Why is she working three jobs? I ask her every time I talk to her or hear from her if she needs anything. Of course, I never hear from her." He raked his hand in his hair. "Well, she is stubborn, our Brie." Mr. Warhol smiled at him. "You probably know that better than anyone else. As for graduation, I'm not sure about all of that just yet." He glances at his wife. "We will have to see." "You are going aren't you?" Alex sat up. "She needs you there, it's important to her." "We are going to try that's for certain." Mr. Warhol patted his hand and stood up to refill his drink. Alex sat back lost in thought. He smiled at Mrs. Warhol who handed him some chocolate cake. He loved the way it felt here. The house that hugs you. He smiled and they went on talking about Brandon's new baby. The next week and a half, Alex made all of the necessary preparations for the trip. Some of those preparations included securing seats to fly to New York for not only him, but Mr. Warhol and his wife. Money was the issue, though Mr. Warhol didn't want to discuss it. Alex didn't want to give him any reason to refuse his help. He had the tickets delivered to the house and when Mr. Warhol called to complain, he said they were free with his frequent flyer miles and they were also nonrefundable. He wouldn't want to waste them, would he? He didn't think Mr. Warhol bought it, but he relented and was grateful. They were all leaving in the morning and Alex had some work to complete before he could just leave town. He worked into the night with a sense of excitement. What was wrong with him. It was a graduation, not a wedding? He smiled to himself. She was going to be surprised when she saw the three of them show up. They decided to surprise her. He knew she hated surprises, but it serves her right for never writing him back, he thought. He smiled and fell asleep.
The flight was on time and Alex could only grin as he heard Mr. Warhol fuss about first class and how it just "wasn't right." Mrs. Warhol, on the other hand, was in awe and was happily sampling all the food on the flight, much to Alex's amusement. They settled in for the flight and he drifted off. Nothing was going right! Brienne was furious. She was pacing for more than an hour waiting to get her final grade in one of her classes. This grade would determine her GPA and ultimately be a huge factor on her resume. Not only that, she had graduation today and she wasn't even sure if her father was coming at all. She called him all morning and nothing. Nothing! She glanced at the clock and hit refresh on the computer. There it was...A. She did it. She completed law school at the top of her class. She was Valedictorian. She swallowed and sat down. She felt the stress of the last three years melt away. It was worth it. She stood and started to dance. No one could see her. She was in her own place, so why not. She bounced around some mix of the hula and the running man. She stopped in a huff and plopped into the chair. Today was the day. The day she could start to relax. Her father asked her to come home for a while....Alex was there. She pushed him out of her mind. He was probably married to Alice by now. She stood and gathered her things to head to the graduation. She arrived at the stadium and was greeted by Professor Abrams who handed her the tassels to wear for the ceremony. "Thank You." It's all she could get out. She hoped and prayed for this moment. She prepared a speech just in case. She knew the running was between her and one other person. The ceremony began. The usual lengthy pomp and circumstance, and she made a point of keeping her speech short and sweet. She focused on the importance of family and friends, and shared a story from her childhood. She felt the sweet relief of months of work as she walked across the stage and was handed her diploma. That's when she saw him. As she walked down the aisle back to her seat, she saw his blue eyes and black hair. He was clapping for her as she walked by. He made eye contact and she felt her knees go weak. What was he doing here? She could think of nothing else as she waited for the ceremony to end. As people began to filter out, she was able to find him easily enough. He towered over most people. He had to be 6 ft. tall. His hair was still dark and slightly wavy on top now. He looked older and wiser somehow. She wasn't the only one to be taken aback.