Author note:
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Drop me a note with your favorite part. :)
CH 79- Graduation Preparations
Emma woke slowly and pushed the snooze on her alarm. As she gained full consciousness, she realized that she couldn't feel Clay in the bed with her. They usually slept cuddled up somehow, and not feeling his arms around her made her wonder what was going on. She sat up and listened and couldn't hear him stirring around anywhere. Surely, he hadn't just left the apartment with no warning on the morning of her graduation. Her alarm went off again and as she reached for it, she noticed a note on her night table.
Good morning honey. I went to run some errands & took Koda with me. I'll be back soon.
Love you!
P.S. Don't make breakfast!
Smiling at his not so subtle hint that he had gone to pick up food, she rolled out of bed and went to take a shower.
She was dressed and finishing up her make-up when she heard Clay get home. She grabbed her shoes and went to join him in the other room. As she walked into the kitchen, she could see he had set out the food and plates and was standing, back turned, at the sink.
"Hi sweetie. I'll be right with you, just go ahead and sit down."
Emma did as he asked and saw a box of pastries from her favorite bakery, as well as her preferred iced coffee drink poured into a frosty glass. He finished up at the sink and sat a vase filled with a dozen pink roses on the table as he joined her.
"Happy Graduation babe."
"Clay," she motioned to the flowers. "These are beautiful. Thank you. Thank you for all this."
"Of course. I wanted today to be extra special for you."
"It's definitely off to a good start." She looked around a little. "Hey, where's Koda?"
"I dropped him off at your dad's."
She raised an eyebrow in question, "Why?"
"You'll just have a wait a little longer to find out."
"Part of your surprise, hmmm?"
"Just eat your breakfast," he joked as he leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
Emma ate quickly. She had a stop she wanted to make before going on over to school for graduation. She finished up and went to rinse out her dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that the bag he brought in with him wasn't empty. She decided she better ask before she took a peak and ruined any surprises.
"Can I see what's in the bag?"
"Sure."
She looked over the edge and saw a second bouquet. This one was white roses and blue forget-me-nots.
"What's this honey?"
Clay hesitated for just a second before answering. "Well…you said you wanted to go visit your Mom today. So, I thought we could take her some flowers."
He saw her eyes fill with tears and she reached her hand up to cover her quivering chin and mouth.
"You bought flowers to put on Mom's grave?"
"Yea. I mean, I don't have to go with you…if you don't want me to. You said blue was her favorite color…" he shrugged his shoulders as his voice trailed off.
He stood up to take a step toward her and she threw herself at him with enough force that he had to take a step back as her caught her.
"Whoa babe. Baby, are you okay?"
Emma a deep breath and tried to keep from bursting into tears. With her shoes off, her head only reached his chest, so she buried her face against him and let him hold her. His hands rubbed up and down her back and he pressed kisses into her hair. Just when she thought she couldn't possibly love him more, his actions toward her and her family elevated her feelings to a whole new level. She took a few more breaths and then tipped her head up to look at him.
"Thank you. Of course, I want you to go with me."
Clay cradled her face tenderly in his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
"Okay. Let's finish getting ready and we can stop there on the way to your school."
She gave him a watery smile, rolled her lips together and nodded. "That sounds perfect. Honey…I…I love you!"
"I love you too Emmie." He bowed his head and placed a sweet kiss on her lips.
They arrived at the cemetery and Emma directed Clay over to where her Mom was buried. He got out first and went around to Emma's side to help her down from the truck. Walking hand in hand, they arrived at Alana's grave marker. Emma stepped right up to it and brushed some leaves from the top.
"Hi Mom," she whispered. "It's graduation today. I can hardly believe it. It seemed like it would never get here, and now…here it is."
Clay had hung back a little, wanting to give her some time with her Mom. He watched her fight for control of her emotions. It broke him up inside to see her. He knew it was impossible, but he wanted to hold her until she didn't hurt anymore.
Emma kept talking to Alana and he heard her mention his name.
"I wish you could be here. I know I never would have made it here without your help Mom. You taught me to be strong and not be afraid of a challenge. And you always told me to go after what I want in life. I guess I'm doing that. I'm going to use music to help Special Needs kids. It hurts not to have you here, but I still have Daddy and Grandma and Mikey. And…of course, there's Clay."
She turned and reached for his hand for him to join her. He stood next to her and clasped her hand in his.
"We brought you some flowers. Well, really Clay did. He's the one that got them for you. He even remembered that blue is your favorite color."
He held the bouquet out to her, but she motioned for him to place it. He knelt carefully and arranged the blooms to rest against the headstone. When he stood back up, he gathered her next to him and she tilted her head to lean against him.
"I wish I could have known her more. She must have been an amazing mother to raise a special person like you Em. Do you think she would approve, that she would be okay with us?"
"I do. I really do. All she wanted was for me to be happy. Nothing makes me happier than being with you."
"I know I don't always honey, but I'm going to keep trying for the rest of my life."
She hugged him tight, "So am I."
"Bye Mom, we've got to go now so I'm not late. I love you."
Emma kissed the palm of her hand and pressed it next to Alana's name engraved in the granite. Clay surprised her by speaking up.
"I'll bring her back soon Alana."
As they walked back to his truck, she questioned him. "You don't mind coming with me?"
"Of course, not babe. We can come back whenever you want."
Emma wondered where his Grandparents were buried, and if he ever got to visit them. Not a subject for today, but she filed the thought away to ask him later.
They settled into their seats and buckled in. Clay turned to her and brushed his fingers softly across her cheek.
"You ready to go now honey?"
She answered with a big smile. "Yes. I'm ready to go graduate and get started on my future."
"Our future Emmie," he corrected softly.
"You're right. It's our future."
