Holiday From Real

Lucy laughed and halfheartedly punched his shoulder. She used Garcia’s shirt to wipe away tears and walked back to the bedroom and picked up a paint roller. He followed her into the room and they got to work finishing the paint so they could leave that apartment once and for all.

A few hours later, they pulled back in drive-way at Garcia’s, no their place- she caught herself thinking. Lucy had dodged several phone calls from her mother until she ultimately put her phone on silent as they walked inside. She had turned in the apartment key to the landlord and her living with Garcia full-time was as official as it would ever be. Graduation was a mere two months away, but she didn’t feel anxious for once. She watched as Garcia strolled down the hallway in front of her toward the laundry room while stripping his paint covered shirt off for a second time that day. She heard the water start in the shower in the bathroom off the side of the laundry room. She smiled to herself as she followed his path and stripped her paint clothes off and dumped them in the laundry room. This living arrangement has serious perks, she thought to herself as she slid into the already inhabited shower.

***

Carol Preston had not attempted to make contact again and it had been several weeks. Lucy still felt a sting deep down, as any child would at the thought of disappointing their parents. But Lucy knew she was making the right decision for her and that’s all she needed at this point. The semester was coming down to the wire and it was just a few short weeks from graduation. Garcia understood when Lucy told him she loved him but would be dating the library full time for the next few weeks. Besides, she couldn’t get anything done at their place… having him around was too distracting.

***

She stayed later than she intended to at the library and started packing all of her things about 8:45PM and it was fully dark outside. She wasn’t parked too far away, just in a lot out and over to the side. As she was walking, she could see her car ahead but noticed movement in her peripheral vision. When she looked, she saw Allensen, visibly drunk walking her direction toward the parking lot as well. There was a closet sized bar across the street from campus. Of course, he had been there, probably hitting on more unsuspecting undergrads, she thought to herself. She picked up the pace walking to her car considerably hoping he wouldn’t recognize her. Before she got to the side of the car she heard him shout her name and the sound of his footsteps pick up. Lucy didn’t turn around and threw the car door open as she got to it. Before she could step into the car, Allensen grabbed her shoulder and pushed her against the car where she was facing him.

“You got me written up, bitch,” he slurred in her face.

Lucy weighed her options remembering her keys were still in her hand. With her head turned, Allensen leaned down to kiss her neck as someone stepped out the back door of the Fine Arts building. Lucy hit the panic button on her key remote and started yelling and hitting him with the keys as the horn blared and lights flashed.

“Get off, get off, get off!” She managed to yell between battering blows to Allensen.

The next moment, the person that had come out of the building was close enough to grab Allensen’s shoulder from behind to distract him. When he turned around, the woman blasted him in the eyes and mouth with pepper spray. He collapsed to the ground in a coughing fit and Lucy finally got a good look at who had come to her aid. It was Elizabeth.

“Are you alright?” Elizabeth exclaimed as she helped move Lucy away from the car and from Allensen on the ground. Both of their eyes were stinging from the strength of the spray and stepped a few feet away. Lucy just nodded and watched as Elizabeth called campus security and the police.

When she hung up, Elizabeth looked at her, “have you called Garcia?”

Lucy could only shake her head no. She was physically unharmed, but shaken considerably by the events as they unfolded. Elizabeth once again put her phone to her ear and Lucy tried to listen but zoned out staring at the man on the ground still coughing and flailing. At one point, he tried to stand up. Elizabeth walked back over and sprayed him again.

“Absolute wanker,” she said with complete disgust.

Campus security arrived first and then the police. Since there was an active restraining order against him, he was handcuffed and arrested. Garcia arrived as they were pushing Allensen into the back of the police car.

He didn’t say anything, just pulled Lucy into a tight hug and then stepped back to look at her, holding her shoulders.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He asked gently.

Lucy finally found words and was able to answer, “No, I’m okay, I’m fine.”

“She’s definitely shaken up a bit,” Elizabeth stated. “I have already given my statement so I’m going to head home. If you guys need anything, please let me know.”

