“How are you?” Phil took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, as they walked along the paved path leading to the seating area for the graduation ceremony.

“I’m a mess. I had no idea it was going to hit me like this. And I forgot my sunglasses.”

“Do you want mine?” He brought her hand up to his mouth, pressing his lips against the inside of her wrist.

“No.” She leaned into him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they continued to walk. Her oldest child was graduating from high school. She could barely believe it. Where had the time gone?

She felt a degree better as they reached their seats, and then she was greeting Adele and Phil’s older brother, Mike, and his wife, Jeanie. Shiloh was of course absent, which Lina decided was a good thing because she didn’t want anything distracting from Megan’s day.

“Here.” Phil held out a handkerchief. “A fresh one for the new ceremony.”

“You brought two?”

“Of course.” He leaned in, kissing her softly on the cheek. “I knew you would cry.”

“You could have warned me.”

Moments later when she glanced back over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Megan as the graduates began assembling beneath some trees to their right, Lina found herself instead looking at Dr. Drayton. He was a few rows back, smiling in response to something a woman beside him was whispering in his ear. It felt strange seeing him outside of the office, and she was struck by how handsome he looked in a tan suit, his shirt open at the collar.

His attention shifted in her direction, and their eyes met, and then for the briefest moment his gaze dropped to her body. When his eyes again met hers, she saw unmasked male appreciation. She returned her attention forward, her pulse beating rapidly. He was attracted to her. Or maybe he just found her attractive. Either way, it was unsettling and strangely exhilarating.

As Lina’s eyes followed her firstborn child walking towards the stage in a white sundress, carrying a dozen red roses, Lina caught her breath. Megan was all grown up and a female version of Phil with her thick brown hair, wide-set eyes and flawless skin. Her straight nose was a smaller version of his, as were her lips and even the small cleft in her chin. Lina wondered if she contained any of her DNA or if Phil’s had somehow permeated her egg and pushed all of Lina’s out.

Megan delivered the keynote address flawlessly, exhibiting the same poise and confidence that always came naturally to Phil. And then she was returning to stage again and again to receive one accolade after another. As the headmaster prepared to give the final award to the student perceived by the faculty to be the most outstanding member of the class, he mentioned that this year’s recipient had received more votes than any student in the history of the school, and Lina knew before the end of the announcement that it would be Megan.