I had to smile. It was good to have friends you could count on to support you. Right now, it made a world of difference in how I felt.
“Just tell them all to be careful. It wouldn’t be good to pour gas on the fire. The wrong thing said right now could be bad,” I warned her.
“Yes, David. We love you too.”
I ended that call and returned others. It seemed that everyone had questions. Frankly, I did too.
Their responses were the same, too: mingled amounts of shock, disbelief, and anger, along with offers of support. My friends had my back.
When I got home, I said the same to all the reporters that hadn’t left: go to the website. All the information was there.
I was glad when they packed up once they saw I wasn’t going to comment further. I’m sure the local police and neighbors had to be happy.
The only other development today was that reporters started asking my friends in the business about it. The good news was they were, in fact, my friends. Adrienne’s response when she was approached on the street said it all.
“David A. Dawson is a friend, and I only keep good people as friends. I’ve gotten to know him well, both personally and professionally, and I will tell you point-blank he’s pretty much the opposite of the way he was portrayed.
“I’m all for women’s rights and in favor of equality for women. But when individuals try to promote those based on falsehoods, or at the expense of innocents, that’s where I draw the line. What those two women tried to do to David is just plain wrong!”
It was best to let it die down and to chalk it up as another hard lesson in social dynamics. I didn’t want a ‘been there, done that’ t-shirt for this moment, either. I vowed to never make this mistake again.
◊◊◊
So, the day started out better than I’d expected, but I had other, more important stuff to do. Now at least I could do it with some semblance of a real smile!
Today, they would hold graduation in the Field House. I was going to see Jim, Mona, Kim, and Sammie all graduate. Tracy would have been with them, but she’d missed a semester and would graduate in December instead. I’d hinted it was okay that she was slow. That earned me a poke in the ribs and an admonishment to be good.
Mother Nature had given us a gorgeous day. It was supposed to get up to 78 today, and there was just a slight breeze. As I drove down the street, I think every lilac bush was in full bloom. I loved the scent of the flowers. When you saw the lilac bushes come to life, it was like seeing the first robin. You knew that the grip of winter was over.
I was halfway to the door when two girls waylaid me.
“Miss us?” Beth Anderson asked me.
The other girl was Suzanne Ball, Jim’s sister. I hugged them both.
“Of course I missed you two. I hoped I would see you today,” I admitted.
“Come on, my parents saved us seats,” Suzanne said.
Each one grabbed an arm as if they were afraid I would disappear on them and guided me to where Jim and Suzanne’s family was seated.
As I watched the seniors graduate, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was happy for them. You couldn’t help but see their excitement for moving on to the next step in their lives. On the other hand, I would miss them. Most were off to college. I almost wished I were going with Jim to Alabama this summer.
But only almost. I guess I realized I wasn’t ready to leave yet. I’d watched my other friends and my brother all move on. Greg said in many ways, college was the most exciting time of his life. His experience was a little different from most students because of his family. He said that he loved the campus atmosphere and learning things that he would use for the rest of his life.
I had time to reflect on what I had to look forward to because the ceremony took forever. What kept me engaged was the thought that I would never see many of these people again. So many went off to school, and most would find jobs elsewhere. I wanted to remember them looking happy as they accepted their diplomas.
We all cheered for Jim, Mona, Sammie, and Kim. I felt bad for Jim, who’d planned a party. My guess was that everyone would make a quick appearance and then go to the real party at Mona’s.
Mona, of course, was having the final graduation party. I wondered who the party king or queen would be next year. She joked at lunch last week that her parents promised not to try to drive us out of the house with their alarm system this time.
Try to? They
I’d slipped Mona a donation. I figured it was the last time I would do that for her. She’d heard about my speech at lunch and was gracious enough to apologize and then thank me. She said that, with my contribution, they would have a serious blowout.
◊◊◊
Mona’s party was packed by the time I finally showed up. It was good that it was pleasant out because that allowed us to use the backyard. It was surprising that everyone seemed to be somewhat subdued. I guess the realization that high school was over had started to sink in.
I found Mona behind a table she was using as a bar.
