by Naomi Niles
I handed the small piece of paper to one of the professors so he could walk it over to the dean as I stood near the edge of the stage. “Caroline Dalton,” he said, and as I stepped onto the stage, the thunderous claps decreased by decibels. The smile on my face hid any sign of disappointment as I shook the dean’s hand and grabbed the diploma with my other. His smile brandished yellow, coffee-stained teeth, and a scar’s blemish just to the right of his chin. His gray mustache danced on the edge of his thin lips, and his handshake was flimsy, as if he didn’t possess the strength to squeeze tight.
I took the diploma cover and headed to the side of the stage where the photographer stood, snapping pictures of all the students as they walked away from the front. Not even seconds later, the dean announced another name and the thunderous claps resumed as if I was just a hiccup in the grand scheme of things. This day was nothing like I expected, and I was better off staying home and waiting for my real diploma to come in the mail. Everything was a waste of time as far as I could see.
After the ceremony, a few of my friends ran towards me and threw their arms around me. “We made it!” they said, completely neglecting the fact that “we” didn’t all make it. Sarah was still in my heart, and because she wasn’t here, there was no way that “we” could have made it. I made it, but she didn’t, and to me, that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all. I took pictures with them, forcing a smile on my face that I felt should’ve never been there to begin with. I just wanted this day to be over.
After I’d had enough of the cameras flashing in my eyes, I left the commotion and parted my way through the crowds of people until I got into the hallway. I removed my hat and tucked it underneath my arm as I headed for an exit. “Caroline?” I turned around when I heard my name called. Harrison stood next to the wall with a smile on his face and Sarah’s things in his hand. I walked closer to him, smiling ear to ear. “Mr. Zimmer!”
“Hey,” he said, correcting me right away. “I said you didn’t have to call me that.”
“Right, right. I’m sorry, ‘Harrison.’”
He wrapped his arms around me. “Congratulations! How does it feel now that you have your diploma?”
I released him. “Well,” I said, opening the booklet, “it is not actually a diploma yet. They give you this thing first and then mail you your diploma a few weeks later. A lot of people walk across the stage, but they don’t actually graduate.”
“Wow,” he said, looking at the booklet. “You know what, I didn’t realize this was just a sheet of paper until now.” He closed it. “I guess you can tell that I’ve never been to college.”
“College is not needed. I mean, you seem to be doing very well for yourself now. Successful... handsome.” Did I really just say that out loud? “I mean, I’m sorry. Not to say that you aren’t handsome, but I didn’t mean to um… I ummm.”
He laughed. “It’s quite alright, Caroline. It’s not like you just cursed me out. You gave me a compliment. No harm, no foul.” I looked away from him, not knowing where to take the conversation. I was thankful when he picked it up again. “So, what was your major in again?”
“Accounting.”
“Really?” He narrowed his eyes towards me. “How about we go to dinner sometime? I happen to have a position that you might be interested in. Now, it might not be permanent, but it will be a little something to possibly get you a little experience before you go off to make the big bucks.”
“Oh, sure. Sure thing. Um, you still have my number, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Great! Yeah, go ahead and call me. With school being out, I won’t have much to do anyway, so I am pretty free from here on out. Just let me know when.”
“Sure thing.” He extended his arms for another hug, and I obliged. “I am proud of you, Caroline. I was able to see the caterpillar turn into a beautiful butterfly and you are definitely a rara avis.”
“Rara what?”
“Go ahead and look it up. I may not have a degree, but I know a few words.” He released me and held a smile on his face as I fixated on him. “But, I will call you soon, alright? You enjoy the rest of your day and be safe. Please.”
“I will Mr… um, I will, Harrison.”
He winked at me, and with that, I watched him walk down the hallway until he disappeared through the doors. I didn’t know what was happening, but to the naked eye, it looked as if he just asked me on a date. I laughed to myself. Sarah would kill me if she was still here. When I spun around, I saw Johnathan standing with a bouquet of roses in his hand. They slowly dropped to his side as he stood near the entrance of the auditorium. I had to tell him the truth about my feelings for him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Chapter Nine
Harrison
I sat in the study at my house doing research on an oil company that was looking for a brand new building to go up in the heart of downtown. Brian had been doing an excellent job bringing in new contracts, and since I made him the project manager, the business’s profitability had increased by leaps and bounds. He was a killer when it came to closing deals, and every time there was a meeting, I trusted him to close it. Laymar Oil was a new company who had just settled into Cottonwood a year ago, and they were looking to expand their company.
Sarah’s picture sat on top of my desk as I searched the internet for information about the company. I ran my finger along the edge of her frame, then pulled out my cell phone to listen to another one of her voicemails.
“Hey Dad, just calling to say… hey, Dad… oh, and um, I know you are probably thinking that I am calling just to ask for money, but this time, I am just calling to tell you that I love you. So, that’s it. I love you, Dad, and thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I’ll call you later. Muah!”
