The Prep - Epilogue
A/N: Here it is, loyal readers!! The epilogue you have all been waiting for. It’s a long one, but we intended it to be to sum everything up with a nice little bow on top. We hope you have enjoyed this fic as much as we have enjoyed writing it. The excerpt Emily uses in her speech is actually from an Apple campaign from years ago. Thanks again so much for reading and commenting. We truly appreciate all your input and hopefully you’ll see us again at some point when our lives aren't ridiculously hectic!!
Epilogue
With a grin, Riley knocked on the door labeled “Arizona Robbins, Headmistress”. Her grin grew substantially wider when she heard Arizona’s cheerful voice ringing, “come in!”
Riley slowly pushed open the door and leaned against the doorjamb. “Hey, Coach! Or should I say Headmistress?”
Arizona’s face erupted in pure glee at seeing her former student and player, but she quickly reigned her in joy and answered, “It’ll always be Coach to you, Riley.”
“Oh, come here, you!” Arizona grinned from ear to ear as she got up from her desk and reached out to pull Riley into a hug. As she pulled back, she saw a slight movement outside. Peering around her office door, Arizona laughed when she saw a particularly shy and sheepish Emily.
“Emily Gussack. I didn’t think I’d see you back here! Ever!”
“Well, I came with Riley. We came to give you and Ms. Torres invitations to our graduation from Maryland in May.” Emily handed Arizona two small cream envelopes, with their names in metallic gold calligraphy.
“Oh awesome! I’m sure we’ll be able to go!” Arizona exclaimed. She then glanced between the two, smirking at the way they looked at each other. “So you two are...?” Arizona trailed off, not wanting to overstep her bounds.
“Still happily together,” finished Emily, stepping into the office and slipping her hand into Riley’s.
Arizona wrapped her arms around both girls’ shoulders, pulling them into an awkward group hug.
“Yay! I knew you’d make it. Callie and I were just talking about you guys the other day and wondering if you were still together.”
When she saw Emily’s furrowed brow and Riley’s raised eyebrow, she decided to move on.
“Anyway, it’s so great to see you! Unfortunately I have a meeting in -- ” she looked at her watch “-- five minutes, so I can’t stay and talk right now. But I really want to talk to you two more.”
“Well, we’ll be around later this after -- ” Riley started, before she was cut off by Arizona’s exuberance.
“Hey! I have an idea! Why don’t you guys come to dinner tonight with me and Callie. She’d love to see you, too, and that way we can all catch up. Sound good?”
The two bewildered girls looked to each other, before Emily shrugged and laughed. “Sounds good.”
“Great! Beau Monde at 7? It’s this great new French place.”
Before the girls could answer, Arizona was breezing out of her office. “See you at 7!”
She rushed down the hallway to her meeting, nearly running into her grinning girlfriend.
“Hey, speedy!” Callie teased.
“Ooooh, hey. I wanted to ask you if you had plans for tonight.”
“I was just going to ask you the same thing!” Callie said, still grinning stupidly. She paused for a second, realizing what Arizona said, and scrunched up her face. “Wait, why do you want to know about my plans for tonight?”
“Riley and Emily are in town, and I thought we could take them to dinner. Actually, I’m running late to this stupid board meeting. Do you think you could make reservations at Beau Monde for 7?”
“Oh...um...yeah, sure.” The grin fell immediately from Callie’s face.
“What’s wrong? You love Beau Monde!”
“What? Oh, yeah, I do. You know it’s my favorite. Nothing’s wrong!” Callie responded, a bit too brightly.
“Great! I’ll see you tonight!” Arizona exclaimed, before speeding off down the hall.
Callie took out her phone from her pocket and scrolled through the numbers. Finding the one she wanted, she hit send. On the fourth ring, the hostess picked up, cheerfully announcing the restaurant’s name and her own.
“Hi, this is Callie Torres. I just spoke to you. Can you actually change my reservation to four people? Thanks.”
Flashback
The rest of the year went by more quickly than anyone had anticipated. Before long, the senior class was eagerly counting down the last couple of weeks of their high school career. Some were sad to see it end but others couldn’t wait to get out and start fresh.
