Free Touching Stars by Emilie Richards Page B

eyes met. They smiled simultaneously.
    “Yeah, okay, they’re pretty awful,” Noah said. “But they’re loud.” He disappeared again.
    “He’ll be next,” Elisa said. “Or rather, next after Leon. All of them graduating, and you so young.”
    Gayle stared at the spot where her son had been. “I had them young. I always thought it would be best that way. The boys at home while I was filled with energy and enthusiasm, then the boys leaving while I was still young enough to do the things I wanted. Eric and I would—” She stopped, appalled at what she’d almost said.
    Elisa answered smoothly, as if the last fragment hadn’t been uttered. “Sam and I will do it the other way. Old, tired parents with no enthusiasm.”
    “You know you’ll be enthusiastic, both of you, once the residency is finished. You’re born to be parents.”
    “The graduation? It was beautiful?”
    Gayle thought about the moment when Jared had walked through the line to get his diploma. All the years of nurturing him, comforting him, helping with homework and trying to pitch balls he could hit. The science-fair projects and basketball games. The occasional weeks he had spent with his father, giving her a taste of what was to come.
    “It was beautiful,” she said. “I knew every parent who was sitting around me. Through the years, we all became friends. Eric didn’t know anyone.” This had seemed significant and sad to her, but she wasn’t sure Eric had realized how alone he really was in the stands. People had greeted him like a celebrity, but not like the proud father of the class president.
    “He had a group around him the last time I went to check on Sam,” Elisa said.
    “He’s an entertainer by nature.”
    “Was he okay at graduation? Feeling strong enough to be there?”
    “I don’t think so, not really. But he went anyway.”
    “This has to be hard. For both of you.”
    “Having Eric here is one of the last things I can do for Jared before he leaves us for good.”
    “A chance to finish up business?”
    “I want the boys to know they have two parents they can count on.”
    The door swung open, and Dillon, disheveled and sweaty, came in. “Do we have more pizza? Noah grabbed the last piece!”
    “I have another plate right here, and you can have the first piece.” Elisa held up the platter. “Will you take it out to the table for me?”
    “Sure.” He grabbed it. “Cray brought Grapevine. I’m teaching him to roll over.”
    “Well, there’s a party game.” Gayle wished Jared’s best friend had left Grapevine, a mixed-breed puppy whose heritage remained a mystery, at home. Grapevine had never been anything but sweet tempered when she had encountered him, but with the crowds and the noise, she was less certain.
    “I wish we had a dog.”
    It was an old complaint. Dillon knew too many of their guests had allergies, so she ignored the comment. “Come back for this after you drop off the pizza, okay?” She held up a platter of brownies.
    “Man, with Jared gone, I’m going to have a lot more work to do.” He left, shaking his head.
    Elisa burst into laughter. “That one is a character. Don’t tell anybody, but Dillon is my favorite in the coming-of-age class. I can always count on him for a smile.”
    Gayle had been fond of Elisa; suddenly she was fonder. “He’s definitely a work in progress.”
    “Only because he has important places to progress.”
    “I think you’ve earned something to eat. What do you say? Shall we go out and join the others?”
    “Now that the band is gone.”
    Managing everything but the brownies, they pushed through the swinging doors and went out to the porch. There was just enough room at one end of the long tables set up under the trees beyond the driveway for the remaining food. After Elisa left with a soft drink for Sam and Dillon dropped off the final platter, Gayle stacked empty dishes and used serving utensils in plastic crates hidden by long tablecloths. She