Right when the voicemail ended, another call came through. The number wasn’t saved in my phone, so I wasn’t sure who it belonged to. “Hello?”
“Hi. Is this Harrison?”
“Yes.”
“Hi, Harrison; this is Caroline.”
I smiled. “Oh, Caroline. Hey. I had your name saved under a different number.”
“Yeah, I had to get a new phone a few days ago. I dropped mine in some water, and I couldn’t save it, so I just decided to get a new phone. I was due for an upgrade anyway.”
“I see. Well, how are you doing?”
“I am good. I was just calling to see if you still wanted to go out to dinner to talk about the opportunity you had for me. I think it was a temporary job or something.”
I leaned back in my chair and put my foot on the desk. “Oh, yes, that. Right. Well, if you have the time, we can get together this weekend. If you can’t though, just give me a time–”
“No, this weekend is fine. I am literally not doing anything around here. I just moved into an apartment not too far from Cottonwood. It is pretty much in the same area I grew up.”
“Oh, alright. Yeah, that’s not far at all from me. Do you want me to come to your place?”
“Either way, it doesn’t matter.”
“OK. I’ll come and grab you, then we will go from there. What do you want to eat? Chinese? Italian? Indian?”
“Umm, I’ll leave it up to you. I am not picky, and I will pretty much eat whatever is in front of me. Wait, did that make me sound like a pig?” She chuckled. “Because I’m not, I was just saying that I’m not picky. I think I am rambling now. I am so sorry.”
I laughed. “Caroline, it’s fine. Trust me. But I’ll pick you up Friday evening? Say, 8 pm?”
“OK. That is fine. I’ll be ready by then.”
“Alright, sounds good. See you then.”
“Bye, Harrison.”
“Goodbye, Caroline.”
I hung up the phone and slid it onto my desk. It stopped just in front of Sarah’s picture. I shook my head and leaned forward in my seat until my feet were flat on the floor. “Now, Sarah, I know what you are thinking, and that is not the case. Yes, she is pretty, but I am just loo
king out for her. She needs a job, and I know you would want me to help your friend.”
On the picture, she smiled the same way she did every time I gave in to her spoiled desires. I grabbed the picture, kissed her on the forehead, then placed it back in its spot as I went back to work. Friday came in a blur, and before I knew it, I was parked outside of Caroline’s apartment. I called her phone to let her know I was outside, and she asked me to come up while she finished getting ready.
She opened the door dressed in blue jeans, a tight black T-shirt, and black heels. I stood 6-foot-2, and even with her heels, she was still just a few inches shorter than me. Her hair was combed straight down, and her lips were touched with a hint of gloss. A strong fragrance of watermelon danced in my nostrils as soon as she invited me in. “Thanks for coming up. I’m sorry. I tried to be ready by 8 pm, but I just can’t get my hair to do what I want it to do.”
“No,” I said as she closed the door behind me. “It looks great to me. You look great.”
“Really? You’re just being nice.”
“No, really. You look great. Absolutely.”
She blushed. “Well, thank you for that.” She brushed her hair behind her ear. “I guess, if you don’t mind, you can just take a seat out here. Sorry for the blandness of the décor. I just moved in earlier this week, and I haven’t had time to shop for anything to make these walls and my tables a little more appealing.”
I sat down on the couch and folded my hands in my lap. “No, it’s fine. I’m a man, though, so I see things differently. As long as I have a television and a couch in my front room, I am gold.”
She tossed me the remote control, “Oh. Well, in that case, you are right at home. Go ahead and watch what you want, but don’t get comfortable because I won’t be gone too long.”
“Alright. Take your time.”
I watched her backside as soon as she turned around. She had grown so much since the days that she would come around during her high school years. She was always a cute little girl, but now, she was an attractive young woman. I leaned back on the couch and put my arm around the back cushion as I flipped through the channels. It took her about 10 minutes before she came back into the front room. She looked the same, except her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail.
“Well, my hair wants to be an asshole today, so I just threw a little scrunchy around it so we can go. I know you don’t want to wait on me all night.”
“Take your time.”
“No,” she said as she grabbed her purse, “we can just go.”
I placed the remote on the table, grabbed my phone, and we headed out the door. She climbed into my F-150, and we headed downtown to a restaurant near my business. Maggio’s was a popular Italian restaurant my company did a lot of business with. We had built two restaurants for them, and because of that, we always got a discount off their food when I showed them the company card.
“Oh, I love this place,” she said as we pulled into the parking lot. “They have the best pasta in Cottonwood. I could eat it for the rest of my life!”
I laughed as I shut off the engine. “Well, we will make sure you get enough of it to hold you over for tonight and tomorrow.”
She smiled. “Now I see the reason that Sarah was so spoiled. You really gave her everything she wanted, huh?”
I exhaled. “Yeah, I am guilty. She was my sweetheart, and anything she asked for, she could have.” We sat in silence, and when the thought of Sarah became too much to bear, I grabbed the handle on my door. “Shall we?” She quietly nodded her head, and with that, we entered the building. The hostess led us to a seat near the back of the restaurant. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling like giant spiders descending on single strands of silk.
