"Are you decent, Tabitha?"
She turned from her vanity to look at her bedroom door, even though it was closed. "I'm fully dressed, yes!" she called out, watching her father step into the room, a smile on his lips. "Am I running late?"
"No, I just wanted to give you something to wear today. I know that you're the one who likes to have your mother close to you, and thought you might like another of her necklaces. There's a larger gift from me to you, for your graduation, but I think that you should wear this. Erin would have loved it to go to you."
He came over to her side and draped a cross pendant around her neck. The piece looked vintage, and she ran her fingers over the light purple gems as she stared at it in the mirror. "Did you give this to Mum?"
Her father shook his head, a sad look quickly flitting across his face, and Tabitha reached her hand back to cover his, giving it a firm squeeze. "No, you'll learn about who gave that to her in the gift I gave her, but it's right that you should wear it now. So, are you ready to head down to the back yard? I think that your grandparents have everything set up, all we need is your smiling face."
Tabitha giggled a little at the silly face he made in the mirror, nodding as she turned on her bench and got to her feet, hugging her father tightly as she let out a deep breath. "Thank you for making Mum a part of today, Daddy. I know that things were rough at the end, but…"
"I know, princess. And I still loved her, even if things did get ugly. Now, let's head down." He took hold of her hand, and together they went downstairs and out into the backyard. It looked perfect, and she smiled to see her school colours festooned everywhere. There was a small table under the maple tree that held the card box she'd worked on for the last week, along with a few colourfully wrapped gifts, which surprised her.
Looking around the yard, she found her brother talking to their father's parents, while Karen and Mum's grandma were deep in conversation. Tabitha gravitated towards Karen, and their grandmother gave her a wide smile as she held out her arm. It was so easy to slip into that embrace, and she snuggled in close to her, breathing in her familiar perfume. "You did it, Tabitha!
"I did, even if I wasn't valedictorian like Brucey. But I did my best!"
"And made the top ten! That is just as impressive, you know. It takes just as much hard work to be in the top ten of a four hundred person graduating class as it does to be in first place. All three of my grandbabies graduated in the top ten, and I know that my Erin would have been so proud of you all. Have you given more thought about what you're going to do after the summer ends?"
Tabitha went with her over to a table, taking a seat next to her as Karen went to get them something to drink. Taking a deep breath, she shrugged. "I know that I'm taking a gap year, because I wasn't quite ready to jump into college. Thankfully, Georgetown was able to defer my entrance until next year, and my scholarships will still be good, so I know that I have a plan. It's just the next fourteen months that are aimless at the moment."
"Is that wise?"
She shrugged a little, accepting the glass of rose lemonade from Karen's hand and taking a sip before answering. "I think so. I really pushed myself through high school, wanting to make Mum proud of me, that I was starting to feel a little burnt out. I want to go into college feeling refreshed, so I think that I'm going to travel around the US, see some of the places that I've always dreamt of, and pick up a lot of yarn along the way. Maybe I'll finally make a granny square blanket, like I promised Mum when I was first getting into knitting and crochet."
"She would have liked that, princess." Tabitha looked up at her father, giving him a bright smile as he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "Your first guests are arriving, so you should probably greet them."
Tabitha nodded as she leaned over and kissed her grandmother's cheek, knowing that she had only wanted the best for her, and that was why she was concerned about her decision for the next year. Giving them a quick wave, she made her way over to the card box table and smiled at her friends, giving her best friend a tight hug as her parents slipped a card into the box.
"You're the first one here!" she squealed happily as she let go of Anne, grinning at her.
"Yeah, I had to make sure that I budgeted in time for your party today, since we have to head over to my cousin's party, and my parents didn't think it would look good if I skipped that to stay here all afternoon. So, I promised if we were the first ones here, I wouldn't argue when forced to leave, because I'd get more of your time."
"Oh, I love that logic! And you know that you can come over after the party, too, right? If you want to?"
"Of course! It all depends on how things go."
Tabitha nodded as they fell into a rapid conversation about their plans for the rest of the summer, or rather, Tabitha's lack of plans, until the next guests started arriving, and Tabitha had to pay more attention to them than her bestie. At some point, Bruce brought her a plate of food, and she ate bites between snippets of conversation with friends and family. And then she heard a familiar voice start talking to her father, and she felt her blood run cool as she fought to keep a glare from her lips. A part of her had assumed that Dave would make his appearance, but she still wasn't prepared to see him.
He sauntered over to her side and gave her a small smile, holding out a small wrapped box. "Hey, Tabby-cat."
"Hi, Dave. Thank you for the gift."
"You're welcome, kiddo. There's a letter in the card that explains the significance of the gift, but that's in your box, since the gift is rather small."
She nodded, trying to keep her cool, but feeling like she was failing. "I've missed you since Bruce graduated. It's like you forgot I existed, after you married Krystall."
"Ah, kiddo, that's entirely my fault. Krystall doesn't like when I dwell on the past, especially when it comes to former loves. I should have fought harder to keep you three in my life." He held out his arm, clearly wanting her to make the choice to hug him, and she gave him a small nod as she stepped into his space and hugged him tightly. "I love you, still, all of you, like you were my own children. Did your father tell you that you look like your mother?"
"Not in so many words, but I've sort of picked up on that feeling. Did you know her when she was young, too?"
He nodded as he let her go, cupping her face with his hands. "I did. Well, not as young as you are, but when she was fresh out of the Academy. She and Alex shone with a brightness that took my breath away at times, and I was so glad to get to know her, at first. And then I figured out that she liked to argue."
"Only when she knew she was right!"
He laughed as he nodded. "That is true. And you definitely picked that up from her. Karen was more…"
"Biddable?" she asked teasingly, and he nodded. "Yeah, she's always been like Daddy. Bruce is the combination of them both." Another nod from Rossi, and she sighed. "Thank you for coming, though. It means so much to me. And if you have down time during the summer, do you think we could go out to your cabin and fish one weekend?"
"I will make time for you, kiddo. And your siblings, if they want to come along, too. Now, where's the food?"
She giggled as she pointed to the food table, watching him head over there as she turned to greet her next guests, setting his present on the table next to her father's as she talked. The rest of the afternoon flew by, and though a few of her guests brought up her mother, it was easier to talk about her in this setting, accepting their words of how proud she would have been of her accomplishments, and the young woman she had become over the last three years. And Tabitha only hoped that, now that she was graduated, she could get stories about her mother without having them attached to a special occasion.
