Tristan couldn’t help but laugh at her uncle’s face.
Frank, who was still rubbing his head, said, “You two think you’re so clever! Seven hours at the bloody mall with Jack is not my idea of a good time!”
Bridgette and Tristan laughed at Frank.
“If you think that’s bad you should try going shopping with Gus!” Bridgette blurted out to Tristan as she gave her father a look. Angus glared at Bridgette with an irate expression.
Next to Tristan, Cole was talking to Shane across the table loudly as they tormented Blake. They were dying to know who he planned to take to prom next week. Blake claimed to have a date, but he was keeping the identity of the special girl a secret. Meanwhile, Moira, who had claimed the empty seat next to Angus, was in the process of trying to break her husband out of his horrible mood. It wasn’t that Angus was an unhappy man – He was quite happy. It just didn’t show outwardly. He was easily annoyed, and when you add in his aging, wrinkled face, you have the appearance of an eternal sour puss. Angus loved his family, but he loved the quiet of his bedroom just as much.
“Can’t you just smile?” begged Moira as she looked at her perpetually disgruntled husband.
Angus scowled at his wife with his bushy eyebrows furrowed over his piercing green eyes.
“I am smiling.”
Moira rolled her eyes.
“Clearly.”
Moira next focused her attention on her grandson Tommy. She proceeded to lecture him on motorcycle safety, and even began to tell him about motorcycle accident rates.
Tommy groaned in protest, “I wear a helmet. It’s perfectly safe and besides it helps me with my job!”
Jack gave Tommy an incredulous look.
“If Mr. O’Mara calls me one more time about that goddamn motorcycle, you’re going to be riding a 10-speed around town!” shouted Jack across the table to Tommy.
Tommy couldn’t help but laugh. Roger O’Mara was the father of Courtney O’Mara – Tommy’s on again/off again girlfriend. It was well known throughout the Morrow house that Roger O’Mara hated Tommy’s guts, and his motorcycle only added to his venomous fury. The worst thing that Roger O’Mara could have done was show Tommy how much his motorcycle annoyed him. Now Tommy revs his engine at 6 A.M. every morning down Caribou Road when he delivers the morning paper. The sound alone caused Mr. O’Mara’s blood pressure to shoot sky high.
“That’s my morning wakeup call! More effective than the noisiest of alarm clocks!” joked Joe as he laughed.
Frank and Jack couldn’t help but laugh at Joe, who had lived next to Roger O’Mara for most of his life.
“See, Dad… Not everyone on Caribou Road is so uptight!”
Frank stood up still laughing at Joe and Tommy as he called for everyone’s attention. Frank didn’t need to whistle or yell. When a man that goes by the name “Bulldog” stands up, you listen.
“Alright, folks. Listen up,” began Frank, earning everyone’s attention including the persistently disgruntled Angus. Frank continued, his voice booming over the crowd like a megaphone, “I wanted to get everyone together. As you know, I don’t really like big parties, but we definitely have some celebratin’ to do this month.”
The adults nodded in agreement while the kids sat with excited grins on their faces. Everyone was interested to hear what Frank had to say.
“I like to keep things casual. So we’re celebrating the kids graduating from high school in a week, we’ve got prom next week, and some college announcements to get through. Today this is our celebration. Nothin’ fancy… Just good family, good friends and good times. Am I right?”
Everyone at the table cheered in agreement except for Angus who gave a half-hearted clap.
Liam blurted out, “And good food!” earning him a heated glare from his Aunt Bridgette.
Frank continued, “Okay, everyone. Dig in. Tristan and I have been working all afternoon on this beggar’s feast for you all… And while you stuff your gobs, I’m going to read off some announcements!” Frank said excitedly.
Everyone at the table shifted uneasily. This was the moment they were all waiting for. The kids had decided that it would be fun to keep their college decisions a secret until just before graduation. Only one person in the Morrow house knew where all the kids at the table were attending school next year: Frank Kilpatrick. If there was anyone in the Morrow house that you could trust with a secret, it was him. Only two people didn’t find this idea amusing. Cole was quite frankly on edge because he didn’t know if he’d see his girlfriend next year, depending upon her college choice. Jack, meanwhile, was uneasy because he wasn’t ready to let Tristan out of his sight just yet. Although three years had passed since Tristan’s English teacher had kidnapped her and tried to claim her as his own, Jack was still on edge. Every time Tristan left his line of sight, Jack could feel anxiety rising in his chest. Frank, on the other hand, had known the results of the college acceptances since early March and kept assuring Jack and Cole that everything would be just fine.
Frank grabbed a folded-up piece of paper from his shirt pocket and cleared his voice. He squinted at the tiny print on the page and grabbed his reading glasses off of the picnic table. He had brought them for the occasion. Everyone laughed at him because Frank actually looked quite studious with his Ben Franklin-esque frames.
