Chapter 17 - The Day I Wore the Gown
On graduation morning Simone fixed the crooked collar of my blue gown with two safety pins. Ruby had traded shifts so she could attend, and Talia brought a ridiculous cardboard sign that read ZEE DID THE MATH.
Mom hadn't said whether she was coming. I told myself it didn't matter. Then I looked toward the gym doors every time they opened.
When the principal called my name, I walked across the stage with my knees trembling. The diploma cover felt heavier than paper. In the third row, Cleo and Maisie jumped up beside Simone, waving a little yellow paper planet they'd made for me.
Mom was at the back of the gym, still wearing her warehouse badge. She didn't wave. But she stayed through my speech.
"People like to tell graduates that hard work opens every door," I said into the microphone. "Hard work matters. So do the people who keep doors open when someone else tries to shut them. And when a door is locked, sometimes the bravest thing you can do is tell the truth about who has the key."
I didn't name my mother. I didn't need to. The words belonged to more people than us.
Outside, Cleo squeezed my hand. "I liked the door part."
Mom approached when the photographs were finished. For once she didn't ask me to come home.
"I'm proud of you," she said.
I wanted to believe she meant it without a condition attached. "Thank you."
Her mouth tightened. "I don't know how to do the evenings without you."
"I can help you find a program. I can't be the program."
May you like
She looked at Cleo and Maisie, who were chasing each other across the grass. Then she pulled a folded application from her pocket.
"The recreation center," she said. "Will you show me where I fill this out?"