Emily and Riley had been spending a lot of time together since the musical ended. All of their friends seemed to be accepting of their relationship, except Harper, who was constantly hounding and bullying them. On top of all the stress with Harper, Emily was still waiting for her acceptance letter to UMD. Riley was already going there on a field hockey scholarship and although it wasn’t Emily’s first choice for musical theater programs, she wanted to stay close to her girlfriend.
The last Saturday before finals, Riley awoke to a familiar tone emitting from her phone.
Can I please come over? I need to talk to you.
Riley’s emotions ranged from concerned to nervous at what her girlfriend needed to talk to her about.
Yeah, of course. Are you okay?
I’m fine; I just want to come tell you something.
Ok, I’m still in bed. Just come on up.
Thanks… be there soon.
Riley stretched her arms above her head and trudged to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She couldn’t figure out what was so urgent that Emily needed to see her first thing in the morning but any chance to see her girlfriend was a welcome one.
Barely ten minutes went by before she heard her front door slam shut and footsteps running up the stairs. Emily burst into Riley’s room with tears in her eyes. Riley immediately became alarmed and threw her arms around Emily as soon as she sat down on the bed.
“Emily, sweetie, what happened?”
“No…no I’m okay. I’m just so happy. I wanted you to be the first person I told.”
Emily looked up to see Riley’s panic-ridden face slightly soften. She smiled and took a deep breath while looking straight into Riley’s eyes. She cupped her girlfriend’s face and leaned their foreheads together.
“I got in.”
Riley broke out into a face-splitting smile as she leaned closer and touched her lips to her girlfriend’s. Emily laughed into the kiss and threw her arms around Riley’s neck and they continued to kiss for several minutes before pulling apart. Riley pushed a stray tendril of hair behind Emily’s ear, contemplating everything this meant for them.
“What should we do to celebrate? Dinner? Movie? Both?”
Emily smiled. “All of the above sound wonderful. As long as I get to spend time with you I don’t care what we do.”
Riley suddenly got a puzzled look on her face.
“Wait a minute. It’s first thing in the morning and mail hasn’t even come yet. When did you find out you got in?”
“I’ve been checking my email first thing every morning for the past two weeks. Sometimes it will come through your email before you get your acceptance letter in the mail. Today just happened to be the lucky day!”
“I’m so proud of you! I know how stressed you’ve been. I can’t believe we get to spend the next four years together. It’s going to be amazing. Oh we have to tell Coach and Ms. Torres!! They’ll be thrilled!”
“I know. Everything really is falling into place.”
Emily gave Riley a quick peck before getting up off the bed.
“Where are you going? I wasn’t done with you yet.” Riley stuck out her bottom lip and patted the vacant space next to her on the bed.
“You said you wanted to celebrate. Why not start now? Get dressed and meet me downstairs. I’ve got a fun day planned for us.”
Riley couldn’t contain her excitement as she sprang off the bed and rushed to her closet. She had a feeling today was going to be a pre-cursor of hopefully the rest of their lives.
0o0o0
Graduation quickly approached and on a sunny Friday afternoon in June, the senior class of 2008 gathered in the center courtyard of the school to take pictures. The girls were clad in beautiful white dresses and held bouquets of crimson and white lilies in their hands while the boys wore off-white dinner jackets and black suit pants, a crimson lily decorating their breast pocket. To anyone else it looked like a ridiculous mass wedding, but to them, this ceremony was based upon hundreds of years of tradition that they felt honored to uphold.
Just before the procession was about to start, Riley looked around for Emily but couldn’t find her anywhere. She decided to check the bathroom, and there she found her girlfriend, standing in front of the mirror with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly moving.
“Sweetie, what are you doing?”
Startled, Emily jumped back and gasped as she spotted Riley in the reflection.
“Oh, I was just going over my speech in my head.”
Riley walked up to Emily and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist, resting her head on her bare shoulder. They looked at each other in the mirror.
“You know you’ve gone over every word of that speech at least a hundred times in the past two weeks. It should be tattooed on your brain by now.”
