Northern Wildflower by Catherine Lafferty

Author:Catherine Lafferty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fernwood Publishing
Published: 2018-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

Catherine and her Papa at her college graduation

During my final days at school I became very skilled at waxing, and it ended up being my favourite service, ironically. When I graduated from beauty school, my papa flew to the city to attend my graduation ceremony. My grandma didn’t come — not because she didn’t want to, she just wasn’t one for the city. It was too big for her.

Even though my papa would never admit it to me personally, I knew that he was proud of me. The graduation ceremony was an important day for me as I finally got to wear a real cap and gown, something that I had missed out on from not graduating high school. My Papa bought me a nice silver dress, sliver shoes and a matching sparkly clutch. He dressed up in his black leather jacket, slicked-back hair and aviator shades. He looked like an older version of James Dean, and I was proud to have him as my date. It was such a great moment for him as well; after that he would always say, “You’re going places kid, you’re high class.” He was one of the few people in my life who believed in me and knew how important it was to get an education. No one in my family had graduated from college, let alone high school, and he had placed his hope in me to set the bar high. He put me on somewhat of a pedestal after I graduated. I wanted to prove to my papa and to the rest of my family that I would make them proud, live up to their expectations and go after my dreams. I wasn’t only doing this for myself anymore. I was doing it for them.

***

WHEN I RETURNED FROM SCHOOL, I returned to the old apartment that Jeremy and I had shared before River and I left. Jeremy and I had a deal that he could keep the apartment while we were gone and that we would remain in a long-distance relationship and see how things would unfold when River and I returned home.

My graduation present from Jeremy was a cushy, king-sized bed, and the first thing I did when I got home was dive into it. I felt like I was floating on a cloud. I had never had a brand-new bed before, let alone a king-sized, pillow-top mattress. The second I lay down in it, I was out like a light. I must have been so exhausted over those last eight months that I finally had a truly restful sleep. That peacefulness was short lived because I soon found out that, while I was in school, Jeremy hadn’t changed his ways and we found ourselves right back where we started. Shortly after I moved home, he packed up and left.

Life was simpler and undisturbed with just me and River. I found work at a spa and was practising my trade. We developed a suitable routine, but it wasn’t long after

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