When the graduation is over and the graduates throw their hats in the air, I push my way through the crowd, on the hunt for a man in a sky-blue shirt.
I step outside of the crowd to scan it, and then I see him. He’s looking around too, trying to find me, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. I rush through the crowd, slipping through the gaps, and ducking beneath the flailing arms, and when I’m close enough, my body clashes into his.
He stumbles a bit, but keeps us both steady, the plastic around the flowers crunching from the impact. He laughs, like he wasn’t expecting it but wouldn’t want to be greeted any other way.
I lean up on the tip of my heels and kiss him, and when I pull my lips away, he says, “I’m so proud of you!” over the noise.
“I didn’t think you’d show! I got worried!”
“I made you a promise.” He kisses me again. “I dropped everything to be here.”
I cling to his arms. “I hope you aren’t missing anything important.”
“There was a meeting today, but they’re going to fill me in.” He cradles my face in one hand. “I wasn’t going to miss this day.” Another kiss and, like always, I melt.
“Amber!” I hear my mother’s voice and look over my shoulder. She’s pushing through the crowd, her hair slightly out of place.
I grab her hand and bring her to me and when she’s in the clear, she instantly wraps her arms around me to hug me.
“My baby girl,” she croons. “Your daddy would be so proud!”
“He would,” I sigh over her shoulder.
She pulls away and looks at the person behind me. I turn and Torres is still standing there with the flowers in hand, now with a nervous smile on his lips.
“Um…Mama, this is Joaquin. Joaquin, this is my mom.”
Torres extends his arm to offer his right hand. Mama’s eyes widen as she looks him over, her arm stretching and her hand meeting his. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Lakes. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you.”
“And I’ve heard a lot about you,” she says back, but she still stares at him, as if she’s in awe. She finally snaps out of it to look at me.
“Amber, you showed me a picture but he looked nothing like this,” she says in my ear. “I understand it now.”
“Ma!” I shoo her away, but I feel my face overheating. She’s embarrassing me.
An arm reels me back and I spin around to find Kendall. “We did it!” She hugs me tight and I hug her back, smiling over her shoulder, both of us bouncing,
“We did!” I squeal.
“My mom wants to try this new restaurant if you want to join us,” she offers as she pulls away. “Oh, shit! Torres?” Kendall steps around me to see Torres standing, still with those flowers in hand.
“How’s it going, Ramirez?” he asks, smirking.
Kendall looks at me and brings her mouth close to my ear. “Look, I know I swing for girls and all, but I gotta say, Torres could easily be an exception.”
I bust out laughing. Jesus. She is worse than my mother!
“If you’re going to eat, I’d love to join you,” Torres says to Kendall, then looks at my mom. “I’ll cover it, if you don’t mind, Mrs. Lakes.”
“Not at all,” Mama says, shaking her head. He said the right words. Mama loves when she doesn’t have to pay.
We all leave together and Mama rides with me in Torres’ car. It’s awkward with her in the back and me in the passenger seat and equally embarrassing when he glances at me and smiles.
But as we all eat and laugh and chat, I can easily say this is probably one of the best days of my life. Surrounded by people I love, eating good food, and feeling totally, and completely accepted.
Not once does Mama interrogate Torres. I assume she thinks this isn’t the place or the time, and is rather getting to know him as he speaks. I think she likes him.
After we eat, I tell Mama I’m going to hang out with him for a while and she kisses my cheek before leaving with Kendall, Mrs. Ramirez, and Kendall’s sister, Irene.
“Be careful,” Mama murmurs, placing a kiss on my cheek before she goes.
The sun has set now and Torres takes me to a boardwalk not too far away from the restaurant. We walk hand-in-hand, listening to the water trickle from a fountain in a lake. The sky is painted orange and purple and it’s so peaceful out here.
“So, how does it feel to be done with school?” Torres asks, looking at me.
“It feels amazing. Now to find a job,” I state, laughing.
“Yeah, another obstacle, but I’m sure you’ll find one.” He stops walking then and releases my hand to face me. “As a matter of fact, I have some good news.”