I understand why Dad is so overprotective; I truly get it. It’s because I’m all he has left in this world. Rumors spread after my mother’s death that it was foul play, but there was no way to prove it. She passed when I was almost two years old from a heart condition. It’s taboo to discuss her, so we don’t. Dad has never remarried, saying he didn’t have a desire to and that I’m all he’ll ever need. Ever since I could remember, he’s called me his princess. He made it my nickname, going so far as to embarrass me in front of my friends by only calling me by the endearment. When I was younger, I used to believe he didn’t even know my real name, but of course, after finding myself in trouble, I discovered he was aware my name is Julianna Oakley.
Dad changed at some point along the way, though, and I believe he changed for the worse. We used to be very close, especially after my mother passed away. It was around the time I turned nine when I found he was becoming more and more distant. A couple of years later, I found myself miles away in a boarding school. I lived at a private Massachusetts boarding school from the seventh grade on. He enrolled me in some of the finest, most-elite schools the country had to offer.
Once I got over the initial shock of living so far away from home, it really wasn’t all that bad. I made a boatload of friends, and to avoid getting homesick, I kept myself busy with so many extracurricular activities it would make your head spin. I ventured from karate and self-defense lessons to donating my time to community service programs and hosting food drives.
Mindlessly, I find my left thumb has slipped under my first two fingers, playing with my engagement ring. I rub the band back and forth with the pad of my thumb as I begin reflecting back on Adam’s proposal—he proposed to me on Valentine’s Day—and I smile. He’s such a romantic.
When we first met, he was a sophomore at Harvard, just as I was wrapping up my senior year in high school. He was teaching a soccer camp I was enrolled in for the summer, and we bonded immediately. When our eyes locked for the first time, he seemed to speak to my soul; it was as if it could’ve been love at first sight.
The demands Harvard placed upon him were insane. We barely got to see each other during his college years. We’ve known each other for a little over three years now, but it has really been over the last one where our relationship has had the time to grow into something stronger. Ever since he graduated Harvard with a degree in architecture, he’s had much more time on his hands and the ability to pour his time and attentions into our relationship.
I was elated when he was able to secure a job in Boston with an architectural firm. It didn’t take him long to get that job, either; they hired him within a few weeks of graduation. With him living in Boston, it was only a short jaunt from my college to his door. If I wasn’t too bogged down with my own studies during the school year, I was usually able to see him almost every weekend.
I still have to be the one to visit him, however, since the college I attend is an all-girls school. I could’ve chosen to go to other, more-elite universities, but I didn’t really care so much about the name of the school as I did with needing to be closer to Adam in miles.
Next spring, I will be graduating from Wellesley College obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts. I’ve always loved everything to do with music and art. Seems I can’t even breathe if I don’t have music, a paintbrush, or a book at my fingertips.
I feel the turbulent jolt of the airplane as it dips from an air pocket, and I automatically find myself looking out the window. I let out a long, heartfelt sigh as I take in the view. Looking down from above the clouds, my problems seem so small compared to the world’s. I love flying, just so I’m reminded of how insignificantly small I am in the scheme of things.
My thoughts veer back to Adam again. I’m so glad he’s able to get almost two weeks off work to spend time with me in Atlanta. I’m really looking forward to having him there, especially for my birthday extravaganza. It’s going to be a blast. Since the eighties rock-and-roll era is my all-time favorite, my father booked a local band who will be playing songs by glam-metal bands for all of us.