by Tiffany King
"Thanks Mom," I said, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "You look pretty," I said admiring her pale lavender dress. When she was released from the hospital she had been gaunt and underweight, but after a week, she had filled out nicely. I was glad to have her back home. I missed being with my friends 24/7, but it just felt right coming home to her. Feline on the other hand missed Mark's beach house greatly.
This past week had been almost melodramatic since our first successful assignment. We had continued our training until Haniel was called away for 'more pressing matters,' as he put it.
"What time is Mark coming by?" My mom asked, pouring me a soda and handing me a specialty chocolate cupcake from a fantastic bakery we had discovered this past week.
"In twenty minutes," I said, glancing at the small digital clock on our microwave. "Oh yum," I said, distracted by the first bite of the heavenly treat in my hand.
"You two still getting along okay?" she asked.
"Sure, why?"
"I don't know, you guys just seem a little on edge," she said.
I wanted to deny it, but she had a point. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but Mark seemed a little standoffish since our mission. Outwardly he seemed fine, still joking with the others, but he had been blocking his thoughts from me since we left the revival. I tried not to let it bug me, but the words his father had said nagged at me. I couldn't help wondering if he was resenting the bonds that tied us together. After all, Haniel had confirmed that the Protectors could not live without their Guides. Last weekend had proven just how quickly it could happen. Alan could have snapped my neck and that would have been the end of his existence too.
"Don't be a dork, he's probably just freaked out that he came so close to losing you," Sam had said as she and Lynn tried to reassure me the night after our mission.
"That's just because I was stressed about college," I now said to my mom, throwing out the first excuse I could come up with. "Now that I know for sure I got into U.C. Santa Cruz, I can relax. At least we know that getting good grades paid off for something. Besides, aren't you happy I'm not quite ready to fly the coop yet?"
"Well, I won't say I'm not excited you picked a school close to home. I'm sure a certain hunk has something to do with it more than me, but hey, I'll reap the benefits from it," she said, shooting me a smile.
"Hunk? Mom that's so old school. He's a hottie or McHottie if you want the formal title," I said giggling.
"Well, if my ears don't deceive me, I believe a certain 'Prince Charming' is here, or is 'Prince Hottie'," she said teasing me.
Jumping to my feet, I threw my cupcake wrapper in the trash receptacle and rinsed out my glass. I had the door open before he could ring the doorbell. "Hey," I said, snagging a quick kiss on his lips.
"Hey yourself. Don't you look so pretty and sophisticated in your graduation gown," he said, pulling me in for a deeper kiss.
My pulse quickened as my heart began beating harder. I was glad I had kept my insecure thoughts to myself. Sam and Lynn were right, we were fine.
"I brought you these," he said, handing over a delicate bouquet of flowers. "And this," handing me a small, elegantly wrapped box.
I sighed, breathing in the heady smell of the flowers.
"You didn't have to do this," I said, feeling my cheeks heat up, slightly self-conscious that he got me a gift. Mark placed his palm on my cheek, easing away the embarrassment as he placed a light kiss on my lips.
"It's customary to give a graduate a gift," he said smiling.
"Here, I will put those in water, dear," my mom said, taking the flowers from me and strolling to the kitchen. I wasn't fooled by her ploy. She knew how I felt about opening gifts in front of people.
Settling on the edge of the couch, I pulled the wrapping off the small jewelry box. I gasped in pleasure after lifting the lid, spying the delicate heart shaped pendant on a chain. The heart was etched with two words, Always Yours.
"It's beautiful," I said with moist eyes as he helped my shaky fingers hook the chain around my neck.
"I love you," he said, leaning in to give me another kiss.
"I love you too," I said after softly caressing his lips with my own return kiss.
"We better go," he said, glancing at his watch.
"Mom, you ready?" I called out as I stood up to smooth out the back of my polyester robe.
"No reason to yell Dear. I'm right here," she said smiling.
