It started with a list, p.31
It Started with a List, page 31
The skaters formed a circle around them. Their glow sticks made intricate shapes in the night. Lazarus hadn’t moved, his eyes going from her to the skaters, to the audience watching them, and then back to her. She sang the last line, and one skater broke from the circle and pushed her toward him. She waved her hands out, almost falling as the force pushed her right into him and he caught her in time.
“I don’t know what to think or say—-”
Vassa laughed. “Don’t speak; let me. I love you. I’m sorry; I’m an idiot.” Vassa spoke into the microphone as she looked at him. “I love the way you laugh, the way you tease me. When you steal my food when you think I’m not looking, or how you listen and let me rant. When you push me to try something new. How you taught me to trust again.”
Her feet went out from under her again, and he caught her.
“Or how you always want to taste my food. But I love how you make me want to be better. I don’t want to hold on to the hurt and pain if that means losing you. I’m sorry. I thought you would be like everyone else and leave me. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you; can you forgive me and take a chance on me? On us?”
The crowd went silent. Her eyes were enormous as she looked at him and he took the microphone from her.
The tears came again, and she tried to push herself up in the skates, but she went back down again. He caught her and hauled her back up. The surrounding crowd cheered, but it was white noise to her as she stared into those blue eyes that completely had her body, mind, and soul. This time, she pulled his face forward and kissed him, releasing the longing, anxiety, and hurt she had felt. She kissed him with renewed hope, excitement, and trust.
“I love you, Laz.”
He lifted his hand and used his thumb to wipe away her tear.
“I love you, too, Vee.”
EPILOGUE
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am engulfed with the excitement this day has brought to us, and I welcome your new Pacific Grove University graduates!”
Vassa moved her tassel from right to left as the entire auditorium erupted into applause. She, Vassa Blackwell, had endured four years of hard work, sleepless nights, happiness, sadness, and all the in-between to get to this moment.
She was a college graduate.
The graduates were the first to file out of the auditorium, and she looked around to catch a glimpse of Dara, Jayden, or Lazarus. It still felt surreal. Wasn’t it four months ago she couldn’t stand to be in his presence and now…? Now, he was her boyfriend, her love.
Outside the sun was high. The sweet fragrance of freshly cut grass, chirping birds, and cloudless sky made the perfect San Francisco day.
She was different. She was no longer going to hold on to the pain of the past. She would take full advantage of each day, filled with happiness, love, and the occasional guard chase.
“Vassa!”
Dara pushed through the crowd. How she did so in those staggering heels was a mystery, but she collided with Vassa. Embracing they cried and laughed, ruining the make-up they did this morning.
“We did it! We really did it!” Dara held her hands and jumped up and down.
“Did you think the day would ever come?”
Dara shook her head. “It couldn’t come soon enough, but guess what—” Shaking Vassa one more time, she yelled in her ear, “My parents are fully on board with me going to Toronto for my fellowship! They’re disappointed I lied, but they’ll visit me once I’m settled.”
That made Vassa feel ten times better. It looked as if they were all on the road to acceptance.
Dara shook her and her brain rattled. “Are you ready Miss Boston? You’re going to be with the best of the best writers in the country! Fully funded and teaching your first semester!”
For so long, New York had been on her mind, but as Grandma Laura said, sometimes we have plans for ourselves, and life laughs at that.
Jayden appeared next to Dara. “We have fallen into man’s construction of success, but it’s a milestone nevertheless.” Dara and Vassa rolled their eyes.
“Not today, babe.” Dara patted him on the chest as he put his arm around her.
Vassa heard her full name shouted. Her mom was plowing through the crowd with a bouquet in hand with Grandma Laura and her dad holding balloons. “Oh, my baby! I’ve been waiting for this day forever!”
A flush crept across her cheeks as her mom kissed her face and pulled her into a hug. Thankfully the dress she wore wasn’t too low-cut and her bouncy C-cups weren’t on display. Eve continued to babble as Vassa’s father pulled her mother back. “C’mon, Eve, let her breathe.”
