Quality over quantity anyway.
Life was happening. Things were changing, and changingsofast. She felt like she was standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean, deciding if she should jump and wondering how cold the water below would be.
The idea of having a jobnotas a barista was exciting—and terrifying.
Audrey stepped up to the side of the stage. The girl in front of her crossed next, beaming at the sounds of an air horn blaring through a gaggle of wild screams from her friends and family, smiling even wider as she shook the dean’s hand and grasped her diploma, pausing for a quick photo before continuing.
“Go ahead, honey,” the staff member said, nudging her forward. “You’re up.”
“Audrey Marie Adams, bachelor of science in electrical engineering, cum laude.”
The crowd was quieter for her than it had been for the others. She stepped out and squinted, blinded by the bright lights while she made her way across the stage toward the waiting, smiling dean of her school.
She slid her hand into his and shook it.
“Congratulations, Audrey.” He handed her a leather folder.They both smiled and the flashbulb of a camera popped, blinding her anew.
Then she heard it.
A shrill whistle pierced through the low hum of the crowd, loud and strong. She turned her head, looking for the source of it, her eyes finally adjusting to the lights.
And there he was.
Theo, with his face bare, both pinkie fingers shoved into the sides of his wide mouth, his whistle bold and robust.
Then there were the cheers. Everyone was there: Violet, her sister, their parents, Josh, Diego, everyone who mattered to her here in New York,everyonehad come. Even Theo’s mother, Eleanor, was there, standing quietly at the end of the row Audrey’s motley family had claimed, clapping with a wide smile on her face.
But a voice, one she hadn’t heard in person in years, broke through all of it.
“That’s my babygirl! My sweet Nuggie!”
Audrey froze. “Gladys?” she whispered. She looked up at the dean and felt a tear tumble down her cheek. “My—my foster mom is here?”
He shrugged, but Audrey couldn’t stay to explain.
“Um…thank you.”
She gripped her diploma and tore off the stage, black robes flying behind her while she ran.
She couldn’t believe it, but the image was already seared into her mind, unmistakable and solid and real. It was really Gladys Kane, the foster mother she’d loved so much, and somehow she wasn’t in Tampa, she washere, standing next to Theo with her pure, snow-white hair contrasting against her dark brown skin, looking so much tinier and more wizened next to him than the last time Audrey had seen her more than five and a half years ago. Even her Coke-bottleglasses had somehow gotten thicker, but she was still just as remarkable, just as kind, smiling just as proudly as she had been when she’d taken Audrey to the airport to fly to college.
Audrey barreled through the line of graduates waiting backstage and ignored the staff members trying frantically to direct her back to her seat, turning instead and sprinting into the auditorium through one of the side doors. It bounced open on its hinges, banging into the wall behind it, and Audrey ran up the sides of the aisles, heading straight toward where her rowdy, ragtag gaggle of friends and family waited, screaming even louder for her as she approached.
But she didn’t have far to go. Gladys saw her coming and had already made her way to the end of the row. She stood there, waiting for her with her arms spread wide.
Audrey threw herself into them and melted into a blubbering mess, her shoulders heaving while she sobbed.
“My girl,” Gladys murmured, gripping her with a strength that belied her years and rubbing circles soothingly on Audrey’s back the way she always had when she was younger. “Look at you! Graduating with honors! I’m so proud of you, baby!”
“What are you doing here?!” Audrey finally managed to hiccup between sobs. “I never thought you’d be able to come to New York.”
Gladys pulled away from her with a smile and lifted a wrinkled, weathered hand to wipe the tears away from Audrey’s cheeks. “You know, I didn’t answer the first few times that man of yours called me. I didn’t know a Theo Sullivan and didn’t have that number in my phone, so I thought it might be a scam when he offered to fly me up here. You know how they get you by promising you free vacations and the like? At my age, you have to be careful.” She chuckled. “But after his third voicemail, I looked him up on Google and finally called him back. And I thought to myself, you know what, Gladys?” She tapped a pensive finger against her cheek. “Maybe you could use a bit of a trip to go see your Nuggie.” Her smile widened. “You’venever been to New York, and it could be really nice seeing snow this time of year too. Just in time for Christmas. Good change of pace.”
The tears hadn’t stopped falling, and Audrey dried her face with the sleeve of her robe, sniffing through a laugh.
Theo sidled up behind Gladys, his grin shy and his hands jammed into his pockets as he looked down at Audrey. “Surprise, sweetheart.”
His mask was nowhere in sight.
