Life Changes - 9. Epilogue

“Well at least we got to have coffee,” Neil commented as he shook his head. “You’d think sending Felicia up would have made it easier.”

“Please, you know what they are like together. Giggles will probably have them laughing.” I laughed knowing the truth all too well. I gathered our coffee cups and put them in the sink.

“I’m glad I got to see you without Harry and the boys. Your twins are a handful.”

“Yeah, well your girls are just as bad. At least they are all close.” I smiled and then caught sight of the clock. “Neil, is that clock right?”

“Oh god!” Grabbing his jacket he hurried to the front hall.

I just followed along in his wake, grateful it wasn’t my kids for a change.

“Maryann, for the love of God, come on!” Neil stood fixing his suit jacket as he stared up the staircase.

“Don’t you know us girls take a little longer to get ready?” Felicia came down in a very pretty red dress. She stopped and kissed Neil as she reached the bottom.

“I’m coming, Dad.” Maryann nearly flew down the stairs, her graduation gown whipped around her.

“Some things never change,” I commented as my niece hurried over to hug me. “I thought as the Valedictorian you were supposed to be there early.”

Maryann stuck her tongue out at me. “They can’t start without me.”

“Your grandmother and grandfather are going to have a conniption.” I shook my head at Maryann.

“Oh, really?” She batted her eyes at me innocently. “Which ones?”

Felicia swatted her butt, laughing. “All of them. Come on!”

We hurried and got into Neil’s van.

“Where are Uncle Harry and the twins?” Maryann asked as she looked over her speech.

“Harry is setting up a camera. I swear for someone so used to being behind the camera, he takes every family outing and turns it into a major event.” I smiled knowing how much my husband loved doing things like this.

“Please, he always does a great job. Neil and I still can’t believe what he did for our wedding.” Felicia smiled and patted Neil’s arm.

“I’m glad we stopped him from filming Arianna’s birth.” Neil caught my eye in the rearview mirror.

“That would have been practice for the twins. Anyway, you know mom figured she would keep them all busy while Maryann prepared for this.”

Maryann leaned over and hugged me. “Grams worries too much. Besides, I do my best work under pressure. You know if something is wrong that I’ll make it right.” She broke into giggles. “After all, I picked out mom for dad.”

Felicia looked back at Maryann and then at Neil before laughing. “She’s right. She said I was the nicest nurse she’d ever met and I should meet and date her Daddy.”

“Well, even at five she was a handful. Why she thought she could do a backflip to dismount from the balance beam is beyond me? I’m just grateful it was a clean break.”

“Hi! Remember me? That was thirteen years ago. My arm is fine.” Maryann waved her arm in the back seat.

“Doesn’t mean it didn’t scare the shit out of me!” Neil stared at Maryann in the mirror.

“Honey!” Felicia blushed.

I shook my head. Our little munchkin scared the hell out of us a number of times. However, it was because I grew up helping to take care of her that when Harry and I discussed having children I was all for it.

Neil had barely parked when Maryann sprinted from the car.

“She is still only calm when you or I am around,” Neil said as he clapped my back. “Ready to see our old high school?”

“You forget, I’m here every month for department meetings.”

“Oh yeah. Well, at least you don’t avoid the library any longer.” Neil laughed as he caught the look on my face.

“Why would you avoid the library?” Felicia stopped and looked between us before pinning me with her stare.

“Thanks for nothing, Neil” I stared at my brother who snickered at me. “Let’s keep walking and I’ll explain.”

We headed in and I filled Felicia in about some of the less perfect times in my and Harry’s relationship. “So we broke up a week before graduation in the school library. It seems the school library always was a mess for us relationship wise. What’s funny is we met in the town library while we both were home from college our last year of undergrad. The time away allowed us both to grow up. We ended dating that summer and the rest you were there for.”

We walked out the back of the school and onto the field where the graduation was held.

Maryann was supposed to have four seats up front for the family as Valedictorian. Somehow she wrangled a lot more seats. Neil, Felicia, and Arianna sat right on the edge. Then there were Felicia’s parents, our parents, Ash came with a bouquet of flowers, and last was Harry and our twins, Bobby and Neville. Needless to say, we basically took up the front two rows.

Maryann had written her speech dealing with the topic of growing from the past. As a teacher, I was thrilled when she asked me to help go over it. She started globally, pointing to times the world had acted together, learning from earlier mistakes, to protect the world and its people, before narrowing it to our own country, and finally her own family.

As she reached the ending of her speech, everyone was in tears.

“We have to remember that life isn’t easy. I lost two grandmothers before I was five. My Grandma Jeanette taught me all about my past. She made scrapbooks and told my dad all about my mom. I learned that we take the best of our past into our future, making us stronger. From my Grandma Lisa, I learned that love isn’t always enough. Sometimes, illness and addiction can wreak havoc and even when you are getting help, your past is a part of you. Together they showed the past can be a building or a stumbling block.

So as we head off into the real world we know there are many life changes ahead of us. Losses of family and friends, and gains of partners and jobs. Our futures are ours to create. We will either rise or fall due to our own actions. All we can do is build on our past to make our futures better. Remember that we have the love and support of many, especially if you are lucky enough to have as much love in your life as I do.” Maryann moved her tassel from one side of her cap to the other as everyone broke into thunderous applause.

I knew the future was in good hands seeing how well our giggling munchkin had turned out.