“What, you don’t think Miguel and Walrus are gonna become best buds? He might invite Walrus to join him for a round of golf.”
“Christ… can you imagine?” I laugh, the thought of my stepdad and Walrus playing golf together is too much.
“Come on, they’re calling us to our seats,” she says, linking arms with me as we make our way to find them, before giving me a kiss on the cheek when we separate to find our places.
I wait anxiously as the president of the university starts calling names, watching the other students file up and shake his hand. As we move through the alphabet, getting ever closer to G, I can’t believe this is happening. I’ve graduated; it’s time to figure out what I want to do…
“Donovan Gálvez.”
I step onto the stage, and I’m met with the loudest cheer so far. Looking out into the audience, my mom and Miguel are waving at me, as they stand alongside Diablo, Tank, Pretty Boy, and Slim, who are all stamping their feet and hollering.
“That’s our boy!” Tank yells.
“Go Donovan!” Pretty Boy shouts.
“Get it, little bro!” Diablo cheers.
I laugh as I collect my diploma and have my photo taken, the photo will probably look ridiculous, but I don’t even care, having them here to support me means more than any stupid graduation photo.
I arrive at the clubhouse with my mom and Miguel; it’s the first time she’s been here since before my dad went to prison. If she’s nervous, she’s not letting it show, and Miguel just looks curious. Walrus lets us in, pulling me into a hug and congratulating me, which is a first, before shaking Miguel’s hand and smiling at my mom.
“It’s good to see you again, Sofía,” he says. “We sure are proud of Donovan, you did an amazing job.”
“Thank you,” my mom says. “Your family is well?”
“They are, I’ll show you photos later. You won’t even recognize the kids; adults in their own right.”
Mom chuckles and links her arm with mine. “I often wonder where the time has gone.”
Walrus smiles and nods, before pointing to the tables and chairs dotted around, inviting us to make ourselves at home. There’s a man at the grill I don’t recognize, but he seems happy talking to Tank and Pretty Boy. El Jefe sits with a woman I also don’t know, but with the way he’s gazing at her, I’m assuming she’s his wife. Beth and Diablo are nowhere to be seen, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they’re up to in their new apartment.
Slim waves us over to his table. Before Winbrook, he was the club member I spent the least amount of time with; he’s not a big talker, keeping himself to himself. But Beth told me how much he helped her out when she lived with him, and how great he was when she talked to him about my situation. He’s actually spoken to me more in the last couple of weeks than he has the entire time I’ve known him, and I’m looking forward to moving in with him until I can figure out what I want to do next.
“Hey,” I say, sitting next to him. “How come you’re by yourself?”
“I’m not; I bought my neighbor and her kid, they’re just inside.”
“Oh,” I look around, but they haven’t reappeared yet.
“You need to help me,” he says. “The kid wants to talk to me all the time, but I don’t know how to talk to an eight-year-old.”
“And you think I do?”
“Just talk to them like an adult,” my mom says, “kids are smart, they don’t want to be treated like a baby.”
A young woman and a boy approach our table, taking the seats on the other side of Slim.
“Hi,” I extend my hand. “I’m Donovan, a friend of Slims.”
“Hi,” she says, her voice shy and nervous. “I’m Daisy, his neighbor.”
“I’m Jake,” the kid says. “Are you a biker too?”
Daisy chuckles, “Sorry, he’s been asking everyone that, I think bikers are his new obsession.”
“That’s okay.” I turn to Jake. “I’m not a biker, sorry. But my brother is, and you’ll meet him later; he loves kids too, so make sure you ask him lots of questions.”
Slim turns his laugh into a cough, and my mom taps me lightly on the shoulder, knowing Diablo will freak out if a kid starts asking him questions about bikes.
