“I miss you, too, even sprayed cologne all over your pillowcase.”
He chuckled. “That’s cute. How was wedding dress shopping? I saw your ‘found it’ post on UCChat.”
I explained how fabulous my dress looked, plus all the ways Chloe and Sage got on my last nerves.
“AJ showed me a picture of their house in Jersey, mentioned they’re not getting married until December.” He yawned, resting his head atop a fluffy pillow. “And how their baby is due in October.”
“Right.” I sighed. “Two weeks before our wedding. And just our luck, she’ll go into labor the day before, leaving us without a best man or a maid of honor.”
“Won’t matter because nothing could ruin our wedding. I’d marry you even if it was just the two of us, if you’d let me. But I know you’ve had your heart set on a big wedding on your birthday and you deserve to always have what you want.”
God, he was perfectly, perfect.
“Hurry up and get back home to me so I can sit on your handsome face,” I insisted.
“Yep, catching the 6 a.m. flight, so I should be home tomorrow a little after noon. You better be waiting for me, naked in bed.” He blew me a kiss. “Love you forever, baby.”
“Forever and ever.”
34
June fourteenth.
A day I’d been striving for since I walked onto UCLA’s campus four years before.
Graduation.
One of life’s greatest achievements, not only for me as the student, but for my parents, too.
As soon as my eyes sprang open that morning, excitement came over my skin in waves.
“You did it, Macy Cake.” Mom’s face glowed with pride. “All these years of studying, working toward your degree and, look at you,” she said, eyes gleaming as she rubbed my shoulders, “graduating with honors.”
Dad pulled us into a Sinclair-family group hug, my heart dancing. Truth is, that public display of affection used to embarrass me when I was too young to know better. “Congrats, sweetheart. You’ve made your old folks proud.”
I found my seat in a row where Sage, Chloe, AJ, and Lucas were seated, the five of us with bittersweet feelings about our last day together on campus.
“We did it, guys,” Chloe yelped. “Once we walk across that stage, we’ll have no choice but to put our adult underpants on and suck the shit out of life.”
“I’m proud of us all,” Sage declared, chin up. “Beyond happy we’ve stuck it out, endured four years of this shit without saying ‘fuck it’ like I wanted to do at least eighty-seven thousand times.”
Relief gripped my chest, grateful it all was nearing an end; like Sage, I too had moments when I wanted to throw in the towel and hide in the bushes.
AJ and Lucas were busy chatting about football stuff, graduation to them now seemingly an insignificant stepping pebble to our pretty significant stepping stone toward our careers—although ever since Sage had realized she was pregnant, she stopped showing any interest in chasing her career dreams.
Maybe that’s what I needed—a baby to quell my off-and-on itch to chase my career aspirations.
Three days after,Lucas and I prepared for our official move to New York.
We alternated between spending a day with my parents, then his, where emotional farewells were equally high.
“I’ve always known you were meant for him,” Lucas’s mom said, handing me a glass of iced tea.
His dad chimed in. “Yep. When he kicked that clown at your birthday party, I imagined an older Lucas and Macy walking down the aisle.”
All of us took part in a lengthy laugh at the memory, Lucas’s face a bright cherry red.
We sat around the pool, enjoying the sun, antipasto salad, and cake decorated with New York Jets colors and the number seven, Lucas’s jersey number.
