“It went,” I responded shortly.
“I mean how do you think you did?” He knew I knew what he meant.
“Not so well.” I sounded discouraged.
“Did you feel like you studied enough?” Will seemed worried that perhaps he had somehow prevented me from doing so.
“Yes. Plenty.” I tried to put his mind at ease.
I could hear the relief in his voice. “Then I’m sure you did fine.” He paused for a moment, and then asked, “Do you ever think you do well on exams?”
“Well, no.”
“I figured as much. Then I know you did fine. You’re going to have to work on your negativity though.”
“Better negativity than hubris.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I said I couldn’t have failed, it’s like saying the Titanic was unsinkable. I would fail.”
“Your logic is interesting.” He laughed. “So am I going to get the same answer when I talk to you after your next two exams?”
“Probably,” I said honestly.
“I’m still going to call.”
“I know.”
I spoke with Will after each of my finals. After my last one, the conversation took a little different turn as I had plans after the exam.
“I’ll see you when you get home. Don’t have too much fun, please.”
I knew he was referring to the fact that I would be spending time with John. “Don’t worry. I love you.”
John had asked and I had agreed to go to a late lunch with the guys at work after my last final. We decided to take a field trip of sorts that day to a restaurant that, although not far from Downtown, required that we drive there from the office. Daniel drove, Max rode shotgun, and John and I sat in the back seat.
As I sat next to John, I recalled meeting him for the first time. He came into the firm at the end of my second-year summer clerkship. He had been a litigator at another small firm and hated it. He wanted an opportunity to do transactional work and agreed to handle some overflow litigation work to get that opportunity.
I had thought he was so good-looking and so my type both physically and intellectually that I was, of course, nervous around him at first. Notwithstanding that fact, I did everything I could to be around him. After a few weeks, I learned that he had Ashley and that they had been together since high school. Once I realized that there was no possibility of us ever being together, I relaxed and we became good friends. In becoming good friends with John, I also became good friends with Max and Daniel. I noticed as I sat there with John that my nervousness with him had returned.
At the restaurant, we sat together in the formation we usually did with Max and Daniel on one side and John and I on the other. John sat on the outside of the booth and close to me as he usually did. I never noticed the lack of personal space he provided me until now. I had never really thought about it because I had considered John completely unavailable and so such closeness was meaningless. But now Will’s theory about John’s feelings for me had gotten to me.
Daniel brought up the subject of Will and looked at John as he did so, which I found somewhat odd as I still couldn’t believe Will’s theory. “Is Will going to your graduation?”
“Yes. My parents will get to meet him, which is pretty scary.”
“Sounds pretty serious.” Daniel looked again at John, like he was trying to tell him something.
I tried to downplay things because, although Will and I were surprisingly serious considering how long we had been dating, I didn’t quite want to admit it out loud yet for fear of jinxing things.
“So far so good. He’s amazing and treats me like a queen. For graduation, he took me to the Beverly Hills Hotel for the weekend and he gave me this.” I held out the diamond necklace that hung around my neck.
They all stared as I held it out. Max and Daniel looked impressed. John looked over at it and then looked down.
“A diamond, huh? Sounds pretty serious,” Max said, reiterating Daniel’s comment.
“I don’t know that it has quite that connotation here. I think he just wanted to get me something nice and his ability to pay is a little different than ours.”
“I don’t know. We men may not understand a lot of things when it comes to relationships, but we do know what diamonds mean.” Max looked at John as he said this.
“It’s been less than two months. I don’t think I’ll start my wedding planning just yet,” I said with more than a hint of sarcasm.
The conversation felt like Daniel and Max were trying to convince John to somehow back off, but despite this fact, I couldn’t imagine how that could be the case. John lived with Ashley and had never said anything that would indicate any interest in me on his part. I relaxed a little and tried to enjoy my lunch.
Upon returning to the office, I went up to the suite to say “hello” to everyone. As I was leaving, John called me into his office.
“I’ll call you next week and we can set up some time to talk about your trip. Okay?”
“Sure. I’ll talk to you then.”
As I turned to leave, John got up from his desk, and walked around it to give me a hug. “Happy Graduation,” he said as he continued to hold me for a moment.
I was starting to get a strange vibe, but wondered if it was me since I had always been attracted to John to some extent. My discomfort at that thought made me let go and I didn’t look back at him as I walked out the door, saying, “Thanks. Talk to you next week.”
When I arrived at the house in the Palisades, Will wasn’t back from his day’s business so I sat on the couch and turned on the TV.
Kate joined me about a half-hour later.
“How was your day?” she asked while seated in one of the recliners.
“I finished my last final, which was a relief, and then went to lunch to celebrate with some friends at work.”
“Anyone interesting?”
“What do you mean?” I gave her a strange look.
“Stephen told me that Will said there was someone at your work who was interested in you. I think whoever it is scares Will.”
“Will’s overreacting.”