Emily leaned backwards into Riley’s embrace, her demeanor softening a little.
“I know. I’m still nervous though. I’m a great public speaker but the butterflies are always there. Even during the musical I was nervous before every performance.”
Riley laughed and placed a kiss on Emily’s shoulder. “I’d be worried if you weren’t nervous. Come on, the procession is about to start and we can’t have our valedictorian M.I.A. can we?”
Emily puffed up her chest and let out the breath she had been holding.
“No, I guess not. Hey before we go out there I need you to do something for me?”
“Of course, what is it?”
“Just tell me I’m great. And that you believe in me, because without your support, all of this means nothing.”
Riley dropped Emily’s hand as she turned to face her. Placing both hands on the sides of Emily’s cheeks, Riley looked her in the eye.
“You are amazing. You’re smart and confident and incredibly brave for putting yourself out there and telling me how you feel. Look at where it’s brought us. We’re about to graduate, closer than we ever have been before, and we’re spending the next four years together, and hopefully many more after that. I may have opened your eyes to the possibility of an ‘us’, but you’re the one that allowed me to love you and make that possibility our reality.”
Riley paused and gave her girlfriend a soft kiss on the lips.
“Now go out there and give ‘em hell. Seriously, it’s a great speech and you should be very proud of that and everything else you’ve accomplished to receive this honor. I’m so proud of you.”
“I love you, Riley. I know it seems rushed and I’m not just saying it to say it. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time now but I’ve been waiting for the right moment and well, this just feels right. I know I haven’t been the best friend to you this year but I promise I will never treat you like that again. You’re my best friend and I couldn’t leave this school without telling you. In some weird way, this overly conservative institution brought us together and with all the craziness that’s gone on this year, this school still holds a special place in my heart. So yeah, that’s it.”
Emily was stumbling over her words, which Riley found absolutely adorable. Riley smiled and kissed her girlfriend once more.
“I love you, too. And I want to continue this conversation further, but right now if we don’t get out there, we don’t graduate. I really want to graduate…”
“I know, I know. Let’s go. I’m so ready to do this.”
She took Riley’s hand in hers and exited the bathroom, finding their places in line.
0o0o0
“And now, it is with great pleasure and honor that I introduce to you this year’s valedictorian, Miss Emily Gussack.” Headmaster Clayton turned to the young woman and smiled, gesturing for her to stand.
Applause erupted in the gymnasium as Emily stood to take her place at the podium. She memorized her speech days ago, but the nerves were certainly present. Her eyes flitted to her left and saw Riley smiling at her, so she took a deep breath and began.
“Good afternoon faculty, staff, parents, grandparents, underclassman and fellow graduates. Today marks our last here at The Prep and as our senior year comes to an end, we find ourselves reflecting on the years we’ve spent at this institution. We may have a small graduating class, but out of the 106 young men and women seated on this stage, 77 of us have attended this school for twelve years. I don’t just consider these people my peers and friends; I consider them a part of my family.
“We’ve grown up together, cheering each other on from little league to Varsity and Grandparents’ Day to major theatrical productions. Sometimes I still see us as the wide-eyed, six-year-olds that shook Headmaster Clayton’s hand on the first day of school. I can’t believe the time has gone by so fast, and yet here we are, all grown up with the same wide-eyed look on our faces. We may be able to do arithmetic with our eyes closed, dream fluently in a foreign language, or even recite Shakespeare backwards, but all the schooling in the world cannot prepare us for the journey on which we are about to embark.
“We will form new relationships as we continue to discover who we are, but from this moment forward, I challenge all of you to remember the relationships we’ve forged here at The Prep. Remember the crazy times we had, the laughter and the tears we shared, the teachers that made us smile and the ones we looked up to as more than teachers, but mentors.”
Emily paused and pointedly looked at Callie and Arizona. The pair smiled and nodded their heads in appreciation before Emily continued.
“I once saw an Apple campaign with the slogan ‘Think differently’. The following is an excerpt from that campaign that I feel sums up each and every one of us.
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes, the ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who usually do.
