Page 254 of Something Rad
“I’m so proud of you, hon,” she says, beaming. “We’ll talk more about this tonight when I get home, or first thing tomorrow morning if you’re already asleep when I get there. I wish I could stay here celebrating with you for the rest of the night, but I have to go to work now.”
Sherri steps back, giving a little shake of her hips. “Mama’s gonna go get lots of tips tonight so that we can buy you a fresh new wardrobe for New York City,” she tells Cooper, giving her a wink.
“Mom, really, you don’t have to worry about that–”
“It’s no worry at all. You deserve every bit of it, hon. It’s the least I can do to reward you for all your hard work.” Cooper opens her mouth to protest, but Sherri cuts her off with a raise of her hand. “Now, not another word on it or I’ll never leave. I love you. I’ll see you at home.”
And with that, Sherri blows each of us a kiss and speed walks her way out of the front door. After the door swings closed, and Cooper and I are left alone, things grow quiet, only the sound ofE.T.playing on the TV mounted in the corner of the store breaking the silence.
I’m resting my hands against the top of the counter, my eyes on Cooper, while she’s still clutching the scholarship decision letter to her chest, her eyes wide and vacant as she stares off at the door her mom just walked out of.
Several seconds go by, and I let them. I assume Cooper must be in shock. It would make sense that she needs a minute to process. I imagine it’s a pretty crazy feeling seeing all your dreams come together right before your eyes.
But, of course, that’s not something I would know anything about.
I wanted to let her be the one to speak first, but I can’t take it any longer.
“Wow,” I breathe. “Cooper, I…” Her eyes flick up to meet mine, the rest of her body unmoving. I run a hand through my hair, shaking my head before I reach for her, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. “I am so fucking proud of you.”
Cooper’s throat bobs, I’m sure from what has to be welling emotions, happiness about to spill over, but something in her eyes has me waiting cautiously for her to say something.
“It’s…” she begins, her voice getting lost.
“It’s incredible,” I supply, kissing her forehead. “Amazing.”
“So…soon.”
I pull back, tilting my head at her.
“The program,” she says.
I swallow, ignoring the strain in my chest, forcing myself to stand tall. “Yeah,” I nod. “I guess it is. But you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Cooper’s teeth sink into her lower lip as her wide eyes lower to the paper in her hands once more.
“If I did it…that means I’d be in New York in less than six weeks. Just a little over a month from today, really.”
“Yeah,” I nod, my voice tight. “I guess that’s pretty crazy to think about when you look at it that way.”
A few moments go by without Cooper saying anything as she just continues to stare down at the letter, re-reading it for what must be the hundredth time.
“You must be so excited,” I say, not phrasing it as a question, but hoping it’ll get some sort of response out of her. I give her shoulders a slight shake, making her look at me. “I mean, Cooper, this is huge.”
“Yeah,” she says, “it is. Definitely.” She smiles tightly.
“I know how long you’ve thought about this. Does it not feel real yet?” I ask. “I’m sure you don’t even know how to feel.”
“That’s for sure,” she nods, her eyes trailing back down.
“What’s going through your head?”
“A lot,” she whispers.
“Well, give me one thing.”
Cooper blows a breath out of her nose. “It’s just…”
“What?” I ask her.
