Page 148 of For the Boys
“Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to present to you the Wayne State University Law School Class of 2021.”
The auditorium erupted in cheers once again as the graduates tossed their caps into the air, yelling and laughing. Confetti fell from the ceiling, and Berkley smiled as Reece scooped her up in a hug that lifted her off her feet.
After setting Berkley back on her feet, he did the same to Harper.
“I’ll see you guys later, right?” Reece asked.
Since beginning their final semester, the three of them had been planning on a bar crawl the night of graduation, as a way to say farewell to their academic careers and celebrate surviving law school.
“Yep!” Berkley said, infusing her voice with as much cheer as she could muster. Truth be told, she was looking forward to the bar crawl, if only so she could get drunk and forget about Brent for a few hours.
“Of course,” Harper said.
“Perfect,” Reece said as he started walking away, presumably in search of his family. “I’ll meet you at Contour at nine!”
Berkley had forgotten they’d agreed on nine. That was so early. “I might die tonight,” she told Harper. “Although that may be preferable.”
Harper reached out and hugged Berkley to her. “It’ll be all right, Berk. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you, acting happy and excited when your heart is broken.”
“For the record,” Berkley told her, pulling away, then linking her arm through Harper’s as they made their way from the theater, “I am happy and excited. This is a huge accomplishment for all of us, and I’m so proud of myself for making it here. And I’m so proud of you and Reece too. I don’t know what I would have done without you. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t also incredibly sad. He should be here, celebrating this day with me and my family. Instead he’s God knows where doing God knows what.” They had reached the lobby of the theater, and people were making their way outside for photos.
“Uhh, Berk…” Harper said, eyes focused on something over Berkley’s shoulder.
“What? He probably wasted no time moving on. He’s probably been with a different girl every day since we broke up.”
“Is that really what you think of me?”
Oh fuck, Berkley thought, a chill running down her spine.
She slowly turned around, and there was Brent.
He had on her favorite suit, the dark grey one with dark red stitching. His hair was a wreck, and exhaustion clung to every line of his body.
And it was just him, a bouquet of peonies dangling from his right hand. There was no band, no hot air balloon waiting to whisk them into the sky, no indication of a forthcoming grand gesture, no pomp and circumstance.
It was just him.
Maybe, after all these months, he had finally heard her.
“Hi, Berk,” he said quietly.
“I’ll just leave you two alone,” Harper said, disappearing into the crowd.
“Hi,” Berkley said, suddenly shy.
Brent stuck the flowers under her nose and said, “These are for you.”
She gave him a small smile, mind spinning. What the hell did he think he was doing, showing up here? She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t happy, ecstatic even, to see him, but they weren’t together anymore. She thought she had made that perfectly clear. And yet, her heart leapt at the possibility that he was here to win her back. “Thank you.”
They stood there, staring at each other for what felt like eternity before Berkley heard her mother’s voice.
“Berkley Iris Daniels, our little law school graduate!” Her mom walked up and pulled Berkley into a hug. Then, apparently noticing Brent standing there, she said, “I’m sorry, honey. Who’s your friend?”
Brent stepped forward. “I’m Brent Jean,” he said, holding out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Daniels.”
Berkley’s mother blinked at him, then glanced at Berkley.
Before Berkley could process what was happening, a voice called Brent’s name from somewhere in the crowd. A voice Berkley recognized.
