~A Once and Again Series~
The Way We Are
Chapter 29// Over the Rainbow
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"Woo-hoo!"
Jessie turned around and was immediately embraced by Katie in a hug. Jessie cautiously hugged her girlfriend back, wary of people seeing them like this. Katie caught on and reluctantly let go. "School is done!" Katie said happily, sliding a lock of hair back behind her ear.
Jessie nodded and grinned. Summer was upon them.
"I have that family trip to Canada, but then after that, we have the whole summer together!" Katie gushed.
"Yeah, it's going to be great," Jessie said, but her words sounded hollow.
Katie moved aside to let another student get to her locker. She looked at Jessie curiously, careful not to say too much as she was aware of the other students in the hallway that might overhear, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy that we'll get to... spend so much time together?"
Jessie nodded, "Of course." She waited until the girl next to them finished at her locker and walked away. Jessie sullenly said, "I talked with my dad... about us."
"That's great!" Katie said cheerfully. She paused and looked at Jessie's expression, "Is... is he against it... against us?"
Jessie sighed and shrugged, "I don't know. I can tell he's disappointed... with me."
Jessie's eyes teared up, and Katie longed to hug her girlfriend, but too many people remained in the hallway, and Katie knew if she tied to comfort her, Jessie would only push her away. Katie sadly looked at Jessie. "It'll be okay," She whispered.
Jessie gave a small nod.
* * *
"Mr. Morris?" Grace asked, knocking on his opened door.
"Oh, Grace," Mr. Morris acknowledged her. "I was wondering if you were going to come talk to me... this is about the actor's workshop, right?"
Grace nodded, slipping further into the room.
Mr. Morris smiled, "Come in, sit."
Grace sat down on the chair next to his desk. The wrinkled pamphlet lay in her hands.
* * *
"You look so great," Karen said, her eyes watery.
Eli grimaced. He pulled at the front of his graduation gown, "Mom, I'm wearing a dress."
Karen smiled, "It's a gown... a very special gown. You're graduating from high school."
Eli uncomfortably moved in the heavy fabric. He went and put an arm around his mother, "It's not the end of the world."
Karen nodded, sniffling a bit.
[[Karen - I can't believe he got so old... so fast. He's all grown up. He doesn't need me anymore. *tearful smile* But then, he rarely ever did need me. He's always been so independent. He used to dress himself when he was just a little boy. He'd never match his shirt to his pants, and he'd always have two different colored socks, but he was always so proud of himself. He'd come out of his room in these horrible outfits and he'd smile... *crying* He'd smile that proud little boy smile, because he did it himself. He was always such a big boy even as just a little baby.... and now he's not my baby anymore.]]
Karen kissed her son's cheek, trying to stop herself from crying. She smiled at Eli, "You're right, it's not the end of the world... it's the beginning. You have your whole life ahead of you, Eli."
Eli, touched by his mother's sentiments, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead in return.
* * *
"Grace! Where have you been?" Lily cried as Grace entered the house.
"I had to..." Grace began.
Lily cut her off, "Well, go get dressed! We're leaving for the graduation in twenty minutes."
Grace nodded, dropping her backpack on the bench by the door, and rushed up the stairs. She definitely wanted to look nice for Eli's special day.
Zoe entered her room just as Grace was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Grace turned, feeling her eyes on her, "What?"
Zoe looked at her older sister. Grace was wearing a form-fitting black dress and black pumps. Her hair had grown longer in the past couple of months and was tied up elegantly in a loose bun. Zoe smiled, "You look great."
Grace smiled at her sister, touched. "You look great too, kiddo." And she did. Zoe was wearing a pink flowered print dress and her long hair was in a braid down her back.
Zoe rolled her eyes at the 'kiddo' part. "I'm not a little kid anymore," She complained. "I've gone out on dates, Grace. Brad wants me to be his girlfriend, but I'm not sure if I'm going to because I won't see him as much during the summer as we did at school. I think I'm going to wait until next school year before I become someone's girlfriend," She said importantly. "....I'm growing up."
Grace smiled lovingly at her little sister. "Come on, we've got to get going," Grace said and led them out of the room.
