Page 68 of Bounty
“There’s my little scholar,” Mom squealed, barreling into me with surprising force. “Oh, I’m so proud of you, honey!”
Despite her attempting to squeeze the life out of me, I returned her hug and grinned. “Thank you, Mom.”
We stayed like that for a few seconds before she moved away. She looked at Slice, Heath, and then my father. A frown tugged at her lips. “None of you have given Effie her flowers yet.”
Startled, I peered from one to the other.
Dad carried different colored daisies, Heath had tulips, and Slice held a bouquet of my favorite flower—red carnations. It was a mystery to me how I missed all the beautiful flowers. Out of respect, I took my father’s first.
“Thank you, Dad,” I said as I tucked the bouquet under my arms, giving him a hug that was briefer than the one I shared with my mother.
He sniffled, the sound surprising me. “You’re all grown up.”
“She’s been grown for, like, four years now,” Cassie grumbled.
We ignored her. I pulled away and Mom took my place, whispering to my father as I took my brother’s flowers, smiling at his tight hug. I turned to Slice and grabbed the flowers he offered.
“They’re gorgeous,” I murmured, kissing his cheek.
The heels I wore might’ve been a bitch on my feet, but they gave me a nice height boost.
“Took you long enough to notice them,” he replied.
“Okay, enough lovey-dovey shit, I’m hungry!” Cassie declared. I rolled my eyes. “Let’s get to the restaurant before I starve to death.”
“Sweetie, this is Effie’s day,” Mom said, far gentler than I wanted to be.
“And it’ll be Effie’s day when we get to the restaurant,” she countered.
“She’s right. We can take pictures and all of that there,” I conceded, not wanting my graduation to turn into a shitshow.
Cassie really tried to act better, but that only lasted until I moved away. She would forever want to be the center of attention, even on a day when I was supposed to be celebrated. But hey, at least she came when her presence hadn’t been guaranteed because of Chad. Look on the bright side and all that jazz.
Dinner was a nice affair. We discussed little of essence, but nothing sparked arguments, so I took that as a win. Slice rented one of the restaurant’s private rooms, insisted we splurge on whatever we wanted, and paid for the entire thing. Once we shoved the food down our hatch, I received my presents.
Cassie thoroughly redeemed herself when she presented me with a one-hundred-dollar gift card. It wouldn’t buy much, but it was more than she’d spent on a present for me in a long, long time.
I aimed a small smile her way before tucking the card away in my clutch. “This is nice, Cass, thank you.”
She nodded in response. I peeked at Slice, who was quietly watching the exchange. He winked at me when our eyes met, and I blew a kiss in response.
“Again, with the PDA,” Cassie complained.
We all ignored her.
Mom was nearly bouncing off her seat as my father handed me a gift bag. The colorful envelope resting on top of the wrapped gifts caught my attention, so I opened that first. It was a generic graduation card with my parents’ signatures, but the five hundred dollars inside more than made up for the lack of personalization.
“The money is from me,” Dad announced proudly.
Mom huffed. “I told him he should’ve gotten you something more personal, but—”
“It’s fine, this is perfect,” I said, unable to stop grinning. “Thank you so much, Dad.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Dad said with smug satisfaction. Mom rolled her eyes, but he ignored her and said, “I knew you’d love it.”
Duh. Who didn’t like money? Cold, hard, cash might not have a lot of thought behind it, but it was always appreciated.
“Open mine now,” Mom ordered.
