I have a damn good feeling about life there—life with June in general. But one step at a time. We both come from broken marriages, so taking the long route to forever gets us there all the same.
Lola, Hayden and Naomi are leaving next week for Europe. I guess that’s what I get for opting out of my last year of Spanish. They both stuck with it and get to go on an immersion trip to Spain for three weeks. It’ll also cancel their language requirement for their undergrad without having to test out of it. I’m going to have to spend my summer on a refresher crash course so I pass when I get to MIT. My brain only has room for so much, and with the math I’m looking to face, language classes are out.
At least Tory and Abby will be around for most of the summer, though I can tell they’re anxious to get to Chicago permanently. They’ve driven there at least six times in the last month for theater auditions, registration, and freaking deep-dish.
I’m a little lost in the nostalgia when June crawls into my lap, but she has a way of bringing me back to the present. She’s home, and as I look around at my group of friends, I realize in so many senses of the word, we are all home to one another.
We’ve taken over one of the pool tables because lighting up the lanes makes this place look way too open. Tonight is all about us, our final time together, and we don’t want outsiders busting in.
“Ladies and gents! A toast!” Tory announces.
June hands me a ten spot without looking over her shoulder because I won our bet for who would be the first person to stand on the table. It’s always D’Angelo—always this D’Angelo.
Properly beered up, we each raise a glass, holding our amber-filled mugs high and proud.
“To ups and downs, and forever friends. Allensville will never look the same without us. In fact, someone might say that this place is going to change.” I lean my head back and close my eyes while I groan. He is literally never going to stop making fun of me.
“Cheers!” June says, doing what she does best by putting the focus on the positive.
“Cheers!” The sound of our collective voices imprints in my mind and I immediately tell myself to hold on to it. To this moment.
We’re scattering. It’s inevitable. But we’ll all still have this place in time. We’ll always have us, and that was the point of my speech. Change happens regardless of how hard you hold on—to people, to places—and want to keep them the same. But life isn’t about the place or the time—it’s the friendships. And when you change together with those you love, you can always find your way back.
.
THE END
Acknowledgments
It’s always bittersweet coming to an end. I have loved every inch of this series. These characters have floated around my imagination, in some form or another, for quite a while. The series was born when I started to realize how these interesting people fit together. These are friends—lifelong-type of friends. I hope you have enjoyed spending time in their lives as much as I have.
These books have also been a wonderful escape for me. I think we can all agree that this year—the Pandemic one—has been a load of crap. I could not have gotten to this finish line without the help of a lot of people. This starts first and foremost with my boys. Tim and Carter, you are my air and life. I love you. Tina Scott, I love you and hit the lottery in the mom department. Mariah Dietz and Jennie Marts – thank you for the sprints! Alyson Santos, you genius with words you, thank you for being an amazing critique partner and for working with my weird-ass schedule and process this go-round. My betas, Jen, TeriLyn and Shelley, you are the masters of my weird-ass process and the fact that you are still willing to open my emails means so much to me! Thank you for every ounce of your time. I’m so grateful. Autumn – you know you complete me. Sometimes, you complete me in places I didn’t even realize I was missing things lol! (Autumn keeps me from being a mess.) Michelle Lancaster, my God, woman—you are a talent behind the lens. I have wanted to use one of your photos for a cover for a long time, and I feel like this was that perfect moment. Andy Murray, you were the perfect muse for Cannon’s spirit. Thank you both for being YOU!
Lastly, and not even close to least, Brenda Letendre . . . you single-handedly carried my limping self across this finish line. You are more than an editor; you are a true friend. You helped me move life’s mountains out of the way to get this book to you and to readers, and I will be forever grateful.
If you liked this book and/or series, please don’t be shy about it. I wanna hear. More than that, I would be so grateful if you would tell others. Reviews are life for us authors, but so are things like recommendations in person or on websites, posts on social media, mentions and tags and creative awesome-sauce that readers come up with. The Varsity Series finds the readers it’s meant to because of readers like you, because you are the most amazing readers in the entire world. I can’t thank you enough for your support. We’ve come to this
