Graduation day
Lisa's pov
"Congratulations, girls, we are so proud of you." Dr. And Mrs. Curtis gave each of us a hug while handing us a card and a dozen white roses. Mike continued to take more pictures of all of us in our caps and gowns with our diplomas.
"Dr. and Mrs. Curtis you shouldn't have," Julie protested, as she started to tear-up. "You've already taken us in, provided for all our needs, and most importantly given us a home."
Dr. Curtis pulled Julie into a side hug, rubbing her back and wiping her tears.
"Now now, none of that," he said, handing her some tissues. "This is a happy occasion and every child has the right to be fed, clothed, and sheltered in a safe environment, Julie. We don't need any gratitude for providing those essentials."
"Now, I want you girls to promise me you'll treat yourselves with this money. Don't you dare think about saving it or spending it on something practical," Mrs. Curtis said, smiling sweetly.
"We promise," my sisters and I echoed, thanking her and her husband for their extremely generous gift. I for one, can't wait to blow these Benjamins on something completely decadent and frivolous.
"I think you can each put some of that away for college," Mike said sternly, as if he could read our minds.
"Michael, don't you dare contradict me." Mrs. Curtis made us each giggle as she tried unsuccessfully to harshly reprimand our guardian while wagging her finger in his face. She's just too sweet to be strict and punitive.
"I wouldn't dream of it, ma'am. I apologize," Mike smirked, as he played along.
"Wise decision, son." Dr. Curtis grinned, patting Mike on the back. "Wise decision," he repeated playfully.
"We better get going, our reservation is in twenty minutes," Shane said, checking the time on his phone.
After leaving the school, we all enjoyed a fabulous meal at our favorite Italian restaurant. When the waiter brought out our dessert, Mike discreetly handed me the small gift bag we had for Dr. and Mrs. Curtis.
"What's this, sweetheart?" Mrs. Curtis asked, as I handed her the bag.
"It's a thank you from me and my sisters for all you and Dr. Curtis have done for us since we first arrived at the NJC," I said, smiling in anticipation of their reaction to our gift.
"Oh my word! Luv, look at this," Mrs. Curtis said pleasantly shocked, as she handed the gift to her husband.
We got them a weekend away at a quaint bed and breakfast upstate, a thank you card, and a small engraved wooden wall plaque for Dr. Curtis's office that read: Only lead with a firm hand when a soft heart is your guide.
"The hook on it is to hang your paddle so you don't have to keep it in your desk drawer anymore," I said blushing, as I looked down, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.
"Although now that we'll be grown and away at college out of your hair, you probably won't need it as much anymore," Stacey said cheekily, grinning broadly.
Dr. Curtis replied, "Oh, darlin', don't worry, you'll never be too grown up for my paddle to provide correction when necessary. Just ask your guardians." He winked at the boys.
"This was so sweet and yet so unnecessary," Mrs. Curtis said, referring to the brochure for the bed and breakfast, while ignoring her husband's facetious remark.
"Yes quite, but thank you, girls, I love it," Dr. Curtis said, standing to give us each a hug and a kiss. Hugging Michael, he whispered in his ear, "Son, you shouldn't have spent your money on us."
"I didn't, sir. The girls worked and saved to pay for your gift. It was all their idea and their money, I swear," Mike replied, crossing his heart.
"You and the Admiral should be proud of these girls, I know I certainly am." Dr. Curtis smiled as he patted Mike's cheek.
After finishing our dessert, Dr. Curtis paid the check then Shane stood saying he would bring the car around.
"Wait, we have something we want to give you and Mike," I said, stopping him.
Stacey took out the two small packages Mrs. Curtis had been holding for us in her purse and handed one to Shane and Mike.
"What's this?" Mike and Shane asked, wondering why we were giving them gifts for our graduation.
Stacey replied, "We wanted to get you something to say thank you for being the best guardians we could've asked for. You loved us so much, we never felt our lives were missing anything. You not only filled the gap born from the loss of our parents, you allowed us to forget it existed."
"When we were broken and alone you pieced us together to make a loving family," I said, as I started to choke up from overwhelming emotion.
"You never made us feel like we were a burden and you always made us feel loved," Julie said, as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"We can't thank you enough for all you've done for us," Carrie joined in, sweetly echoing our sentiments.
When they opened their gifts, they saw we got them identical watches we had engraved to say:
Our guardian angel
Love always,
Stacey Julie
Lisa Carrie
"Thank you, girls, we love them," Shane and Mike gave us each a hug and kiss.
