by Miley Maine
Bree had been accepted into veterinary school.
And the timing was perfect because she was graduating from college tomorrow.
She’d been telling me for days that if the letter arrived, to go ahead and open it. If the news was good, she was fine with me knowing first. If the news was bad, then she figured I could break it to her gently.
Ian must have been listening, because he’d read the acceptance letter several times before I even saw it. He’d come running in from the mailbox, waving it around. We’d have to have a conversation later about not opening other people’s mail. I’m sure he’d say he figured that she’d meant he could open it, too. I smiled at the thought. He was already good at negotiating, and it had been his idea to surprise her.
She was on her way home from the Humane Society, where she volunteered every Friday.
“Daddy? Mommy home soon?” Elizabeth asked. At two years old, she didn’t understand why we were excited, but she was desperate to be included.
I heard the garage door opening. “She’s here,” I whispered. “Remember to be super quiet.” I put my finger to my lips to remind her.
Ian bent down and handed Elizabeth a balloon. “Hold on tight,” he said. He’d been eight years old when she was born and we’d worried about the large age gap, but he was always so patient with her.
Bree’s footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor as she stepped into the house. I nudged both kids. “It’s time,” I said.
Ian leapt from his spot on the floor, poster board in hand. He’d worked on the lettering for an hour. It read, It’s moo-valous that you’re going to be a veterinarian! It featured a picture of a cow wearing a graduation hat and holding a book. He’d come up with the slogan himself and couldn’t wait to show it to her.
Elizabeth blew on the horn we’d given her. After a few loud sounds, it fell from her mouth when she lunged for our German Shepherd, who’d raced in from the other room, barking and jumping.
“Mommy! Good job!” Elizabeth shouted, throwing her arms up and letting go of the balloon in the process.
The four of us watched the balloon float up to the top of the twenty-foot ceiling. Elizabeth let out a loud wail, but Ian grabbed her and threw her into the air. At almost ten years old, he was already strong and Elizabeth loved every second that he spent playing with her. She stopped crying and giggled as he tickled her.
“What’s happening?” Bree asked. She stood frozen in the dining area.
“Party!” Elizabeth said.
“Mom,” Ian grabbed the letter from the table and presented it to her. “You got in.”
“Got in what?” she said, before her eyes focused on the words.
Then her mouth dropped open and her green eyes sparkled. “Oh,” she said. Her arm came up and she wrapped it around Ian, kissing him on the top of the head. He was only a few inches from being as tall as she was. She took the letter in her free hand and read it out loud to us, and her voice only broke once.
She leaned on the countertop. “Wow,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d really get in.”
“We knew you would, Mom,” Ian said. “Right, Dad?”
“Of course,” I said. “We never doubted it.” Bree had thrown every bit of herself into the application, and she had great recommendations from the staff at the Humane Society as well as her professors.
“Cake time?” Elizabeth said.
“Yeah, Mom, we got you a cake,” Ian explained.
I walked up and hugged my wife. “Congratulations, Bree. I’m so proud of you.”
For four years, she’d busted her ass to graduate from college. A year and a half into her pre-veterinary classes, we’d found out we were having another baby. A girl this time, and we named her Elizabeth after Bree’s mother.
Bree had briefly considered quitting college, but she’d decided she’d come too far to stop by then. So, Ian and I had promised to help out, and then Elizabeth had been born and life had been pure chaos ever since.
When Elizabeth was an infant, Ian hit the stage where he had his own life. He played the piano, drew comics non-stop, and had soccer three nights a week. When I was gone for out-of-town assignments, Bree sat at the soccer field with her laptop with Elizabeth strapped to her chest in a baby carrier.
“Are y’all sure you can handle me going to school again? For four more years?” she asked.
“Could it really get any crazier?” I pointed to the toddler with her hand in the cake, while Ian poured us all a glass of Coke and managed to spill about half of it. It dripped down to form a puddle on the floor, which the dog was licking up.
She laughed. “No, I don’t know that it could.”
“Thank you,” she said later that night after both kids were in bed. She rubbed her face. “Can you believe it?”
I opened one eye to look sideways at her from my spot on the couch. “Believe what?”
“All of this.” She waved her hands in a big circle.
“You mean, can I believe there’s a balloon on the ceiling of the living room that will lose helium, drift by the motion detector in the alarm, and set the alarm off, thereby alerting the police? Because yes, I can believe it. Because it’s happened before.”
She whacked me on the arm. “Not that. Sometimes I can’t believe we’re here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m graduating college tomorrow. I’m starting veterinary school in August. Ian is almost ten, and we have a toddler. And you just got promoted to Supervisory Special Agent at work.”
“Effective Monday,” I said. I’d gotten notified about the promotion last month, so we’d already celebrated with a dinner at one of Houston’s nicest restaurants. My father and Mary had joined us as well. They’d followed us to Houston and lived about twenty minutes away in the patio home they’d always wanted.
“I feel a little bad that your raise is going straight into my tuition fund,” she said.
“Nah. As soon as you’ve opened your own large animal veterinary practice, I’m going to retire and be a kept man.”
“Uh, no. I think you’d be a stay at home dad, honey.” She flung a pillow at me. “If you’re at home, then you’re watching these kids.”
“That actually sounds pretty good,” I said. “And you’re right. Our life is pretty amazing.” I kissed her cheek. “I’m so proud of you. So is Ian. He could hardly wait to show me that letter.”
“Thank you. You’re both so sweet.” She scooted in closer and kissed me again. We didn’t get nearly as much time alone as we’d like, so we’d both made a pact to take advantage of it as often as possible. “Wanna take this upstairs and celebrate a little more?” she asked.
I couldn’t imagine a time that I’d say no to that idea. “I thought you’d never ask,” I said, sweeping her into my arms.
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