"Look, here she is!" declared Chloe, triumphantly displaying the open program with her finger pointed to the name Beatrice Espinoza.
"Do you see her?" asked Dan, scanning the football field.
"I can't tell one from the other under those ridiculous mortarboards," replied Lucifer, straining to distinguish Trixie from the six hundred-strong sea of caps and gowns that filled the football field. He had his phone poised to take a picture of her, and when he conceded to himself that he wouldn't be able to identify her from their seats in the bleachers, he grumpily started taking photos of the crowd that he consoled himself he could crop later.
"She'll be with the E's," Chloe's mother needlessly pointed out.
"Yeah, well, better look at her while you can for the next three months since that's the last we'll ever see of her."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Maze, she's going to UCLA. She'll be a half hour away. She's coming home for my birthday two weeks after she starts school, it's not like we'll never see her again."
"Whatever," replied Maze, unappeased.
"Much as it pains me to say it, I have to agree with Maze on this one," Lucifer chimed in. "Do you even know what those college students get up to? Just the thought of her crammed into one of those dingy little slums they call 'dormitories' teeming with little miscreants just waiting to drag her into a life of drunkenness and debauchery—and have you heard of something called 'tailgating'? I dread to think what that could be."
"Lucifer, we've talked about this," Chloe responded. "She wants the college experience. And besides, Trixie is a smart girl."
"Darling, if you knew how many 'smart girls' I—well, never mind."
"Lucifer, gross," Chloe admonished at the same time Dan cringed and said, "Come on, man!"
"I'm just saying," continued Lucifer, "I'd feel much better if she just stayed with us for another year. Or two." Or ten, he muttered to himself.
Charlotte leaned over Dan to whisper loudly, "You know, some people might actually want to hear the valedictorian's speech."
/ / / / / / / / / / / / /
"Paul Enfield… Daniel Epstein… Beatrice Espinoza…"
Charlotte, Chloe, and Maze erupted in cheers while Dan and Lucifer were practically on top of one another with their camera phones, trying to get the best shot.
"Trix, look up here! TRIX!" cried Dan, waving his arms in between shots.
"Child! Child, look at me!" called Lucifer. "She's not looking," he complained to Chloe. Slightly crestfallen, he took half a dozen pictures of Trixie receiving her diploma, then continued to snap photos as she marched back to her seat.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
"I'm so proud of you, Monkey!" Chloe said, hugging Trixie. She pulled back and looked at her daughter's beaming face. In it, she could see the tiny newborn baby with the full head of hair. The energetic six-year-old who lived for chocolate cake. The precocious eight-year-old who snuck out to Lux using her mother's Uber account. The fourteen-year-old at her first homecoming. She saw in that face her own father, her mother, her first date with Dan, the moment she found out she was pregnant. She saw the promise of an amazing future. "I just love you so, so much."
"I love you too, Mom," Trixie said, and pulled Chloe into a hug.
"All right, my turn," said Dan, coming up behind Chloe. He wrapped his arms around Trixie, and Chloe walked back to Lucifer, who put his arm around her. Smiling, but with tears standing in her eyes, she looked up at Lucifer, who smiled down on her. He gave her a kiss, and then leaned his head on top of hers, squeezing her to him.
"Excuse me, would you mind taking a photo of us?" Chloe's mom asked of what appeared to be a fellow grandparent.
"Uh, sure—wait, are you Penelope Decker?"
"In the flesh!" she responded with a flourish.
"Wow, I'll be damned!" He grabbed his little graduate and said, "Honey! Look, it's the Vampire Queen!" The 18-year-old looked blankly at Penelope, the dated pop culture reference clearly lost on her. "Ms. Decker, would you take a picture with Emily here?"
"Of course!" She put her arm around the bemused teenager and flashed her hundred-megawatt smile as her grandfather took several pictures.
"Thank you so much, it was great meeting you, I'm such a fan!"
"Well, thank you so much! And now, would you take one of us?" she reminded him.
"Oh, yes, ha! Sorry about that."
"No worries at all. Everyone, get together!" she called out to her party. "That's it, squeeze in, everybody!"
The seven of them—Chloe, Lucifer, Trixie, Dan, Charlotte, Maze, and Penelope—all huddled together to fit in the frame. Chloe was overwhelmed with love and a sense of belonging. She was as happy as she had ever been in her life.
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"Hey, any room for me?" called a voice behind them.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / /
"Dad, you made it!" Chloe exclaimed. "Quick, get in the picture!"
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /