Holly stopped for a minute before they reached the field, shading her eyes to look at Alexa. "No ... it's just that..." The sight of her friend, standing before her in a long black gown, with the black mortarboard cockeyed on her blonde head, was at once strange and wonderful. "We're really graduating," Holly said, shaking her head in amazement. The whole morning had passed in such a whirlwind that she hadn't had time to fully process where she and Alexa were rushing off to. In a way, Holly was glad that they'd just come from California; if she'd had the night before to prepare for graduation, she probably would have been a sobbing nervous wreck right now.
Alexa sized Holly up as well; her childhood friend looked adorable in her cap and gown though, if
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they'd had more time, Alexa would have recommended that Holly wear her strappy black sandals instead of her beaded gold flats. But whatever. "That we are," Alexa said, adjusting the strap of her Nikon camera on her arm. She was so ready to wrap things up.
"Girls!" Holly's dad was hissing, waving them over to the entrance of the football field. "You won't really be graduating if you don't get over here now! They're starting!"
Oh, right.
Running into the stadium, where Holly's mom was already up at the podium, Holly went left and Alexa went right. Both girls apologized in loud whispers as they stepped over legs and feet on their way to their assigned alphabetical seats. Meanwhile, Holly's dad and Josh took their seats in the back with the rest of the families. "Today, you are about to begin the rest of your lives," Holly's mom was intoning as Holly, her heart pounding, took her seat beside Eliot Johnson, who'd been Alexa's first real boyfriend.
Holly looked over her shoulder to study the sea of students, each of whom she associated with a different memory. There was Meghan, her dark eyes wide and hopeful, and Jess, who was watching the proceedings with a skeptical expression. Then she saw Tyler, and her heart beat faster; he was facing forward, looking incredibly serious, and she wondered if he'd seen
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her dash in late. She began to stress about how things would be between them once the ceremony was over until Holly caught sight of Alexa. Her friend flashed her a thumbs-up sign and then crossed her big blue eyes, a gesture that never failed to make Holly laugh. And she did laugh then, bringing her hand to her mouth, and feeling her fears ease.
With that, she faced forward and waited for the rest of her life to begin.
It's over! Alexa thought, jubilant, as she elbowed her way into the packed gymnasium, her rolled-up diploma under her arm, and her camera bag on her shoulder. She'd endured two sweltering hours of countless speeches ("It's up to your generation to save the environment!" some congressman had chirped while Alexa had fought to stay awake), streams of graduates marching across the field to collect their diplomas (Alexa had fairly flown over the grass to get hers), and finally, a happy shower of black mortarboards in the air. Now, as relieved graduates and proud parents met up in the gym, it seemed the only reward was ... fruit punch and sugar cookies?
Alexa shook her head, regarding the lame spread on the table under the basketball hoop. Of course, less than twenty-four hours after Margaux
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Eklundstrom's lavish affair, pretty much anything would seem pathetic. But this was truly depressing. Alexa was concocting a plan to throw her own graduation party at her house that night -- maybe she'd invite Holly, Portia, Maeve, and some of Holly's track friends over for guacamole and icy Coronas -- when she spotted not one, but two, familiar faces across the gym.
Her parents.
Yes. Alexa's father was there, as she'd assumed he'd be. But so was her mom. Impossible as it seemed, Gail Wilson-St. Laurent-Feldman had remembered her daughter's graduation.
Alexa hurried through the crush, passing her friends Tabitha and J.D., waving to Portia and Maeve, who looked as if their LA curiosity was killing them, and noticing Holly standing off to the side with Meghan and Jess. When Alexa finally reached her mom and dad, she paused, gripping her diploma. Socially at ease with almost anyone, Alexa often found herself tongue-tied around the two people who'd known her the longest.
"Félicitations, chérie, "Alexa's dad finally said, handing Alexa a bouquet of daisies and kissing her on each cheek while Gail looked on, a wry smile on her lips.
