Chapter 24
Graduation Day—Albion College
“Wow, I don’t miss college at all,” Bianca said. “Your whole life in a hundred square feet. And the lobby downstairs? A travesty. They should take that sofa out somewhere and burn it.”
Daniel chuckled. “You’re not wrong about the lobby. It is pretty awful.” He glanced around the room. Everything was boxed up, ready to go in the back of Dad’s car. But that’s not what he saw in his mind’s eye. “Still, some really good things happened in here.”
She raised an eyebrow as she headed to the door. “You mean she happened.”
He didn’t answer; he just followed her out, locking the door behind him.
They went down the stairs, through the travesty of a lobby and outside before she spoke again. “I’m sorry,” she said, in a quiet voice. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“There’s nothing you can’t say to me, Bee. You should know that by now.” He took a deep breath. “It’s just—I don’t know why I haven’t told you. I went to see her last night. I gave her the pen. And—and then…”
She slipped an arm around him as they walked. “Yeah. I know all about and then , Danny. You keep forgetting I’m older than you.”
He laughed. “You keep forgetting to act like it.”
She grinned, jabbing him lightly in the ribs. “You mean like that? I could give you a wedgie, too, if you want.”
“No thanks, I’ll pass.” He paused. “Anyway, yeah. You can guess what happened. It was like we were still back two years ago. Like New Year’s Eve. Or my birthday.”
He blushed at the memory of that night. Of course she noticed.
“You never told me what happened with her that night.”
“And I never will,” he said, still blushing. “Some stuff you can’t even tell your favorite cousin.”
“Danny!”
“Well, I guess I can say this much. Remember what you wrote in my card? Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do?” She nodded. “I’m pretty sure I did.”
Nora , a few minutes later
There he was, sitting on a bench on the north side of the quad. She was at least a hundred feet away, and seeing him from the back—but it had to be Daniel. Of course it was—she’d known he’d be there, ready to go in his graduation robes, half an hour before he was supposed to be there.
Who was he talking to? A woman. Not his mother or his sister, but that’s all Nora could tell from the back. The woman had her arm around him and they were leaning close—there was only one person it could be.
“Daniel!” Nora called out when she was just a few steps away.
They turned in unison, and she saw she was right. The woman was a little older than him, but not much. Dark haired, like Daniel, with the same nose. “And you have to be Bianca.”
The woman stood up and—Nora hadn’t expected this—came straight up to her and hugged her. Tightly, the way you hug someone you love but haven’t seen in months.
“Nora! It’s so great to meet you. I mean, in person. I feel like I know you from everything Daniel’s told me, but…” Bianca let her go, took a step back, and gave her a long, appraising look. “Wow, you really are beautiful. He showed me pictures, but they don’t do you justice.”
Nora wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Uh—thanks?”
Bianca smiled and it was nothing but honest and kind. “It wasn’t a trick question, Nora. I’m just telling you what I see.” She turned to Daniel. “And I’ll tell you what else I see. I see how much you love my Danny. Our Danny.”
She leaned in again, kissed Nora on the cheek. “Thank you for that. For loving him. You changed his life, Nora.”
“Bee, that’s enough,” Daniel said, but there was no edge to it. Just fondness. “I think Nora and I need a moment alone.”
Bianca patted Nora’s arm. “I’ll go check on Uncle Tony. But I want to hear all the details later. Promise?”
Daniel nodded. Bianca gave Nora a wink, and headed off.
Once she was out of earshot Nora sat down on the bench, and gestured for Daniel to join her.
“I see why you love her so much, Daniel,” she said. Then she grinned. “Or should I start calling you Danny now?”
Daniel , a moment later
What Daniel wanted to say was, You can call me whatever you want, for the rest of our lives . But that was impossible. Their time together—last night, and now—was one final gift, and that would have to be enough.
“I never liked being called that. Except by her.”
She nodded. “I get it. I’d probably be okay with Rachel calling me a nickname, even if I hated it. Not that there’s anything you can do with my name. You can’t shorten it or make it cute or whatever. It’s always just Nora.”
Again, he couldn’t say what he wanted to. So he settled for, “There’s not a thing in the world wrong with just Nora. Except that you aren’t just anything.”
She blinked, and he wondered if she was holding back tears.
“That’s sweet. Just like you always are. But—God, this went so much easier in my head. I don’t want to do this, because once I do… then it’s goodbye.”
