Author note:
This one got a little long, but I didn't want to split it up. Thanks for the reviews and support! They keep me going. I hope you enjoy.
CH 80 -New Beginnings
They arrived at the school auditorium in plenty of time and Clay dropped Emma off at the door. She reached in back to grab her cap and gown leaned in to get a quick kiss before departing. It would be about an hour before they started letting in any friends or family, so Clay parked the truck and rolled down the windows. He pulled out his phone and touched base with Vic.
-Everything Ready? -
-Yea. I finished up last night. It's all good to go. -
-Great! Thanks again for your help man. I owe you. -
-Not a problem. I'll see you later at Jace's. 3:00, right? -
-Yeah, 3:00. See you then. –
Then he settled in to wait until he could go in a get some seats. It seemed to take forever until his phone finally indicated that the doors should be open, and he could go into the auditorium. He approached the doors and a student attendant handed him a program. He walked down the aisle, wanting to get as close as he could to the stage. He found the first 5 rows were reserved for students, faculty, and staff. So, he found some seats in the center section just behind that. He hoped he could manage to save the rest of the seats they needed. At least he only needed three more. Everyone was planning on coming to the party later, but for the actual ceremony, it would be just Jason, Linda, Mikey, and him.
It wasn't too long before Jason texted Clay that they had just pulled into the parking lot and were on their way in. He stood up and waved down Jason when they entered the auditorium.
"Thanks for holding seats for us."
"No problem. I had to be here early to drop Em off anyway."
"How is she doing?"
"Good, excited, maybe a little nervous too."
Jason smiled, "Yep, that sounds about right. Do you know if she got a chance to visit Alana? I know she said she wanted to sometime today."
"I took her over before we came here. I hope that's okay. I mean… if you wanted to go, I'm sorry, I didn't think…"
"It's fine. I just wanted to make sure she got the chance to go. Thanks for taking her."
Clay nodded in response. There was light conversation with Linda and Mikey as they all paged through the program and discussed the upcoming party. Soon, they heard the band warming up and the lights dimmed. The familiar strains of "Pomp & Circumstance" wafted out over the crowd and the graduates filed in. They all searched for a glimpse of Emma, wondering where she would be seated during the ceremony. They eventually saw her in line and as she walked past, Clay was able get her attention and she made note of where they were seated.
Now came the seemingly endless number of speakers before the students were actually called up on the stage to receive their diplomas. Clay sat respectfully through all the speeches, but in truth he was anxious to see Emma receive her diploma and get to the celebration and his gift to her. After about 45 minutes, he caught Emma's eye. He winked at her and she smiled at him and blew him a kiss in return.
Finally, it was time for the students to file up on the dais and get their diplomas. Jason and Linda had their phones out and ready to get as many pictures of Emma as they could. Since they had the photos covered, Clay switched and decided to get a video. He captured Emma walking up the stairs, and then the glow on her face as they announced her name and chosen field of study.
"Graduating with Honors, Emma Elizabeth Hayes. Emma will attend Virginia Wesleyan College studying Special Education with an emphasis on Music Therapy."
As she crossed in front of them, they all applauded, and Jason let out a shrill whistle. Clay was so proud he felt like the buttons on his shirt were going to pop. He wanted to run and sweep her up right now and celebrate. However, he waited impatiently for the rest of the class to be announced and even managed to sit quietly through the benediction.
The moment that the ceremony had ended, he searched her out. Even in the crush of people, he found her quickly, as she was headed their way already. Now, he did swing her up into his embrace and gave her an exuberant kiss. As he sat her back on her feet she giggled at his enthusiasm.
"I'm so proud of you Em. You did it!"
He pulled her to him once more and held her. He could see Jason and her family from the corner of his eye as they waited to greet her. For a minute, he felt bad that he hadn't allowed Jason to congratulate her first. After all, he was her father and had been on this journey with her from day one. He turned to apologize but saw no resentment in Jason's eyes. There was only warmth, happiness, and pride. In fact, he patted Clay on the shoulder and jokingly asked for permission to hug his daughter.
Jason wrapped her up in his arms and held on. As she stepped back, he looked into her bright eyes and spoke.
"I'm proud too Emmie. I know that this year, in particular, was hard for you. But you handled everything so well and fought through until you reached your goal."
Emma sniffed and wiped at her eyes. Even Jason was forced to sweep away a tear or two.
"Thanks Daddy. It means so much to me."
"You deserve all this honey. You've worked so hard," Linda added.
Even Mikey gave her a quick hug and offered his congratulations.
"Well, we better head out. Everyone will be arriving for the party soon."
"I just need to grab my stuff from backstage and we can leave too. Do you need help finishing up anything, Dad?"
"Nope, your Grandmother and I have it all under control. I just want to get home and make sure Sonny hasn't burned everything down while we were gone."
"Huh?"
"He volunteered to barbeque his famous Tri-tip and brisket for your party. He's been there since the crack of dawn fussing over the smoker."
Everyone laughed and they went their separate ways. Clay grasped Emma's hand in his and followed her through the crowd to get her belongings. Several classmates stopped her on the way to talk and offer one last hug. One their way out to Clay's truck they ran into Hannah.
"Em! Can you believe it? We're actually done."
"I know. It doesn't seem real."
"Hey Clay, how are you?"
"I'm good. Congratulations Hannah." He leaned and gave her a warm hug.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
Finally, they made it through the mass of people and out to Clay's truck. He unlocked the doors and helped her in. She threw her things in back and was buckling in as he slid behind the wheel. He looked over at her and took in her shining eyes and flushed cheeks.