"Girls!" Lily was yelling as they came down the stairs. She paused, as she caught site of her two beautiful daughters. Rick was standing behind his wife, and he smiled at his two step-daughters, "You both look beautiful."
Zoe slowed her hurried walk down the stairs, delighted by the comment. Grace rolled her eyes, and pushed her sister to hurry up, "We can't be late!"
"Right, right, let's go," Rick said, slipping on his jacket.
"What about Jessie?" Lily asked.
"Oh, she's already there, with Katie," Rick said offhandedly. Lily looked at him curiously, trying to sense what he felt about what he had just said... about Jessie and Katie. But Rick's face was a blank mask. "Let's go!" Rick said again.
The four of them trooped out to the car.
* * *
"Where is he?" Zoe whispered after they had taken their seats in the back of the auditorium, along with all the other guests of the graduates.
Grace hushed her, as the principal was making his speech, but pointed out Eli for Zoe. Eli turned around, catching them looking at him. He winked and made a face.
Zoe giggled.
Lily looked warningly over at Zoe. Zoe shut her mouth and pretended she was listening to the guy up on the stage, but actually she was thinking of what she would name her dog.
[[Zoe - I was thinking of Oranges. Or Pringles. I don't want to name it Fluffy or something, especially if it's not fluffy. And it depends on if it's a girl or a boy dog. Like I wouldn't want to have a boy dog named Lucy or something. That just wouldn't be right!]]
Karen watched as it got closer to Eli's turn to go on stage. She kept thinking about how her first born was now a high school graduate. He was so old.
"Here," Lily whispered.
Karen turned, and smiled. She took the tissue Lily had offered her gratefully. She dabbed her eyes, hating herself for crying like this.
A few seats up and to the left, Jessie sat with Katie. Jessie glanced over her shoulder looking at where Grace, Zoe, her father and her mother all sat... looking like one big family. And, Jessie was separate from that, sitting off by herself, with Katie.
* * *
"Hey, hey, hey!" Jake said with a grin. He clapped Eli on the shoulder, "How does it feel, high school graduate?"
Eli shrugged, "The same."
Jake laughed. He moved away to go say hi to Lily. Eli looked around Jake's restaurant, which had been converted into a graduation party... for him. Eli couldn't believe Grace's dad had done all this for him.
"Hey," Grace said, coming up to him. She hugged him.
Eli hugged her back, but then tried to draw away, "What about...?"
Grace smiled, and kissed him lightly on the lips, "I've already told my father we're back together. My mom knows, Zoe knows, Jessie knows, and I'm pretty sure your dad knows. So, we don't have much of a secret to keep anymore."
Eli was glad of that. He hated keeping secrets. But then he blinked, "Wait... your father knows?"
Grace nodded, smiling.
"And he still threw this party for me?"
Grace nodded again.
Eli was shocked. He looked over at where Jake and Lily were conversing. Jake turned his head and saw Eli looked at him. Jake smiled. Eli looked back at Grace, "Your father's a great man."
Grace smiled, "He is." The music turned to a slow song and Grace reached for Eli's hands, "Let's dance."
* * *
"We don't have to go in," Katie said as she and Jessie stood in the parking lot to the restaurant. They had been standing out there for a few minutes already.
Jessie nervously looked at the door. Her whole family was in there. Jessie wanted to go in, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. Jessie didn't know if she was ready to bring Katie into her life.
"Or, I could leave and you could go in... alone," Katie suggested.
Jessie looked up, "No... how about I leave with you?"
Katie shook her head, "Jess. It's your brother in there. Your family's in there. I know you want to go in there. Look, I'll call you when my family gets back from Canada, okay?"
Jessie shook her head. Katie was leaving tomorrow for her family's two week trip, and Jessie wanted to spend each moment she could with her girlfriend before she had to say goodbye. "Let's go in," Jessie said decisively.
Katie unsurely smiled, "You mean it?"
Jessie nodded, and leaned forward, giving Katie a quick kiss, "I mean it."
* * *
"Is that little Ethan?" Jessie said as she and Katie ran into Tiffany first. "He's so big!"