Daniel saw what she wasn’t saying. Her hand was halfway inside her purse, and her eyes were darting back and forth from him to it. She had something to give him.
She didn’t do it last night. Of course she didn’t. She didn’t want to upstage his gift to her.
“Nora, it’s all right,” he said gently. “We said it last night. You’ll always remember. I’ll never forget. Even if this is goodbye.”
She blinked again, but this time the tears came.
“You’re right. You’re always right. I have to do this now.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath, and a small velvet box from her purse, tied with a little blue bow. A jewelry box?
“Nora, you didn’t have to give me anything. You already gave me everything.”
But he took the box from her anyway, untied the ribbon, opened it.
“I had it made. Specially made. Just for you. For us, really. You’re just the one who’ll wear it.”
Inside was a necklace. The pendant was a silvery heart. But not silver. Platinum, maybe? Or white gold. Probably white gold, because it was an alloy—gold and something else, he couldn’t remember what, but fused together. Two things made into one.
Set on the heart, side by side, were two blue stones. A sapphire, her birthstone. And the other one… aquamarine. His.
“Like I said,” she whispered, barely able to speak. “For us. So you’ll always remember me. I’ll always be by your heart.” Her voice cracked. “I wanted you to always remember. Because I’ll always love you.”
He leaned over, kissed her. Her tears were on his face.
And then, so were his.
Nora , two minutes later
She finally stopped crying, and so did he. He was holding the necklace up to look at it more closely. The stones glittered in the sunlight exactly the way they should.
“It’s beautiful, Nora.” Daniel turned his back to her, and for an instant she was confused, but then she realized what he was doing. “Would you—please, would you put it on for me?”
She took it gingerly from his hand, draped it around his neck and closed the clasp. “There, let’s see.”
It sat there, maybe a couple of inches above his heart, and it looked perfect. Like it had always belonged around his neck.
“I can’t believe you did this, Nora. I mean—I do believe it, just… I don’t know how.”
Her fingers were still playing with the necklace. “I don’t think I ever mentioned my Uncle Bruce. He’s a jeweler. I drew the design myself, and he made it for me. I had to give you something. Something real. And symbolic, too, I guess.”
He took her hands in his. “It really is. And not just the stones, or even the heart. I love that you picked white gold. Two different metals, together into one new thing.”
What did he mean? White gold was an alloy, she knew that. Uncle Bruce would have thrown her out of his store if she didn’t know something as simple as that. But she’d never thought about what that really meant.
The tears started again, suddenly. She had to fight to make any words come out.
“I never—I mean it. I didn’t even think of that. And you did! I said it should be a symbol, and you made it even more of one.” Last night, she’d told herself she would make the promise, and ask for his, if she could hold her nerve. It was now, or never.
He started to speak, but she pressed her finger to his lips. Then she took a deep breath, and another, and wiped her tears away. “Daniel, I don’t know how to say this. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. I want us—I want to make you a promise. And then you make one to me.”
He was looking into her eyes, all the way into her heart. But as well as he knew her, she didn’t think he knew what she was asking.
“Say it, Nora. Whatever you’re thinking, you can say it.”
Now or never.
“I promise, Daniel. Ten years from today. May 15, 2001. If I’m still single, if I’m not with anyone. Ten years from today I’ll be here. Right here. Waiting for you.”
He laughed. How could he laugh at that? She was—she wasn’t just baring her soul, she was tearing it open, and he was laughing?
And then she understood why, and she laughed, too. Not just because it truly was funny, but because—just like the white gold—she hadn’t even realized the other meaning of her words.
“The first time we ever spoke,” he said “The first time I heard your voice, you were talking about 2001: A Space Odyssey . And that’s when you want us to meet again.”
She knew he’d make the promise now. He had to.
“I promise, Nora. Ten years from today. If I’m not with anyone, I’ll be here. I’ll be waiting for you.”
She kissed him, one more time. One last time. He kissed her back, and didn’t let her go until there was a sound off in the distance, way on the other side of the quad. Trumpets blaring.
“That’s your cue. Go, Daniel. Go and graduate. Go and be amazing.” She hugged him, this time for the really and truly last time. “Go with my love. And come back to me ten years from now.”
So he went.
She watched him go, watched him disappear into a crowd of blue robes. But he’d be back. Ten years from now, he’d be back. How could he not?
The body always remembers, and the heart never forgets.
When he came back, she’d be here waiting for him.