“So as I stand here before you, I challenge you to push yourselves to the best of your abilities. Change the world. As we leave here today with our diplomas and awards for all of our achievements throughout these years at this institution, we take with us a piece of each other and our brief time here together. The world is going to be what you make of it. You can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just going to live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, and make your mark upon it. To the seniors, my second family, go make your mark. If you change, change for the better. Always be the bigger person. Learn from your future peers and never take any experience for granted, because that one experience might end up changing your life. Congratulations Class of 2008. Thank you.”
It wasn’t customary for the senior class to give a standing ovation, but before the parents and faculty even had a chance to stand up, her classmates were on their feet, showing their appreciation. Emily smiled and took her seat once more, smiling over at her girlfriend who was beaming with pride.
Headmaster Clayton took the podium once more, stating that the diploma ceremony will begin. One by one, the seniors received that coveted piece of paper and sat back down.
After all the diplomas were presented, Clayton formally announced the graduating class of 2008, but before they could begin their procession out of the gym, Headmaster had one more announcement.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce my retirement at the end of this school year. I have served as the head of this school for 27 wonderful years, but my wife and I both feel it is time for me to step down and a new leader take my place. Currently I have one faculty member in mind that has shown to possess all the qualities and qualifications it takes to run this school. I hereby nominate Ms. Arizona Robbins to take my place as headmistress of The Prep.”
The crowd, including Arizona and Callie, who were unaware of his decision, collectively gasped in shock. Riley and Emily grinned from ear to ear. Arizona had no idea he was retiring, let alone going to name her as his nomination. She wasn’t sure if she would be ready to take on that responsibility, but Callie reached into her lap and squeezed her hand in support. She knew whatever she decided, Callie would be right there every step of the way.
“There will be a vote by the board members conducted in July and you will receive notification of their decision by the beginning of August. I appreciate all of your dedication to this school and hope that you will continue to show the same respect to the next person in charge, whoever that may be. This concludes the graduation commencement ceremony of 2008. Thank you all for your attendance.”
A resounding applause echoed from students, faculty, and parents alike. This was a shock to everyone, but mostly to the two women standing with their mouths still slightly agape.
Everyone remained standing and cheering as the senior class walked out to pomp and circumstance. As Riley walked by Callie and Arizona, she sent them a wink, trying to hold back the tears as the finality of the situation finally hit her. As Emily had said, they had to go out and make their mark, and that is exactly what she intended to do.
Present Day
“Okay, seriously? I know my stories aren’t always the best...”
“Mmhmm,” Callie interjected.
“Anyway,” Arizona said pointedly. “That one was actually really hilarious and you didn’t even smile! What is wrong with you? You’re so distracted. And you keep texting Mark under the table.”
Callie looked up from her phone, shocked that she hadn’t been as subtle as she’d hoped.
“I’m not blind, Calliope,” Arizona chastised. “Now why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”
“Um...” Callie started, but her eyes shifted to the restaurant’s door mid-thought. Following Callie’s gaze, Arizona saw Riley and Emily enter the restaurant and she waved them over.
“This isn’t over,” she whispered fiercely in Callie’s ear, before getting up to greet her former students.
After some momentary awkwardness regarding whether the newly 21-year-old young women should drink a glass of wine in front of their former teachers (after some encouragement from the “cool” teachers, they decided that they could), the four eased into a pleasant, relaxed conversation.
Arizona and Callie filled the girls in about all of the Prep drama. The year following West Side Story, a few parents had taken their children out and enrolled them in the rival school. After Arizona, now openly gay, had been appointed headmistress, there was even more parental backlash and removal of students. Despite those losses, however, the Prep has been thriving under Arizona’s leadership. She’d had to hand over her coaching position, but she’d found someone who was almost as talented her, and the field hockey program had remained the number 1 team in the state. Callie’s musicals continued to be top-notch and attracted state-wide attention.
In turn, Riley and Emily told them all about their time in college, the ups and downs of their relationship, and how grateful they still are that their former teachers gave them the push they needed four years ago.
“So, have you guys kept in touch with anyone else from high school?” Callie asked when the conversation started lagging a bit.
