My Blue River (29 page)

Aaron sarcastically responded, “Whatevs.”

I looked at Jack who whispered, “Don’t let him ruin our night.”

A slight tension filled the air thanks to Aaron but Jack was right. I wouldn’t let Aaron’s bad attitude ruin my fairy-tale prom.

“We definitely need pictures, Mom,” I handed her my camera, giving a few directions and the photo session began. We took what felt like a hundred photos and Jack was patient with each and every one, reminding me he would need copies and how happy we would be that we had taken the time to do this. We then went to his parent’s house for more pictures.

I flushed cherry red when Sharon declared, “You two look more like a bride and a groom than prom dates.” She gushed over what a beautiful couple we were until Jack was embarrassed as well, gently urging her to finish up the photo session.

We ate dinner at the only place anyone considered “fancy” in Blue River—The Cattle Club. I couldn’t deny it had a certain charm about it and the food was delicious. Not wanting to drive to Middleburg made The Cattle Club everyone’s obvious choice. We heard a few more of the same comments—“You look like a bride and groom”—which made Jack smile broadly and made my heart flutter.

It seemed to take forever to reach the point of the evening involving the actual dance, but eventually we reached the BRHS gymnasium. It had been transformed quite well into a fairy-tale land. It glittered and sparkled; it was really quite beautiful and I couldn’t help but feel happy that I had played a small part in putting it all together. This was becoming a very magical night.
I need to remember to thank Sallie for talking me into going to that meeting
.

As usual, the first slow song crowded the dance floor and we were no exception as Jack escorted me out for our first dance.

He whispered in my ear, “Did I mention how amazing you look?”

I shuddered from the feel of his breath on my skin. “Actually, I think you were a little speechless,” I pulled back to look at him and found him blushing.

He gave a nervous laugh and replied, “I thought so. I’m sorry. I really was speechless…you’re breathtaking.” This time I blushed.

“Good thing your mom told me about your dress. I would have gotten the wrong type of corsage,” said Jack. I looked at my wrist. The corsage had been selected to match every other detail of the evening—white roses with baby’s breath and tiny, slender, champagne colored ribbons.

“Whatever you would have gotten would have been fine, too. It won’t last forever anyway.”

“It could. You could dry it. It will become delicate, but if you handle it right, it won’t break. It could last forever if you really take care of it,” said Jack. It sounded poetic and almost as if we were no longer talking about the corsage, but rather, the love we shared but were yet to express to one another.

I couldn’t help but want a kiss from Jack. He read my mind and moved in for my lips. Right at that moment, we heard Mr. H. say, “Make it fast, Mr. Cooper,” as he passed by. We moved slowly and rhythmically with the music. I couldn’t help but realize I felt very much like the real Cinderella. I was with the prince of the ball—the most desired of all. I noticed every girl in the room couldn’t help but steal a glance at Jack. He looked amazing in jeans and a t-shirt so a tuxedo was just icing on the cake.

But just like Cinderella, I felt the impending dread of midnight only my midnight was August. I wouldn’t return to being a girl who was treated poorly by a wicked stepmother, but I would return to being a girl who was still destined to leave Montana. I was destined to blaze a trail that led me on a path away from Blue River—away from Jack.
Life would have been so much easier if I was still the “snoberella” Aaron knew
.

We danced and danced until the time to crown the prom royalty had arrived. I didn’t need a dream to predict that Jack would be crowned prom king or that I wouldn’t be his queen, at least not here. I was in real-life though. My name was in the running but I suspected that was out of courtesy to Jack; very few people wanted us together. He was the hometown favorite and I was the girl who came in and stole him from everyone else. Sallie was named the prom queen and honestly, I thought that was awesome. I even voted for her.

Everything was perfect. It was so perfect that I knew it wasn’t the time to tell Jack that I had been accepted to the University of California, San Diego.

24. Pomp and Circumstance

When I woke up on June 4 it felt like a dream, but this was no dream. This was reality—today was graduation day. My senior year in high school had finally come to an end. To my surprise, it wasn’t filled with joy and excitement that my time in Blue River had also come to an end. I rolled onto my side and saw three pictures of Jack on my night stand and it all made sense. It was going to be extremely difficult to leave him behind—unbearable really.

He handled the news of my acceptance to UCSD better than I thought he would, but I suspected he’d been preparing for me to make that announcement. I had hinted over the last several weeks that he should consider college. I managed to “conveniently” be online looking at the UCSD’s website when he came to see me one night. He took a brief look, but only at my program of study. When I handed the keyboard over to him, he quickly typed in University of Montana then Montana State University. I rolled my eyes and gave up. He suggested we simply deal with the cards we’d been dealt.

