His head turns at my command, eyes squinting to make out what I'm pointing at. But it isn’t hard to miss when the red-and-black, geometric blanket is folded to perfection and tied with large bow.
“Is that the baby maker?” Nate asks in confusion.
I nod, still flustered, but when his laughter bursts out, I join in.
Our getting together may have been chaotic, but in its own way, it was perfect. And if a babymiraculouslyshows up in the next nine months…we’ll know exactly who to blame.
EPILOGUE
NATE
1.5 YEARS LATER. . .
“We now arrive at the central point of the ceremony—the presentation of the doctoral candidates. We ask you to come forward as we call your name in recognition of your individual accomplishments,” the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences finally announces.
It feels like hours have gone by of listening to people I don’t particularly recognise or care for, talk. But the wait will have been most certainly worth it when Dr. Vivienne finally walks across that stage.
A hand to my right bicep drags my attention to the side, where Margaret dabs away with a tissue under her eyes. “She worked so hard for this,” she says with a quiet shudder. “Her success really is well-earned.”
And as I search for her among the many graduates lining the side of the stage, I can’t help but share the same sentiment when my eyes find her. Like all great things, the past yearcarried its share of challenges, but Vivienne managed to pull through.
Not only did she complete her final PhD project and publish two papers in prestigious academic journals, but she also wrote a three-hundred-page thesis and defended her work brilliantly.
With the success of the imaging probes she’d synthesised, her PI—who is no longer financially struggling due to regaining his grants—founded a biotech company where Vivienne is co-CEO.BrownBird Diagnostics, they decided to call it, and knowing the significance that name holds for Vivienne warms my heart.
So far, the company isn’t exactly profitable, but they’re about to enter clinical trials for one of the cancer-detection agents she made. And despite the multitude of offers frompharmaceutical companies begging her to work for them, she turned down every single one, all because she believed in the work she was doing.
“Receiving the doctoral degree in Chemistry—Vivienne Brown.”
The entire crowd erupts in a respectful applause, but the row I’m seated in has no shame in clapping extra hard. Vivienne turns in the direction of the sound, a wide smile on her face as she takes us all in.
Margaret, Phil, Sutton, Evelyn, even my Mom, Dad, Audrey, and Anya—the entire crew made it.
How we managed to get so many tickets is still beyond Vivienne, but that’s only because I didn’t tell her I’d pulled a few strings. Coming out as the anonymous donor to the Anderson Lab definitely had its perks. And I knew we’d all become far too invested in her journey not to celebrate this with her.
Melanie and Adam almost attended the commencement themselves, but neither was able to make it due to personal obligations.
Apparently, someone caught wind of my cousin’s impeccable stalking skills, and she was quickly hired by the FBI. While she can't disclose what she’s working on, I do know that those LinkedIn pages and mothers’ Facebook accounts are being put to good use.
As for the little shit that is my brother, he’s off somewhere with another “hot date.”
His words, not mine.
Vivienne waves once in our direction before continuing her walk to shake the hands of the faculty members standing further down the stage.
Her long dark brown hair is waved to perfection beneath the tam with its gold tassel, and her light blue gown—with black velvet panels and matching stripes on each large sleeve—makes her look even more radiant. Happiness glows from her, and I think it’s safe to say everyone in this row couldn’t be more proud.
“We shouldn’t have worn mascara,”Evelyn whispers to Sutton as she fans her teary eyes.
“We really shouldn’t have,”Sutton responds with that same softness.“But you’re blonde, and I’m a redhead. Visible eyelashes aren’t exactly in our DNA.”
Evelyn stills, slowly turning in her blunt friend’s direction. She blinks thrice, clearly taken aback.“You’re crazy. You know that?”
Sutton doesn’t respond, only places one finger to her lips to shush her.“Pay attention.”
I stifle a laugh, shaking my head at their antics. Luckily for me—and everyone else involved—there will be plenty morewhere that came from at the surprise celebration planned at Margaret’s house.
But as excited as I am for Vivienne to be surrounded by those she loves most, I can’t wait for my own little secret to be revealed later this week.
