Page 192 of Rock Bottom Girl
Not so long ago, my future had been a lonely, anxiety-inducing mystery. Now, it was an adventure.
“I’d like to take this moment to invite Jake Weston to the podium,” Principal Eccles said.
“What’s going on?” I whispered. Jake hadn’t mentioned that he was part of the program.
“I gotta do this thing quick,” he said with a wink.
I watched him walk to the podium and shake hands with the principal.
She stepped aside and let him have the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my great honor this year to present the Teacher of the Year award. This year’s recipient has not only been an exemplary member of the faculty but an integral part of the Culpepper community. The only thing more impressive than her bravery is the capacity of her heart. She set out to make every student feel like they belonged in this school, on her team, in this town.” His voice tightened, and he cleared his throat.
Uh-oh. Jake was getting emotional. Could he possibly be talking about—
“Marley Cicero, if you’d join me up here,” Jake said.
“Me?” I pointed at myself.
Jake grinned. Floyd elbowed me. “Get your ass up there, Cicero!”
I only vaguely heard the applause from the students or the faculty or the crowd. I was too busy wading through molasses. This wasn’t happening. I hadn’t even been a real teacher for half the year.
My feet moved of their own accord, carrying me closer to Jake. My Jake.
Principal Eccles handed me the award. It was heavy and glass and had my name engraved in gold. Marley Cicero, Teacher of the Year. At least, that’s what I think it said. My eyes were a little blurry. It was probably pollen.
“I’d also like to take this moment to ask Marley something in private,” Jake said into the microphone.
I distinctly heard several of my senior girls scream, and when I glanced their way, they were standing on their chairs to get a better view.
“Marley?”
I looked back at Jake and found him in front of me, down on one knee.
“Holy shit.”
“What do you say, Mars? You and me? Forever. We’ll take Libby and Homer along for the ride.”
He was holding a black box, but I couldn’t see what was in it because my stupid wet eyes were geysering off my face. Why hadn’t I done the waterproof mascara Natalee mentioned?
I didn’t trust my voice. But I trusted my heart. I nodded so hard the cap fell off my head, and then Jake was picking me up and swinging me around to the wild cheers of the crowd.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, you amateurs.” Amie Jo elbowed her way up to us and picked up the box I’d knocked out of Jake’s grasp. She grabbed my hand, wrestled the ring onto it, then turned and smiled pretty for the crowd.
The deal sealed, I kissed Jake in an entirely unprofessional, unteacherly way. Some students probably had to bleach their eyes afterward. But I didn’t care. We’d started in the shadows under the bleachers. And here we were, twenty years later, standing in the sun.
We resumed our seats, and the rest of the ceremony was a blur. So were the congratulations and celebrations afterward. I got so many hugs from my players my neck was sore by the time we got back to the parking lot.
Libby was waiting for us at the car, a grin on her face. “So my legal guardians are getting married. Guess that means I won’t be an illegitimate bastard anymore,” she said cheerfully.
“Show her the rest of the surprise, Libs,” Jake said, ruffling her hair.
She punched a button on the car remote, and the hatch rose.
“Why is your SUV full of suitcases?” I demanded.
Jake slung an arm around Libby’s shoulder. “We’ve got ourselves a three-week road trip planned to check out some of those colleges on our list.”
“No freaking way!”
