Chapter 19

Jim laughed again and gave a much less than sincere apology, but it was clear that he was pleased with himself. What was funny was I couldn’t even be mad. I’d have done the same thing in his shoes and I knew it.

By the end of that first week back at work, I was already back into the swing of things around the station house. We went out on calls regularly and I had no problems keeping my head in the game.

In fact, life in all aspects seemed to settle back into a normal routine. I would work my shifts as per usual and when I was off, I’d find a way to be with Cherry—which meant we were doing a lot of sneaking around. It didn’t always include making love or having sex; sometimes we were just hanging out (but usually that was due to Cherry being fertile at that time).

Olivia was talking about going away to college and, since we wouldn’t be able to use her as a ‘cover story’, it became clear that Cherry was going to have to start driving to make getting together more feasible. So, I started teaching her to drive.

Once she had her license, it became easy for us to spend time together. But since she was still in school, she was still hiding the truth from her Mom. That all came to a head when Cherry was about three months away from graduating. She was tired of being denied to date and ended up in a heated discussion with her Mom because of it.

Cherry asked her mom, “Why can’t I date just because I’m in school?”

Her mom gave the same answer as always, “Because, your grades would start to suffer for it and I’m not going to let you do that to yourself.”

Cherry said, “So, you’re saying you want my grades to stay like they are now? That’s why I can’t date?”

She replied, “Yes; exactly. You’ve been getting almost all A’s throughout high school and you are in the top ten percent of your class! You want to mess that up now because of a boy?”

Cherry said (with no small amount of sass), “Breaking news, Mom: I’ve been dating someone for a while now! And guess what! My grades didn’t change!”

That line nearly sent her Mom into a verbal frenzy, the bottom line being it was her house and, therefore, her rules. If she didn’t like it, she could get out.

Cherry calmed her voice and said with an even tone, “I understand it is your house. It is not my intention to disrespect that. However, you need to understand that I’m an adult now. I would prefer to stay here at least until I graduate from school. But if you are going to give me an ultimatum, don’t do so under the assumption that I have nowhere else to stay. I’m prepared to walk out that door; are YOU prepared for that?”

The tone of the conversation changed after that; evidence that Cherry’s Mom was indeed NOT prepared for her to move out. They discussed a new set of ‘rules’ that permitted dating—the caveat being if Cherry’s grades slipped she either stopped dating or she would have to move out. But that never became a problem.

When Cherry’s Mom got around to asking just who Cherry had been dating behind her back, she nearly had a stroke when Cherry told her it was me. But she managed to keep her cool and asked innocently, ‘Oh, is he still around?’

Life became much easier for Cherry and I after she admitted we were dating. We did our best to pacify her Mom by minding ‘suggested curfews’ and being honest (mostly) about what we were doing on our dates. It was a bit ironic that we were not as free to do what we wanted when we got together, but the trade-off was that we could get together more often. And that made it all worth it.

As more time went by, Cherry’s Mom became more accepting of me. I figured it was probably because she knew it was pointless to object. But one night they had me over for dinner and, after I left, She said to Cherry, “He really does love you; I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you.” When Cherry told me she said that, it took me by surprise—not because she could see it, but because she would openly admit it.

Cherry’s graduation was coming up in a few days and I already knew what I was getting her as a gift: I’d been saving up for it for a while! After withdrawing the savings from the special account, I went to pick up her engagement ring—I’d picked it out long before. I was surprised at how fast the money collected in the account, but not at all surprised at how quickly it could be spent! But it the end, it was more than worth it.

The day of Cherry’s graduation finally came and excitement filled the air; for her and me as well. The ceremony was held on the school’s football field which just seemed fitting somehow. There were about 400 students graduating that night; the guys wore red cap and gowns while the girls wore white.

Of course, each student’s name was called one at a time and they crossed the improvised stage to collect their diploma. After a dozen students had crossed, one could estimate how popular a graduate was by the level of cheers from the crowd. When it was Cherry’s turn, I was not surprised to see the gold tassel on her cap, indicating that she was in the top ten percent of her class.

Strangely, what took me by surprise was the crowd’s reaction as she crossed the stage to accept her diploma. I had intended to make sure she would hear me cheering for her, but as it turned out, my lone voice was no match for the enormous roar from the rest of the crowd. Sure: there were others getting loud ovations, too, but this was deafening!

After the last student received his diploma, the principle made a short speech before announcing the class as graduates before nearly 400 red and white caps filled the sky. I was as proud of her as I knew she must have felt at that moment.

While waiting for the crowd to start dissipating after the ceremony ended, Cherry’s Mom had a question for me.

She asked, “So, David—what are your intentions now with my daughter?” Almost relieved the question was ‘finally out there’, I said, “Well, Cherry has become the single most important person in my life. I don’t even remember what it was like before we met and I don’t want to, either.”

I was prepared to continue, but she cut me off, saying, “I thought you’d answer with something like that. You’re going to ask her to marry you. Aren’t you?”

I was surprised by her way of cutting to the point and accuracy in predicting my intentions—all I could muster was a stupefied, “Wha...?”

She scoffed and said, “Oh, please! I can see it all over your face. Hers, too. It’s so cute it’s disgusting. And I’d tell you two to wait; but you won’t. Just like I didn’t. But I guess that’s ok. Smart isn’t the same as wise and neither of those mean a damn thing when you throw love in the equation. And as much as I hate to admit it, you two have that. And as long as you do, you’ll be fine.”

I thought for a second and asked, “Are you saying you approve?”

She said, “No, that’s not what I’m saying; at least not about the timing. But I’m at least wise enough to know my objection to your timing won’t stop either of you. And if she is going to get engaged right out of school, I’d want it to be to someone that looks at her the way you do.”

I asked, “What do you mean?”

She said, “You adore her. I catch the glimpses; you don’t think I do, but I do. There is strong attraction there, but I’ve never seen lust in your eyes. And it’s the same story with her. I know love when I see it so, how could I disapprove of that? I just hope you know what you are getting into.”

I said, “I think I know. But if you have any advice...?”

She thought for a second and said, “All couples go through an adjustment period. It takes time to fully learn about and get used to the other. The ‘happy ever after’ is a fairy tale—that’s why you only see it in fairy tales! WHEN you have a disagreement about something, ask yourself if it is more important than her feelings. If the answer is ‘no’, let her have her way; if the answer is ‘yes’, you stick to your guns. Rarely will the answer be ‘yes’. And don’t worry: I’ll be giving her the same bit of advice.”

I asked, “But what happens if the answer is ‘yes’ for both of us?”

She answered simply, “Compromise,” before continuing by saying, “That is when you compromise. You both have to work towards a solution you can both agree to—neither of you can have it completely your way then. Otherwise, the one that didn’t get it his/her way can become resentful of the other and that is never good for the relationship.”

I said, “That’s really smart advice. Thank you.”

She said, “No, that is wisdom...”

It didn’t take me a second to figure out that was likely the major problem between her and Cherry’s father, but I (perhaps wisely) didn’t make mention of it. I thanked her again and we exchanged a friendly hug. It was at that moment that Cherry found us in the crowd.