Beautiful Sky (8 page)

I couldn’t stop smiling as I hugged my mom and Jay.  It was so good to see them.  I guess I thought I wasn’t that homesick but once I saw them I realized how much I had missed them.

“I’m so glad you guys are here, thanks for coming!”

“Of course honey!  We wouldn’t miss parent’s weekend.”

“We’re starving, where do you want to go eat?”

“Since the festivities don’t officially begin for parents until tomorrow, how does pizza sound?  There’s a great place in town.”

“Perfect, let’s go.”

We caught up over lunch and I told them how well I was doing in my classes so far. 

“I leave the library at about midnight every night.”

My mom looked worried.  “Is it safe to walk back to the dorm by yourself at that hour?”

“It’s fine.  My dorm isn’t far from the library and I can always call security if I want an escort back to the dorm.”

“I would feel better if you walked back with a friend or something.  Maybe you can study with your roommate and then you guys can walk back together.”

I shook my head at my mom and smiled.  “Mom, I’m fine really.”

Jay put his hand over my mother’s hand which was resting on the table.  “Skylar is a smart girl honey, I don’t think you have to worry about her, she knows how to take care of herself.  You and David taught her well.  Of course I wasn’t too shabby either!”  My mom giggled at Jay and she seemed to relax and I was so grateful that he was there.  He had never said a bad word about my dad and he always mentioned him so that we would know that he knew that my dad was not forgotten.  Yeah, Jay was a cool guy.  I rubbed the ring on my finger and smiled as I thought about my dad.  If he were here he probably would have said exactly what Jay said, or at least pretty close.

“Okay, okay, but just please be careful and aware of your surroundings at all times.”  My mom had a worried look in her eye so I put my hand over hers and looked at her and smiled to put her at ease.

“I will mom, I promise.”

That seemed to placate her so we enjoyed the rest of our meal and got ready to go. 

“So honey, do you need anything?  Should we go shopping for a few things?”

       I did need more shampoo and a few other toiletries, but I didn’t want to be a financial burden to them.  I knew that the plane tickets were expensive and that my brother and sister bought those for my parents because financially, they were strapped.  My brother and sister took turns sending me money each month.  It wasn’t much, but it was enough to cover what I needed and to cover the occasional trips to eat out with my friends.  I would be getting a check from my sister in few days and I maybe had just enough shampoo to last me that long if I watered it down a little.

       “No, I’m fine.”

       My mom must have sensed that I needed things.  “Sky, we can buy you a few things, it’s okay.  What do you need?”

       “Well, I do need just a few things and Target is not far from here.”

       “Oh good, at least you have something close by.”  She looked at Jay.  “Okay honey, are we ready?”

       “Yep!” 

       As we left the pizza place, I was walking behind them and I smiled to myself, so happy that they were able to come for the weekend.  I rubbed my ring and silently told my dad that I knew he was there too.

       Target was busy, as usual, and we were in the shampoo aisle and I was bending down to find the right kind of shampoo, when I heard a familiar voice.

       “It looks like we had the same idea.” 

       I looked up to see Jonathan’s gorgeous face smiling down at me and I wanted to melt right into the ground.  He looked so gorgeous!

       “Hey, yeah, I guess it does.”  I was a bit flustered because he caught me off guard, but I managed a feeble smile and suddenly felt very awkward because my parents were standing behind me and I could tell that they were waiting for an introduction.  I stood up and turned to them and they both had that look, you know the one where they know this is the guy you like but they don’t want to embarrass you, but they want you to introduce them?  Yeah,
that
look.

       “Um, mom, Jay, this is Jonathan Hunter.  He’s our Resident Advisor.  Jonathan this is my mom, Mrs. Marshall and my step-dad, Jay. ”

       My mom smiled and reached out and hugged him and I wanted to die of embarrassment right on the spot, I was totally mortified. 
Did she really just do that?
  My mom had been a hugger all of her life and she didn’t care if she just met you, if she got a good vibe from you she gave you a hug.  Well, I guess she got a good vibe from Jonathan.  “Jonathan it is so nice to meet you!”

       I could see that Jonathan’s cheeks turned red and with good reason.  I doubted that he was used to getting random hugs from 50-year-old women.