“Okay. First up… Cole Piedmonte. Stand up, kid…”
Cole did as he was asked, but not without an embarrassed expression forming across his handsome face.
“Cole Piedmonte is graduating from Steeplechase Academy with a GPA of 3.4...”
Everyone at the table clapped for Cole with the most boisterous applause coming from Joe and Tristan.
“Yes, very nice indeed,” said Frank. He continued, “He was accepted to Skole County Community College, Widener University, Albright College, Temple University and Bloomsburg University, and Lock Haven University. He plans to major in Business and help make us all filthy rich,” Frank declared earning big chuckles from Jack and Joe.
They were both very proud of Cole’s plan.
“So kid,” Frank continued, “Which one did you choose?”
Cole looked over the crowd and his eyes lingered on Tristan who looked only a tiny bit nervous.
Cole happily declared, “Bloomsburg.”
Joe jumped in his seat and shouted, “You’re staying local?!” Joe was thrilled with his son’s decision.
Cole laughed, “Yeah, Dad. It’s only a twenty minute drive from Elkhart.”
Joe breathed a sigh of relief as Frank regained control of the conversation.
“Nice job, kid. Okay. Next up on the list is Tommy. Stand up.”
Tommy did as he was told and gave everyone his proudest smile. Jack couldn’t help but grin with pride. His trouble maker was finally graduating from high school. It only took him three years of senior classes to do it.
“Tommy is graduating from Steeplechase with… Good God! Do you really want me to read this?!” Frank exclaimed glaring at Tommy with a shocked look on his face. Tommy shook his head up and down giving his uncle the go ahead to announce his deplorable grade point average.
“Alright. If you’re sure… Thomas Morrow is graduating with a 1.97 grade point average. By the skin of his bloody teeth, I might add!”
Jack let out a triumphant shout, “Finally! I don’t care, as long as he gets that diploma…”
Tommy laughed, “Third time’s a charm.”
Frank shook his head and raised an eyebrow at his nephew.
He continued, “Alright then. Tommy was accepted at Skole County Community College and the Kremmings Technical School.”
Loud applause erupted from the table, most notably from Jack, who didn’t think Tommy would get accepted anywhere.
“So laddie… What did you pick?”asked Frank calmly.
“Erm… Kremmings…” Tommy said sheepishly. Tommy felt a bit embarrassed admitting that he was going to a trade school to learn how to be a mechanic. Regardless of how Tommy
felt, Jack was prouder than ever just knowing that his son was applying himself somewhere other than just goofing off.
“And what program?” demanded Frank as he stared down at his nephew over the frame of his glasses.
“Auto mechanic,” replied Tommy.
“Alright, Tommy!” cried out Jenna. “You mean I’ll have someone affordable to fix my fleet of broken down police cruisers other than Traffords?!”
Liam and Adam laughed at her.
“Yeah, please. Before we have to peddle around town on a bicycle for two,” Liam encouraged.
“I’d actually like to see that,” admitted Joe with an amused look on his face.
“That’s great, Tommy. It’s only a twelve month program. You’ll be done before you know it,” said Bridgette supportively.
Frank checked his paper again to see who was next on his list.
“Next on my list is Blake,” said Frank, moving right along.
“Blake is graduating from Steeplechase with a 3.5 grade point average. Blake has been accepted to Lock Haven University, Widener University, Albright College, Skole County Community College and Bloomsburg University.”
Jack listened in awe. He knew his youngest son was smart, but the long list of acceptances surprised him. Blake certainly had his mother Catherine’s intelligence.
“So, Blake,” Frank said, “What will it be?”
Blake smirked shyly around the table before admitting, “Bloomsburg.”
Cole reached over the table and gave his buddy a high five, while Shane gave Blake a hard pat on the back. Jack smiled. He was beyond thrilled that all of his sons would be staying close to home.
Frank continued, “And what will you be majoring in?”
“Education. I want to teach history.”
This surprised everyone at the table. Sure, Blake had always had an interest in history, but he had many other interests, too. No one at the table was more pleased than Moira was. A former Language Arts teacher, Moira rose from her chair and approached her grandson. She squeezed him tight from behind as she smothered his face with kisses.
“A boy after my own heart!”
Her mauve lipstick left stains on Blake’s cheek.
“Grandma stop!”
“I can’t! I’m just so proud!”
Blake couldn’t help but laugh as his grandmother smothered him with affection.
“Alright, Mom! Let him breathe!” yelled Jack from the other end of the table.
Frank lowered his eyes to his list again. When he spotted the next name on the list, Frank’s stomach turned with worry.
“Next up. Shane Angus Kilpatrick. My baby boy…”
Shane stood up and smiled broadly. He shook hands and gave high fives to other members of his family as if he had just won an Oscar. Frank stared at him with an amused look.