Jack’s only immediate plan was to work for his dad and a few other people in the community, one of which was hot new girl Brooke’s father. I prayed she was leaving for college, too. The idea of her watching Jack work like I had last summer was thoroughly nauseating.

Speaking of nauseating, poor Claire wasn’t experiencing the traditional three months of morning sickness—so far she’d had five months of morning sickness. I truly hoped she would feel good enough to make it through tonight’s graduation ceremony and the after party Jack’s parents were hosting at The Beach.

I spent the entire day busying myself with little tasks just trying to quell my excitement about the party. I also needed to avoid my mom as she was still pouting about The Beach party. She wanted me to come right home for a small family gathering. I reminded her over and over they were all invited to the Cooper’s party. I was disappointed because I thought we were building a new relationship, but true to Maggie Davis form, she wanted to be the martyr. If my mom couldn’t have her way, then she’d make sure everyone knew she was upset. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes when she announced her refusal to attend the party.

It seemed surreal when I was finally standing in the hallway of Blue River High School with my fellow classmates. It was a domino effect as we checked each other’s tassel. Mrs. Thomas had been put in charge of lining up the class in alphabetical order. She was freaking out that no one was standing where they were assigned. We all assured her we would find our proper place when the time came. Mrs. Thomas announced it was time to start the ceremony and we all hopped into line. Complete relief washed over her face.

The only bad part of the day was that the name Dalley came before Davis and I wouldn’t be standing with Jack as we walked in to Sir Edward Elgar’s March No. 1, Pomp and Circumstance—the traditional graduation song. To my relief, at the last minute my clever Jack grabbed Lisa Dalley’s arm and said, “You don’t mind if we switch, right? Great. You’re awesome.” He wasn’t really waiting for her response as he gently guided her backwards then pulled me forward.

As I took my place by his side, he grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. My heart fluttered. This would probably be the only aisle I got to walk down with Jack. Graduation day had just become an even greater moment for me. I couldn’t help but smile and neither could he. We were both lost in thought, gazing into each other’s eyes when the guy behind us nudged us forward.

“Hey, lover boy, get movin’,” nudged Shane. His new aisle mate, Lisa, giggled.

We walked slowly into the gymnasium occasionally waving at family and friends and just as we had practiced two days earlier, we took our seats. We sat through Jill and Eric’s boring Valedictorian and Salutatorian speeches, listened to a musical number, listened to Principal H speak and by the time we got to another musical number, I realized that small schools were funny. If I were graduating from my former high school, they would have to get right to the delivery of diplomas or we would have been there all night. With only one hundred students in the BRHS senior class, they needed to fill the time. I quietly chuckled to myself.

As I listened to the last musical number, I peered over at Claire. Her hands were resting on her pregnant belly. Her face didn’t reflect the same joy of everyone else’s. I suspected it was her impending motherhood. As everyone around her was thinking about their jobs or choice of college, she sat wondering how she would afford diapers. She worried about how she would pay her rent, and when she glanced over at me and offered a weak smile, I knew she wondered if she’d ever fall in love like I had with Jack. She had been telling me that dating would be really hard because she would always question who she should or should not allow into Samantha’s life.

We all sat a little taller when Principal H rose to hand out diplomas. One by one we crossed the stage, took our diplomas, shook hands, shifted our tassels from one side to the other, stood for the moms and dads who insisted on pictures, then returned to our seats. When Charles Zemeckis returned to his seat and Principal H presented us as the graduating class of Blue River High School, we all tossed our caps in the air. Through some miracle, Jack and I caught each other’s caps and we chose to keep them. Despite the audience of probably several hundred people, Jack gave me a quick kiss.

We exited to a song that the class president had chosen, formed another line, shook hands, gave hugs, took more pictures then ran to our cars. Excitement hung in the air at the anticipation of The Beach party. As Jack dropped me at my house, I told him to give me an hour. I flew up the stairs and quickly changed into casual clothes. When I came back down my parents stood waiting at the base of the stairs. They also looked like they were heading somewhere, as food and blankets were on the floor by the door.

“So…what’s up?” I asked curiously.

Dad was beaming. “We’re going to The Beach.”

My head snapped back in surprise as my eyes darted back and forth between Dad’s face and Mom’s face. Mom’s expression looked as though she’d lost a bet and was reluctantly paying up.

“Well, that’s awesome! I’m glad you changed your mind.” I hugged them both. Mom’s posture softened a little from our embrace.

“Okay…Okay…but let’s open presents first,” insisted Mom. She called out to Aaron, who arrived holding a package of his own.

