Once the ceremony was over, graduation was a blast. The family took me to dinner to celebrate my accomplishment and later that night I went to a couple of parties. The house had held a luncheon for alumnae and graduating seniors a couple of weeks earlier, with23 information about how to be an active alumna, a reminder to keep our addresses updated with headquarters, and a little gift, a small silver-plated box with our letters engraved on the lid, lined with red velvet. I put my badge in it. Astonishingly, my Knight grandparents sent a card with an extensive personal note saying that they were proud of me and my academic achievements in an important field of study. This was accompanied by a $500 check. That was the most concentrated expression of goodwill I'd ever received from them. Even my dad was surprised. And I'd received another package from Cartier: a beautiful diamond pendant, half a carat center stone, with three shining platinum ribbons circling it, each of the ribbons set with tiny sparkly diamonds. The card read, "Congrats on graduating with distinction. I predict great things from you. Be happy, Delphinia. All the best--Will." I sent my thanks, of course. It was beautiful, was perfect with my earrings, and I could wear it anywhere. But for the first time, I hoped that this would be the end. Notes like that just felt like he was squooshing my heart.
I had two weeks at home before going back for my internship, for which I would receive credits. Stan was finally healed up after a few minor setbacks and free from the medical and PT team. I went up to the rink with him to help him collect the last of his stuff; it was a solemn time but he was too excited about his future to make it last for long. I couldn't help but contrast him with John and felt grateful for my brother. We horsed around on the ice just for fun and chatted with Krista and Marc. It turned out that while Grandpa was willing to maintain the rental even with Stan moving on, the center had made him an offer and would be taking over as landlords for their older skaters.
Then it was back to LA. This was a practical internship at the school learning about research vessels and even a little bit about how to maintain and operate the smaller ones. I recertified as a diver, and I went back to Duke's Crossing for three weeks of sleeping in and time with my Grandpa and Stan. My parents were also more present, inviting me over for dinner and asking questions about my internship and grad school. They also insisted on kicking in some money for fees and tuition which was welcome; grad school is more expensive than undergrad even though I'd received two huge scholarships. Mom and Grandpa teamed up and insisted on helping me furnish for my little apartment for my birthday present. I was really excited; this would be my first time living on my own. I'd just planned to visit Target and pick up a few things, but that was squashed. I'd been placed in Keystone/Mentone Apartments, the Keystone building, very nice although I'd been angling for one of the complexes closer to campus; it had a shuttle bus that ran to campus, which would spare me a lot of driving and parking hassles. The apartments had a full--though small--kitchen (including dishwasher!!!!), gas fireplace, air conditioning, laundry facilities on each floor, high speed internet, and basic cable. There were barbeque areas outside too, and had a covered parking space. But the apartments were unfurnished and the only utilities paid were water and trash.
I had to learn how to set up accounts with the gas and electric companies, and Grandpa urged me to keep a landline--in case of emergencies or power outages, a landline keeps working when VOIP phones or cell phones are overloaded. Grandpa took responsibility for the kitchen, and in addition to the beautiful knives he'd bought me in Japan, took me to good stores for a five piece set of really good pots and pans, all non-stick, plus a cast iron frying pan and a smaller non-stick frying pan, utensils, stoneware with some serving pieces, glassware, and cutlery. And more knives with a nice holder so they wouldn't get dinged in a drawer. And some tools for the grills. A few gadgets like a thermometer, garlic press, cutting boards, measuring cups and spoons, a kitchen scale. I had to finally put my foot down. The kitchen was pretty small. He was not happy but backed off. And they planned to shop with me so that we could get furniture there. I wanted to facepalm over the fuss but deep inside, it felt nice that they cared.
Especially since Stan had been accepted at a few colleges and had chosen Loyola Marymount. It was the best choice from his options and also in LA, which I loved. My housing contract was yearly, so I already had possession and had left everything but what I needed for my visit home. LMU was on the semester system, so I went down with them at the end of August to help Stan move into his dorm. I also took everybody on a tour of LA with special attention to showing Stan where the nearest superTarget was, some fun places to see, good coffees shops, good bars that weren't outrageously overpriced but still fun. And in return, he came with us to a few second-hand stores where I picked up a good solid platform bed and and a mahogany dresser in kind of an Edwardian style, really nice, to IKEA for a desk and bookshelves, an office supply store for a great desk chair, and a regular furniture store for a small sofa, coffee table, and two-person kitchen table and chairs, and helped haul everything that wasn't delivered up to my apartment. Grandpa insisted on getting me a couple of tablecloths and napkins along with the kitchen towels, potholders, and trivets, and I needed new sheets for my queen-sized bed. There was a good sale on the mattress, and we went to Target for a stick vacuum, cleaning supplies, a telephone, a toaster, blender, and Grandpa bought me a Kitchenaid stand mixer. I could have cried. So my apartment was set up and I got a lot of help arranging things. My family (except for Dad, he was overseeing something in an overseas office and had to miss it) got to see the apartment and the complex, and I took them to the school to show them my department and they met some of my faculty, including my advisor. If felt good to hear her praise. And we poked around LMU too; Stan had come down for a tour but we still needed maps.
