks a little off,” he says with a wink.
I, along with my witty retorts, melt into my seat.
A few hours later, we’re standing outside the convocation center watching everyone throw their hats in the air for a class picture. Danny and I leave ours alone, of course, protecting the keepsakes at all costs. Instead, we hold each other tightly in celebration.
After hugging Danny, I turn to Ben, who’s currently waving at his family.
“We did it!” I squeal, giving Ben a friendly squeeze.
“Hell yeah, we did!” He beams, holding his cap underneath his arm.
“Are you and Mia still up for going to the diner with us after this?”
“Absolutely. No way do I want to share Mia with my family; she’s only here for a few days.”
I grin. “You do realize you’ll see her every day starting next week, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Like you wouldn’t want to spend as much time as possible with Lover Boy,” he teases, tugging on my cap’s tassel.
I nudge his shoulder. “We’ve come a long way from public speaking and library lunches, huh?”
He lifts his hand up like a visor over his forehead and pretends to scan the crowd. “I don’t see our good friend Garett here… Do you think he even graduated?”
Laughing and linking my arm with Ben’s, we happily stroll out of the student area. Danny follows closely behind, chatting with a teammate.
I recognize the girl with the high cheekbones and stick straight, inky black hair as soon as I spot the lone pink streak framing her face. “Mia!” I shout with excitement.
“Grace?! Is it really you?” She jogs my way, all but shoving Ben to the side and wrapping me in an embrace.
“Hey!” Ben shouts, fixing his glasses.
Mia pulls back with a smile. “I feel like I already know you.”
“Same. The pictures don’t do you justice. I love your hair,” I gush.
“Of course the pictures don’t do her justice,” Ben announces, stepping in between us and putting his arm around Mia’s shoulders. “No picture could ever capture her essence.”
“Oh please,” Mia snorts, but gives him a peck on the cheek.
Danny holds out his hand for a fist bump. “Hey, Mia. It’s really nice to finally meet you.”
“And you must be Dan,” Mia replies, giving him a bump back.
“Ceremony, check. Class picture, check. Introductions, check.” Ben starts listing off items, making an invisible check mark gesture with each one. “Can we please leave now? I’m starving.”
“Let’s get out of here,” I agree. “We’ll meet you at the diner.”
We arrive at the same time, grab a booth together, and order burgers.
Milkshakes are a must for dessert: chocolate for Danny, mint for Mia, cookies and cream for Ben, and strawberry, of course, for me.
In between sips, we make small talk about college.
Ben and Mia are going to Indianapolis Tech University and have plans to go to law school in the area post-grad.
“You know, Grace,” Ben says, wiggling his eyebrows. “When I was researching colleges in Indiana, I just so happened to notice that Indianapolis–Metro has an amazing veterinarian school.”
Mia jumps in. “Yes, I read that too, actually. You should definitely apply there as one of your post-grad options. How fun would it be if you followed us to Indiana one day?”
“Hey, who’s gonna follow me?” Danny playfully interjects, looping his arm around my shoulders.
My gaze traces over the planes of his face, the texture of his skin, and the lips that have captured mine countless times. Every feature is one I know by heart, and I can’t wait to keep memorizing him over the course of our life together.
“I’ll follow you anywhere, Danny.”