Tiffany nodded. She looked particularly lovely in a light yellow summer dress. She held baby Ethan.
"Hey there," Jessie said as Ethan's big blue eyes looked up at her. Jessie tickled Ethan's chin and he giggled. Jessie smiled. It had been so long since she had seen him.
"Katie, right?" Tiffany asked.
Jessie froze, wondering if somehow Tiffany had found out about the two of them.
Katie nodded.
"Yeah, you were at Lily's once when I was there," Tiffany said. "You're Jessie's friend?"
Katie opened her mouth to speak, but Jessie cut her off. Jessie knew Tiffany could be trusted with the truth. Tiffany was a very open spirit. "She's my girlfriend," Jessie said.
Katie grinned happily. Jessie looked at her and smiled back.
"Well, nice to met you again," Tiffany said, unfazed by it all. "I'm Tiffany... Jessie's uh..." Tiffany laughed, "I'm not sure what I am. But I'm Grace's dad's new wife."
Katie broke from her and Jessie's stare and said to Tiffany, "Hi."
* * *
"Hey Jess!" Karen said later, coming up to hug her daughter. "I missed you at the graduation. You did go to it, right?"
Jessie nodded, "Yeah, Katie and I were there."
"That's good," Karen said. She looked around, "Is Katie here?"
Jessie blushed, "Why? Are you going to embarrass me?"
Karen smiled good-naturedly. "Of course not. I just wanted to meet her."
Jessie rolled her eyes, eating a spoonful of cake, "Mom, you've met her before. She's still the same Katie you used to know..."
Karen nodded, "I know. But... I just wanted to say 'hi' is all."
Jessie smiled, "Well, she's in the bathroom. You can say hi when she comes back."
Karen smiled nervously. She touched her hair, which was up in a french twist. "Do I look alright?" She asked her daughter.
Jessie laughed, "Mom! It's just Katie..."
Karen smiled and shook her head, "No she's not 'just Katie' anymore. She's important to you, so she's important to me too."
Jessie shyly leaned forward, and surprised her mother with a warm hug.
[[Karen - *smiles happily*]]
* * *
The Way We Are
Chapter 29// Over the Rainbow
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*
*
"Woo-hoo!"
Jessie turned around and was immediately embraced by Katie in a hug. Jessie cautiously hugged her girlfriend back, wary of people seeing them like this. Katie caught on and reluctantly let go. "School is done!" Katie said happily, sliding a lock of hair back behind her ear.
Jessie nodded and grinned. Summer was upon them.
"I have that family trip to Canada, but then after that, we have the whole summer together!" Katie gushed.
"Yeah, it's going to be great," Jessie said, but her words sounded hollow.
Katie moved aside to let another student get to her locker. She looked at Jessie curiously, careful not to say too much as she was aware of the other students in the hallway that might overhear, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy that we'll get to... spend so much time together?"
Jessie nodded, "Of course." She waited until the girl next to them finished at her locker and walked away. Jessie sullenly said, "I talked with my dad... about us."
"That's great!" Katie said cheerfully. She paused and looked at Jessie's expression, "Is... is he against it... against us?"
Jessie sighed and shrugged, "I don't know. I can tell he's disappointed... with me."
Jessie's eyes teared up, and Katie longed to hug her girlfriend, but too many people remained in the hallway, and Katie knew if she tied to comfort her, Jessie would only push her away. Katie sadly looked at Jessie. "It'll be okay," She whispered.
Jessie gave a small nod.
* * *
"Mr. Morris?" Grace asked, knocking on his opened door.
"Oh, Grace," Mr. Morris acknowledged her. "I was wondering if you were going to come talk to me... this is about the actor's workshop, right?"
Grace nodded, slipping further into the room.
Mr. Morris smiled, "Come in, sit."
Grace sat down on the chair next to his desk. The wrinkled pamphlet lay in her hands.
* * *
"You look so great," Karen said, her eyes watery.
Eli grimaced. He pulled at the front of his graduation gown, "Mom, I'm wearing a dress."
Karen smiled, "It's a gown... a very special gown. You're graduating from high school."
Eli uncomfortably moved in the heavy fabric. He went and put an arm around his mother, "It's not the end of the world."
