Not until we’d asked Lynn what the birth certificate said.
Which wasn’t going to fucking cut it. I couldn’t call this sweet little baby Rachel, so after a little contemplation, we decided to go by her middle name: Sonja.
We called her Sunny.
Katy, in her epic momness, had given me the down and dirty on how to take care of a baby.
And now Derek and I were co-parenting at his house.
It looked like a baby factory had puked all over his living room.
When I’d suggested taking it all to my place, he’d given me a level look, told me I was moving in with him, and that was that.
So, in a span of a week, I’d gone to prom, been shot, acquired the custody of my two-month-old baby sister, and was now graduating.
I patted the sleeping baby’s back and walked with my head held high across the length of the football field to the front of the rows of chairs.
I’d found out last night that I made Valedictorian.
By two-tenths of a point.
The one that I beat out? Rachel’s ex-boyfriend.
He was pretty cool about it, though.
“Wow,” he said as I took my seat next to him. “You brought a baby. To graduation.”
I snorted and moved Sunny until she was laying more comfortably in my arms.
“Derek was supposed to watch her,” I said. “But he had a SWAT call right when I was leaving.”
“Hmm,” he said. “That just seems perfect, eh?”
I laughed softly just as the principal started the ceremony.
“Did you write your speech?”
I looked over at my new friend and smiled. “No. I’m just going to wing it.”
***
Derek
I practically ran into the stadium with nearly all of the SWAT team on my heels.
I wasn’t sure why they were following me, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Avery needed all the support that she could get.
I arrived just in time to see her walking up to the podium, Sunny in her arms.
She smiled at everyone, grinning wide.
Her eyes swept over the area, her eyes focusing on the auditorium that was behind us, where just a few short years ago, not only her mother’s funeral took place but her father’s as well.
Her eyes focused back on the students that were in front of her on the football field.
The place where she would graduate.
Something I’d clearly almost missed.
“Hello,” she said, smiling to everyone. “I want to thank you for this honor.”
Everybody clapped.
Once it died down, Avery began talking again.
“I know that some of you know,” the baby gurgled, causing everyone to laugh. “Okay, we’ll start here first, since Sunny wants to make herself known. Sunny is my baby sister. Sunny’s mother died a few days ago, and now I’m her sole guardian.”
There were soft murmurs. “And my boyfriend, who was supposed to watch her, had to run a SWAT call, so here I am, bringing a baby to graduation.”
There were small chuckles, none of them coming from her classmates.
“Anyway, back to my speech.” She smiled. “I’m sure most of y’all know my story. My mother died when I was sixteen. Two years later, my father died,” she said softly. “Which explains why I’m graduating a year later than I originally intended.”
She swept her eyes through the students, smiling at a few, waving at others.
“I wouldn’t say that this has been easy,” she said. “Not even for y’all who didn’t have to overcome what I have.” She looked down at Sunny, who gurgled and called out a hello. “Five years ago for me, four for y’all, we entered this crazy life that we call high school. And though it hasn’t been easy, I’ll remember them for the rest of my life.” She looked out at the crowd. “I’ll remember the day that Annaliese got asked to the prom by Shawn. I’ll remember the day that Trevor’s father returned home from Afghanistan and surprised him in the middle of his senior pep rally. I’ll remember the time that the senior prank had the entire high school eating lunch outside due to the smell of the stink bomb that was set off in the cafeteria.” She paused. “But most of all, I’ll remember this day. The day that I officially became an adult. The day that I said goodbye to high school, and hello to real life.”
There was a short amount of applause, then Avery smiled.
“I can’t wait to see y’all on the other side,” she said.
Then just like that, she was walking away from the podium, collecting her diploma from the principal, and moving down the stairs.
We all yelled.
Every last student turned around to see who was causing that much noise.
I ignored them all, though, keeping my eyes on the beautiful woman now looking solely at me.
She didn’t go back to her seat. Instead, she walked directly toward me.
“Hey,” she said, smiling.
“Did it absolutely kill you to say nice stuff?” I teased.