A Vow to Cherish

The auditorium was crowded and stifling on an unseason-ably warm May evening. The band tuned their instruments in hushed dissonance, and soon the strains of Pomp and Circumstance filled the air. Accompanied by the squeaking and grating of chairs, the audience rose to their feet and turned to watch the capped-and-gowned students file to the stage and mount the steps.Kyle Brighton's family took up nearly one whole row of seats in the old Calypso High School auditorium. His grandparents, Howard and MaryEllen Randolph, sat in the center of this contingent. They were flanked by Kyle's sister, Jana, and her husband on one side, and his brother, Brant, on the other.John and Ellen Brighton were at the end of the row on the aisle, where Ellen had insisted they sit, so they could snap a quick picture of their son as he entered.The music rose and the first graduates filed sober-faced through the doors, their gowns swaying in time with the tassels on their caps as they did an awkward hesitation step down the carpeted aisle.Ellen spotted Kyle first and tugged on her husband's sleeve. "John...John, what did you do with the camera?"He looked on the seat behind him, then turned to Ellen with a shrug, shaking his head.She knew the camera had been there just moments before. She swept aside his jacket and her purse, searching. "Hurry up, honey," she whispered, elbowing him. "We've got to find it. You'll miss him!"John's gaze moved to her hand. His eyes widened and his shoulders shook with silent laughter as he pointed to the camerain Ellen's hand.She looked down and gave a little gasp. Rolling her eyes in self-deprecation, she shoved the camera at him. He took it from her and quickly knelt in the aisle, waiting for Kyle to reach them. Kyle spotted his father and hammed a goofy grin just as the flash went off.That kid! Ellen shot him an exaggerated scowl, and his smile turned genuine.As the last crescendo peaked and receded, and the graduates took their seats on the dais, John reached for Ellen's hand. She squeezed his fingers and turned to give him a wobbly smile. Kyle was their "baby," so they'd been through this twice already. Ellen thought she was immune to the sentiment of the ceremony, but the music set off a rush of memories. She gulped back tears. She couldn't cry. Kyle would be mortified if he looked out over the crowd and caught his mom blubbering like a baby.In truth, she wasn't being maudlin. She always cried on happy occasions, and she was truly delighted that they had reached this milestone in their lives. Their last child had made his way safely through the labyrinth of adolescence, and this was undeniably a celebration of that fact. But she'd always felt bittersweet about any transition in her life, and this one would certainly be significant.In two weeks, Kyle would pack his bags and head to New Mexico for a hard-won summer job at a resort. He'd come home in August, just in time to pack and leave for Urbana where he would start classes at the University of Illinois.Ellen gave a little sigh. By the middle of June, 245 West Oaklawn would officially be an empty nest. While some of her friends had found the empty-nest stage a difficult passage, she looked forward to it.Perhaps some of her optimism was due to the fact that her family still surrounded her. Jana and her husband lived nearby in Chicago and visited often. Brant was only two hours away, also at the university in Urbana. He wasn't quite as faithful about getting homeespecially now that they were hearing more and more about someone named Cynthiabut they talked with him on the phone nearly every weekend.It would be a comfort to her and John to have the boys at school togetherRaney, Deborah is the author of 'A Vow to Cherish', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373785926 and ISBN 0373785925.