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Poppy whisked me over to a table that had a mouthwatering spread: fried calamari, mozzarella sticks, toast rounds smeared with pesto, bruschetta, bowls of olives and blocks of cheese. We plated up a sampling and headed to where Bastian and Caden were chatting with their boss and his wife. Sophia appeared a short time later, moving in that endlessly exuberant way of hers, to pull me over to Shawn and Tyler who were in the midst of a debate on what was better, Coke or Pepsi. Ms. Whitney and I discussed my apprenticeship just before Mr. Wright found me for a dance.
Toward the end of the evening my uncle arrived with both Deena and Carol, and as soon as the girls saw me, they ran over.
“We miss you,” Carol said as she hugged me hard. We spent a half an hour chatting before Poppy came over to offer them cake. I watched them go as my uncle stepped in front of me. Sadness lurked just behind his eyes.
“Be safe, Lark, but have a good time.”
“I will.”I hesitated a moment, because I didn't want to bring up the subject of my aunt. Yet it didn't feel right to ignore it completely. “How are you doing?”
“I'll be fine.”
I hugged him. “I'm sorry about Aunt Kim.”
He held me close, “I'm sorry for her too.”
Bastian came up to me later in the evening, while I chatted with Sophia and Tyler, and wrapped his arms around me. “Dance with me. Excuse us, guys.”
He swept me away to a clearing and pulled me into his arms. He held me close, but I wouldn't call what we were doing dancing, because it was so much better than dancing.
Bastian brushed his lips over mine. “Are you having fun?”
“I am. You knew, didn't you?”
“Of course.”Heteased. “Are you ready for Monday?”Heasked.
“I am, but only because you're coming with me.”
Sincerity drifted into his expression.“You couldn't keep me away.”
***
Bastian drove as I sat looking out the window thinking about the day after my going away party.
Mr. and Dr. Wright cornered me and handed me both a credit card and checkbook and insisted I use both as often as I needed. The roll of bills they slipped me had my eyes almost rolling into the back of my head. I was going to miss them, but they insisted I keep my room at their house “just in case.”
My farewell with Poppy and Sophia turned into a cry-fest, but I just had to remember I was going away for only a few months and not the rest of my life. Besides, they’dbe off to their own colleges soon enough.
I turned my head to see Bastian looking thoughtful and reached over to touch his thigh. “Are you okay?”
He glanced over at me.“Yeah. I was just thinking that in a few weeks, I'm going to miss you like hell.”
“Me too, but there is email, texting and Skype if we can't bear not seeing each other.”
“ThankChrist.”
“Did you hear about Poppy and Caden?” I asked.
“Yeah, he told me the other day. I don't know…I can see them together.”
“Me too.”
His glanced over at me. “But?”
“Well, if it doesn't work out with them, I think we need to consider Caden when we work out our plans for the fall. I don't want him to be alone and considering he thinks of us as his family, I don't want to leave him behind.”
He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips so he could kiss my palm. Unconsciously, I curled my hand around the kiss he planted there and when he saw this, he grinned.
“I remember when you curled your hand into my kiss that first night after Damian's party. Seeing you do that, knowing you were holding my kiss there, sent me flying high that night.”