Karen nodded, sniffling a bit.
[[Karen - I can't believe he got so old... so fast. He's all grown up. He doesn't need me anymore. *tearful smile* But then, he rarely ever did need me. He's always been so independent. He used to dress himself when he was just a little boy. He'd never match his shirt to his pants, and he'd always have two different colored socks, but he was always so proud of himself. He'd come out of his room in these horrible outfits and he'd smile... *crying* He'd smile that proud little boy smile, because he did it himself. He was always such a big boy even as just a little baby.... and now he's not my baby anymore.]]
Karen kissed her son's cheek, trying to stop herself from crying. She smiled at Eli, "You're right, it's not the end of the world... it's the beginning. You have your whole life ahead of you, Eli."
Eli, touched by his mother's sentiments, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead in return.
* * *
"Grace! Where have you been?" Lily cried as Grace entered the house.
"I had to..." Grace began.
Lily cut her off, "Well, go get dressed! We're leaving for the graduation in twenty minutes."
Grace nodded, dropping her backpack on the bench by the door, and rushed up the stairs. She definitely wanted to look nice for Eli's special day.
Zoe entered her room just as Grace was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. Grace turned, feeling her eyes on her, "What?"
Zoe looked at her older sister. Grace was wearing a form-fitting black dress and black pumps. Her hair had grown longer in the past couple of months and was tied up elegantly in a loose bun. Zoe smiled, "You look great."
Grace smiled at her sister, touched. "You look great too, kiddo." And she did. Zoe was wearing a pink flowered print dress and her long hair was in a braid down her back.
Zoe rolled her eyes at the 'kiddo' part. "I'm not a little kid anymore," She complained. "I've gone out on dates, Grace. Brad wants me to be his girlfriend, but I'm not sure if I'm going to because I won't see him as much during the summer as we did at school. I think I'm going to wait until next school year before I become someone's girlfriend," She said importantly. "....I'm growing up."
Grace smiled lovingly at her little sister. "Come on, we've got to get going," Grace said and led them out of the room.
"Girls!" Lily was yelling as they came down the stairs. She paused, as she caught site of her two beautiful daughters. Rick was standing behind his wife, and he smiled at his two step-daughters, "You both look beautiful."
Zoe slowed her hurried walk down the stairs, delighted by the comment. Grace rolled her eyes, and pushed her sister to hurry up, "We can't be late!"
"Right, right, let's go," Rick said, slipping on his jacket.
"What about Jessie?" Lily asked.
"Oh, she's already there, with Katie," Rick said offhandedly. Lily looked at him curiously, trying to sense what he felt about what he had just said... about Jessie and Katie. But Rick's face was a blank mask. "Let's go!" Rick said again.
The four of them trooped out to the car.
* * *
"Where is he?" Zoe whispered after they had taken their seats in the back of the auditorium, along with all the other guests of the graduates.
Grace hushed her, as the principal was making his speech, but pointed out Eli for Zoe. Eli turned around, catching them looking at him. He winked and made a face.
Zoe giggled.
Lily looked warningly over at Zoe. Zoe shut her mouth and pretended she was listening to the guy up on the stage, but actually she was thinking of what she would name her dog.
[[Zoe - I was thinking of Oranges. Or Pringles. I don't want to name it Fluffy or something, especially if it's not fluffy. And it depends on if it's a girl or a boy dog. Like I wouldn't want to have a boy dog named Lucy or something. That just wouldn't be right!]]
Karen watched as it got closer to Eli's turn to go on stage. She kept thinking about how her first born was now a high school graduate. He was so old.
"Here," Lily whispered.
Karen turned, and smiled. She took the tissue Lily had offered her gratefully. She dabbed her eyes, hating herself for crying like this.
A few seats up and to the left, Jessie sat with Katie. Jessie glanced over her shoulder looking at where Grace, Zoe, her father and her mother all sat... looking like one big family. And, Jessie was separate from that, sitting off by herself, with Katie.
* * *
"Hey, hey, hey!" Jake said with a grin. He clapped Eli on the shoulder, "How does it feel, high school graduate?"
