Coffee & Biscuits

31|making your mark

Aria Willows walked home from The Cafe that night, with her shoes in her hand the last half hour. Tears had been flowing freely and then dried on her cheeks but at least now she was done with crying. It had been difficult to say goodbye to Tom earlier. He desperately wanted to drive her home but Aria protested that it was better to part where they were. Outside of the cafe Tom Landry kissed her in the most passionate of ways and then watched her walk away...it had been the single most beautiful moment of Aria's life yet the saddest. When she had began the walk she had thought it impossible to be able to move on but she reminded herself that if her mother could mend her broken heart and pick herself up she could too, even if their experiences were different. 

Before she had left Tom he had made her promise to call when she got to college after summer was over, or just to check in once in a while but Aria didn't have any intentions of doing so - not yet at least. She needed time to get over him, to know that there was a life without him in it and until then she knew better than to reach out to him and complicate things further.

When Aria entered her home she heard the dim noise of the television and knew her mother had fallen asleep while waiting for her. Catherine was spread out on the sofa with popcorn next to her that was near falling. Aria reached for the checkered blanket to put over her mother but as soon as she tugged on it Catherine awoke.

"Oh sweetie; you're home! Tell me everything--just let me sit up--ah there we go." Catherine yawned.

"We can do that tomorrow, mom. It's really late--" Aria tried but Catherine protested with a groan.

"No, no! I want to hear how your night went. Tell me what happened..." Catherine said.

So Aria sat down and began telling her everything. She told her about the nerves she had felt being on stage but how they had disappeared soon thereafter, the look on Brody's face when everything was out in the open and how he had ran from it all. Everything else about Tom she decided to keep to herself as she needed to process this night alone. Catherine listened intently and shed a few tears when Aria was done speaking. 

"I can't believe you went through all of this, my brave eighteen year old. This has been quite the year for you..."

"The year isn't over yet," Aria said while being hopeful, "I'm still hoping that it'll end great!" 

Catherine smiled, "Who taught you to be so amazing? Surely it can't be your father or me." 

Aria cuddled up next to her mother and sighed a sigh of comfort and relief. She was finally home, next to her mother and even if the world wasn't okay right now she knew it would be. It was first now she realized how tired she was and her eyes shuttered close but not before her mother groaned them open again.

"Aria there's something I have to show you, it came in the mail earlier this morning but I wanted to wait to give it to you: it's a letter from Hudson University." Catherine said and fished it out of the pocket of her robe.

Seconds ago she had been tired but now she was wide awake! Aria flew up and grabbed the envelope, inspecting it thoroughly. This was the letter leading to her future, if she got accepted that was. All of a sudden all the trials she'd been going through washed away and only this moment existed. 

"I'm too afraid to open it, but I really want to." She said and fanned the envelope like it was an actual fan. 

Catherine smiled, "Of all the things you've done this year I think this will be the easiest one. Don't you?" She said and tilted her head.

"I suppose you're right. Alright then...here I go." Aria's shaky fingers opened the letter.

She took three sharp breaths before reading and was instantly relieved by Hudson's decision...to accept her!