“Mum,” I whined.
“I know, I know,” she waved a hand through the air. “I won’t keep banging on about it, but indulge your old mum one more time, eh? Then I’ll stop.”
I sighed, and she reached out to straighten my robes. Again.
“I’m so proud of you, Kaiya. Not just because you worked hard to get your Masters while juggling a job and living in the noisiest, brightest, most obscenely loud–”
“We get it, honey, you hate London,” Dad groused as he walked past us to use the mirror to straighten his tie.
“Yes, all right,” Mum conceded. “Fine. And anyway,” she said quickly, “I don’t hate London. It’s just not the North.” She sniffed, and I laughed.
“Snob,” I said gently, and she shrugged her shoulders.
“Anyway, as I was saying.” Mum took a breath. “That you’re a hard worker isn’t a surprise. You get that from us,” she bobbed her head in Dad’s direction, who looked at us in the mirror, eyes crinkling. “It’s that you were brave enough to start again and grab your dream by the balls-”
“Mum!” I gaped.
“Oh hush.” She frowned, even as the corners of her lips twitched. “I’m trying to tell you how proud I am,” she scolded.
“You’ve told her that a million times, love,” Dad said as he walked back the other way, pausing to press a quick kiss to his wife’s cheek.
“Kaiya, you did it. Most people are too scared, or too proud to turn their whole lives around to chase after something. But you did that, and I– we, are so proud of you.”
“Even when I cocked it up the first time?” I said, grinning even as I flinched slightly at the words.
Mum didn’t smile. She reached up to cup my cheek and leaned towards me.
“Your first degree wasn’t a mistake, love. It was something you wanted to do, so you did it. It doesn’t matter that in the end it wasn’t right for you. We don’t always get it right the first time. Life isn’t a game that you win, or lose. It’s something you have to work on.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Life is like–”
“A box of chocolates?” Dad quipped from across the room.
“Hush, you, I’m being profound!” Mum shot him a look over her shoulder before turning back to me, sighing. “Life is like a relationship we have with ourselves. Sometimes it just works, but more often than not, we have to work at it. Every day you have to choose to make it work.”
“Wow, Mum. That was profound.” I nodded, lips twitching.
Mum threw her arms up.
“I don’t know why I bother. Trip over your gown, see if I care.”
“Mama,” I laughed, grabbing for her as she went to move away, “I’m kidding.”
I threw my arms around her, hugging her from behind. “I love you.”
She reached up to grasp my arm. “I love you too, baby.”
Thankfully, I did not trip on my gown as I walked up onto the raised stage when it was my turn.
The actual moment was a blur, and it was only when I uploaded the photos later to my social media that I even remembered the hand shaking part as I accepted my rolled up certificate.
The graduation ceremony didn’t last all that long. There had been less than a hundred people on my course, and once all the names had been called, there was a brief champagne reception in one of the nicer halls on campus.
I’d only made a couple of friends during my year long study, and they all had plans with their own families, so after drinking the one glass we were all given, we didn’t linger and instead went to get lunch.
Afterwards, as my parents quibbled over the bill, I looked down at my phone to see several messages.
Tae
Congratulations, Pom!
