“Thanks, LeeLee.”
“There’s something else.” She sits in the desk chair. “Your mother never saw you as a burden. Not once. She was so happy to get pregnant with you. I remember. She’s just trying to find her place in this world as an adult and not just your mother. It’s hard. I know it was for me when she left.”
I nod. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“Go get dressed. We have an appointment at ten.” She hugs me once more and heads out the door, giving me time to get ready alone.
I change quickly and when I get to the lobby I see my mother talking to the man behind the reception desk. “Yes, ma’am, the visitors' center is about a mile away. There’s free parking.”
“Thank you,” she says, giving him a smile.
“Visitors' center?” I ask as she walks up. Her hand is full of brochures.
“Well,” she says, brushing her hair over her shoulder, “I decided that if you’re seriously considering Stanford, we may as well take a tour while we’re here. Check out that School of Social Work.”
I blink and look at LeeLee. She nods in encouragement.
“You want to go on a tour?”
“Yes, and Berkeley, too. Since Jake has two more days of training, we’ll head there tomorrow.”
A tiny part of me wants to flare up at my mother already shifting into control like this—making appointments—getting into my business, but then I think of the boys and what they’d give for an adult to take an interest in their lives, to help them through this major decision.
“I think that sounds really great, thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, Starlee.” She makes a move toward me and I open my arms, embracing her tightly. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
“No,” I say. “I’m sorry for not being open with you about it all from the start. I think we both need to figure out how to handle life differently now that we’re both adults.”
Her eyes shine but it’s not with the flare of anger from the night before. With something different—pride, maybe? Whatever it is I’ll take it, because the decisions ahead are huge and I have no idea which one to make.
I’m thankful to have my mother and grandmother by my side to make it easier.
Spring rolls into the Sierras, gently bringing sun and melting snow. Fields brim with wildflowers and with graduation approaching, time seems to be slipping away fast. With most major decisions behind us, the Wayward Sons and I throw ourselves into the final weeks of school with gusto. Prom, final grades, graduation, parties, and of course, the wedding.
Things have been so good between the four of us since spring break. It’s like a balance fell into place. This applies to me and my mother too, who seems to realize I really am going away this fall. I really am an adult.
Charlie survived the recruitment process for the eSports program at Berkeley and it includes a nice scholarship, which has allowed him to back off pursuing so many contests. The weirdest decision is that the twins won’t live together—each opting to live in a dorm with students from their own majors; art and computer science. It’ll be the first time they’ve been separated in any way, but they seem happy about it. The Evans boys may need a little room to grow up.
Training camp went well for Jake and he solidified his spot on the team for the fall. He goes back in early July. I can’t even think about it. Not for a second.
And Dexter? He’s the rock. The foundation. I think he learned this from his sister. He’s turned into a ridiculous grouch, spending hours perfecting the dessert menu. He decided not to just make a cake but mini-pies in my grandmother’s three favorite flavors. Basically, he’s completely out of control and loving every minute of it.
Mom and LeeLee represented the five of us at graduation, bringing along Tom and Katie. Although there’s the notable but unspoken absence of four sets of parents that didn’t make it for one reason or the other, Sierra actually attends the ceremony. She doesn’t stay long, just to give each boy a hug and to share a moment with her brother. Baby steps. That’s all anyone wants.
Hearing my name called out by the principal is a surreal moment. Walking across that stage was something I never planned to experience. At best, I thought I’d get a certificate in the mail, but I’m here, living my best life, shaking his hand and holding up my diploma as four boys whooped it up in the audience, whistling and shouting my name. Pride is an understatement. Not for graduating—but for accomplishing something so much more important. Independence. Friendship. Love. Things I never expected to happen from that little house in North Carolina.
Claire’s parents threw a graduation party that lasted all night, but our duties called bright and early the next morning. The lodge. The coffee shop and the wedding.
Oh god, the wedding.
It may not be the event of the century, but it is the biggest one Lee Vines has seen in decades, and I’m not sure
any of us are prepared for it.
“Has anyone seen the box of electrical cords?” Charlie asks, running around the lawn.
“I think it got put back in the storage building,” George says, voice muffled. He’s under the platform that he and Jake built for the bride and groom to stand on for the ceremony.