Page 78 of Ten Years and Then…
He didn’t say anything. But his eyes—and another kiss—answered for him.
Daniel, the next morning
He opened his eyes, and there she was, watching him. Smiling.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
There was no disorientation, no confusion. Daniel knew where he was. Exactly where he should be. “Good morning, Nora.”
He leaned in to kiss her, but she was too quick, putting a finger to his lips. “Not now. We took care of that last night. Now you have to get dressed and go back to your room.”
What? She was kicking him out after last night? After everything?
Then he saw the clock on the desk behind her. Of course she was kicking him out. She knew what today was just as well as he did.
“You’ve got to finish packing up, shower and get dressed—and do it all in time to be on the quad a half hour before you’re supposed to be there.”
He laughed. “Am I that predictable?”
“It’s one of the things I fell in love with,” she said. “Now, get your clothes on. I’m not going to be responsible for you being late to your graduation, Daniel Joseph Keller.”
She used his full name, exactly how his mother did when she was thoroughly annoyed with him—and almost managed to keep a straight face. But not quite.
“You nearly got the tone right. You need to put a little more exasperation into it.”
Now she was laughing uncontrollably. This was as good a moment as any to get out of bed and start dressing.
A minute later, he was done, and she’d gotten herself under control. She stood up, took his hands in hers. “Thank you. For last night. For coming over. For the pen. For never forgetting. For always—always being you. My Daniel.”
She leaned in, kissed him. He kissed her back.
“Now go.”
He started to answer her—even though he had no idea what he could possibly say. But again she pressed a finger to his lips. “Just go. Maybe—never mind. Just … maybe.”
Maybe she’d be at the ceremony?
Maybe that would be the real, true, for-good-this-time goodbye?
He didn’t think there was any maybe about it.
Chapter 24
Graduation Day—Albion College
Daniel, May 15
“Wow, I don’t miss college at all,” Bianca said. “Your whole life in a hundred square feet. And the lobby downstairs? A travesty. They should take that sofa out somewhere and burn it.”
Daniel chuckled. “You’re not wrong about the lobby. It is pretty awful.” He glanced around the room. Everything was boxed up, ready to go in the back of Dad’s car. But that’s not what he saw in his mind’s eye. “Still, some really good things happened in here.”
She raised an eyebrow as she headed to the door. “You mean she happened.”
He didn’t answer; he just followed her out, locking the door behind him.
They went down the stairs, through the travesty of a lobby and outside before she spoke again. “I’m sorry,” she said, in a quiet voice. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“There’s nothing you can’t say to me, Bee. You should know that by now.” He took a deep breath. “It’s just—I don’t know why I haven’t told you. I went to see her last night. I gave her the pen. And—and then …”