"Merci, Papa, " Alexa replied, answering in their
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native French because she knew her father would appreciate it. "Mother, you made it?" she added, not bothering to disguise her surprise.
Gail ran a bejeweled hand over her tight blonde bun. "I snuck in while that dreadfully boring congressman was rambling on," she sighed, rolling her ice-blue eyes. "I nearly fell asleep."
"Same," Alexa laughed, feeling a flush of pleasure. She hadn't expected her mother's presence at graduation to mean this much to her, but Alexa felt suspiciously lighthearted. Maybe she'd needed to travel all the way to California and back to realize she did care what her mother thought of her. "By the way," Alexa added. "Thanks for putting in a good word for me with Paz."
Gail beamed, and extended one arm to envelope Alexa in a quick, let's-not-wrinkle-my-silk-blouse hug. "Of course, darling. You know I'm very proud of you." She pulled back, glancing at Alexa's dad, who was smiling and looking misty-eyed. "We both are."
Alexa gave a happy sigh, clutching her flowers and diploma to her chest. It was beyond weird to see her long-divorced parents standing side by side. But she also sort of enjoyed the feel of the three of them grouped together for the first time in years -- like an actual family.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the gym, Holly
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was too busy dealing with Meghan and Jess to search for anyone in her family -- or for Tyler.
"Okay, you are so busted, Jacobson," Jess was saying, hands on her hips as she and Meghan stood before Holly, blocking her path of escape. "When Tyler told us you were in LA for the week, we were sure he was bullshitting us -- until Meghan called me last night, freaking out."
"I saw you on E!" Meghan exclaimed, her brown eyes taking up half her face. "What were you doing at Margaux Eklundstrom's wedding?"
"It's a long story, you guys," Holly sighed, running her fingers through her bangs, which had been squished by the cap. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before I left. It just all happened so fast...." Wait until I tell them I'm going to UCLA! Holly thought, shaking her head. At least her friends weren't as pissed at her as she'd feared.
"We saw you dancing with some cute guy!" Jess interjected, sounding both scandalized and monumentally jealous. "He looked very into you. Does Tyler know?"
"Do I know what?" Tyler asked, appearing behind Meghan and Jess, looking handsome and scholarly in his cap and gown.
Holly gulped. She hadn't expected Tyler to catch her so off guard; she'd wanted some time to prepare
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before seeing him, to compose herself and rehearse a speech in her head. Now, that didn't seem like a possibility as Meghan and Jess went off to find their parents, calling back to Holly that she owed them a full report on her mystery trip.
"So." Tyler said to Holly once they were alone well, as alone as they could be in the middle of a jam-packed gym.
"So," Holly replied, nervously twisting her hands together inside her long sleeves.
Tyler scratched the nape of his neck, then glanced up. "Holly, look, I --"
"Tyler, we should --" Holly was saying at the exact same time.
They paused, and, to Holly's relief, both laughed. After their last phone conversation, Holly didn't think the two of them could ever laugh together again. Now, standing with Tyler, gazing up into his familiar face, Holly felt a deep warmth toward him. Not the warmth of romance even though she knew she'd forever miss how sensitive he'd been as a boyfriend. It was the warmth of friendship. She and Tyler had always been true friends to each other, along with everything else. Holly was sure that foundation would remain.
Tyler slowly, haltingly, reached out one hand and res
ted it against Holly's freckled cheek. "I think we did the right thing," he said softly, a sadness in his
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amber-brown eyes. "Your parents told me about your transferring to UCLA. I had a feeling...."
Holly couldn't help but smile up at Tyler. "I love that you heard the news from my parents and not me." Holly realized that Tyler getting along with her family as well as he did made him feel more like a brother than anything else. She wondered if, in the future, she'd try her hand at dating guys who her parents might not approve of as readily. Why not? It could be ... fun.