Frank continued, “Shane is graduating from Steeplechase Academy with a 2.3 grade point average, which, might I add, is the bare minimum that was needed to stay on the football team at Steeplechase.” Frank gave his son an agitated glare.
Shane bellowed, “Go Mustangs!” which earned him mild laughter from his family. Frank simply shook his head at his son. The apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree.
“Shane was accepted at Skole County Community College, Kremmings Technical School, and what the hell…” Frank stopped abruptly, perplexed by one of the school names on the paper.
“Miss Betty’s Beauty School?!”
No one laughed louder than Shane. He knew his father would be the one reading the names of the schools off of the list. Shane couldn’t resist the opportunity to play a prank on his father.
Shane yelled loudly, “Gotcha!”
Frank gave Shane a glare that was reminiscent of Angus.
“Thank you for nearly giving me heart failure. What school did you choose?” asked Frank.
“I’m going to Skole Community… I’m going to take some photo-journalism classes,” said Shane in a more rational tone.
Frank’s heart rate slowed as he processed this thought. Shane was actually quite skilled with a camera. Bridgette smiled with delight. She loved when the kids embraced their passion. She loved it even more when it was something that they were good at. Not like her cooking. She was pleased with the announcements so far. Cole had an excellent mind for business and both Monte’s and the Morrow farm could use a good business manager. Tommy had a passion for cars and motorcycles, so he had made a wise choice as well. Shane meanwhile could be found taking pictures of everyone and everything. It was another great choice. Now Bridgette was eager to hear what her niece had decided.
Frank looked nervously to Tristan who was patiently waiting with a sly smile on her face.
“I could still kill you for not telling me,” said Jack to Frank in a hushed voice.
“Stop panicking. Everything is going to be fine,” Frank reassured his nervous friend and brother-in-law.
“Okay, girl,” Frank said to Tristan. “You’re up…”
Tristan stood up smiling as she peered at everyone’s faces. She was surprised how nervous everyone looked.
“Tristan is graduating from Steeplechase Academy with a grade point average of 3.9,” declared Frank.
The adults at the table gasped in shock. Everyone seemed to voice their opinions at once:
“Wow, Tristan… That is outstanding!” exclaimed Jenna.
“Holy crow,” added Joe.
“You nerd!” cried Shane
“I taught her everything she knows,” insisted Blake.
Jack leaned in to Joe and proudly boasted, “That’s my girl.”
Meanwhile, Bridgette and Moira were brought to tears by Tristan’s accomplishment. It was a remarkable feat. Especially after all that she endured. Tristan brushed off her accomplishment as if it was nothing at all.
Frank continued, “Tristan was granted a scholarship from Vice Principal Irwin for sixteen straight marking periods on the honor roll in the amount of $10,000. She has been asked to act as the class valedictorian at the graduation ceremonies next week.”
Jack’s jaw dropped. Words would not come to his mouth. His pride could not be measured in simple words and expressions.
Frank continued, “Tristan has been accepted to the following schools… Bear with me, this list is long. Okay, here we go. Tristan has been accepted to Stanford University, Bloomsburg University, University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Princeton University, Albright College, Skole County Community College, and lastly, the University of California.”
Frank had to catch his breath after reading the long list out loud. Jack felt as if he was on the verge of a heart attack.
University of California?!
Bridgette tried to keep her face under control, but internally she was freaking out. Cole’s right leg started tapping nervously under the table. Meanwhile Blake, Liam, Adam, Shane and Tommy looked at Tristan in shock.
Frank, who was always the cool one under pressure said aloud, “Oh, Jesus Christ… Put them out of their misery. Which school did you choose?”
Tristan laughed at how stressed out everyone seemed to be.
“Well, it was a really tough choice. I love home so much, but I had to choose the school that was right for me,” Tristan explained.
The more she spoke the more Cole felt like he was going to throw up all over the picnic table.
“Like I said, it was a really hard choice for me. I hope you will all understand.”
Jack felt dizzy, and he thought he was about to faint. Everyone stared at Tristan as they waited for her to spill the beans.
“Just tell us…” Blake begged.
Tristan nodded with a smile on her face.
“I hope you will understand that I will be attending Bloomsburg University for the next four years, and I’ll be around here bugging you all…”
Tristan couldn’t resist herself. She laughed loudly as everyone celebrated. There were tears in Cole’s eyes. Jack stood up, red faced and excited. He went to her, a
nd hugged her. Jack lifted Tristan’s body off the ground and swung her around.
“Dad! Stop!”
“I’m sorry! I’m just so happy!” exclaimed Jack.
Bridgette breathed a sigh of relief. Frank interrupted everyone once again.
“Wow, you really had them going for a second! Okay, so what is your major?”
Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2) Page 4
