Commencement ceremonies. He hadn’t seen her since that fateful day at his house. He made sure of it. But she was in his orbit today. It was unavoidable. If he could get through today, everything would be fine. Easier said than done. The situation was rife with potential problems. He hadn’t disabused Edwards of the notion he was engaged to Dani. Though he wouldn’t be surprised if it was more because of a psychological road block than a physical one.
He did feel somewhat good about himself for resisting the urge to paint or draw anything resembling her. Which meant he hadn’t created a single artistic thing in two weeks. When his muse finally accepted the fact it was being ignored, it didn’t visit him again. It wasn’t a huge deal while school was in and he was swamped with finals, but now summer break was here, it was a different matter entirely. He lost the desire to work on his remodeling projects as well. Truth be told, he didn’t have the desire to do much of anything.
He squared his shoulders. He needed to stop thinking about her, worrying about her, act like an adult rather than some silly boy with a crush. Odds were, if he saw her at all, it would be at a distance, when she walked on stage in cap and gown to receive her diploma. He had no formal part in the ceremony, but as a professor, he was obligated to be there with the rest of the university staff. He was also obligated to attend the luncheon afterwards for the entire art department, held by the head of the department, George Flanders. Though tenure was most likely off the table, it wasn’t completely, and besides, there were certain things a person did to get along with their co-workers. Office politics were enough to make him quit sometimes, but there’s no way he’d prove his parents right. Pursuing art as a career was not a waste of time. A decent living could be made with it. He earned a good wage and had plenty of time to let his creative side run wild. Or he used to. That part of him was on vacation and may never come back. All the more reason to make sure his boss was happy with him and he kept his job. He’d done his fair share of rocking the boat, even before this latest fiasco with Dani, but it wasn’t on his agenda for the foreseeable future.