"Come on, just one more picture," Zac said, his camera up to his eye and a smile on his face. "Please?"
"Dad, we're going to be late!"
"Just one more," he said. His eighteen-year-old daughter Jenny huffed and agreed. "Okay, big smile." Jenny put her arms around her best friend Mei-Ling and they both smiled, dressed in white graduation gowns and matching mortarboards. Their tassels swung lightly in the wind in front of their house on 9659 W McLean Avenue in Melrose Park, the same house Jenny came home to after she was born.
She looked exactly like her mother, down to the red hair and even the violet eyes. Every day Zac shook his head in amazement as he almost literally watched his wife walking around the house, just in the soul that was his daughter. Every day he thought about her and every day he thanked God for the time he had with her.
"Hold on!" Taylor said, running up to his daughter. "Your tassel is in your hair." He fixed it.
"Nobody cares, Dad."
"I care! Okay, Zac, go ahead." Taylor returned to the sidelines, next to his wife Natalie as Zac snapped a final picture. Jenny and Mei-Ling parted and ran over to the car.
"We're going, see you there!" Jenny yelled as she got into her car.
"Be careful, guys," Zac warned.
"We will," they chorused, rolling their eyes. Jenny pulled out of the driveway and drove off. Zac turned to Taylor and his wife.
"You guys ready? Have you talked to Ike and Roni?"
"Yeah, they're coming. Did you call the school?" Zac nodded. "What'd they say?"
"They upped security and they're making sure nobody gets in without a ticket. No press can get in so I think we're good to go," Zac explained, shaking his head. "Tell me why we started making music again?"
"Because you love it." Zac nodded.
"Damn right." They walked over to Zac's car, Taylor's parked right behind his.
"Hey," Taylor said, "maybe now that Jenny's graduating you can start dating again." Zac rolled his eyes, as he turned the stud in his left ear twinkled.
"No, Taylor."
"Hey, don't ever tell me I didn't try." Zac got in the car and looked at his picture of Ginger placed on his visor. He kissed his finger and put it to the picture before starting up the car and happily going to his daughter's graduation.
© 1999-2000 [email protected]