"Oops, sorry mom, I didn't realize you were that close."
"Pretty necklace," she said, stepping in to inspect it. Her eyes tightened slightly at the corners with concern. She had warmed up considerably toward Mark, but made it clear that she wished we would slow down. I guess declaring himself mine, always, didn’t fall under the "slowing it down" category.
The parking lot at the country club where they were holding our graduation was packed by the time we pulled in. Mark circled the driveway and pulled up in front of the awning to let us out.
"I'll go park and join you inside," he said before I shut the door.
"Krista, over here," Sam called, standing by a five-tier elaborate fountain that was located in front of the oversized glass plated doors. "Tom and Karen are inside saving seats for your mom and this lot," Sam said, indicating Shawn, Lynn, Robert, and to my surprise, Haniel, who was standing to her left.
"Haniel, you're back," I said, happy for his return. "Mom, this is Haniel, a family friend of Mark's," I said smoothly.
Her eyes widened, taking in the Greek god-like figure in front of her. "It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Miller," Haniel said, holding out his hand.
Her hand was lost in his and I watched all tension leave her face at his touch. Haniel had a way of making a person relax and leave their worries behind. I had grown quite fond of him since his human-like moment after the revival when he healed my neck. I really missed him this past week while he was gone.
Mark joined our group a few minutes later. "You ready?" he asked, quietly placing his arm around my waist.
"I guess," I said grudgingly, not completely excited about being the center of attention.
"You'll be fine, and I'm sure Sam won't mind tripping or something if you mess up," Robert said, teasing Sam.
"Great, now that you jinxed me, I probably will trip. Thanks a lot bro, you're supposed to have my back," Sam said in mock anger as she reached past Lynn to sock him on the arm.
"Oww, I think a mosquito just got me," Robert said, making a production of looking for a mark on his muscular forearm.
"Oh shut it." Sam said giggling.
"Looks like they want the graduates to head down that hallway," Mark said, interrupting their antics.
"Sheesh, you think their sign is big enough?" Sam asked, snorting at the refrigerator-sized sign that simply read, Graduates This Way, with a two foot arrow beneath the words.
"I guess they felt a regular sized arrow would just be too difficult for us lowly graduates to figure out," she added.
Breaking away from the group, Sam and I followed the not so discrete arrows that lined the hallway walls, directing seniors to a different location. Sam's giggles increased with each sign we passed, making it hard for me not to join in. By the time we burst through doors to what Sam called "the holding pen," we were both clutching our sides.
The sound inside the large room was deafening, as everyone gathered around, talking about their plans for the evening and graduation gifts they had received. Of course, there was a lot of crying and gushing about how much they were going to miss each other, but for the most part everyone was excited about the significance of this moment.
Sam and I stood alone, which was how we preferred it. The only other group that was off by themselves was the Lush Trio. Sam and I had noticed when we returned to school that they were oddly subdued after the bathroom incident at prom. Gone were the sarcastic degrading comments that they were known for and the constant desire to be the center of our high school world. I had caught them studying Sam and me on more than
one occasion. The change was nice, but felt strangely eerie. They were just simply there now. At first I was uber stressed that I had somehow damaged them, but Haniel was quick to reassure me.
"They have just come to realize their superficial qualities were not quite as endearing as they thought. They just needed the right push in a different direction," he had said, smiling slightly at me.
"Did I push them in that direction or did you?" I asked, suspecting the latter.
"I will leave that to you to figure out," he had said.
Watching them now, I felt a little bad that they seemed so unsure of their place with their peers now. Even more amazingly was the fact that all the girls that had vied for their attention for the last four years already seemed to have moved on. The Lush Trio seemed to be old news. High school really was survival of the fittest.
"Ladies and Gentleman, it's time to line up," Ms. Johansson, the principal's secretary, called out, trying to corral the rowdy bunch into two lines. Sam and I reluctantly parted as we stepped into our alphabetical place in line.
