Homecoming
Hannah heard her name called and stepped on to the stage. From somewhere in the cavernous arena, she heard a shrill whistle. That's got to be Bonita, she thought. The dean held out her diploma and shook her hand. He spoke to her, but she could not make out his words over the audience's applause.
She looked out toward the seats, hoping to see her family, but she was blinded by the stage lights. Fortunately, there was an usher standing by the stairs, who took her arm and helped her down.
"I guess I'm not the first one who looked right into the lights," she said, laughing.
"Nope," he replied, "Just about everyone does."
She thanked him and found her way back to her seat, black spots still dancing in front of her eyes. When they finally cleared, she raised her gown far enough to reach into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
She texted Charlotte.
where are you sitting??
Charlotte sent a message back with the section and row. Hannah scanned the crowd until she saw Bonita waving her arms and Alvy holding up a poster board sign that read "Hannah! We Love U". She waved back and faintly heard them shout her name. The rest of the family stood then; her mother and father, Charlotte and Seth, Jennifer and Danni.
She smiled and waved back with both hands.
"Is that your family?" the girl next to her asked.
"Yes, it is," she said, feeling a rush of pride and affection for each and every one of them. She looked up again. They were watching the line of graduates cross the stage. All except Mary, who was still looking down at her. Hannah blew her mother a kiss, and watched as she gestured catching it, and sent one back.
As the remaining diplomas were handed out, Hannah felt her exhilaration give over to a melancholy feeling. In the excitement of the commencement, and the joy she felt in having her family around her, she had given little thought to the ending of her time at Pitt. From her first day of kindergarten, there had been no place she'd rather be than in a classroom. She had now, in all likelihood, reached the end of her days as a student. She reminded herself that she was still going back to class, but as the teacher, and that brought a smile to her face.
The population of Maine had been growing, as more and more young families left hotter, drier states for its cooler climate and abundant fresh water. The increasing growth had cause a shortage of teachers, and she had been lucky enough to have been offered a position teaching second grade at Londonderry Elementary. At least she assumed it was luck, although she wasn't entirely sure someone, perhaps her mother, had pulled a few strings. In any case, moving back to her home town and teaching in the building, the very classroom, she had sat in as a student, would be a dream come true.
When the last graduate had crossed the stage and the final ceremonies had concluded, Hannah shuffled with her classmates out of the arena. Once she was out of the building, she tried to scan the crowd for her family through the forest of tasseled caps. Both her parents were tall, why did she have to be so short? Even Alvy, at sixteen, was taller than her now.
Between the ranks of black and blue gowns, she finally caught a glimpse of Alvy's sign. She wormed her way toward it, and he saw her, shouting, "There she is! Here comes Hannah!"
Charlotte was the first to embrace her, squeezing her tight and muttering, "I am so proud of you, little sis." Jennifer was next, then Seth and Danni. Bonita squeezed her around the neck so tightly, she couldn't breathe, then Alvy gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
When everyone else had congratulated her, she turned to her mother and father. Alvin held out his arms and she stepped into them, pressing the side of her face against his chest. Her cap fell off and Bonita picked it up and put it on.
"You had your chance, Nita," Danni laughed.
Alvin stroked Hannah's head and whispered, "I always said you were smarter than me, now you got papers to proof it."
It was Mary's turn, and as they hugged, Hannah said to her, "I wish Grandma Jean was here today."
"I know, honey," Mary said, "I do, too. But you know that she always believed in you. We all do."
Alvin and Mary had offered to buy everyone supper at a restaurant of Hannah's choice for her last night in Pittsburgh, and they had expected that she would pick some fancy, expensive place, so they were surprised when she said she wanted to go to a small downtown grill called The Three Rivers Tavern.
"Best burgers in the city," she had explained, "but the reason I want to go there is that it's right by Charlotte's office, and we would meet there at least once a week for lunch. So, it's a special place to me, and I'm going to miss it."
Hannah rode to the tavern with her parents. "It feels funny," she said, "sitting in the backseat, with you guys in the front. Like I'm a little girl again. It will really feel funny being back home in my old room."
Alvin looked at Mary and grinned. "Well, we can talk about that later," he said.
"What? Are you going to kick me out?"
"Of course not, sweetheart," Mary said.
Hannah leaned forward in her seat. "Mama," she asked, "When you finished college, did you go back to live with your parents?"
"Oh, no, honey, Wyatt and I already had an apartment, and we got married just after graduation."
"I've always wondered what he was like."
"Well, you'll never get to meet him."
"Why not?"
Mary looked over the seat at her.
"Because he came to see me before your father and I got married. And your Papa and Uncle Tim told him that if he ever came back to Maine, they would take him out on the ocean and toss him overboard."
"We did not!" Alvin exclaimed as Hannah laughed.
"Maybe not in those exact words, but he got the message."
"He been back?" Alvin asked.
"No."
"Well, alright then."
The burgers at Three Rivers Tavern were judged to be as good as Hannah had claimed.
"So, Papa," Hannah asked Alvin after she had finished her burger, "What were you saying about my room?"
He looked at Mary and nudged her with his elbow. "Why don't you tell her?"
Mary swallowed a sip of her wine, then said, "Well, we were going to surprise you when we got home, but since not everyone will be there, we decided we would tell you tonight."
Hannah looked around the table and saw that everyone was grinning. "Tell me what?"
"Well," Mary said, "We know that it's really tough to find an affordable place to rent anywhere on the coast these days, and we didn't think you really wanted to move back into your old bedroom."
"Well, it's a place to stay anyhow."
"But your Papa had a better idea." She looked at Alvin.
"We converted the loft of the barn into an apartment," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