As Holly reached up to clasp Tyler's hand in both of hers, both she and Tyler felt the cool band of Holly's Claddagh ring against their skin. Holly drew her hand back, looking down at the ring; out of instinct, she'd slipped it back on in the car, with the heart pointing inward, as before.
"You kept it?" Tyler whispered, his voice catching. "I thought maybe -- you ..."
"Threw it into the Pacific?" Holly teased. "Never." Taking a deep breath, she slid the ring off her finger, and turned it around, so that the delicate gold heart faced outward. Easing the band back onto her finger, she glanced up at Tyler, knowing her eyes were bright with tears. "See?" she whispered. "Now it symbolizes friendship."
"Like magic," Tyler whispered back, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smile. Then, taking Holly's
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hands in both of his, he leaned down and kissed her very lightly on the lips for the last time, Holly knew. When he pulled back, he was smiling down at her tenderly. "You were my first love," he said quietly, so quietly Holly wasn't sure if she'd heard right. But she knew she had when she felt her heart contract in her chest.
"You, too," Holly whispered, holding tight on to Tyler's hand. "And nothing will change that."
They gazed at each other for a long moment, saying more with their eyes than they could any other way, when Holly heard a loud, excited whoop go up right behind her.
"Holly! Bubaleh! I come all the way from Miami to see my beautiful granddaughter and what does she do? She talks to boys!"
"Grandma Ida!" Holly cried, turning away from Tyler and dabbing at her tears. Her grandmother -- short redhair aflame, cat-eyed, leopard-print sunglasses atop her head, her trim figure clad in a long sundress printed with flamingos came bounding toward Holly, surprisingly spry for a septuagenarian.
"Go ahead," Tyler said, putting a hand on Holly's shoulder, and she glanced back at him gratefully. "We'll talk later," Tyler added, waving good-bye. Holly nodded, then turned and immediately flew into her grandmother's arms.
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"I'm so glad you came," Holly whispered, squeezing her grandmother tight and breathing in the familiar scent of her Estée Lauder perfume. Over Grandma Ida's shoulder, Holly saw Miles, the sweet elderly gentleman whom Grandma Ida had recently married in an impromptu ceremony on the beach. Holly and Alexa had been bummed that they couldn't attend the wedding, since it had been during finals.
"Are you crazy? How could I miss such an event?" Grandma Ida asked, pulling back to look Holly up and down. "My goodness! " she gasped. "You have grown up since I last saw you in South Beach."
Holly was reminded of Kenya, also sizing her up back in Hollywood. "It's been a busy year and a half," Holly admitted, leaning down to kiss Grandma Ida's wrinkled cheek. In that moment, Holly's parents and Josh appeared. Holly's dad was scolding Josh about something or other, but Holly's mom was looking right at Holly, a smile playing on her lips.
"Look who's back," Holly's mother said, putting her hands on her hips. "So ... how was Jonah?" And Holly could tell, from the gleam in her mother's eyes, that she'd decided not to care that Holly had shown up late to graduation. And Holly knew her mom would care even less when she gave her Jonah's autographed napkin.
Holly was hugging her parents and Josh when she
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heard Grandma Ida exclaim, "My favorite spitfire! You've grown up, too."
Holly knew before she even turned around that her grandmother was embracing Alexa. Holly was eager to pull her friend aside to fill her in about Tyler and the fact that they'd been on E! The Jacobsons and St. Laurents gathered together, making the usual parental small talk, while Miles and Josh began discussing baseball. Exchanging an understanding glance, Alexa and Holly linked arms and slipped away, heading over to the table laden with punch and cookies.
"How were things with Tyler?'* Alexa asked carefully, filling two glasses with punch.
"Intense," Holly sighed and touched her Claddagh ring, unfamiliar in its new position. "But okay, I think. I'm sure we'll talk off and on during the summer." Taking a sugar cookie off a tray, Holly looked back at her family chatting with Alexa's. "How are you dealing with your mom being here?"
Alexa rolled her eyes dramatically. "It's hard, getting used to your parents paying attention to you."