I could hear the opening strains of "Pomp and Circumstance," the traditional graduation march playing as we exited through the side doors. I felt a small stirring of nostalgia, listening to the music grow louder with each step I took. Sure, St. Briggets didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I still felt like this was the end of an era.
Filing down the grass, we separated and sat in the white wooden chairs placed in rows of twenty. I scanned the crowd, spotting my and Sam's families off to my left on the temporary bleachers the country club had assembled. Mark and Haniel were deep in conversation, but my mom blew me a kiss and Shawn gave me a thumbs-up. I slid my gaze down the row until I found Lynn. I giggled when she stuck her tongue out at me.
Feeling a little more relaxed now, I settled back in my chair while our class valedictorian made his speech. It was typical, filled with youthful energy about moving on to the next step, attending a top-notch college and making our marks in the world. He was a little long-winded and my eyes felt heavy as my mind drifted away.
After a few more seemingly never-ending speeches, the principal finally took his place to hand out our diplomas. Please God, don't let me trip, I thought nervously, listening to the long list of names being called ahead of mine. With shaky legs, I climbed the steps and crossed the stage to receive my diploma, willing myself to remain calm. A quick flashbulb went off in my face as the photographer snapped my picture when I was handed my diploma.
"Congratulations Ms. Miller," the principal said, indifferently.
"Thank you," I mumbled, shaking his hand.
I paused at the foot of the steps to pose for another picture for the insistent photographer who wanted a shot of me holding my diploma. I could hear my mom and my extended family cheering as I posed for the last picture and made my way back to my row of seats.
Relieved that my turn was over, I sank back into my chair, waiting for Sam's name to be called. In typical Sam fashion, she sailed across the stage, surprising our usually dignified stuffy principal by throwing her arms around him instead of shaking his hand like the rest of the graduates. His expression was priceless when he handed over her diploma, looking quite put out. I could hear Shawn wolf-whistling in the crowd.
Turning in my seat, I grinned at him. He let out another ear-splitting whistle as the photographer snapped Sam's picture with her new diploma, earning him some annoyed stares from the uptight parents near him. By the grin on his face, it was clear he knew exactly what those around him were thinking, which had Lynn and Robert shaking with silent laughter and my mom and Sam's sharing indulgent looks. My heart swelled. This was my motley crew. My cheeks began to ache from the silly smile I couldn't seem to wipe away.
Mark took our entire crew to La Casa, our favorite restaurant near his house. He was friends with the owners, who treated Sam and me like celebrities when we walked through the doors. I was slightly embarrassed when they greeted us so boisterously.
The dinner would have been perfect if not for the absence of my dad. In the time since he died, my life had done a complete one eighty, but that didn't change the way I felt about his absence. My heart still ached at everything he was missing. We had often talked about college. I knew how proud he was of my good grades and had looked forward to seeing me graduate.
"Ms. Krista and Ms. Sam, we are so happy for your big accomplishment," Maria said to us in her strongly accented voice that boomed across the room, kissing us both on the cheek. Miguel, her husband, led us to the back of the room where they had pushed several tables together to accommodate our party of nine. Haniel, of course had bowed out of joining us.
"Thank you Maria, how are the boys?" I asked in a quieter voice, not wanting to disturb the other diners any more than we already had.
"The rascals are very wild," she answered just as loudly, missing my hint.
Sam, who was well aware of my tactic, nudged me in the ribs as we took our seats. She stifled a laugh as I shrugged my shoulders, finally giving up. This was their restaurant and they could do whatever they wanted.
Shawn, Lynn, and Robert sat across from us while Mark claimed the seat on my other side, leaving the far end of the table for the adults. The laughter around our table flowed fast and easy as Shawn once again entertained us with stories from when he worked on the Boardwalk. He could mimic a harassed tourist dead-on. His impersonations kept us all in stitches, including the adults.
