62. Jo
Chapter 62
Jo
Three Months Later, May
A ttendees filter into the auditorium slowly at first, and then all at once.
“Thanks for saving me a seat.” Carmen plops down next to me, decked out in a navy pinstriped pantsuit. She puts her arm around my shoulders and pulls me in for a side hug, planting a kiss on my temple. “Good to see you, kid.”
“Ugh, I’m so glad you’re back,” I whisper, though the ceremony hasn’t even begun.
“I could never miss Isaac making a fool of himself.”
A voice booms over the PA system.
“Please make your way into the auditorium and find your seats. The ceremony will begin in ten minutes.”
Carmen shifts in her seat until she reveals a bag of sour gummy worms and a flask. “We’re prepped and ready.”
I stifle a snort, snatching the bag from her hand and ripping it open as quietly as I can.
“So fill me in”—she says, taking a quick swig from the metal flask—“have you finally admitted to yourself that you two are soulmates?”
I rip a gummy worm in half with my front teeth and grimace. “Eh, he’s fine,” I laugh.
A couple gestures to the two open seats to my left and I nod, squeezing my legs to the side to let them inhabit the empty spaces.
“It’s about fucking time .”
I chew slowly, still mentally processing the events of the last few months. “Yeah...at some point we’re going to flesh out the fact that this was basically all your fault.” Carmen chokes on a gummy worm, but recovers quickly.
“I’m sure we can discuss that at some point,” she says, glancing over at me hesitantly.
The lights on the vaulted ceilings flash, signaling a last warning, and the remainder of the crowd hustles to find their seats. I’m grateful for my decision to sit with Carmen instead of the rest of the faculty, though we will be revisiting her role in the last twelve years of chaos. But not today.
Focus on the good as Dad would say.
“I think he came here for me.” I pause to settle my stomach.
“Well, I mean, you are the ideal woman, so he had to do something to get you back.” Carmen teases, a red and blue gummy worm hanging out of her mouth.
The pomp and circumstance march begins, and this year’s graduates file one by one into the room. There’s an electric buzz of excitement in the air.
Of possibility.
Dr. Zin approaches the microphone as the last of the graduates take their seats.
“Graduates, faculty, family, friends, and guests, I’d like to welcome you to Midwest Medical College of Illinois’ commencement ceremony.”
The crowd quiets.
“Before we can get to the most important part of the evening, we have a time-honored tradition. Every year, the graduating class picks one faculty member to give words of advice and encouragement. This year, we are excited to have a first-year faculty member, Dr. Isaac Britlyn, as our commencement speaker.”
I glance at where Isaac sits on stage in his elaborate regalia. Though we graduated together all those years ago, this is the first time I’m seeing him like this.
With clear eyes and a clear heart.
The love of my life.
“Let us please give a warm welcome to Dr. Britlyn.” Thunderous cheers and applause fill the room as Isaac approaches the podium in his gown and hood. I can’t keep the smile from blooming on my face.
“Keep it in your pants,” Carmen sneers from next to me, and I roll my eyes.
“Good evening, graduates, colleagues and guests. It is my absolute pleasure to have been chosen to speak tonight, even after joining the faculty only last August.”
I’m so going to cry.
“Not long ago, I was sitting in these uncomfortable theater seats, staring up at the faculty speaker on my graduation day.” He hesitates. “I’ll be honest, I don’t even remember who it was.”
The room booms with laughter.
“You are about to face one of the biggest adventures of your entire life. Though the last four years have posed challenges and learning opportunities, the real world is coming at you fast as soon as you exit the auditorium doors tonight.” He pauses again. “Well, maybe after tomorrow’s hangover has worn off.”
More laughter. He’s killing this.
“You have earned this degree with blood, sweat and tears. You have spent the last quarter of your life learning material that you will now need to apply to real-life scenarios. You will take care of patients, and they will look to you for the answers. This is where the real fun, and stress, begins.”
A few students groan, and Isaac laughs into the microphone.
“Oh I know, I thought it would get easier after graduation day, but the lessons you have yet to learn are so much more powerful than the ones you’ve learned thus far.”
Carmen reaches for the gummy worms that I forgot I still held in my left hand. I let her take the bag. I need to focus.
“At the risk of sounding like a cheesy old man,” he continues, “I have a few words of advice that don’t directly apply to your medical practice, but rather to the life upon which you are about to embark. Some of you will focus on work and forget to play. I implore you to remember that life is short. You need to live it. No regrets.”
Isaac’s voice catches when he repeats Sam’s words.
“Many of you have and will continue to forgo family time to work. I hope you realize far more quickly than I did that without family and friends, life is simply empty.”
Oh no, he’s getting choked up. I should’ve brought tissues.
“Clearly, I’m not emotionally stoic enough to do these types of speeches,” he laughs, breaking the tension. “I’ll leave you with this. You’ve spent the last four years focusing on information that the most brilliant minds in medicine have cultivated for us, but remember, some things, like love, can’t be peer reviewed.”
Well shit, I’m toast.
“I wish you all the best with your lives, and the lives you will inevitably save. Congratulations, Class of 2024!”
The room explodes in applause once again, and Isaac leaves the podium to return to his seat on stage.
“Damn, that was a good speech. Short, sweet, to the point,” Carmen observes.
I lean into her and whisper, “I fear I may be tying up my hair later.” She bursts into laughter.
The waitress drops off five Blue Moons at our table before shaking her head and returning to the bar. She’s sick of us already.
“Cheers to a great year, minus all the work we had to do to get you two together,” Liam says, lifting up his beer to the center of the table. The rest of us return the sentiment, clanging glasses together and taking a sip.
“I have very exciting news,” Carmen interrupts,and we all quiet, waiting. “I’ve been offered the position of team physician for the St. Louis Gateway FC,” she exclaims, eliciting more cheers from our table.
I make eye contact with our waitress again, and the grimace on her face has me shushing the group.
“That’s so exciting, Carm!” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her into my side.
“That means you’ll only be two hours away when I get sick of Jo and need to drop her off?” Isaac teases, and I roll my eyes.
“Would you shut up?” I take another drink of my beer. “You have separation anxiety when I go grocery shopping.”
The table laughs again, only stopping when our copious amount of appetizers get delivered.
“Anyone want to hear my bad news?” We all look to Chloe, where she sits at the head of the table.
“What is it, Chlo?” I ask.
“I got fired from my job, yay!” She raises her glass, attempting another cheers, but we all just stare at her in silence.
“Well, shit,” Carmen taps Chloe’s glass with her own. “Here’s to new beginnings, huh?”
“What the hell are you gonna do then?” I ask, looking to Isaac for reinforcements.
“Well, I was hoping maybe you’d hire me to be your wedding planner…” Chloe glares at Isaac. “But this asshole is being slow.”
“Hey,” Isaac chuckles, picking a cheese stick up from the plate in front of him. “You can’t rush perfection!”
We all laugh again, and comfortable silence surrounds us.
All of us. Together. Happy. Minus the unemployment.
This is what life is all about.
“Maybe I’ll just travel the world,” Chloe says. I release Carmen from my grasp as Isaac pulls me to his side. He presses a lingering kiss to my cheek.
“I’m sure Liam would have a nice couch for you to crash on,” Carmen adds, a shit-eating grin on her face.
I know nothing about what the next year of our lives will entail, but honestly, who cares?
I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.