"You okay honey?"
"Yea. Like I said, it's just surreal at this point."
"I bet. It felt that way to me when I made Bravo." She smiled at the comparison. "But, look where it's gotten me."
He reached over and cupped her cheek in his hand and gave her a soft, but lingering kiss. As they pulled apart, he leaned his forehead against hers.
"Let's get going before I decide to skip your party altogether."
"If that means I get my surprise now, I'm okay with that."
He laughed and wiggled his eyebrows. "Don't tempt me."
When they got to Jason's there were already several cars in the driveway and some parked along the street. And the distinct aroma of Sonny Quinn's barbeque greeted them as soon as they got out of the car. Emma looked all around as they walked to the door. There were balloons and a huge 'Congratulations' sign draped across the garage door.
As they stepped inside the festive decorations continued. There were more balloons and streamers draped everywhere. This was much more than she expected. Jason met them at the door and announced her arrival.
"Hey! There she is. The Graduate is here everyone!"
Emma laughed and shook her head in disbelief.
"Dad…what's going on? I thought we said a small, quiet celebration, with no fuss."
"It's not every day you graduate Em. You deserve it!"
He kissed her cheek and went off to change his clothes. Emma turned to Clay still a little overwhelmed with it all.
"He's right babe. You are worth all this and more."
Just as he bent to place a gentle kiss to her lips, they saw a flash. There was Brock with his phone at the ready.
"Don't mind me. Just getting some candid shoots."
They heard female laughter coming from the kitchen and she saw Naima there, working alongside her Grandmother. The two were filling bowls with chips and other snacks to be taken to the backyard. Nama spied Clay and Brock and collared them both to transport the food to the table.
"What can I do," Emma asked.
"Not a thing, except have fun. This is all for you." Naima finished her declaration with a kiss to Emma's cheek.
She really was having a hard time taking all this in. She walked out to the back yard and saw that Clay had found himself a drink and was now in conversation with Ray and Brock. Mikey, who had changed clothes the moment he got home, was involved with Jameelah in an epic squirt-gun battle while Koda gave chase. RJ was trying his own tottering steps while grasped onto an ever-patient Cerberus. As expected, Sonny was manning the grill. She stood there, watching her family, she wasn't aware her Dad had joined her until he spoke.
"Looks like everyone is having fun, huh?"
"Yea. It does." She turned to face him. "Thanks, Daddy."
She realized it had been too long since they had all been together like this, just for fun. If her graduation was the reason for the celebration, it was fine with her. The rest of the team soon arrived, and the chaos and joyful noise increased.
Once Sonny deemed the meat ready, it was time to eat. Naima and her Grandma had fixed her favorites and she savored each bite.
"Sonny, this is delicious. Thanks so much."
"No problem a'tall Princess," he responded as he took a seat across from her, next to Clay.
She and Naima were discussing her plans for the summer when she caught a bit of the conversation between Sonny and Clay.
"It was nice, what ya did this mornin', takin' Emma to visit Alana and all."
"How'd you know about that?"
"It a secret?"
"No, just wondering."
"I overheard Emma telling Linda. She was real touched ya got those flowers for 'Lana."
"I just thought it would be a good way to pay my respects. I never really got to know her too well before…before the accident. Wish I had."
"She was a lot like Emma. Smart, strong, didn't take any of Jason's crap. Just like Princess calls you out when she needs to." Both men laughed, knowing it was true. "Ya did good, Blondie."
Linda brought out the cupcakes and Jason had his hands full of gifts for the graduate. He raised his hand to talk before Emma could start opening her presents.
"Let's all raise a glass to Emma. Honey, I know that whatever the future holds for you, it will be great. To new beginnings."
Everyone cheered and then turned their attention to her as she opened the cards and packages. Her Grandma got her a new bag to carry her books around, it was embossed leather, and lovely. Jason and Mikey's gift was a beautiful new watch. Just as she thought things couldn't get any better, Naima handed her the last box.
"Honey, this is from all of us."
Emma opened the colorful card and saw signatures and messages from Ray, Naima and family, Sonny, Brock, Vic, Trent, and even Metal.
Before even seeing what was in the box, she thanked them each for their thoughtfulness. Once she unwrapped their gift, she was speechless. They had all gone in together to get her a brand-new laptop. Her mouth hung open and she stuttered.
"I… I can't…wha…this is too much." She looked around and saw all their smiling faces. "You guys, this is amazing. I…don't know what to say. I just…thank you!"
She wiped away some tears and realized everyone was looking at Clay expectantly. Sonny said what they were all thinking.
"Well, what'd you get her?"
"Yea, what did you get me," Emma joked.
He was really hoping to tell her in private, but there was no help for it now.
"Em, I wish I could take you on a big trip like you deserve. Somewhere like Europe, or the Caribbean. But that will just have to wait for our honeymoon someday." The guys whistled and Emma blushed. "But we are going away for a few days, just you and me. One of Vic's buddies has a cabin in the woods by the lake. He just needed some help getting it cleaned and set up. So, Vic and I did that and it's ours for the next 4 days. No phones, no emails, just us. You only need to get packed and we're headed there tonight. I know it's not Paris or anything…"
Emma put her arms around him and looked into his eyes, "It sounds perfect." And then in almost a whisper so only he could hear, "I can't wait to get there."