"Oh, come on," Holly said, smiling at her friend. "I knew she'd show up. You need to have a little faith in people, you know?"
"Yes, Ms. Optimist," Alexa grinned, then handed
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Holly one of the glasses of punch. "To ... our grand finale," she added, lifting her glass.
Holly shook her head, giggling. "You mean to our grand beginning" she corrected.
"We never can agree on anything," Alexa said as the girls touched their plastic cups, both of them missing their champagne flutes from El Sueño.
The girls drank, watching each other over their brims. Thinking of all the random toasts she and Holly had shared, Alexa felt her throat tighten. We've been through everything together.
"I know something we can agree on," Holly said, finishing her punch and wiping her lips with a napkin. She took Alexa's hand, turning it over as if she planned to write something in her palm. "That we'll IM, e-mail, and write each other on MySpace and Facebook every minute of every day when we go away to college." She could hear her voice starting to tremble.
"Urn, you forgot the phone" Alexa pointed out, and she and Holly burst out laughing -- the kind of laughing that was a few heartbeats away from crying. "And," Alexa added, smiling through the threat of tears. "First long weekend I can get -- I am going to Cali, babe. We never did get to go to the Chateau Marmont, did we?"
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Holly rolled her eyes. "I knew there was something we forgot to do out there." Then she reached out and wrapped her arms around Alexa, and the two old friends hugged tight, not letting go for a long time.
"We'll be fine without each other, right?" Holly asked, tears running down her cheeks now as she pulled away.
"Oh, sure," Alexa sobbed, not caring this time if her mascara was making lines down her face. "You basically live in my head anyway -- whether I want you there or not." Alexa thought of all the times Holly had been the disembodied voice of reason that had stopped Alexa from making some ridiculous decision.
And you 'II be in my heart, Holly thought, knowing Alexa would snort at the cheesy sentiment. But it was true: Holly always relied on Alexa to help her sort through her emotions.
"Love you, Hoi," Alexa said, taking Holly by surprise. Alexa's blue eyes regarded Holly with fondness as she slung an arm around her friend's shoulder. "You're my forever friend, no matter what coast you're on."
"Love you, too," Holly replied truthfully, sliding her arm around Alexa's waist and swallowing back her tears.
The emotional moment was broken by the girls' families appearing at their sides, Holly's mom clucking about lunch reservations in Saddle River, and
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Alexa's mom muttering something about running off to a facial in Manhattan.
"Would you girls like a picture?" Alexa's dad was asking, holding Alexa's Nikon aloft; Alexa had handed the heavy thing over to him to carry moments before.
"Oh, God, yes!" Alexa exclaimed, realizing that, during their whole time in LA, she and Holly hadn't taken a single photo together. "How should we pose?" she added, glancing at Holly.
"Just like that," Alexa's dad replied, bringing the camera
to his eye. "With your arms around each other." He paused, turning the lens. "Okay, what do you they say in Hollywood? 'Life, camera, action?'" Mr. St. Laurent's heavy French accent, combined with the incorrect phrase, made both Holly and Alexa crack up as the camera flash went off.
"It's lights, camera, action, Dad," Alexa groaned, taking the camera back from him. Though she had to admit that substituting the word "life" kind of made sense, too. After all, what did cameras record if not life in action?
"That's such a perfect picture," Grandma Ida was commenting, clapping her hands together. "You girls should always be laughing like that."
And we will, Holly thought. It lifted her spirits to know that she and Alexa, tearstained but happy in their graduation outfits, would always exist that way in
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that picture. She'd be sure to ask Alexa to print doubles, so that there'd be one copy of the photo in Holly's California dorm room, and the other on Alexa's desk in New York City.
"You do realize," Alexa said, turning to Holly as their families began to make their way out of the gym, "that this our being on opposite sides of the country gives us the best possible excuse to do more traveling. I mean, there's always winter break...."
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