Garcia stepped over and hugged her too. “Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you.” She smiled up at him and patted his arm as she walked away to her own car. After the police were done, statements given, Lucy and Garcia locked her car and left it in the lot. He drove them home, his free hand never leaving hers.

***

The next day, Lucy and Garcia attended a meeting with the HR department. Essentially, they confirmed Allensen was terminated and banned from campus and all school sanctioned events. Considering complaints had been filed about him previously, the school was just hoping Lucy wasn’t going to sue. After the meeting, they met up with Rufus and Elizabeth at a burger place for lunch across from campus.

“Elizabeth, I hear you’d have a lucrative career in security if you ever get tired of teaching,” Rufus quipped.

“Oh you stop,” she replied, as the dignified head of an entire branch of the college threw a French fry at him.

“It’s been a really wild semester,” Lucy contributed, “but overall a good one.” She looked over at Garcia.

He shook his head and agreed, “that it has,” as he smiled back at her.

A new friend group had been forged in the four of them. On their way home, Lucy mailed her graduation invitations. There were two and a half weeks left to go.

***

“I’m going to be really pissed if I fail this Earth Science final,” Lucy barked at Garcia across the living room.

“How can you fail the final? You’re sleeping with the professor!” He snarked back. This earned him a pillow chucked with expert precision at his head. He settled into the couch beside her and went back to quizzing her about minerals.

Earlier that afternoon, Lucy had spoken with Carol on the phone. She would be attending her graduation. Lucy knew she ultimately would, but was still dreading the next face to face encounter with her.

***

On the day of, Lucy got up early and got ready. Garcia dropped her off with the students in line and went to park the car and get in the faculty line. Next year, we’ll be in this line together, he smiled to himself as he walked up to his other colleagues.

As a doctorate student, Lucy’s was one of the first names to be called in the ceremony. She looked radiant walking across the stage to shake hands with the university president. After the ceremony concluded, she made her way to Garcia on the auditorium floor with the faculty, and they headed up to the top concourse to find her cheering section. He hadn’t told her that his parents had come in for the occasion and to meet her. Lucy saw her mother first. They exchanged a genuine hug and Carol told her she was proud of her achievement. She looked less thrilled to shake Garcia’s hand but managed a civil smile as they met again.

“Lucy, I want to introduce you to my parents,” Garcia said while turning her around as they walked up smiling. “This is Maria and Asher Flynn. Mom, Dad, this is Dr. Lucy Preston,” he stated beaming.

“Oh my gosh, hi!” Lucy exclaimed, hugging them both. They looked to be mid 60’s but she could tell where Garcia got his good looks from. Maria was gorgeous, and Asher may have even been taller than Garcia, she couldn’t quite tell. His parents also exchanged handshakes with Carol and all was civil.

His parents were staying in town for a few days so they made plans to have lunch Sunday afternoon. After a celebratory lunch immediately following the ceremony, and a smaller party at their townhouse, it was finally the two of them in for the night. Lucy noticed Garcia kept watching the clock and finally asked.

“What are you waiting for at almost midnight? Did you order pizza or something?” she joked with him. He smiled back for a bit but his face formed a more serious expression. He looked at his apple watch as the digital display showed 12:00 AM on the dot.

“It’s officially Sunday,” he stated. “What is now yesterday, was your day. It was about you and everything you have accomplished. I am so proud and wanted everything to be perfect. I didn’t want you to have to share that memory with anything else. “

He stood up and walked over to her on the couch and pulled her to stand with him.

“I think I’ve known from the very beginning that I wanted to do this,” he continued. Lucy stared at him with wide eyes as he held both of her hands. “When I’m with you, the entire world feels right, and that’s a feeling I don’t ever want to be without,” he said as he dropped to one knee.

Lucy felt a tear run down her cheek, too happy to contain it as she watched him pull out a ring box.

He opened the box with a beautiful pear shaped diamond ring inside and asked the question he’d been wanting to for months.

“Dr. Lucy Preston, will you marry me?”