(See first part for disclaimer, notes, spoilers, etc.)

Chapter 34
Gregory looks up from the newspaper and glares at Del. "I could say the same thing to you, Douglas."

"Aww, Greg…I'm hurt. Is that anyway you talk to a friend?" Del questions as he takes the seat across from Gregory.

"Friend? It would be a cold day in hell before I give you that distinction again." Gregory looks down and continues to read his newspaper.

Del grasps his chest and cries out in mock pain, "That's a terrible thing to say."

"But true," Gregory mumbles, without looking up from his paper.

"Olivia figured you would say something like that," Del says. He is pleased that Gregory's hands clench the edges of the newspaper a bit tighter and his face hardens at the mention of his ex-wife's name. He continues, "We were discussing this in bed last night. I was apprehensive about attending Sean's graduation, but she was insistent that I come."

Gregory looks up and folds the paper shut. Through clenched teeth he says, "She managed to have conversation despite being plastered? I find that hard to believe…"

"Oh believe it Greg," Del replies craftily. "With me, Olivia is a changed woman. Can't even tell you the last time she had a drink." He pauses to let Gregory absorb that information. After a moment, he adds, "Of course, I keep her so...shall we say 'satisfied' that she doesn't want…or NEED a drink."

Gregory abruptly stands up and the table shakes as he pushes his chair away. "Good evening Del." He throws a hundred dollar bill on the table and walks away.

Del sits there for a few moments. He glances around to make sure no one is watching and pockets the bill Gregory left. Del reaches over and downs the remainder of Gregory's drink.

"Will you be ordering anything, Sir?" the waitress questions.

"As a matter of fact I will. I'll take the thickest steak you have, medium rare. Mr. Richards isn't staying, but he requested that you charge his dinner, as well as mine, to his account."

"Yes Sir. Would you like another drink?"

"Absolutely…With this weekend, I'm going to need it," Del mumbles.

Chapter 35
The New Hampshire morning started off with gray clouds overhead, but by noon the sky was a beautiful robin's egg blue with puffy white clouds dotting the sky.

Sean stands in his room and fusses with his tie. After a few moments, he gives up and glares down at the tie.

"Do you need any help, darling?"

Sean looks up and sees his mother through the mirror's reflection. "You came," he whispers.

Olivia smiles broadly and walks over to her son. "Of course. My youngest child is graduating from high school…Where else would I be?"

Sean smiles and hugs his mother tightly. "I don't know. But I'm glad you're here." They stand together, embracing for a few more minutes.

Olivia sniffles and then pulls back to look at her son. "I'm so proud of you Sean. So very proud," she whispers. She reaches up and runs her hand through Sean's hair affectionately. "Graduating with high honors….That's quite an achievement," Olivia continues, as she smoothes Sean's tie and completes tying it. She wipes the tears from her eyes and watches as Sean observes her handiwork in the mirror.

"Yeah…Thank Mom for helping with the tie. I decided on a college by the way. I faxed my notice of attendance to Dartmouth College this morning."

"Oh Seanie," Olivia gasps, "you settled on Dartmouth! Oh darling, an Ivy League school! Your father will be very proud!"

"Mom," Sean sighs, "don't call me 'Seanie'…Geez. And I decided on Dartmouth because I want to stick around New Hampshire. I like it here and Dartmouth has a great Comparative Literature program. Dad was not a factor in this decision."

"Sean…" Olivia starts. She is interrupted by Sean's roommate dashing into the room.

"Richards, we gotta go! They want us to start lining up…We march in half an hour! Lets go man! HURRY!" he shouts as he grabs his cap and gown and runs out again.

Sean shrugs into his gown and says quickly, "Gotta run Mom. I'll see you after the ceremony. I love you." He kisses Olivia on the cheek and grabs his cap before following his roommate out the door.

"I love you to Seanie," Olivia whispers as she looks around the room where her son lived the last four years. "You're not a little boy anymore," she sighs as she walks out of the room.

Chapter 36
Del stands in the lobby of the campus theatre where the graduation ceremony is being held. When is this thing going to start?, he grumbles to himself. Annie's graduation didn't take this long…Wait, I didn't go to that.

Olivia walks over to Del and asks, "Have you seen Caity? I know she was planning to attend; I thought the three of us would sit together."

"No. Let's go get seats though and we'll save her one," Del replies smoothly as he links arms with Olivia. But I did see Gregory walking into the theatre earlier, he thinks. He leads Olivia into the theatre and quickly scans the crowd for Gregory. Del spots him, as well as Caitlin on the left side of the theatre. Perfect, Del thinks. He leads Olivia down the aisle and into two seats on the right, knowing that they would be in Gregory's line of vision.

Olivia gets settled in the seat and thumbs through the program. "Look," she points out in the booklet, "Sean was named 'salutatorian.' Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah, yeah. Great…How long is this thing going to last?" Del mumbles.

"Your interest in this event overwhelms me," Olivia snaps. She glares at Del and then looks around the theatre. "Caity should be here by now. She prom…" Olivia trails off as she spots her daughter on the opposite side of the theatre and locks eyes with her ex-husband for the first time since January. It isn't a dream this time Olivia, the little voice in her head whispers. He's here….And so are you.