“Yeah, we stay in touch with most people through facebook.” They continued to tell the two women what all of their former students were up to.
“And Harper?” Arizona asked finally, noticing the girl was conspicuously left out of their conversation.
“Well, we stopped talking,” Emily started. “But from some posts on facebook, we think she got academic sanctions suspended from school for starting a religious organization, which basically bullied anyone who didn’t fit their norms.”
“Wow,” Arizona said, while Callie nodded. “Anyway, on to happier topics, guess what the musical was this year?”
And with that the conversation continued smoothly, all four of them thoroughly enjoying the others’ company.
0o0o0
“Would you just tell me what the hell has your panties in a bunch?” Arizona yelled after Callie as the brunette slammed the car door shut and marched up the driveway. “You picked at your food all through dinner, fidgeted with your napkin as if it had ants crawling all over it, and refused wine, which, let’s be real, is not something the Calliope Torres I know would ever do.”
Callie whirled around, frustrated with Arizona’s incessant nagging. “I’m trying to make sure Mark didn’t burn down our house!”
“Um, what?”
Callie’s eyes widened when she realized what she said. “Just come on!”
When Arizona stopped in the middle of the driveway, Callie huffed and stomped over to the blonde. She grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to their front door, Arizona grumbling and muttering under her breath the entire way.
As soon as they entered the room, Arizona’s mumbling stopped completely. In fact, she found she had lost the power of speech entirely. She took in the room. Votive candles lined their open living room while a fire roared in the hearth. There was a blanket on the ground with strawberries and grapes and champagne arranged neatly on top.
When Arizona finally did manage to speak, all that came out was a strangled “oh god”.
“I-I-it...it’s our anniversary, isn’t it? And I completely forgot, right? That’s what all this is? I’m the worst girlfriend ever. But...wait, I thought our anniversary was in August.”
“Oh my god, stop,” Callie said, placing her hands on Arizona’s shoulders to get her to really listen. “It’s not our anniversary. And you’re definitely not the worst girlfriend ever. Probably, like, the exact opposite. You know why?”
“Why?” Arizona asked, head cocked and dimples beginning to show.
“Because you knocked me up.”
“What?” Arizona breathed. “You’re...and we? I mean...how? What?”
“I will answer your questions and half-questions in order,” Callie started cheekily, loving her girlfriend’s reaction. Becoming pregnant as a gay couple, as a general rule, could never be a surprise, and yet Arizona was acting as if she had no idea it would happen. “I’m pregnant. We’re having a baby. You know exactly how...when two people are in love, or, in our case, when we buy some sperm and use a turkey baster.”
“But...but they said it basically never works the first time!”
“Well, we got lucky.”
“We sure did,” Arizona replied, wrapping her arms around Callie’s waste and resting her hands above her ass.
Callie dipped her head down to capture Arizona’s lips in a firm kiss. “We’re having a baby,” she said.
“We’re having a baby,” Arizona whispered back.
0o0o0
Arizona ran her finger down the length of Callie’s naked torso, before following its path with her tongue.
“Mmm, baby, round three already?” Callie asked, her voice husky from rounds one and two in front of the fireplace.
“Not quite,” Arizona mumbled from Callie’s belly button.
“You sure? Because it sure seems like...”
“Hi, baby,” Arizona said, addressing the unborn baby in Callie’s stomach.
“Oh,” Callie grinned. She would willingly forgo Arizona’s talented tongue for this.
“We’re so excited for you to get here, even though I know we have a while yet. We’re so lucky. You’re pretty lucky, too. Your mommy was this super amazing Broadway star and now she teaches kids how to be just like her. Your mama is the headmistress of that school and a pretty great field hockey coach, if she does say so herself. But more than that? Your mommy taught me how to be brave and courageous and stand up for what I believe in, and we’re going to teach that to you, little one.”
A tear trickled down Callie’s cheek as she thought about how absolutely lucky she was to be becoming a mother with Arizona.
“Okay, goodbye for now, little one,” Arizona continued. “I have to go rock your mom’s world.”