The room was dimly lit from one end to the other, adding to the mellow ambiance inside the restaurant. The hostess smiled as she extended her hand for us to have our seat. I pulled Caroline’s chair out, then took a seat across from her. “Your server will be with you momentarily. Enjoy your meal.” The hostess smiled at us, then made her way back to the front of the restaurant.
“Did you see how she looked at us?”
I grabbed the menu and pulled it open. “No, I can’t say that I did. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“She looked as if you were my sugar daddy or something.”
“Sugar daddy?”
She snickered. “You don’t know what a sugar daddy is?”
I smiled. “Enlighten me.”
“Well, a sugar daddy is an older man who wines and dines a younger woman. Pays for things like rent or cars and things like that. She gave me that sort of, ‘good job’ look when she seated us.”
“Wow,” I said, looking back at the hostess. “I don’t know whether to be offended that she thinks I am old or what.”
“No, it’s not totally a bad thing. I mean, I am surprised she pegged you for an older man anyway, especially since you don’t look a day over 30.”
She lowered her eyes to look at the menu as my line of sight went to her breasts. She was attractive, without a doubt, but I had to keep my mind on the reason I wanted to bring her out in the first place. I ripped my eyes away from her breasts and dug them into my menu. “So, the opportunity I was telling you about before. We have an open accounting position at my company. For some reason, we haven’t been able to keep that spot filled. We had one person, but they turned out to be a dud, and then the next person ended up moving away with her husband about two weeks after she was hired. That is your area of expertise, right?”
She lowered her menu. Her lips glistened under the dim lights as she propped her elbows onto the table. “Yeah, that is my area, but I don’t know. I don’t want to leave your company high and dry again because I still plan on moving to California in a few months. Things kind of got delayed once,” she looked to the right, then dropped her head. “Yeah. Things just got delayed.”
“I understand. Completely. But, how about this. We will keep searching for a more permanent employee to fill that spot, but in the meantime, you can just rack up the experience and put me down as a good reference. It wouldn’t hurt. What do you think?”
She tapped her fingernails against the table. They sounded like a tiny army, marching along the surface of the table. “I guess I can come by and check it out. A little extra money wouldn’t hurt during this time.”
“It sure wouldn’t.”
Just then, the waiter came to our table to grab our orders. I extended my hand to Caroline, prompting her to order first. As I sat back and listened to her order, I realized that she was much mature than I imagined. As natural as things felt between us, there was still a line that I believed I couldn’t cross.
Chapter Ten
Caroline
I woke up the next morning after my dinner with Harrison. He refused to let me call it a date since we were just two adults going out to talk about business. I knew he had Sarah on the back of his mind, because at times throughout the meal, I did as well. I chuckled when I thought about the things she would say to me if she saw us out together last night, but it was business-related, so to me, it lightened her comments just a bit.
He told me to come out take a look at his construction company to see if it was somewhere that I wouldn’t mind working for a little while. I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially since I needed some form of income to make sure I covered my monthly bills. But, outside of the business aspect of our talk, it was good just speaking with another adult outside of the college setting. Everything was so structured at the university, but with Harrison, it felt like I was getting a taste of what life after college was going to be like.
I pulled myself out of bed so I could get dressed and head up to his office. I searched throughout my closet to find something to wear. I didn’t want to dress too fancy, but I didn’t want to look like I was going to spend a day at the mall or something. I held a few different dresses up to my body as I stood in the mirror. No, that is too tight. No, that shows way too much cleavage. I
don’t want to look like a slut in front of his employees.
I practically sifted through my whole closet, mixing and matching different skirts and tops to find something I felt would be suitable to wear for the visit. I finally landed on a white skirt with a blue blouse. It was a loose-fitting top with spaghetti strings on the back, perfect for the Arizona heat. I grabbed my blue heels out of the closet with a pair of dangling earrings to match my top. Now, that is perfect. I smiled, then hopped in the shower and prepared to leave.
It was nearly a 30-minute drive to his office, and that was without traffic. When I arrived, I gave Harrison a phone call to let him know I was parked outside. “Oh, great! I was just telling my project manager about you. Come on up. We are on the fourth floor, room 402.” I got out of the car and looked over my attire once more before I headed inside.
The marble floor of the building matched the walls. Medium-sized flower pots extended four feet into the air, positioned in separate corners of the room. The receptionist sat behind a counter in the middle of the room. She smiled as I approached her. “Hello. How can I help you today?”
“I am here to see Harrison Zimmer.”
“Alright. Sure thing. Is he expecting you?”
“Yes.”
Her finger skimmed down a sheet of paper, stopping on my name when she came to it. “Welp, there you are right there. OK,” she handed me a visitor pass, “the elevator is straight down this hallway, and he is on the fourth floor–”
“Room 402?”
“That is it! How did you know?”
“I spoke with him just before I came in.”