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“How about this, Nales? When I finish my master’s program, we can travel anywhere you want to go. And, here’s the kicker, wherever you guys are, I’ll pay for your tickets,” I stated.
Her eyes lit up, “That will be so cool!! Sedona, you don’t have to pay for our tickets. We’ll let our rich friend pay for it!”
‘Rich friend’ meant Tanya. Nalee and I teased her about it. We were the only ones who could. Tanya’s family owned a chain of supermarkets in the West Coast. She was actually the reason why we, college students, were living in a posh, 3-bedroom, 2 ½ bathroom apartment near CSUF. It took a month’s worth of groveling and trying to convince Tanya to have Nalee and I pay for at least a third of the rent. Tanya was really hesitant but she finally caved in when we told her that we’d rather live in a smelly, coed apartment than live with her for free.
I laughed at Nalee’s suggestion, “Sounds like a plan!”
Her phone went off, “Excuse me, Sedona, I have to take this call. See you later.” Before she stepped out of my room, she pointed to a picture of Kieran and me hugging each other at a swimming competition. Nalee put her thumbs up and winked. She liked to rib me about Kieran’s ‘hotness’.
Sure, Kieran was a 6’2, blonde, brown-eyed, ‘hunk’ of a man, as he often called himself. He has been in my life since I was 9 years old. Our friendship has evolved through time. He would always be my best friend. No more, no less. And it was the same for him. Whenever they could, Nalee and Tanya teased me that best friends turned out to be best boyfriends. Maybe for other people. There was none of that ‘more than friends’ spark between Kieran and me.
With no one to talk to, I worked on my draft for my thesis,‘Biochemical reactions during hypoxic events’, for over an hour. It wasn’t due until graduation; it was a continual work in progress.
My brain was going into overload thinking about the theorems that I was going to utilize. I needed a break. Dad’s image came into mind.
I dialed Dad. He was in Spain at this time. As a travel photographer, he was out of the country almost half of the year. It was 1:00 AM, Madrid time. My dad did not sleep until 4-5 AM so he would answer.
His phone rang twice before he picked up, “Hey sweetie.”
“Hi dad,” I smiled. My dad’s voice always brought me comfort.
“How’s everything?” he asked, in a sleepy voice.
“Dad, were you sleeping? I’m sorry -” I rushed; I thought he would be awake at this time.
He mumbled, “No, it’s ok. I must have fallen asleep. I had a busy day today.”
“I miss you, dad.” My voice broke. I haven’t seen him for over five months. We talked almost every weekend, but I missed spending time with him. In person.
“Oh sweetie, I miss you too,” his normally cheerful voice sounded exhausted.
We talked about my finals, school, and friends. When he finally asked about his ‘son’, Kieran, I tattled on Kieran’s arrogance. I described how his son was puffed-out and had such a big head because he had just won (as usual) in the qualifying swim meets. My dad’s laughter broke the line. It gave him immeasurable relief and comfort that Kieran and I attended the same university. Initially, he was not keen to the idea of me going off to college at 17. The one thing that convinced him was that Kieran, who was 19 at that time, would be there to watch over me.
My dad described his travels in Spain. He was currently assigned to capture nature, wildfire, and landscape imagery in Madrid for a magazine. Next week, he was going to Barcelona for another assignment. He never thought of his travels as ‘assignments’. He often joked that he couldn’t believe people paid him money to do the things he loved the most – travel and photography.
He and my mom actually met when he was on assignment to take pictures of the beautiful parks and wildlife in Arizona. My mom was there for the Astrophysics and Cosmology conference. They met at a hotel lobby and he often told me, “The first time I saw her, I just knew she was the one for me.” A month after they met, they were married. Nine months later, they had me. When my mom first laid eyes on me, she said that my cheeks were so red. They reminded her of the reddish hues of the canyons in Sedona, Arizona. Hence, my name, Sedona.
My dad’s voice rang through my ears, “What do you want for your graduation?”
“Nothing dad,” I honestly said. I felt that I had everything.
“Really sweetie? You’re graduating Summa Cum Laude in Nursing, Minor in Chemistry, a consistent President’s Honor awardee, loyal tutor to the masses. Oh did I fail to mention, you’re my most, cherished daughter? Come on, you can ask me for anything you want and as your proud dad, I will do my best to make your wish come true.”
I sighed softly, “Dad, I have everything. I have you, Kieran, Tanya, and Nalee. I can’t ask for anything more.”
His voice was happy and sad at the same time, “Your mom would be very proud of you. You not only have her beauty, you also possess her wonderful sense of self and goodness. I love you, sweetie.”
“Love you too, dad.”
We talked for almost an hour and a half. Thank God for free video and voice calls over the internet. After hanging up with my dad, I continued working on my thesis draft.
At 6:30 PM, I was all set to go for our Ladies’ Night Out. Tanya had heard of this new upscale bar, that had opened a week ago, from one of her sorority sisters and we were checking it out tonight to mark the end of Junior Year and start of Senior Year.
I thought my black, skinny leggings; under my purple tunic dress was a good casual look. However, I cringed when Tanya’s eyes landed on me. She ordered me to take the leggings off and keep the dress on. With my 5’7” frame, the size 4 tunic dress looked like a mini skirt. Tanya said it highlighted my body and the purple tunic dress made my eyes look more dramatic. She also told me to dab on lip gloss on my full lips to complete the ‘sexy’ look. I kept to myself because our reservations were at 7:15 and if I kept objecting, we would all be late. I had never been late at anything.
Chapter Two
“In a moment of weakness, take a deep breath, pull yourself together, and rise up.”
