I woke feeling the same feelings from my sleep, which were carried in to my sleep from the party. I looked at my alarm clock. It was almost three in the afternoon. What an odd time to be waking up. I lay there listening to the house. Same sounds. Everything felt so fresh. That was a Sunday feeling. I didn't want to move but didn't want to waste away the rest of the day either. I got out of bed, made it, and changed into some shorts and a t-shirt. Pulled my hair in to a pony tail.
Downstairs was empty. I poured a glass of cranberry juice from the refrigerator and looked out the back door. Dad was sitting in a lawn chair talking to mom who was sitting on the ground doing something with a potted plant. I wondered out to where they sat.
"Hi". They looked up and smiled that smile of accomplishment. I had graduated and they still felt good about it.
"Hi. We thought you might sleep all day." I sat on the ground next to mom. "You've had quite a few calls already. I think everyone else you graduated with beat you by about three hours."
"What do you mean?"
"Mary called and so did that friend of hers, Tim. And some nice sounding young man named Shaun called. They would all like for you to call them AS SOON as you wake up." I knew she was dying to ask who Shaun was.
"Oh". I couldn't help but smile. Inside and out. That made mom smile and dad just looked at me.
He couldn't stand it. "Who's Shaun?" I caught mom throwing him a mother look and he just shrugged at her.
"He graduated, we just talked a lot last night. He wanted me and Mary and Tim to go to his graduation party today."
"Are you going?" Mom looked hopeful. Like I said, I don't think I gave them much excitement in life.
"I was going to call Mary and see if she wanted to go,"
"You know where the phone is." Dad was just a little too blase as he flipped his hand towards the house. Mom threw a clump of dirt at him from the potted plant.
"Leave her alone Neil."
He looked indignant. "Oh....and you haven't been out her for the last two hours painting pictures of who this Shaun is and their life together."
Mom blushed. "I have not Nicky. I was just curious as to who he was and if we know him."
"It's all right mom. I'll go call him." I got up and walked away but not before hearing mom start to lay in to dad about why he would say that to me. Poor mom. Poor dad. They were too funny but it was kind of sad that they were this excited about a call from a boy.
I called Mary first because I wasn't going anywhere unless she went. She asked why not. She even asked if Tim might want to go with us just for fun so we hung up and she was going to call Tim.
I sat staring at the phone in my hand before calling Shaun. I had never done that. Call a guy. A guy I kinda wanted to see. A guy I felt kind of nervous about in a happy sort of way. I could feel a nervous tremor in my hand as I started to dial his number from the note mom had left on the counter by the house phone. He picked up on the first ring.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Shaun?"
"Nicky? I didn't think you would ever wake up!"
"Well I just did."
"Are you coming over?"
"I think so. I think Mary and Tim are too if that's still okay."
"It's great. When?"
"Well I still need to get dressed and pick up Mary and Tim and find out how to get to your house."
"If you're picking up Tim he knows how to get here. Just dress casual. Shorts or something. No one is dressed up here."
I told him we would be there as soon as we all got ready. While I was upstairs getting ready Mary came up. She was sitting in my room when I came out of the bathroom. She was wearing new shorts and shoes and looked as cute as could be. I had on new clothes mom had picked up weeks ago but I had never worn.
"I think we look great Nicky. Are you going to fix your hair?" I had just rebrushed it and put it back in a pony tail.
"No, I like it like this."
"Okay, Time said he would be ready for us. I kind of figured you would want to drive."
I smiled. New car. "Good guess." We went downstairs and outside and told mom and dad our plans which thrilled them I could tell. But I could also see them straining to not let me see that.
In the car Mary let me know that she had noticed. "Your mom and dad sure seemed excited about you going to this party."
"I know. Sometimes I feel like I've let them down. Like I haven't given them enough, or much, to be excited about as parents."
"I would think most parents would like not having too much excitement. I mean, thin of the anxiety parents must live with."
"I know. But I mean good excitement. Like me going to the prom or on dates or being on a team. Stuff like that."
"I don't think you have anything to worry about. You surely are not a disappointment to your parents."
"You don't think so?" It was good to hear her say that. Mary wouldn't lie to me.
"God no Nicky. Your parents adore you."
"I know. I just must be awfully boring to them. You should have seen them when I got up and went downstairs. They didn't even ask about the party they went right to Shaun's calling and couldn't wait for me to call him back."
"Well, it is kind of exciting. I mean, even I'm excited about it."
"Why?" I was taking my time driving to Tim's. I felt like talking. I wanted to know what everyone felt and Mary would do her best to explain it. "Wait!" I saw a drive thru and pulled in to it.
"What are you doing?"
"This is my first real drive somewhere in my own car, and we should go to our first drive thru in my car and get something to drink. My treat."
"All right. A case of beer."
"Get serious."
"It was worth a try. All right, a root beer." I ordered a rootbeer and a rasberry flavored water and a bag of pretzels, just to order something. We went on our way.
"Okay, so why is this is exciting for you that Shaun wants me to go to his party."
"Nicky, are you serious? I have never seen you go out with a boy, or even want to. And NO I don't think you have to be with a guy to be happy, but I also think that you avoid doing fun things. I think you would enjoy yourself."
"I don't think I avoid fun."
"I am not going to argue with you about that. But, yes, you do. How many games didn't you go to so you could stay home? The same thing with dances, parties, just going out. You would rather not do those things."
"That's not a bad thing."
"Maybe, maybe not. I guess it depends on why you are doing it. Or rather, not doing it."
I knew she meant Doug. Or what Doug had done. "I don't know Mary. Maybe. But I was more comfortable at home. I am not all that comfortable around a lot of people. And that is not a bad thing."
"Because you don't want them to know anything about you."
"Do you work with your mother or something?"
"She is pretty smart you know. And I do like reading her books."
"We aren't all book cases you know."
"I know Nicky. I don't think for a minute that you are a typical case of anything. I say what I say because I know you and what say comes from my heart, not any books I read."
"I'll buy that." She smiled. We were getting close to Tim's. I didn't want to keep talking about this. Mary did know me. But no matter how well she knows me, she doesn't know everything. Tim was waiting on the porch for us. As soon as he saw us he opened the front door like he was yelling something in to the house and was in the driveway standing there waiting but the time I stopped the car by him. He opened Mary's door and climbed in the back seat behind her.
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