“I don’t know. Apparently, he’s afraid that whoever it is may be more suited to you than he is. He’s jealous of what you have in common.”
“He’s being ridiculous then. John is living with someone else and, even if he weren’t, I’m not the slightest bit interested.”
I truly wished that were the case even though I knew at the back of my mind that it wasn’t quite true. Although I would never choose John over Will, I couldn’t honestly say that I was completely disinterested.
Will walked in the door at that point and, despite Kate’s presence, lay down on top of me on the couch and kissed me.
“This is my cue to leave,” Kate said and rolled her eyes.
“Your exams are over. How shall we celebrate?” Will then took my hand and led me off to his room.
Chapter Thirteen
Graduation was only a few days after my last final. The main undergraduate graduation ceremony for Kelly took place in the morning, Kelly’s Accounting School ceremony was in the early afternoon, and my law school graduation was in the late afternoon, all on the same day.
Mom, Dad and Matt had arrived the day before. My parents booked a room at one of the nicer Downtown L.A. hotels. Matt stayed with Kelly.
The night before graduation, my family, Matt, Will and I met for dinner at the Downtown L.A. location of a famous steakhouse to celebrate. There wouldn’t be a whole lot of time between ceremonies the next day and I had a law school party to go to the night of graduation.
Will and I dressed for the occasion, with him in a trendy blue suit with a silvery-grey shirt and me in one of my little black dresses that was tight-fitting through the bust and flared out from just below the waist. The restaurant was more crowded than normal. I could see that each of the square and circular tables covered in white table cloths were filled. A lot of families of USC graduates
obviously had the same idea. The lighting thankfully was dim and people were distracted with their celebrations so Will was able to be with us relatively unnoticed. Will held out the elegant wooden chair for me to sit down after I had greeted my parents and introduced Will.
My parents appeared young to have a daughter my age. Neither had any grey hair whatsoever although they did look like they were in their mid-to-late-40’s, which was the case.
Like my sister, neither of my parents really looked like me, both without red hair or freckles, but I more closely resembled my father in terms of the shape of my face, and eye and skin color. My father was of medium height for a man with dark brown hair, and angular features. He wore a navy blazer, blue button-down shirt with a green printed tie and gray pants. My mother had more of an Anglo-Saxon look about her with long light brown hair, a ruddy complexion and a thicker build. She wore a navy dress with a round neck and a little beading around the bodice.
It was the first time my parents had met Will and I was a little nervous. Although I had said nothing to Will, my mother had been a little skeptical about the relationship in that she thought someone as driven as me career-wise shouldn’t be dating a flaky actor. She thawed though over the course of the evening as Will’s effort to make a good impression was obvious as was the fact that he was a pretty good match for me in terms of intelligence. My dad, who liked clever banter, particularly appreciated Will’s English wit. When I was growing up, anyone who could insult my father cleverly would receive a standing ovation. Although Will did not insult my father, it was quite clear that he had the capability of earning a standing ovation had he done so.
Upon leaving the restaurant and saying goodnight to my parents, I pulled Will aside and kissed him. “Thank you,” I said simply.
“Why? What did I do?” He looked confused.
“They liked you a lot,” I smiled with pride.
We then headed to Will’s house for a more private celebration.
We met my parents again at their hotel the next morning for breakfast since we thought we might not be able to have lunch or at least much of one between all of the ceremonies.
Kelly wore a navy business-like suit and heels and carried her graduation robe. I had on a Chanel-type black suit with gold and mother-of-pearl buttons and high heels, and I carried my robe as well. My parents, Matt and Will looked suitably nice for the occasion, but were a little more comfortably dressed.
After breakfast, we made our way in separate cars to campus. Graduation was a mob scene. As Will and I made our way from the parking structure to the statue of USC mascot Tommy Trojan in the center of campus where we were meeting my family, Will looked a little stressed. Soon-to-be-graduates in robes were running everywhere and, due to the occasion, most were holding cameras or camera phones. We were stopped at least twenty times so that Will could be included in pictures and, on a few of those occasions, the girls were screaming, calling even more attention to Will. Despite the fact that Will was holding my hand, I doubt most of the girls noticed I existed. Will smiled and was a good sport about all of it, but I could tell he was a little embarrassed by having me see this side of his life. The camera phone pictures and stares from afar I had seen before were very mellow compared to this.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized as we approached my family.
“Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault. Besides, I was so proud of you. You were so calm and kind amid all the chaos. I don’t know how you do that. How can you stand people pawing at you all the time? I’d be very uncomfortable.”
“I’ve gotten used to it. It was disturbing at first, but that was years ago now. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without those girls so I guess I do it because, to some degree, I’m grateful. I don’t like it when they’re aggressive and grabbing me, but that’s just one price I have to pay.”
“One price? Are there others?”
“Well, I already told you about the tabloids and the photographers. That is much worse. At least you won’t have to deal with that today. But I’m afraid it will catch up with us sooner or later.”
