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“Thanks.” It struck me as something my mother would say, and I liked it. Maybe our attraction was mutual, after all. “My big news is I’m going back to school, so I’ll be a hero with a college degree.”
“For real?” Maya cocked her head, pleased.
“For real. They’ll transfer my credits, so I only have two more classes.” I’d paid my tuition with proceeds from the sale of the Maserati, proof that my values had gone down the tubes.
“You must be excited.”
“I am. I already have my pencil case and Lisa Frank notebook.”
Maya laughed. “I had one of those!”
“Of course you did. You’re a cool girl.”
“Oh really?”
“The coolest.”Are we vibing or what?
“So what’s up with your cat? Why doesn’t she like you?”
“She thinks she’s out of my league, but I’m pretty sure I could make her happy and I’m crazy about her eyes.”
Maya burst into laughter. “Oh, I got you!”
“Do you?” Then I went for it. “I mean, can I get a second chance? How about I take you and S’mores to lunch for her birthday?”
Maya smiled slyly. “Well, youarea hero now…”
“Totally.”
“Okay.” Maya chuckled, turning away. “But first let’s get your cat a toy.”
S’mores trotted after her.
And so didI.
Epilogue
It was a cool and beautiful night, and a string of twinkly white lights festooned the deck, swaying in the breeze off the water. I was standing outside with Maya, and we were making out like teenagers. The party was inside, and the air was filled with the smooth-sailing sounds of my father’s Yacht Rock playlist.
We were at my parents’ new house in Point Pleasant Beach, a charming three-bedroom. It wasn’t the big McMansion they used to have, but they moved here to be near Connor, having retired after the firm closed. They’d been humbled by what they’d gone through and it had changed their lives. They put their love and time where it belonged, with each other and the family.
John was still in prison, and Nancy had gone back to work, so all four grandparents took turns babysitting Connor, the sun in our family solar system. I still brought him Matchbox cars because he hadn’t outgrown them. Okay,Ihadn’t outgrown them.
Maya smiled, gorgeous in a black dress. “Are you going to wear that all night?”
I looked handsome as hell in my mortarboard and gown. “Of course. It’s my graduation party.”
“Right, but it’s not a costume party.”
“So? I’m wearing it to bed later. Get ready for college-educated sex.”
Maya burst into laughter. “You’re silly, Thomas.”
“I love that you call me that. It’s like you’re reading my diploma.” I readjusted my mortarboard. “I think I need another bobby pin.”
“That’s not sexy.”
“Just wait until later.” I leaned over and kissed her. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Maya touched my cheek.
I breathed in, feeling a happiness I’d never known. Maya was a woman who wouldn’t settle for less than the best in me, and I was a better man these days, for the both of us. We’d moved in together, and Mango loved her, S’mores, and me, in that order. I’d stayed sober and would start at Temple Law after a summer job at a West Chester law firm. Gabby was at Community Legal Services in Philly, working full-time in the public interest. She still represented the Holmesburg plaintiffs, and the lawsuit was making its way through the courts. None of the other defendants had settled, which broke her heart, and mine.
I put an arm around Maya, and we looked up at a beautifully starry sky, a sight that money couldn’t buy or reserve for the rich. I thought that justice should be the same way, free and available to everyone. I knew it was far from that yet, but I prayed that it would be, someday. Hell, I’d gone from ex-con to soon-to-be-lawyer, so yes, I believed in the impossible.
I just had to have faith, and work for justice.
I couldn’t wait to start.
