Page 99 of Kiss Collector
Through senior year, Vincent and Kenzie were still going strong, both accepted to James Madison University. Monica’s headed to University of Virginia, and Lin to UVA’s rival school, Virginia Tech. That gives me three colleges to visit this fall. I can’t complain.
Mom started dating a guy named Dennison, and according to Zebby she keeps laughing like a teenager and humming show tunes around the house. Dad and Jacquie are still together. I officially met her, as his girlfriend, at their condo before I left on my trip. It was weird, but I was nice and so was she.
Everything in the United States feels surreal when I return for graduation. I’m now fluent in three languages. I’ve been looking into jobs, but I keep going back to the flight attendant thing. I’ve heard it’s not as glamorous as it seems, but is any job? I’m just not ready to be behind a desk. Plus, flight attendantsget a certain amount of free airline tickets each year, and let’s just say there are a lot of places I want to go.
But first things first. I have a graduation to attend and a score to settle with a certain Mr. Joel Ruddick, who cannot avoid me any longer. According to Kenzie, he wasn’t spotted romancing any other girls while I was away, which gives me hope. She kept a special eye on him and Sierra, but Sierra was almost always dating other guys. I have no idea if Joel’s feelings are still the same as mine. A year is a long time to wait. But I intend to find out today.
The school stadium is a madhouse of families all dressed up and roasting under the sun, and graduates. The guys wear navy-blue robes while the girls wear white. I made a glittery Eiffel Tower on my mortarboard graduation cap. Parts of my heart are still in Buenos Aires and Paris. I envision their streets when I close my eyes. I know I missed a lot, but I will never regret a single moment.
It’s good to be with my loved ones again, though. I link hands with Monica, Lin, and Kenzie in the gymnasium where graduates are called to line up. They keep saying I look different, but when I ask them to elaborate, they can’t. They just look at me like I’m glowing or something, and I know what they mean. I see it in them, too.
I search where theRstudents are lining up until I spot Joel, his hat doing the hip-hop lean to the side. It’s undecorated. Of course Joel couldn’t be bothered with that. As I stare, I see that he’s changed, too. He’s taller. Slightly broader, his face... squarer or something. But even from a distance his eyes are just as light blue. His lips just as shapely and kissable. Looking athim makes my insides dance like the music is on speed.
I head to the rows ofMnames as the band begins playing. We march outside onto the field to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance.” Everyone is smiling, all our worries and grudges from the past four years suddenly gone.
We cross the stage.
We throw our caps.
We find our families in a rush of excited chaos. People are all over the stadium, lawn, and parking lot. I agreed to meet my parents by the car. Zeb is two inches taller than me now, a fact he loves to point out at every opportunity. He also has braces and armpit hair. So weird.
Jacquie is at Dad’s side, sporting a tiny diamond on her left hand. Yeah, that happened while I was away, only weeks after my parents’ divorce was finalized. It’s a little awkward between the two of them and Mom, but they’re cordial enough, mostly focusing on me and not looking at one another.
I opted for no graduation party since none of our relatives from afar could afford to come. Tonight I’ll go to Kenzie’s graduation party at her house with the girls. I can’t wait.
“Pictures!” Mom says. I pose with every member of the family, and Zeb finds my three girls and ushers them over so the four of us can get a group photo—both serious and silly. As we’re saying goodbye I spot Señora Hernandez getting in her car.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell my family.
For the past year Señora Hernandez has followed my journey on social media, always commenting on my pictures and supporting me with occasional notes. I will always feel indebted to her. All my life.
I catch her before she climbs in, and her whole face illuminates.
“Ah, Zae! So good to see you!”
She takes me by the face and kisses both my cheeks, and then I hug her.
“I have enjoyed every moment of your journey,” she says. “Thank you for sharing it for me to see.”
“It was the best year of my life,” I tell her honestly. “I feel so lucky.”
She pats my cheek. “I can’t wait to see what you do next. Keep posting.”
“I will. And someday, I want to pay it forward.”
Her eyes fill with tears. We hug again, and I run back to my family.
Dad gives me one last hug before he and Jacquie get in his car to wait in the long line out of the school’s parking lot. I’m going out to eat with Mom and Zebby, but first there’s one more person I need to see.
I look all around until I spot Joel by an oversize pickup truck with his family. His gown is unzipped, showing a fitted T-shirt and long shorts. His grad cap is long gone. His blond hair a mess. The man he’s standing near has a potbelly and scruffy face. The woman is short with her blond-and-gray hair in a braid. I jog over.
His eyes flash with something like surprise, or maybe worry, and he raises his chin in greeting.
“Hey, Joel.” I clasp my hands in front of me, feeling strangely shy.
“Hey.” He looks at his parents. “Mom, Dad, this is Zae Monroe.”
His mom’s face widens in a smile and she looks ten years younger. “The girl who was overseas?”
