“Nathan, can you say good night to your aunt Harlow, please?” Aggie said when Nathan walked through the sliding glass door, followed by Junior and their father.
“Bye, Aunt Harlow,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Bye, buddy. Be good for your mom and dad, okay?”
“Okay,” he said.
“Junior, say goodbye to Aunt Larissa and Aunt Harlow,” Henry said.
It hadn’t taken long, from what Harlow remembered. Maybe three months into their relationship, Aggie and Henry had started calling her Aunt Harlow to the boys, and the boys had taken to it immediately. Harlow had never wanted to be a mother, but she loved the idea of being an aunt.
“Bye, Aunt Larissa,” Junior said and hugged Larissa, who had just walked in and closed the door behind her.
“Night, buddy. I love you,” Larissa told him.
“Me too?” Nathan asked, hugging Larissa after Junior.
“Of course, I love you, too.”
“Bye, Aunt Harlow,” Junior said to her and hugged her waist next. “Love you.”
Harlow looked up at all three adults who had heard him say it, too. While Junior had called her ‘aunt’ before, this was the first time he’d ever told her that he loved her.
“I love you, too, Junior,” she said, hugging him back.
“Well,that’snew,” Larissa noted as she walked over to her.
“I know,” she replied.
“Weird?”
“No, kind of perfect, I think,” she said and took Larissa’s hand.
Aggie, Henry, Junior, and Nathan left the house, and the two women flopped onto their sofa, exhausted from the day.
“How does it feel, college graduate?”
“Pretty good,” she said, putting her legs into Larissa’s lap.
Larissa started rubbing her calves and said, “You know, the book is with the editor.”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“After two years of exhaustive work, conducting over five hundred interviews, both remotely and in person, and after reviewing thousands of submitted stories from people who have been in love before, singles who have never been in love, people of all age ranges, socio-economic backgrounds, different religions, no religion–”
“Babe, are you trying to exhaust me even more by telling me how much work we’ve put into this book?”
“No.” Larissa laughed and added, “I’m trying to tell you that I can’t believe we did all that, along with everything else we have done.” She smiled at Harlow. “Babe, you graduated today. You never thought you’d go back to school, but you did, and you worked so hard. You made the dean’s list and still helped me with this book that a publisher actually wanted. You’re amazing. I just wanted to make sure you knew that.”
“You’re biased,” Harlow suggested.
“Probably always have been where you’re concerned.”
“You earned a doctorate while we did all of this. That’s way bigger than a bachelor’s degree.”
“No, it’s not.” Larissa shook her head. “Harlow, I had a pretty massive head start on you there, babe. I was already close to being done when you and I got together. Besides, I didn’t have a full-time job on top of it, and most of my major bills were taken care of. You were working full-time and doing everything else. I’m just… I am amazed by you and so proud of you.” She moved until she was on top of Harlow. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Harlow said and wrapped her arms around Larissa’s neck. “And I love that you’re up there right now, but I don’t know that I have the energy for anything tonight. I didn’t sleep well last night. I don’t know why I was so worried about today. I guess I didn’t want to trip and fall getting my diploma while you were aiming your phone at the stage, recording me.”