"The worst are the guys who think that they're too cool for sun block. They come hobbling onto the rides with their families, burned to a crisp after a day on the beach. You should see them trying to sit all gingerly and still look tough at the same time. None of them realize that the rickety coaster tracks will have them sliding all over the place before the ride is over. By the time the coaster comes back in, they need help to get off," Shawn said, making us laugh as he stood up from his chair slowly, showing us how they look.
Poor Sam laughed so hard she wound up choking on her Coke, which required a lot of back pounding from me.
Once our dinner plates were carried away, Miguel brought out plates of fresh from-the-oven-sopaipillas, dripping with warm honey. "These are on the house for the graduates," he said, setting the plates down with a flourish. "Also, Maria and I want our pretty new friends to pick their favorite piñata to take home to remember their special night."
Sam bounced in her seat at his words. She had been itching for a piñata since our first visit.
"Woot woot, I'm so excited!" she said, leaving her dessert behind as she wandered through the restaurant ohhing and ahhing at each brightly colored piñata hanging from the bare rafters of the restaurant.
Laughing at her excitement, Miguel claimed her empty seat to chat with the guys. Miguel was obsessed with his favorite team, the Padres’ chances of making it to the World Series. Lynn and I quickly became bored with their baseball talk.
"I'm telling you man, you need to switch teams, go with the Dodgers," Mark said, reaching across me to sock Miguel in the arm. "Besides, I think it's like against the law to live here and not be a Dodgers fan."
"Or at least the Giants, bro," Shawn said teasingly. "It’d be a shame to see a good man go down just because he chooses a suck-ass team."
When the conversation shifted to RBI's, I felt my eyes begin to glaze over. "I think I'm going to go pick my piñata," I said standing, but the guys were too far gone into their baseball talk to give much notice to anything around them.
"Do you want to come with me?" I asked Lynn, but she merely shook her head, examining the iPad that Karen and Tom had given Sam as a graduation present. Lynn and I were both a little jealous, though I had a sneaky suspicion I was getting one too. My mom had been quite secretive about my own graduation gift and I had seen her exchanging glances with Karen when she saw me ogling it. I could always read her like an open book when she was trying to hide a gift from me.
"Hey, have you found one?" I asked Sam, joining her on the far side of the resta
urant.
"Ugh no, but I do have it narrowed down to either that one, maybe…" she said, pointing to a brightly colored maraca, "or that one," she added, pointing to a cute cat "or even that one," she said thoughtfully, pointing to one shaped as an oversized wine bottle, "oh, and that one there," she said, pointing to yet another one.
I started laughing. "Sam, you're a mess," I told her affectionately. "I’ll tell you what. I’ll buy you one as a gift from me. That way you can pick two of your favorites.”
"Woo hoo! I need to loop the restaurant again, now that I know I get two," she said, skipping away.
"Hey wait. I thought you already had all those ones picked out," I called after she pointed to the different piñatas along the rafters.
Sam just laughed and continued her frantic search.
Shaking my head, I searched for my own piñata. After a few moments, I settled on a brightly colored flower that reminded me of something from a carnival. Instead of heading back to the table for more baseball love fest, I headed for the bathroom to freshen up before we headed out.
I added a touch of my mango lip gloss from Bath & Body Works before I pulled the door open and barreled into Mark's hard and muscular chest. "Hey, I was looking for you. Did you find a piñata you like?" he asked, grabbing onto my hand as we headed for the checkout counter.
"Yeah, I want that pretty flower one," I said, pointing to the one right above our heads. "I promised Sam I'd buy her one too. She was having a hard time trying to decide."
Mark started laughing beside me.
"What?" I asked confused.
"Well, your dear friend also conned one out of Shawn and her parents, so if I'm understanding this right, she's going home tonight with four.
"What?" I asked in mock anger. "Here I thought I was doing something special for her," I said, bumping into her playfully.
"You are. I just couldn't decide," she said, sheepishly dancing away from me as I tried to swipe at her one last time.