We ventured into the living room where my gifts awaited my arrival. I started with my mom’s package. Although I had an iPod, she decided I would need an upgrade. My dad’s gift was a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a very small, delicate tiara encrusted with many white diamonds. Aaron’s gift was a box with a note inside it that read, “Sorry, Sis, your gift isn’t ready yet.”

“Nice one, Aaron.” I punched him the arm.
 

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll get it when you leave for California,” he teasingly replied.

I gave him a suspicious look, “Is it a gag gift?”

“Guess you’ll see in August,” he was smirking with delight. It must be a gag gift.
What a twerp!

Jack arrived to take me to The Beach. He expressed how happy he was my entire family would be going. “My parents will be thrilled to have the company of some adults,” he told my parents.

The Beach was set up a little bit like last year’s summer blowout, minus the water activities—unless you counted Zeek’s spontaneous dip in the river, which sent him home for a change of clothes. He amused everyone and he knew it but everything he did was for Sallie’s attention.
Poor Zeek. Sallie doesn’t even notice.

By nightfall, a huge bonfire was raging. The crowd was beginning to thin out and anyone who remained sat poking sticks into the fire. Some people began to exchange post-graduation plans. Zeek and Sallie had chosen the same college in Montana, of course. Mac had chosen a university in Colorado. Mimi had chosen a beauty school in Middleburg. No one was surprised by my Southern California choice. Claire refused to come to the party. She claimed to feel nauseated and maybe that was true, but I wondered if she simply still felt uncomfortable with social settings. Hot Brooke was still deciding what she wanted to do, which made my heart sink. That meant she would be at her family’s farm
everyday
while Jack worked and she made sure I knew it. I was seething at the thought.

“Guess I’ll be seeing you a lot, Jack,” said Brooke as she patted his arm. She glanced in my direction to make sure I was watching.

“Uh, I…guess…so, Brooke,” Jack stammered. His eyes quickly darted to search my face for a reaction to not only Brooke’s comment, but her touch. I ground my teeth yet managed a weak smile, trying to look confident. Brooke began to discuss her family’s business. Jack was pretending to be interested. I was so uncomfortable that eventually, I chose to speak with my mom instead of listening to their conversation.

“Hey, Mom,” I cautiously approached her. She was holding a plastic cup of lemonade and facing the river. She seemed deep in thought.

Despite my caution, she jumped a little in surprise. She turned to face me, “Oh, hey, sweetie.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to spook you.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I was just…thinking…”

“About?”

“About…nothing really, it’s nothing.” She quickly changed the subject. “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah, I am. Are you?”

“I am. Thank you. Thanks for asking.”

“Awesome. That’s awesome.”

“Beautiful view isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

It all seemed so formal. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Mom, I…I…want to thank you for coming tonight.”

“Really? Well, thank you, Addy. Seriously, I appreciate you telling me and I must confess I’m a bit surprised.”

“Actually, I am, too.”

We both laughed.

I continued, “Mom, I…” I wasn’t sure what was coming over me. Maturity, maybe. Maybe I was caught in the moment but I said, “I love you.”

My words shocked us both. It felt like two full minutes before either of us spoke. We simply stood looking at each other until she finally replied, “I love you, too, Addy. I’m very proud of you.” Her eyes began to glisten with tears.

So did mine.

“Mom, I know I haven’t been easy. I know that. But I’m learning. I’m growing. I guess I just needed you to know that.”

“I know. I do. I’ve been there myself...believe me. I’ve been there.”

I had never thought of that. I had never given any consideration to the fact that she had once been a young woman of eighteen, struggling to find herself and her way—struggling to make choices that would shape her future. I suddenly began to wonder if she’d ever loved anyone other than my dad.

“Mom…”

“Yes?”

“I think you should know that a lot of my changes have to do with Jack.”

Mom didn’t speak in fact, her lips pursed tight and she merely nodded her head, acknowledging my statement while disliking its truth.

I then delivered another truth that would crush her world.

“Mom, I love Jack.”

She turned to face me. Her eyes opened a little wider but otherwise, she wore a stone-cold expression, giving very little away.

“Mom, did you hear me?”

I knew she heard me. She was—in her words, “receiving and processing the information and pondering her next words.” That was mom—the smart, clever, and ever-contemplating psychologist.

She finally spoke, “Addy, I hear you. I do. And I recognize and appreciate that you may believe you love Jack. But you are young, very young. I’m certain on some level you feel love for Jack, but it isn’t true, real, mature love. I would simply like to encourage you to continue in the direction of success and keep your mind open to the possibility that your feelings may change while you’re away at college.”

“My feelings won’t change, Mom. I will always love Jack and I know I can have both love and success.”