Page 146 of To Love or to Lose
“Through all the trouble the two of us have gone through together making this speech, there has never been a second I believed anyone to be more deserving than Genevieve Rose Alderidge.” Clapping erupts in support throughout the giant room. “And in honor of that, and my overwhelming love for this girl, I am denouncing myself as Valedictorian.”
Genevieve’s head whips around; she’s already shaking her head at me. I take her hand in mine. “Genevieve Alderidge is one of a kind. We cannot continue to let young women like her be degraded by this patriarchal system, because next time thishappens, there may not be anyone strong enough to stand for something greater than a stupid speech.”
“And for those who wonder why I would fight so hard for a speech just to speak out against it…” She pauses before continuing. “Please remember that protecting the women of the future is more important than defending the patriarchal system of the past.”
With that, I pull Genevieve with me off the stage, cutting the speech short, just like we planned.
“We won.” She grins as we reach the bottom of the steps, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. “We won the war.”
I secure my arms around her in a similar fashion. “We really did.” I smile, leading us back to our seats.
A little while later, Genevieve is one of the first to make her way across the stage and receive her diploma. My face lights up while I watch the pure, unfiltered happiness radiate off her as she’s awarded the Valedictorian stole. She watches me deny the same one minutes later.
If I were to have thought about this moment months ago when I was just arriving in Fairwood, I probably would have imagined myself to be a sore loser.
But I can’t even revel in the feelings of loss, because now that I have Genevieve, I know deep in my heart that we are both winners.
To love or to lose?There isn’t a question. I’m choosing love every time because Genevieve Alderidge is mine, which makes me the ultimate winner.
“I can’t believe we’re going to college,” Genevieve sighs as she leans back against me.
We’re sitting in lawn chairs surrounding the fire that burns on the Callaghan’s back patio. Genevieve is sitting in my lap while we watch the rest of our friends make poor attempts at roasting marshmallows.
“That isn’t for another few months,” I remind her, picking up a roasting stick. “Do you want one?” I ask, pulling a marshmallow out of the bag from the table in front of us.
“Yeah, I can make my own.” She takes the marshmallow from my hand, securing it onto her stick while I grab one for myself.
She leans back again once she has the handle of the stick stabilized against the table with her marshmallow over the fire. “I can’t believe you’re going back to London soon,” she groans.
She thinks I’m going home for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer, and then starting the semester at the University of Oxford.
“About that,” I start, grabbing her stick when it almost falls in the fire. “I’m not going to Oxford.”
She shakes her head, laughing like she doesn’t believe me. “What?”
“I’m not going to Oxford.” This is a secret I’ve been keeping from her since the beginning of the month. “I’m going to Columbia.”
“No.” She stands from where she’s still with me, managing to knock her stick over so her marshmallow is completely engulfed in the fire. “You’re going to Oxford.”
“I’m staying here, Genevieve.”Herebeing the states—with her.
“Jameson, I would have never asked you to do that,” she sighs, raking a hand down her face, “Oxford was your dream.”
“Columbia was always a contender,” I say in an attempt to ease her concerns. I know she would never want me to choose a university solely based on where she’s going. “Even more so when you decided on going there.”
She’s pacing in front of the chair I’m sitting in. “I want to tell you how happy I am that you’re going to the same college as me, but I can’t until I understand why.”
“Genevieve.” I grab her by the wrist, pulling her back down into the empty chair next to me, “I only ever dreamed of going to Oxford when I dreamt of going home.”
“You have to be one hundred percent sure that you’re not going solely because of me,” she says, grabbing my arms so I’m forced to turn toward her.
“I can see my future for the first time, one that involves more than school. I promise you that just because I’m altering my plans to align better with yours, doesn’t mean I’m giving up on my own aspirations.” My words sear deep through the both of us, and somehow no one else around the fire breaks from their own conversations to notice.
She finally lets out a lengthy sigh. “You’re going to Columbia.”
I nod, pulling her back over to my lap. “We’regoing to Columbia.”
She smiles at the thought, probably imagining all that is still to come.“Wait,” she says, holding up a hand. “Who else knows?”