      
This is not happening right now.
  “
Mom!
  Couldn’t you just shake his hand?”  I rolled my eyes at her as I ground out the words under my breath.

       He was clearly taken off guard but he was a good sport.  “Oh, it’s okay Sky, your mom gives good hugs!  It’s nice to meet you to, Mrs. Marshall, Mr. Marshall.”  He shook Jay’s hand and looked him in the eye.  I knew that Jay liked that.  He used to tell me that if a boy didn’t shake his hand and look him in the eye when he came to pick me up for a date, that I wasn’t going because it meant that the boy didn’t respect me.

       “Oh, Jonathan, here you are!  Your mother got lost in the candle section and I had to tear her away to come find you!” 

A deep, sultry voice permeated the air and I looked up and saw the most gorgeous older man I had ever laid eyes on in my life.  I mean, he was absolutely beautiful!  The woman beside him, was pretty but not stunning, yet there was something about her that made her stand out and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.  And then I saw them glance at each other and I could see the spark.  I really thought I actually saw a physical spark!  His eyes were full of love as he quickly leaned down and kissed the side of her head.

       “Joshua, you’re being silly.  Jonny, don’t listen to your father, it was
me
that had to drag
him
out of the tool section, honey.”

       I looked at Jonathan and his cheeks were bright red.  His parents were embarrassing him!

       “Okay guys, settle down, I want you to meet some people.  Mom, dad, this is Nancy and Jay Marshall, and this is their daughter, Skylar Miller.  Skylar is one my advisees in our dorm, and these are my parents Joshua and Sarah Hunter.”  I could hear something in his voice, something was different but I couldn’t quite tell what it was.

       His mother seemed to give Jonathan a knowing smile and then turned to us.  “Well, it is so nice to meet all of you!”

      
Hmmm, I wonder what that was about.

       “Oh, please call us Nancy and Jay.”  My mom was gushing around Jonathan’s dad and I didn’t blame her, he was gorgeous!  She wasn’t flirting or anything like that but I could tell she was a little awestruck and it was cute.  His wife didn’t seem to mind at all, and the more I thought about it, I was sure she had to be used to that sort of thing.

       “Well Nancy, please call us Sarah and Joshua.”  Jonathan’s mom had a huge, friendly smile that was infectious.

       My mom smiled back at her and I could tell that she liked her.  It was nice to see my parents meeting people they wouldn’t normally meet.  My mom and Jay tended to stay within their circle of friends and they never really did anything fancy or even daydreamed about it.  So I liked that they were meeting people who were so different from them who seemed to be really nice people. 

       “So Skylar, how do you like school so far?”  His mom was so friendly.

       “It’s extremely challenging but so far I love it.  If you ask me the same question during finals you
might
get a different answer!” 

       Jonathan’s dad chimed in.  “Don’t worry Skylar, I’m sure you’ll breeze right through finals.  I felt the exact same way my freshman year at this very same university.  I loved it at first but was really dreading my first final.  Just make sure you’re well prepared and you will do just fine.  The university is very selective about who they let in, so you’re already way ahead of the game, I’m sure.” 

Okay, so this guy was not only gorgeous but he seemed really nice! 

I smiled at him.  “Thanks, Mr. Hunter.”

Jonathan’s parents were awesome and I don’t know why but I felt really comfortable around them.  I knew that they were super wealthy but they seemed so down to earth.  I don’t know if I had ever gotten a better vibe from people I had just met before, but they seemed really cool.

       “Oh, so Joshua you attended here as well?  You must be so proud that your son is going here now, huh?”  Jay jumped into the conversation with ease.

       “Oh yes, we are extremely proud of Jonathan.  He is number one in his class so we could not be happier.”

       I glanced at Jonathan who was looking at me, and raised my eyebrow and gave him a half smile and mouthed, “Wow, number one?”  I didn’t know he was a super brainiac.  Looks, brains, and a sexy singer…he had everything but he didn’t have me, not yet.  He seemed to want me but I had to know that he didn’t also want every other girl.  I got lost in my thoughts and after a few seconds I realized that no one was saying anything.  My mom was gently shaking my shoulder.

      
“Well, what do you think honey?” 
Wait, what did I miss?