Chapter 11: Graduation

-- Three Years Later --

Stacy awoke and rolled over to look at the clock. It was 7:30 AM. She rolled again onto her back and pulled a pillow over her head. She thought, thirty minutes, then I’ll get up. When she again woke and looked at the clock it read 8:55.

Stacy jumped out of bed, wide awake. She was almost an hour behind, though the schedule she planned for herself had a lot of built-in time for the unknown. She tossed her sleep shirt aside and pulled on a pair of shorts and a sports bra. She sat on the bed to put on her socks and tennis shoes.

She exited, made sure the front door was locked behind her, and then started on a route for a thirty minute run. It was much shorter than her usual run so she ran at a faster pace. It was late-May and the temperatures were perfect at this time of morning. In the direct sunlight it was warm but not yet too hot to run. She had always been an athlete but had not started running regularly until a year ago. It felt good to be alone with her thoughts. It was her therapy and over time it had really helped.

When she got home she ran to the garage door. She flipped open a pad on the right side and entered her PIN. The door slowly creaked open. As the door rose she saw the mountain of furniture and boxes that filled the garage. After Eric’s funeral, and the trial, she decided to sell their house and get something smaller. What she couldn’t part with now cluttered her one-car garage.

The house she bought was two doors away from her sister’s house. It was a small fourteen-hundred, two-bedroom, one-story that had upgraded appliances throughout the kitchen. The dining room and kitchen were one large space that flowed from one area to the other. In the corner of the living room was a large desk with two monitors, a printer, and docking station for a laptop. It was where she spent almost all her time when at home, reading, or doing homework, or writing summaries of cases, as assigned by her law school professors.

Overall, it was a small house but it worked perfectly for what Stacy needed.

She snaked her way through the boxes and furniture. The door from the garage into the house was unlocked. Stacy figured if anyone gained access to the garage they could close the garage door and take as long as needed to get into the house unseen, so why inconvenience herself with a locked door? Before entering the house, she pushed the button to close the garage door.

In the kitchen she started the coffee maker. Stacy crossed the open floor plan to her bedroom. She started the hot water in the shower, leaned against a door jamb to pull off her shoes and socks, then dropped her socks, bra, and panties into the hamper. In the shower she leaned into the water and felt the hot streams of water cascade down her back.

Today she graduated from law school. Her thoughts reflected on how much had changed in the past three years. At that time, she lived on the other side of town with her husband Eric. He had just turned thirty and she gave him grief over the potbelly he was starting to show. His response was to ask about an activity they could do together to stay in shape. She always came back to that conversation.

“You don’t like my love handles? Then what would you suggest we do?” Eric asked in earnest.

Stacy softly banged her head against the shower wall. What if she hadn’t suggested hiking? What if she had not asked her good friend and her friend’s husband to join them? What if, what if, what if. Her therapist warned her against dwelling on the “what ifs,” but when anniversaries or big days happen she seemed to think of Eric. Today he would be so proud to see her graduate. She knew this would never had happened if he were still alive.

Shaking her head vigorously to clear her thoughts, Stacy wet and washed her hair. No rinse and repeat for her. That was Marketing 101 to use twice the amount of product than was needed.

She dried herself, dressed, and applied a light touch of make-up. A final look in the mirror didn’t show anything amiss so she again exited the front door and walked to her sister’s house.

“Stacy, you look great. Ready for your big day?”

Before Stacy could enter Allison was at her mom’s side. “Aunt Stacy, esquire,” she said with a laugh.

“Somebody has learned their word-of-the-day, I see,” laughed Stacy.

“Come on in. We’ll be ready in a couple of minutes,” Sandy said.

Stacy entered and sat on the couch. Allison was already dressed and ready so she dropped onto the seat next to her aunt.

“What’s it like to be a lawyer?” she asked. “I can’t imagine getting through high school.”

Stacy tousled the girl’s hair. “What? You’re in the top-ten of your class, plus you play multiple sports, and are on the debate team. Get through high school? Please, you will easily be the family’s next lawyer or doctor.”

In a somber moment, Allison asked, “Do you really think so?”

“Of course. And you know what? If you ever doubt it, you better come talk to me. You are too gifted not to put your talents to good use.”

Allison smiled, “Thanks, Aunt Stacy.”

Stacy continued, “I’ll tell you a secret. You’re not the only girl in the family that needs the occasional pep talk.” She winked and smiled as Tommy came around the corner.

“What are you two talking about?” he asked.

“Girl stuff. You know periods and tampons,” Allison said.

Tommy blanched and stood there speechless. Stacy stifled a laugh.

“Come on and sit here,” said Stacy as she patted the couch on the other side of Allison. Tommy scampered over and sat.

“So how are you doing at school?” Stacy asked.

Tommy quickly forgot his unease and began a long discourse on his recent promotion in the band. He took second chair from Wendy Bond in the latest skill test.

“That means, I’ll be first chair next year after Doug graduates.”

“Assuming Wendy doesn’t retake the lead,” corrected Stacy. “You’ll need to practice and be sure you stay ahead of her if you want to have the lead chair.”

“Everybody ready?” asked Sandy as she entered. “Where’s dad?”

Sandy stepped back to the hallway and hollered, “Todd? You ready? Time to go.”

Before Sandy could get back to the living room Todd yelled back, “Yep, headed to the garage if you want to go out the front door. May be easier than getting into the car from the garage.”

Sandy led the group outside, then they piled into Todd’s SUV.

“As the honoree of the day, you get the front seat,” said Sandy as she pulled open the back door.

Todd dropped everyone off at the front door of the hall where graduation was being held. Stacy found her place in line while Sandy and the kids found seats on the first level. The ceremony was relatively short which was a blessing to everyone – students, faculty, and family and friends in attendance.

Outside, Stacy found Allison and Tommy waiting by the door. “Aunt Stacy,” they called.

She followed them to the road just as Todd and Stacy pulled up in the SUV. He pulled over out of the way of traffic and let everyone in, then they were headed home.

Stacy was quiet on the return trip. Sandy assumed she was thinking about Eric. She put her hand out and cupped her sister’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Stacy looked back and offered a rueful smile while wiping away a small tear.

At the house everyone trooped into the kitchen from the garage. When Stacy got into the kitchen a chorus of cheers rang out.