“This is my only child; we only get this once, and we’re going to celebrate it right.” Eve pouted and wiped at her tears.
Grandma Laura ignored Eve and stepped forward for a hug. “I’m so proud of you, honey. Not just for this,” she whispered to Vassa as they hugged.
Squeezing her grandmother harder, they released and she could see Grandma Laura’s eyes were misty as well.
“Grandma, you didn’t bring the senior center, did you?” Vassa glanced around for older people with posters of her face. A flashback to high school graduation when Laura brought the senior brigade wearing T-shirts with her face on them made her shiver.
“Hush! Not this time. And you, too, missy; come give me a hug!” Grandma Laura brought Dara into a hug. Vassa’s parents introduced themselves to Jayden. She felt an arm circle her waist and pull her into a hard chest.
“Congratulations, Vee.”
Vassa closed her eyes for a moment, soaking in his voice. She didn’t realize how much she loved to hear him say her name. Vassa twisted around to see Lazarus; he cleaned up mighty well. His hair was gelled back from his face, most likely Harvey’s gel, and he wore a fitted blazer and chinos… chinos? He held a bouquet of two dozen roses in one arm.
“For you.” He passed her the bouquet.
Taking the flowers from him, she circled a hand around his neck, bringing him down to kiss, but their hats bumping stopped them. They laughed as they tilted their heads to the side to kiss. She never thought she would be the one to kiss in public, much less in front of her family not even a foot away, but she didn’t care.
She pulled away first. “Where’s Gideon and your family?”
Just then Gideon, Christie, and Harvey appeared through the crowd.
“Vassa, always a pleasure.” Gideon smirked as he handed her another bouquet of flowers. Then giving Lazarus a look opened his arms for a hug. Vassa laughed and returned it as Lazarus muttered under his breath.
Vassa then turned to Christie who gave her an embrace. “So nice to finally meet you!”
Harvey stood there with his arms folded behind his back and nodded. “Vassa, congratulations on achieving a huge milestone.”
Looking at Lazarus, he gave her a squeeze and she turned to him.
“Thank you… Harvey.”
“Derek and his kids are here but they had a bathroom emergency. Mom and Dad are talking to some friends,” Lazarus explained, giving Harvey a lingering look. Vassa gulped. She was meeting his parents for the first time! She hoped she looked all right.
“I can’t wait to meet them. Do I look okay?” Vassa looked down at herself. Her gown covered most of her outfit.
“You look beautiful.”
She blushed. He was complimenting her a lot lately. They had talked about maintaining a long-distance relationship. It wasn’t ideal but they decided they were going to be dedicated to seeing it through.
“I got better news,” Lazarus said.
Vassa raised an eyebrow.
“I got the internship.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “What!”
“They want me to go out right away. I’ll get to take a tour of the company, see how they operate and how the team functions. I’ll be there for a year or more; I’m not sure yet, but it’s located right next to Fenway Park.”
Her mouth dropped and he smiled as realization hit her. He was going to Boston, with her.
“Are you sure?” she asked. They had a long talk about maintaining their independence in their relationship. No matter where they were in the world, nothing would come between them.
“It’s gonna be a great experience. Can you handle waiting for me to make the big bucks?”
She launched herself back into his arm, and he caught her, pressing her lips back to him. The kiss just wasn’t a comforting one. It was a declaration, a promise, and an erasure of fear. She could feel his lips smile against hers, and he pulled her closer. The world ceased to exist, blurred and indistinct, and it wasn’t until they heard the clearing of several throats that they parted.
“Mrs. and Mr. Blackwell.” Lazarus wiped his lips and offered his hand.
“So, this is the boy?” Simon grunted. He looked Lazarus up and down.
“Dad…” Vassa gave him a look and Lazarus squeezed her side.
“Remember what I said, young lady. I don’t want you bringin’ no babies home.” Eve pointed at her before smiling at Lazarus.