"It feels weird," Stan said to me as Grandpa and Mom investigated something. "I'm older, but you're in grad school and this is my first year as a full-time college student."
"I'm always available for questions or just to listen," I said. "I'm glad we'll be in the same city, but we won't be seeing much of each other since we're on separate campuses. We'll have to schedule something when I get back, though. And don't forget that it's normal to feel like you're in over your head." I brightened. "It's never a new school year without a beach party. When I get back, I'm definitely throwing one. You'll love it. But I have faith in you. You're going to be just fine."
We left Stan at school and I kind of wished that LMU was on quarters too so I'd be nearby in case he needed some help, but on the other hand, it was just college, he'd be fine. He was a former world champion with a lot of life experience, he'd be just fine for a few weeks without me around. Because I had to get new linens and blankets for my bigger bed, Stan had taken my twin-size things for himself, glad not to have to deal with the shopping juggernaut that was Mom as far as that went. They were still in good condition. My silk comforter was too small for the new bed but I refused to give it up; I just got bigger blankets and folded it at the foot. Stan was disappointed, but he took one of the comforters he'd brought home from the Olympics, the first time it had been used since the games. We met his roommate, also a transfer student, seemed like a nice guy.
Keshondra had gone off to U Chicago, Zayna and Maya had gone to USC, and we'd also seen Carol off to Johns Hopkins. It was just Cass and me, which was fun, but still kind of lonely with the rest of our bunch gone. But Paul was also still around. And Cass had been assigned an apartment in the other building of my complex, so that was freaking awesome. Grad school was going to be different for both of us, but at least I still knew people and I new my way around. I couldn't wait to go to the activities fair with her.
I was really enthusiastic when I hugged Grandpa goodbye and hit the road. I went down a little earlier than Cass; I wanted to relax and have fun before classes started. I was making an effort to get my head up and pay attention to things outside of my five-year plan. Serafina was off to law school at the University of Miami; she wanted to concentrate on tax law. Johanna had sent me a NASA t-shirt for graduation and the news that she was applying for grad schools for next year. She loved being part of the space program. Kendra was still in LA; she'd gotten her foot in the door as a set dresser for ABC. I wanted to make sure I was all settled into my nest and went shopping for pantry staples and to stock the fridge. A couple of days later, I got a box from Grandpa; he hadn't been able to help himself and sent me an Instant Pot. I laughed and called him up to thank him. I couldn't deny it would probably be very useful to have. Once Cass had arrived, I got the fixings and we went down to the barbeque area. There were a few people around who had the same idea, and we talked as we all fixed our food.
And to my great surprise, we were hailed by Paul. He was helping John move into Cass's building. So I guess John decided on UCLA over Yale. They were accompanied by their Park grandparents, whom I hadn't seen in years now. I was glad to collect hugs from them, though. They declined our offer to join us (fortunately, I'd have had to run to the store) and finished moving John's boxes. After they'd gone, Cass and I just looked askance at each other before starting to laugh. "I haven't seen John for like a year," she said. "But he looks better than the last time I saw him. He went back to therapy, didn't you say?" I nodded and took a bite of my hamburger. Yum. "I had a crush on him in middle school." She laughed at my expression. "It's been over since eighth grade," she said. "But he was always nice to me, even when he said he didn't want to do whatever the seventh-grade equivalent of dating was. I can't even remember."
"I hope you're not asking for my permission to be friends with him," I said sternly. "You be friends with whoever you want."
"Oh, I will," she said, smirking. "But no, all I'm going to say is that your merciful qualities are well known, and you and John were really good friends once. It's not my place to tell you how long to hold a grudge, but if you really still hated his guts you wouldn't have driven two hours home with him after that wreck. Or not, it's up to you." She changed the subject decisively and we made plans to go to the campus the next day. I promised to give her the benefit of my years of service as a campus tour guide. And we wanted to go skateboarding, and there was the beach party to arrange.
God, I loved Zero Week.