Friday, May 13th Evening: Olivia

Mom and Dad are home when we get back from the golf course.I’m hugged and kissed on the cheek, and it takes all my willpower not to blurt everything out, but I don’t want to put a damper on the party Nonna and Papa are hosting tonight. I’ll confess after it’s over.

Mom sits at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and says, “Okay, tell me all about it! I hate that I wasn’t here this week. I know you had so much fun at all the parties!”

Sophie and I join her at the table and give her just enough detail that she’s satisfied. Charlie and Wes pop in not long after. Charlie and I trade phones when Mom turns away to put her cup in the sink.

“Well, I’ve got to get changed and get to the shop to help everyone prep for the party tonight. I feel bad—they’ve been working all week and I’m just gonna waltz right in,” Mom says.

“Yeah, we need to get ready, too,” Sophie says.

Wes moves toward the door, motioning for Charlie to join him. “We told Nonna we’d help, too, so we’ll see y’all there.” They leave and Sophie heads upstairs to get dressed, but I hang back to talk to Mom alone.

“Can we get rid of the tracking app now?”

I can tell she’s struggling with her answer. She likes the inside peek into my life, though she never treated it like a Gotcha! where she was trying to catch me doing something wrong. “Yes, of course,” she says with a smile. “It was just for the week, wasn’t it?”

I move closer to her, giving her a big hug. “I’m glad you’re back.” And I mean it.

She hugs me back fiercely. “I can’t believe you’re graduating next week. And then the house will be empty.”

Mom is going to be devastated when I tell her the truth. I pull away quickly.

Sophie is in the shower when I get upstairs, so I lie on my bed, scrolling through my phone, until she gets out and I can get in.

And that’s when I run across Charlie’s texts with Leo. Sitting up in my bed, I overanalyze Leo’s message for ten minutes.

Heard you were here

Is it like Heard you were here and I’m so sorry I missed you! or more like I heard you were here—haven’t you done enough already?

I can’t even be mad at Charlie’s text. I knew Leo would be at the crawfish boil tonight unless he decided to go home straight after the tournament, since the party is for the Evil Joes, too.

I hope he’s there.

Sophie comes out wrapped in a towel and I slip into the bathroom. By the time we’re dressed and ready and heading to the car, I still don’t have a grasp of what tonight will be like. Or what it will be like to see Leo.

Pulling up in front of Nonna and Papa’s shop, Sophie and I are both speechless. By rearranging the plants and trees in stock, they’ve created a wonderland. There are crape myrtle trees strung with lights lining the front walk and pots spilling over with flowers on each step.

“This is gorgeous!” Sophie sighs at last.

I couldn’t agree more.

We follow the lighted path through the shop and out the back door. It’s really an old house that’s been converted into a business, and the big backyard is a perfect place for all the plants.

Normally a maze of pots and shelving, the plants have been grouped around the edges so the entire center is open. There is a cooking trailer in the very back where the crawfish are being boiled, and tables set up with red-and-white-checkered tablecloths. The party is for family and friends and doesn’t officially start until seven, but Nonna and Papa wanted all the family here early so it could be just us for a bit.

Except for the Evil Joes, Sophie and I are among the last to arrive. The entire area is full; I don’t know how the other guests are going to fit in here.

“Here we go,” Sophie mumbles as we make our way over to greet each and every family member.

Aunt Patrice and Uncle Ronnie are the first we come to. She hugs us both at the same time while Uncle Ronnie pats us on the head.

Aunt Patrice pulls back from the hug and zeroes in on me. “We are so proud of you, Olivia! Salutatorian!” She turns to Sophie. “We’re proud of you, too, sweetie.” Then they walk off.

“She’s still not over it that I bailed on that living Nativity,” Sophie says, and I can’t help but giggle.

Moving farther into the party, we find Aunt Kelsey and Uncle Will. They have four daughters and you never see either one of them without at least one kid hanging off them.

“Girls! Happy graduation!” Aunt Kelsey says, pulling each of us in for a one-armed hug since she’s got Frannie on one hip and Mary hanging on to her leg.

“We’re so proud of you both,” Uncle Will says. Birdie is sitting on his shoulder and Gracie clinging to the front of him. “Do you give a speech, since you’re salutatorian?”

“Uh, yeah, the welcome speech,” I answer, feeling about one inch tall.

“Can’t wait to hear it!”

Sophie’s parents and my parents descend on us next. Mom has her phone out and she’s taking pictures as they reminisce about when we were babies and how they’re going to be empty nesters now and just go ahead and shoot me.

Aunt Eileen pulls me in close and whispers, “We couldn’t be prouder of you, Olivia!”

And that’s it. I can’t take it. I’m a fake. A fraud. I’m not salutatorian. I’m not even a graduate.

Sophie must see it on my face because she whispers, “No, no, no, not yet.”

But it’s too late for that. At least telling them now will be like ripping the bandage off.

Walking to the nearest chair, I pull it to an open area and stand up on it. “Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” I yell.

