Chapter 20
Before I knew it, graduation was here. On Friday, Jonathan took his last final and was out of school by noon, which was when we left to get Gabby. It was a lot of driving, all the way to Toronto, but we’d made the plan over Christmas break, long before Jonathan had told me, and long before Andrea had arrived. Jonathan and I took turns driving there, stopping only to get gas, take restroom breaks, and get a quick bite to eat. I managed not to overstep during any conversation the entire way, which felt like a real accomplishment. I gave a lot of thought to what I would talk about, and managed to keep the conversation on topics that didn’t annoy him. That was a success! Of course, it wasn’t easy, and inwardly I wondered if eventually, my son and I would be able to converse as naturally as we used to.
When we got to Toronto, the three of us had a little time to visit before I went to bed. Our family time together felt just as warm as it always had. Gabby gave me her bedroom of her tiny apartment, and she slept on the couch in the living room, while her brother slept on the floor. I’m sure they spent most of the night catching up. In the morning, we took our time with a nice big breakfast at a pancake and crepe restaurant before heading out. The time in the car on the way back gave us a chance to explain to Gabby what was going on with Andrea and Ginny. Jonathan had already told her the Lily story, and I suspected she’d heard about Marshall and Bob, too, but those topics didn’t come up in the car. She remembered Ginny and Andrea, of course, but mostly she remembered how sad Jonathan had become when Andrea moved away. We filled her in on all their moves, the divorce, the struggles, and their plans for moving back permanently. Andrea and her mom were also driving on this Saturday, back to Ohio to close up Ginny’s apartment and then permanently moving back to Rhode Island. Ginny had landed a job at the university; it wasn’t the best salary but if Andrea decided to go to college there, it would be tuition free. Ginny had never expected to be able to help Andrea with college, so that idea really appealed to her. She was also excited about the possibility that she could finish college, too. I could see the two of them were forging a better relationship after so much heartache. Jonathan told her how unbelievable it was to have Andrea back after so long, and what a mess she had been.
“Would you believe she was all Goth looking? Dreadlocks and black nails! I think she has finally ditched the cigarettes.”
Gabby wasn’t as horrified as we had been, but she hadn’t seen Andrea, either.
“Sounds like she’s been through too much!” was all she said. The conversation dwindled for a while, and then we talked about Jonathan’s graduation dinner at Our Place.
With three of us sharing the drive, it went by quickly and we were back home by dinnertime. We ordered pizza from Gabby’s favorite place, and that evening felt just like it had before Gabby had gone off to college. For some reason, I was reticent about telling her the tentative plans for trading residences with Bob and Marshall. I wondered if Jonathan would tell her before I did.
The graduation ceremony started at five in the evening, and we had made reservations for Our Place afterwards. From the conversation I had overheard between Ginny and Andrea, I knew Jonathan had seen R.J. at least once after our dinner here, and I wondered if R.J. would be working tonight. I had not said one word about it to Gabby because of Patrick’s advice. Of course I wanted to talk to her about it, but I knew Patrick was right.
Often graduation ceremonies are not well liked because of the numerous speeches and awards, but I thought Jonathan’s graduation was wonderful. The speeches were touching, and the music provided by members of the graduating class was actually very good. We were surprised and proud to learn Jonathan had been selected to win a scholarship based on academic and athletic performance for someone attending state university. We took some family pictures and some with his friends, Janey and Megan and a few others. Although it was a celebration and a time of reflection of the past, it was also a time to become excited about the future. We were looking forward to our celebratory dinner as we drove to restaurant. Enthusiastically, I told Gabby how great it was, and I tried to describe the décor to her.
I was rather surprised when we walked in the door, Jonathan was greeted by not only the hostess but two of the wait staff with such familiarity that it was clear he had come here more than once with Andrea and me. In fact, when Keyonna, whom he greeted by name, was seating us, she said, “Enjoy your meal, Jonathan! It’s the last time you’ll be the one waited on.” She glanced at me and realized I had no idea what she meant.
“So he hasn’t told you we’ve begged him to come work for us this summer?”
I shook my head as I sat down. Gabby had a smirk on her face, so I knew she was aware, and Jonathan smiled broadly as he told me how he landed this summer job.
“After you brought Andrea and me here last month, I made up my mind this would be a great summer job for me. R.J. – you remember our waiter? -told me they would be hiring a few extra wait staff for the summer, and I applied.” This came as a surprise to me – throughout high school, Jonathan had been so active with cross country and track that he never had time for a job during the school year. He did chores around the house and I gave him enough of an allowance to make it manageable for him. In the summers, he had worked at the sports camps at the high school, and I hadn’t really thought this summer would be any different. Of course, now that he was finished with high school, this probably would have been the last year he would have that job. I was proud he had taken the initiative to find this summer job, but surprised he hadn’t mentioned it to me. I also wondered how much of his decision to work here had to do with interest in R.J., but I knew enough not to ask that question. I wondered if that was all R.J. had told him during the exchange I had witnessed, and I had jumped to the wrong conclusion. As I thought these things and said nothing, he chided me, “Mom, are you speechless? It’s just a summer job!”
“Oh Jonathan, I’m thrilled for you! What a new experience it will be! Do you think you’ll bring some of the food home now and then?”
Gabby jumped on that, saying, “I’m expecting something amazing here, since Mom’s reaction is more about the food than your job!”
“It really is great,” Jonathan answered, “but being part of the wait staff here is about so much more than taking orders. Keyonna and her husband, Dage, are fanatics about teaching service.” Before he could expound on that, our waiter, Josh, who had waited on Lily and me for lunch, came to the table.
He turned on the charm from the minute we looked up. “Very nice to have you here again,” he said to me. Then he turned to Jonathan. “Enjoy your last time on that side of the table!” and winked at him. Finally, he looked at Gabby and said, “Jonathan never mentioned his sister was as beautiful as his mother!” It was easy to see Jonathan and Gabby were siblings; they had the same hair color, complexion and shared the same eyes. Gabby’s nose and mouth were more like mine than Jonathan, who favored Dick in those features. She had long dark hair, and I thought she was lovely, just like her brother.
Gabby’s reaction was smooth – nothing like mine. I blushed and stuttered, but she simply said, “We’re one beautiful family, aren’t we?” It was Josh’s turn to squirm when she said that. I noticed he kept his eyes away from Jonathan as he took our orders, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he found Jonathan beautiful, too. I also could hear Andrea’s comment about ‘gay waiter’ in my mind. Did that apply to Josh? Would customers think that when my son waited on them? What difference did it make, and why was I thinking about it anyway? I quickly dismissed that thought and concentrated on listening to tonight’s dinner specials at Our Place, trying to envision Jonathan reciting them.
That was the start of our wonderful evening to celebrate the Jonathan’s high school graduation. It was a perfect way to close one door and open the next…