I'll Stop the World (121)

Holding his breath, Noah carried Veronica toward the doors of the school, praying he’d have enough time to come back.





THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS LATER





Chapter Seventy-Eight


ROSE

Raising her bright-pink World’s Best Grandma mug to her lips, Rose cautiously tasted her coffee, then grimaced. Cold, again.

What she really needed was one of those insulated mugs with a lid—the students were always selling them for one fundraiser or another—but Noah, bursting with pride, had given her this one on the day their first grandchild was born, and she didn’t have the heart to tell him that it wasn’t really practical for work. Being principal of Stone Lake High was an ever-lengthening to-do list of visiting classrooms, attending meetings, coordinating with staff, replying to emails, and making calls, and she could never manage more than a couple of sips in between tasks. One cup of coffee could easily last her the entire morning.

Maybe she should look into getting a microwave for her office. But then she’d probably just forget the coffee in there all day, instead of on her desk.

The secretary appeared in the doorway, rapping her knuckles on the doorframe. “Dr. Hanley, the Warrens are here.”

Unbidden, her eyes filled with tears. She ripped a couple of tissues from the box on her desk and dabbed at the corners, blinking furiously. Don’t cry, she ordered herself. It was just a scholarship meeting. That was all. She did a dozen of these at the end of every school year. Nothing to get worked up over.

But none of those other meetings had been for him.

“Thank you, Alice. They can come in.”

She picked up her phone, tapped out a text. They’re here.

The response came immediately. He must have been waiting for her message. Good luck. Love you.

Rose tucked her phone into her top desk drawer as her visitors entered the office, reminding herself to keep her smile reined in and her eyes appropriately principaly. “Hello, Ms. Warren, Justin. Welcome,” she said, shaking their hands.

Her voice didn’t tremble. She was well practiced.

Justin and his mother seated themselves in the two upholstered armchairs in front of her desk. Rose had been aware of him, of course, as he’d risen through the ranks of Stone Lake High—the first time she’d spotted him in the halls as a gangly freshman, she’d had to excuse herself to her office, where she’d sobbed for a solid twenty minutes—but she hadn’t had much opportunity to interact with him individually, until now.

Ever since the results had come in with this year’s list of National Merit Finalists, she’d been looking forward to this meeting, and dreading it. It wasn’t every day she got an opportunity to look at one of her students and know, for sure, that she’d influenced his life for the better.

But she couldn’t tell him. He couldn’t ever know what they’d been through together. That version of Justin had died in 1985. He existed now in only her memories.

The version in front of her smiled pleasantly, sitting up straight in his chair. His hair was blond, not the garish orange it had been when she’d first met him, although she still noticed a subtle line of black rimming his eyelids. He wore black jeans and sneakers—were they the same ones he’d been wearing the night they met? The night he died? She hated that she couldn’t remember—and when he folded his hands in his lap, she could see an elaborate constellation of stars doodled in black marker along the inside of his arm.

He was so different. And yet, so familiar.

Rose cleared her throat, flipping through a folder on her desk, even though she’d had the contents memorized for days now. She smiled at him, unable to keep it from blossoming into a full, wide grin. “Well, congratulations, Justin. Being named a National Merit Finalist is a very impressive achievement. We’re all so proud of you.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said politely, although she could tell from the flush in his cheeks that he was more excited than he let on.

“As you know,” Rose went on, “many universities will likely offer you scholarships based on your status as a National Merit Finalist, but in addition to whatever they offer, you also qualify for a Stone Lake Academic Scholarship, in the amount of ten thousand dollars a year for up to four years, at the school of your choosing.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded. “Thank you.”

Millie Warren rolled her eyes at her son, nudging him with her elbow. “He doesn’t want me to make a fuss, but it’s not every day your kid is awarded forty thousand dollars just for being smart.”

Justin shrugged, blushing.

“We called his grandparents,” Millie went on, “and you could’ve heard them whooping all the way from New York, even without the phone.”

Rose’s chest grew warm at the mention of Bill and Veronica. Bill had still been at the high school when Rose started working there, although he’d left to take a university position in New York a few years later.

“How are Bill and Veronica doing?” Rose asked, hoping they didn’t notice the slight quiver in her voice.

“They’re good,” Millie said. “My brother and his wife live just a few blocks away from them, so we get to see them all whenever we visit.”

“Everyone still in good health?”

“Oh, totally.” Justin chuckled. “Grandpa even said he’ll teach me to water-ski this summer on my uncle Jonathan’s boat.”