Nonna claps. “Aw! Are we getting a preview of your speech?”

Ugh.

“No, Nonna, but I do have something I need to tell everyone, and since everyone is here, this seems like the right time.”

Uncle Michael moves a few feet closer as if he knows I’m going to need a hug once this is over.

“As most of you know, I take school very seriously.” There are claps and cheers throughout the crowd, but I hold my hands out and they quiet down.

“I wanted to take as many AP classes as I could, but I didn’t schedule everything right. By the beginning of this last semester, I realized I still needed half a credit in PE. But I also wanted to take Law Studies, so I thought, I’ll just do off-campus PE. And I chose golf.” From their expressions, they’re clued in that this is not going in the direction they thought it was. “But I didn’t give it the time or attention it deserved. I missed too many classes. So this past week, I’ve been working a golf tournament at the new country club right outside of town, trying to make up my hours.”

Mom’s confused, trying to figure out how I was in two places at once. I will definitely hear about this later.

“But I screwed up there, too. I thought I was helping someone, but I really messed up because I didn’t understand the rules. They asked me to leave. And I didn’t finish my time there, and my coach won’t sign my form, so I won’t be graduating next week with everyone else.”

Everyone is talking at once now.

“I’m sure we can talk to your coach,” Dad says. “What’s his name?”

“The school can’t stop you from graduating just because of PE, can they?” Aunt Patrice asks.

“I’ll call up to that school,” Uncle Sal says. “I know a guy up there.”

I clear my throat, quieting them down again. “I can take the class over this summer. It won’t affect my admission to LSU. It’s okay.”

Stepping down from the chair, I’m hoping that will be the end of it. But it’s not. Not even close. My grandparents, my parents, my aunts and uncles, and even some of my cousins surround me to offer suggestions or condolences or to just plain commiserate. It’s twenty minutes before there’s only Charlie, Wes, and Sophie around me.

“That was harder than I thought it would be,” I say, rubbing a few stray tears away.

Sophie wraps me in a big hug. “I think it was very brave.”

“I’m sorry you won’t be graduating.”

I turn around to see who said that, and it’s Leo. He’s back in the clothes he was wearing when I first saw him at Nonna’s, but he’s got the LSU golf team hat on.

Charlie, Wes, and Sophie congratulate him on his tournament finish and then make themselves scarce, leaving us alone.

“Is that the reason you didn’t want to tell me why you were working the tournament?”

“I was embarrassed. I mean, I work so hard for four years and the whole thing comes down to a PE class?” I let out a nervous laugh. “I guess you heard all that?”

“Yeah,” he says. “If you hadn’t told them how the club ended up in my bag, they wouldn’t have asked you to leave and you’d have gotten your hours.”

“That wasn’t even a choice. There’s no way I could let them kick you out for something I did.” I pause a moment, then add, “I’m really so sorry.”

He’s shaking his head. “It’s the stupidest rule out there. I’m sorry I was a jerk last night. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

I give him a friendly push against his chest. “Hey, it was my fault.”

He grabs my hand and keeps it there, pressed up against him. I feel his heart beating as fast as mine. “But I didn’t know that then. All I knew was you were the only thing I was thinking about when I should have been thinking about my game, and I was mad at myself.”

“I was pretty distracted by you, too.”

“Thanks for inviting me to your party,” he says.

Frannie wedges herself in between us and whispers, “Hide me!” But Dallas and Denver see her and now they’re chasing her as she runs circles around us.

I’m having the most romantic moment ever and I’m completely surrounded by my chaotic family. I can’t catch a break.

Once my cousins move on to another target, I slide my hand into Leo’s and say, “I’d like to reintroduce you to my family.”

He gives me a smile and says, “I’m not promising I can remember everyone’s name.”

“It would be a miracle if you did,” I say, laughing.

I pull him to Uncle Michael and Tim, who are standing closest to us. They shake hands and talk about golf. Turns out Tim played in college, too.

Leo and I are stuck together like glue. We even spend a little time talking to the Evil Joes, although I know I’ll hear about it from Charlie later.

I scan the crowd looking for him. He’s at a small table with Bianca. Their heads are bent close together and his hands are clasped in hers. I watch them for a few minutes and wonder if he’s rethinking his “free to mingle” plan.

“Olivia!”

Turning, I see Mia and Bailey have arrived. “Be back in a second,” I tell Leo.

I pull the two of them off to the side, where we can talk. “I’m so sorry I lied to you this week. There’s really no excuse. I’d like to tell you what happened.”

And I do. I go through it with them just like I did with my family. And when they’re just as understanding about it all, I realize I’m as lucky to have them as I am to have Sophie, Wes, and Charlie.

“We’ll just have to have another round of grad parties once you finish your summer-school PE class!” Bailey says.

“Oh God, no,” I moan.

“Are you taking something new?” Mia asks.

I smile and look back over my shoulder to where Leo is talking to Charlie and Wes. “I’m sticking with golf. I know this guy who can tutor me, so I should be all good.”