Before I could ask what he meant, we arrived at Tommy Trojan and my parents approached to hug me.
Kelly’s two graduation ceremonies ran fairly smoothly. We had a few intermittent screaming girls ask for pictures with Will, but not many. People appeared much less willing to approach Will standing in a big group than when he was with me alone. Will wasn’t completely spared though because Kelly had him get in pictures with a lot of her friends. Will didn’t seem to mind this as much, probably because there was no screaming and pawing involved, and because I was included in the pictures as well.
We grabbed something to eat quickly at the Campus Center before my ceremony started, but had to stand outside to eat as there wasn’t an available place to sit anywhere. When we were finished, I put on my gown that I had draped over my arm most of the day and my cap, ensuring that the yellow tassel with the USC crest was on the pre-graduation side. When I was ready, Will suddenly pulled me into a kiss with my family watching. I blushed. He then whispered in my ear, “I’m so proud of you.”
My graduation ceremony took place at McCarthy Quad. I had to line up nearby with my fellow graduates in advance. My family, Matt, and Will left me to secure seats after I received a quick kiss from Will.
The soon-to-be graduates were seated alphabetically such that we weren’t necessarily sitting near our friends. Consequently, there was a lot of noise as people were shouting at each other from afar. It took a while to settle down the crowd to start the 90-minute ceremony.
The keynote speaker talked about our duty to give back to the community in exchange for all the blessings of being gifted students and having been provided a top-notch education. Like many others, I only half listened as I was finding it hard to believe I was actually done with school forever.
The graduates all got up one row at a time to receive diplomas on stage and have a photo taken shaking the Dean’s hand. With the graduation speakers seated in the front row and a number of rows in front of me since my last name started with a “S,” it was quite a while before it was my turn to go onstage to receive my diploma. I was terrified that I would trip on the stage. Coordination was never my strong suit. I managed to get through it and heard cheers and whistles from my school friends when my name was called. I looked to the larger audience, but couldn’t find Will or my family in the large crowd.
At the end of the ceremony, we all threw our caps in the air as was the usual case. We then filed out toward the reception area, hugging each other and awaiting our families.
It was one of those times where you just spun in place because you would let one person go and immediately find someone else to hug. There was a lot of “See you tonight” or “See you at the party” as well.
Will made his way through the crowd more quickly than my family. As he did so, Will didn’t get as much of a reaction from my class as he had from Kelly’s. My close friends already knew about Will and the rest had heard the rumor that I was dating him. Nonetheless, a number of my classmates gawked as he picked me up, spun me around, and gave me a big kiss.
“Congratulations!” Will exclaimed and he kissed me again.
My family then finally reached us. Will appeared in some group photos with me and my friends as well as photos with my family.
After returning my gown and what probably wasn’t my cap having just grabbed one from the floor after they were thrown in the air, we left my parents, Kelly and Matt, and headed back to my place to change for the class party.
The graduation party was a casual affair and was held at what looked like a currently unused storefront on Melrose that ultimately would end up being a restaurant. It was an odd place for the party, but it worked.
The glass windows along the storefront were papered over. There were temporary tables and chairs in place with a makeshift dance floor in the far corner to the left and tables full of food against the back wall to the right. Loud music was
playing. A few of the students who clearly had been drinking a while were high-fiving everyone who walked in the door. The bar was fairly close to the food in the back and was manned by two bartenders. We headed in that direction, waving and being waved at as we made our way.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when we got to the bar and I noticed that Will looked a little uncomfortable.
“I haven’t really been around your law school friends. It’s a little intimidating. I only went to university in England for a little over a year before I was cast in my first big movie. I left to do it and never looked back. I feel a little out of place.”
“You’re fine with me aren’t you?”
“You’re different.”
“No, I’m not. Besides, I imagine that most of them will be far more nervous around you than you are around them.” I smiled and kissed him.
I had always thought to be the one to feel insecure as not measuring up as someone who deserved him. It was strange to see that, to some degree, he felt the same way when it came to me.
Will perked up a bit when it soon became obvious that I was right. A few of my friends stammered during introductions and others looked wide-eyed at him as we passed through the room.
Over the course of the evening, alcohol soothed the nerves of many of my friends and acquaintances. By the end of the night, you would have sworn that Will was in the room with some of his best friends. A bunch of us, including my soon-to-be summer roommate, Carrie, ended up on the dance floor with our arms around each other singing loudly and with many of them off-key.
“You have a great voice,” Will spoke into my ear after a song that came on with a female singer and all the girls started singing particularly loudly.
When the song ended, we sat down at a nearby table for a rest.
“Too bad you didn’t meet me a few weeks earlier. You could have seen my final performance. The third-year class puts on a show every year. Two of my friends, Mindy and Tanya, sitting over there, and I were The Supremes. We wore judge’s robes with hot pink tights and sang Stop in the Name of Law. We had a really lame dance. It was funny.”
Away From the Spotlight Page 9