Maybe the speech would be recorded so I could let them hear it after. Or, I could record a bit on my phone.
I wouldn’t know the rules until tomorrow since the school hadn't revealed much besides that the man himself would be showing up.
“You should let him know about it, anyway,” Mom said. “He’s going to be so jealous of you! If only you could invite people in…”
I nodded along with Mom’s words, distracted by thoughts of what tomorrow would be like. My heart skipped a beat. Just listening to someone talk about their own success story might not amount to much, but I couldn’t help thinking tomorrow would bring many changes in my life.
Chapter Fifteen
Jake
Two days flew by quickly. I’d taken Dad’s advice to heart and gone around sightseeing my first two days in New York, but the talk day arrived quickly.
Dad wanted me to be with him when he went to the school. I found myself wondering if it was for moral support or something. I’d always stayed in Cali, or when I strayed, at least stuck close, even when it came to school. I didn’t see much reason in me showing up at the school when I wasn’t an alumnus, but maybe it was hard for him going there? Especially since we’d all been there for my brother’s graduation, and Dad even gave a speech on that day.
As far as I knew, it was the last time he’d been by.
I figured I’d feel out of place, but under the impression that it would help Dad bear it easier, I decided I wouldn’t fight him on this.
Ever since I lost my brother, I’d become more understanding toward my parents. Thinking of things from their point of view instead of staying a selfish brat that wouldn’t even listen to his parents’ words.
I got a text when I woke up to let me know he wanted to meet for breakfast in the hotel’s café downstairs before we left. I wondered if he’d time exactly when I woke up to send the message. He didn’t like to be kept waiting, so I hurried through my morning routine and dressed in one of my suits.
When I arrived downstairs, I found Dad already seated. We’d both opted for navy blue suits with light blue shirts and dark ties with slanting stripes. It was a total coincidence, and I thought I saw Dad’s mouth twitch, though he didn’t smile.
A waiter showed up to take our orders, then we waited.
“Do you know what you’re going to use for your speech?” I asked.
I hadn't seen Dad make any preparations, and I wasn’t sure if he’d done it while I was off having some fun. He seems taciturn and quiet around me, but when the situation called for it, Dad knew how to talk. I still mostly remembered the speech he’d made nearly a decade ago, but mostly because I wasn’t far from graduating high school myself, and I was almost tempted to follow behind his and my brother’s goals.
Well, I didn’t back then, but that had changed now.
If only he was here to see this, I thought, nostalgic.
“For talks like these,” Dad started explaining. “You don’t need to have a formal speech written. As long as I have an outline of what I want to say in my head, depending on the time limit, I don’t think I could lack things to say.”
I took his word for it. So far, besides a few times at the company, I hadn't talked to any big crowds like he had. The one thing I knew how to do was talk to people so it wasn’t like I would freeze up, but I still hoped I wouldn’t get to do anything besides sit in the sidelines today.
These were college kids and professors he would be talking to; I didn’t take my own time in college too seriously, I was fine as long as I didn’t get failing grades, and passing was a plus, but a rare one. I had no right to stand in front of those people and say anything to them.
Breakfast came, and we ate quickly before stepping outside to a waiting car.
There was some traffic on the way, so the trip to the college took a while. Dad didn’t look worried at all, though, so I didn’t think we were late. The car drove us right into the school, where a few people were waiting for us.
They all looked like important people with ties to the school, so while I was polite and shook hands and greeted them, I mostly hung back and let Dad do the talking. Mostly, I looked around.
While the school I attended in Cali wasn’t a bad one, its reputation wasn’t quite on par with NYU. I had been here once before, but only the one time during my brother’s graduation, and I didn’t get the time to explore then. I didn’t plan on going off alone, though.
After a long walk through campus, mostly because Dad and the group with him were walking slowly as they talked, we arrived at the venue for the speech. We stood at the front and to the side, currently out of sight, but I could hear the crowd. I peeked at the crowd and flattened my lips.
I knew exactly where we were. Nearly a decade ago, I’d sat in that crowd and watched both my brother and my dad walk onto the stage to applause from the crowd. I turned back to Dad with a grim expression.
“Are you okay, Dad?” I asked.
He stood, frozen, staring out at the platform. He didn’t show any reaction, but I didn’t miss how he jumped when someone patted his shoulder. His eyes blinked rapidly, growing red, and I sighed internally. Two years ago, I’d never seen that look on my dad’s face, he wasn’t the kind of man that got emotional easily, but in the past two years, I’d seen it enough times that I wasn’t even shocked anymore.
Maybe Mom was right, we both need to work through the depression instead of burying it, but is it ever that easy?