“He’s a cute young thang. You better watch him around me!” Grandma Laura grinned. Lazarus’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. Vassa was so embarrassed. Someone screamed and everyone turned to see Kiki charging through the crowd in her leather boots.
“I’m going to cry! You all graduated, I’m going to miss you both!” Kiki threw herself onto Lazarus and Vassa. Vassa and Lazarus’s family looked at her in interest; they had yet to experience the bombshell that was Kiki.
“That means I now have Boston and Toronto to go to for some fun…” Kiki wriggled her eyebrows.
Oh no.
The families mingled as plans for the future and what to eat later began. She felt some movement from next to her, and it was Oscar.
“We did it,” Vassa smiled and offered him a hug.
They had made plans with the rest of their writing club to keep it going online. With Oscar staying at PGU, she knew he was going to be an amazing teacher and Word Slam was in good hands. Oscar and Lazarus both sized each other up. Vassa looked at them worriedly but to her surprise, Lazarus smiled at him and reached out his hand.
“It wasn’t easy, was it?” He looked at Vassa then Oscar.
Taking his hand Oscar said, “It wasn’t.”
“Can we can take a group picture? Now, everyone get together. Kiki you get in there too!” Eve called everyone’s attention.
They bunched together with Lazarus and Vassa in the center. Lazarus held her close. Dara pushed in to her right. Jayden, Oscar, and Kiki squeezed in close on the other sides. Their families watched as her father held the camera up high.
“Everyone, say student debt!”
“Student debt!”
Everyone laughed as the camera flashed. Vassa glanced at the people around her. She was surrounded by everyone she loved and that supported her, and she was excited about the future.
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Acknowledgments
Ya’ll… I can’t even put into words these feelings I have typing my first acknowledgements page.
It’s surreal, nerve-racking, amazing, confusing, and all in between. If I’m being honest, Lazarus and Vassa’s story has been eight-years in the making. They’ve lived many lives: a high-school glee club (don’t shame me here, haha), celebrities living in New York, best-friends to lovers then enemies to lovers then fake dating and a bunch of stuff that just didn’t fit. My gut is churning with butterflies, and it feels as if I’m sending my first-born off to daycare. Can you imagine? My only baby, waddling inside to play with all the other children, and they don’t look back to see me, crying my eyes out, snot and all, until they disappear from view. I can’t coddle Lazarus and Vassa anymore. They belong to you, readers. I hope you cherish them as much as I do.
I want to give first thanks to God. He put it on my spirit to be a writer, but it was only through everlasting hope and faith that you’re actually reading this book. He’s taking me places I’ve never been before and I’m buckling my seatbelt up for the ride.
Grandma Jackie and Mom… Ya’ll know. I don’t even gotta say it. I know I ran ya’ll crazy with this book, but your essences lives within these pages.
Priscilla… My O.G. from undergrad. It’s crazy to think I just walked up to you that first week on campus and started talking about your tattoos, and now years later we’re still friends. Thank you for reading this book when it was in its early-early stages and for being my inspiration for Dara.
Elizabeth Turner Stokes… I can’t thank you enough for designing such a wonderful cover! You captured exactly the spirit of the book, and you’re simply amazing! We haven’t worked together long but I hope for more covers to come.
To my family and friends… Thank you so much for your support! Especially my MFA Fiction cohort! I appreciate every share, pre-order, comment, and like that you’ve given me. You all pushed me to put my work out there and helped build my confidence as a writer.
About Tinia
Tinia (TUH-NIA) Montford is a Pisces who’s a sap for romance, especially when there’s (tons of) kissing. Loves eighties sitcoms and will consume anything with chocolate. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in English and Graphic Design.
She is a world traveler having climbed a volcano in Nicaragua, scaled Angkor Wat in the blistering sun, and roamed the Acropolis of Athens. Oh, she also dabbles in short stories occasionally.
If you can’t catch her writing, you can bet she’s overindulging on poke bowls, listening to the same four songs, or chilling with her adorbs doggie. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Fiction. You can find more information on her books on her website.
Tinia Montford, It Started with a List