Eli shrugged, "The same."
Jake laughed. He moved away to go say hi to Lily. Eli looked around Jake's restaurant, which had been converted into a graduation party... for him. Eli couldn't believe Grace's dad had done all this for him.
"Hey," Grace said, coming up to him. She hugged him.
Eli hugged her back, but then tried to draw away, "What about...?"
Grace smiled, and kissed him lightly on the lips, "I've already told my father we're back together. My mom knows, Zoe knows, Jessie knows, and I'm pretty sure your dad knows. So, we don't have much of a secret to keep anymore."
Eli was glad of that. He hated keeping secrets. But then he blinked, "Wait... your father knows?"
Grace nodded, smiling.
"And he still threw this party for me?"
Grace nodded again.
Eli was shocked. He looked over at where Jake and Lily were conversing. Jake turned his head and saw Eli looked at him. Jake smiled. Eli looked back at Grace, "Your father's a great man."
Grace smiled, "He is." The music turned to a slow song and Grace reached for Eli's hands, "Let's dance."
* * *
"We don't have to go in," Katie said as she and Jessie stood in the parking lot to the restaurant. They had been standing out there for a few minutes already.
Jessie nervously looked at the door. Her whole family was in there. Jessie wanted to go in, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. Jessie didn't know if she was ready to bring Katie into her life.
"Or, I could leave and you could go in... alone," Katie suggested.
Jessie looked up, "No... how about I leave with you?"
Katie shook her head, "Jess. It's your brother in there. Your family's in there. I know you want to go in there. Look, I'll call you when my family gets back from Canada, okay?"
Jessie shook her head. Katie was leaving tomorrow for her family's two week trip, and Jessie wanted to spend each moment she could with her girlfriend before she had to say goodbye. "Let's go in," Jessie said decisively.
Katie unsurely smiled, "You mean it?"
Jessie nodded, and leaned forward, giving Katie a quick kiss, "I mean it."
* * *
"Is that little Ethan?" Jessie said as she and Katie ran into Tiffany first. "He's so big!"
Tiffany nodded. She looked particularly lovely in a light yellow summer dress. She held baby Ethan.
"Hey there," Jessie said as Ethan's big blue eyes looked up at her. Jessie tickled Ethan's chin and he giggled. Jessie smiled. It had been so long since she had seen him.
"Katie, right?" Tiffany asked.
Jessie froze, wondering if somehow Tiffany had found out about the two of them.
Katie nodded.
"Yeah, you were at Lily's once when I was there," Tiffany said. "You're Jessie's friend?"
Katie opened her mouth to speak, but Jessie cut her off. Jessie knew Tiffany could be trusted with the truth. Tiffany was a very open spirit. "She's my girlfriend," Jessie said.
Katie grinned happily. Jessie looked at her and smiled back.
"Well, nice to met you again," Tiffany said, unfazed by it all. "I'm Tiffany... Jessie's uh..." Tiffany laughed, "I'm not sure what I am. But I'm Grace's dad's new wife."
Katie broke from her and Jessie's stare and said to Tiffany, "Hi."
* * *
"Hey Jess!" Karen said later, coming up to hug her daughter. "I missed you at the graduation. You did go to it, right?"
Jessie nodded, "Yeah, Katie and I were there."
"That's good," Karen said. She looked around, "Is Katie here?"
Jessie blushed, "Why? Are you going to embarrass me?"
Karen smiled good-naturedly. "Of course not. I just wanted to meet her."
Jessie rolled her eyes, eating a spoonful of cake, "Mom, you've met her before. She's still the same Katie you used to know..."
Karen nodded, "I know. But... I just wanted to say 'hi' is all."
Jessie smiled, "Well, she's in the bathroom. You can say hi when she comes back."
Karen smiled nervously. She touched her hair, which was up in a french twist. "Do I look alright?" She asked her daughter.
Jessie laughed, "Mom! It's just Katie..."
Karen smiled and shook her head, "No she's not 'just Katie' anymore. She's important to you, so she's important to me too."
Jessie shyly leaned forward, and surprised her mother with a warm hug.
[[Karen - *smiles happily*]]
* * *
