He let his mind drift to thoughts of Brie. She wrote him back and told him Alice was pretty. Why would she say that? Why did he focus on that? He shook his head. Nothing made sense as far as Brienne Warhol was concerned. She found a new life, one that didn't include him. He hadn't seen her in years and only heard from her from time to time. He sorted through the stack of mail on his desk. He wasn't as overwhelmed now. Experience taught him to know the size of the correspondence and what was probably inside. He found a green postcard and pulled it from the stack. It was an invitation to a graduation. Probably some staff member or associate. He turned it over and felt his heart race a little faster. It was for Brienne. She did it. She was graduating from Columbia and with honors, no less. He leaned back in his chair and smiled. She hadn't completely forgotten him, he thought to himself. May 15th. He had a little less than two weeks. He called Linda the secretary. "Yes, Mr. Jacobs?" "Linda clear my schedule for the weekend of May 14th. I'll be out of town for a few days." "Yes, Mr. Jacobs. I'll take care of it." "Thanks, Linda, and plan the weekend off for you too, paid of course, you deserve it." "Thank You, Mr. Jacobs!" He hung up, thinking about the weekend he would be gone. He hadn't been this excited about something in a long time.
He decided to stroll down to Mr. Warhol's and see what his plan was for graduation. He remembered the way he felt when he came down here to check on him. He always felt like he was helping Brie somehow. She was far enough away to make it hard to see her father and she never had time to come home anymore. Now he was doing well and he felt like he wasn't needed anymore. He knocked on the door lightly and was greeted by a plump older woman who wore a huge smile. "Alex, come on in...it's been so long. How have you been?" She enveloped him in a warm hug and shut the door behind him. He blushed slightly. There was something overwhelmingly motherly about her. She was nothing like his mother in looks or stature but she carried the same warm love about her. Mr. Warhol walked into the room and smiled at Alex. "Alex, we were just talking about you. Brienne called me a couple of weeks ago and asked about graduation and asked about you." He gave Alex a knowing look. He swallowed hard. She asked about him? "How is she? I never hear from her, but I just assumed she had a lot of classes this final year." "She is better than good, she is happy to quit one of her jobs and be able to focus on the bar exam for a while. After graduation, I think I have her talked into coming home for a few months until she takes the bar exam. She needs the break because she works so hard." He sighed. "What has she been doing exactly? I know she had a full course load and was tutoring, but that's all she really told me." He smiled up as Mrs. Warhol handed him a glass of iced tea. "She never told you about...work?" Mr. Warhol cleared his throat. "I think maybe she was embarrassed about it or just too busy. I wish I was able to help her more. She deserved more from me." He turned somber. "Mr. Warhol, do you remember when all the neighborhood kids would be playing softball in the field and how we broke Old Mr. Sampson's window?" He smiled remembering. "Oh yes, he was fit to be tied, ole Sampson." Mr. Warhol smiled.
"Do you remember when prom came and the car broke down and we were all stuck over the state line trying to buy beer?" Mr. Warhol busted into a fit of laughter at that one. "You boys would have been in so much trouble." He grinned at Alex. "Who saved us? Who paid for ole Sampson's window, who came and got us all and helped fix that car and get it home?" He looked at Mr. Warhol. "That is two of many examples I can give you, but you saved us all. We never even thought to go to any other parent because you were the "cool" parent. We are all thankful for you so don't ever think you didn't give us all something." He smiled over at Mr. Warhol who looked about to cry. "Thanks for that son, I loved every one of you. You protected Brie, kept her from getting into too much trouble. I'm proud of all of you. Your father would be proud of who you've become. With Brie, I just worry. She's still a girl, she works three jobs, and always keeps a good face on, but I'm not sure how hard it's really been on her." He sighed. "Well you can see when you go to graduation, and at least get an idea of what has been going on.