Chapter 50: Bonus Scenes, Part 2: Anita

The hall was still not filled as more people came in. I caught sight of Mom and raised my hand for a quick wave. Hayley, who I still kept in touch with even though she'd moved a little far for college, would have been there but she'd promised to meet up for drinks for some girl time when she came back to town in another week or so. Carl and Evan sat beside Mom, and Evan was carry-ing our daughter in his arms. He was looking for me as well, and I thought he saw me, because suddenly he had on this blinding smile, and I grinned back, losing the nervousness as I started to feel excited.

I'm graduating from college today!

The ceremony seemed to take forever. There were so many speeches before the main event even started, and I could see a lot of the people around me yawning, a few discreetly using their phones. We were placed close to the front.

It seemed to take forever before I finally walked across the stage, and then we were all free to mingle with our families. It was long past l