Chapter 22
As the school year flew by, Mary started looking forward to graduation, but at the same time, was a little scared of what her future had in store for her. She was in charge of KCK and by Christmas, they had raised over ten million dollars.
Soon, it was three weeks before Mary’s eighteenth birthday, and her high school graduation was a few days away. Joe told Betty that he needed to talk to her concerning a private matter.
They went out for a cup of coffee, so they could talk in private. Joe was very nervous as he sat down with Betty. He told her that he cared a great deal for Mary and had cared about her since the first time they met. He said that while she was in school, and under the age of eighteen, he did not think it appropriate that he get too serious about her.
Joe told Betty, that now that Mary was graduating from high school and would be eighteen in a few weeks, he would like to take Mary on a real date, to see if Mary felt the same way as he did, and he would like Betty’s blessing.
Betty was quiet for a moment and then laughed. “I wondered how long it would be before you confessed your true feelings for Mary.” said Betty. I have known that you have been in love with her, for the past few years.
Of all the guys in Mary’s life, you are the only one whom I trust 100%. You have my permission as well as my blessing to ask her out on a date. After that, it’s all up to her.” Joe was very relieved.
On graduation night, as Mary received her diploma, her entire family cheered and clapped for her. They were very proud of her. Before Mary went to the first of the graduation parties, Joe asked her if she would like to go to dinner and a movie the next evening. Mary quickly answered yes. Joe congratulated her on her graduation and gave her a quick hug and them Mary went with some friends to the first of many graduation parties.
Mary got back home at 4:00 o’clock in the morning and slept until three o’clock in the afternoon. That evening, Joe was very nervous as he waited for Mary to get ready. He could not understand why he was so nervous, as they had gone out to dinner and movies many times before.
When Mary walked into the family room, it was as if time stood still. Joe stood there looking at her. He was totally mesmerized. She looked at least twenty-two years old and Joe had never seen her look more beautiful.
Joe and Mary said goodbye to everybody and Joe opened the front passenger door of his car and helped Mary into the car. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the restaurant. ‘Antonio’s’ was the best Italian restaurant in San Francisco. It was known for not only its food, but its ambience and décor as well.
They were seated immediately in the quieter part of the restaurant. After they had ordered, Mary started to admire the exquisite paintings in the room, as Joe was admiring her. A waiter brought over a large bouquet of flowers and gave it to Mary. They were Mary’s favorite flowers; daffodils and pansies. As Mary read the card that came with the flowers, her eyes lit up. “To my dear Mary” the card began, “I hope that your future is as bright as you have made my life over the past four years.” The card was signed; “Love, Joe”.
As Mary put down the card, Joe took her hand in his and said; “Mary, I have been in love with you for a long time, but I didn’t want it to interfere with your teenage years. Therefore, I kept my feelings to myself. But, now that you are out of high school and will be eighteen in a couple of weeks, I can finally reveal my true feelings.”
Joe’s palms were sweating and he was very nervous. He was fearful that Mary might not feel the same way about him. He did not have to speculate about her feelings for very long.
Mary become quiet for a moment and as her eyes began to water, she said; “Oh Joe, I fell in love with you the first time I saw you on that cold rainy day in November over four years ago. At first, I thought it was just a crush. However, I knew it was really love, when we celebrated our birthdays together for the first time. When we blew out the candle on the cake, I wished that someday we would go on a real date.” Joe admitted that he had made the same wish that night.
“Whenever I had an awful day at school, I always knew that I’d feel better once I got home,” said Mary. “You make me laugh and you fill me with so much happiness that I feel I will explode. Today is the happiest day of my life”. Then, Mary pinched herself to make sure that she was not dreaming.
Joe and Mary continued to hold hands during the rest of the meal. After dinner, they dropped the flowers off at the house, and then drove to the movie theater.
Joe let Mary pick out the movie and since both of them liked romantic movies that is what she picked. Fifteen minutes into the movie, Mary put her head on Joe’s shoulder and Joe put his arm around her shoulders.
As they watched the movie, they both felt like nothing else mattered as long as they were together. They both felt like they were dreaming and they did not want to ever wake up.
After the movie was over, Joe drove Mary home. On the way, they talked about the movie. It was after midnight when they arrived home.
They sat on the porch swing, looking at the full moon in the sky, while they held hands. They turned towards each other at the same time and Joe reached over and gently kissed Mary on the lips. Then they kissed again.
Mary had seen movies where people saw fireworks when they kissed someone they loved. Mary had never understood it until now. When Joe kissed her, the entire night sky lit up in an explosion of multicolored lights. In her mind, she heard the most beautiful music. She felt a warm feeling in her heart that soon spread all over her body and her toes tingled. Her heart was overflowing with love and then the tears started to flow. They were tears of happiness and joy.
Joe’s eyes were also getting a little misty. He handed Mary a handkerchief and put his arm around her and they just sat there on the swing for another thirty minutes, just holding onto each other.
When they finally went into the house, Joe kissed Mary good night and then he went into his bedroom and closed the door. Mary saw that her mother’s light was still on, so she went in to talk to her.
Betty was reading a book and looked up when Mary opened the door. Mary was smiling from ear to ear and she looked happier than Betty had ever seen her before.
“He loves me.” Mary blurted out. She had to tell someone. She wanted to tell the entire world. “He really loves me as much as I love him. I feel like a princess who has found her prince at last.”
Mary proceeded to tell her mother everything that happened that night. Betty saw how excited and ecstatic Mary was. She knew that Mary was very much in love.
The next morning, Mary told Matt about her and Joe. Matt was very happy for both of them.
Over the next couple of weeks, Mary and Joe dated when they could find the time. Mary was working full time at Francisco’s and Joe was busy with coaching, scouts and running SaraCom.
Matt got a job at the San Francisco Tribune as an errand boy and he learned a lot about the newspaper business. Mark and Luke took over Matt’s lawn service with Matt’s old customers.
On Mary’s eighteenth birthday, Betty told her that she would match her two dollars for every dollar that Mary had saved, towards buying a car for college in the fall. Mary had saved just over three thousand dollars, so with hers and her mom’s money, she had nine thousand dollars for a car.
Betty and Mary went out to shop for a car. Mary wanted a car that was fuel-efficient and would not pollute the atmosphere too much. After test-driving several cars, Mary finally decided on a three-year-old Honda Civic. She drove it home that day.
When Matt saw that Mary had her own car, he was ecstatic, because he now had exclusive use of the family’s second car. He could use the car to go to work and on dates. He was a very responsible driver.