The NJC after dinner
Stacey's pov
Mike and Shane made us wait until we got back to the Center to unveil their surprise gift to celebrate our highschool graduation. Currently, we're all sitting in Mike's room on the edge of our seats cuz we know this is gonna be big. Shane handed each of us a small wrapped present, about the size of a dinner plate.
"Mike, Shane, you didn't have to get us anything," I said, feeling quite guilty they had most likely gone way overboard on the surprise gift they promised us in celebration of our commencement.
"Yeah, you've already given us so much already," Julie agreed.
"Now what kind of guardians would we be if we didn't get our girls a gift for their highschool graduation?" Shane asked. "Come on, are you ready?" He was as excited as we were. "On the count of three, open your gift, ladies. One, two, three!" Shane shouted.
We each tore open our gift to find a personalized luggage tag, a pair of swim goggles, a bottle of suntan lotion, and a colorful lei.
"Oh my gosh, where are we going?" Carrie asked excitedly.
"Shane and I thought the best way to celebrate your graduation would be on a ten day cruise to the Caribbean," Mike said, smiling broadly.
"No way!" Lisa couldn't believe her ears.
"Are you for real?" I asked. "You're not screwin' with us, are ya?" I can't believe it! A cruise? This is so exciting.
"No, Stacey, we're not screwin' with you," Shane said, mocking my slang.
"Awesome!" my cousin yelled. "I can't wait to buy a new skimpy bikini for tanning on deck."
"Yes, you can wait. A long long time, Julie," Mike ordered sternly, hands on his hips as he glared at her. "There will be no tiny swimsuits."
"Oh, okayyyy," Lisa replied sarcastically, knowing this was a battle Mike was gonna lose.
"Don't make me have to pack your suitcases for you, girls," he warned.
"When do we leave, Mike?" Carrie asked, smiling from ear to ear as she steered Mike off the swimsuit topic.
"A week from Wednesday," Mike replied matter of factly, knowing this tidbit of information would get a big reaction out of us.
"A WEEK FROM WEDNESDAY? YOU MEAN LIKE IN ELEVEN DAYS?" I shouted.
Mike nodded affirmatively.
"Oh my God! We have to go shopping tomorrow!" Lisa jumped up off Mike's bed. "I'm gonna start makin' a list," she said, heading for the door.
"Hold up, Lisa," Shane said, grabbing her by the elbow before she could escape the room. "Mike and I have to go over our rules and expectations first. Take a seat," he said, guiding her back to Mike's bed.
"Ugghhh!" Julie whined loudly, flopping back on the bed.
"Would you prefer to stay home, Julie?" Mike asked, frowning at my cousin in disapproval.
"No sir," my cousin responded, quicker than I've ever heard her before.
"Good," Mike said, "Now, I want everyone's complete attention."
We all attempted to sit quietly and listen, which wasn't easy considering how excited we were about this trip.
"First and foremost, you will not be allowed to drink any alcohol while on this trip, girls, regardless of the minimum drinking age in the islands we'll visit." Mike looked at us intently, perhaps anticipating an argument from at least one of us. When we remained silent, he reiterated, "l mean it, girls, absolutely no drinking. Am I clear?" He again looked at us, unsure as to why we weren't putting up a fight.
Since none of us expected anything different, we each confirmed his directive without hesitation with four affirmative responses. I'm pretty sure we'll find a way to get our drink on though at some point on this trip. I'm almost positive tropical drinks are kinda a requirement for a Caribbean cruise.
Shane continued with the rules as Mike was apparently stunned into silence.
"At no point in time will any of you be allowed off ship by yourselves or without permission from Mike or I and while onboard, we'd like to be able to get ahold of you if need be so we will have designated meeting points at various times throughout the day to check in."
"Ok," we all easily agreed, as none of us wanted to risk pissing off our guardians and putting this trip in jeopardy.
Now finding his voice again, Mike stood before us and spoke with authority, "We expect obedience to our directives the first time we ask, without complaint, ladies. Shane and I won't hesitate to issue discipline, regardless of location or present company. Understand?"
"Yes sir," we responded a little more begrudgingly, as this was honestly becoming exhausting.
"Keep in mind, girls, the punishments will most likely take place over our knees, in our cabin or on the spot, with the aid of our belts as grounding you would defeat the purpose of traveling to other countries to see their sites."
Mike wanted to make sure we didn't think this would be a vacation from their watchful eye or stern correction. My sisters and I had other ideas of how this trip would play out. Personally, I'm thinking fun in the sun all day and partying with hot guys under the stars all night.
"Have we made our expectations perfectly clear, ladies?" Shane and Mike stood rigidly before us presenting a united front. "We want you to have a great trip, while keeping you safe at the same time. Ok?"
We each nodded in agreement.
What's clear to me is that we're gonna have the time of our lives.