In Love With An Older Man 25

June 1996

"Did you both go to the bathroom? It's going to be a very long car ride, and I don't know when we'll stop again," Cindy told the twins.

"Yes, Mommy," Rebecca and Jonathan dutifully replied.

"In that case, let's get this show on the road," Gary said.

The family was going to see Carly graduate from college. Realizing how difficult long car rides could be for four-year-olds, Cindy had packed juice boxes, snack crackers, coloring books, and various toys. In addition, the car's cassette tape player held a tape entitled 'Thirty Singalongs For Kids.' Cindy and Gary planned to play it until the twins were asleep and then switch to 'adult' music.

The first hour on the road passed smoothly. Cindy found herself happily singing 'The Bear Went Over The Mountain' right along with her children.

"What did the bear see when he got over the mountain?" asked Rebecca.

"He saw Little Boy Blue under the haystack fast asleep," Gary told her.

Rebecca giggled. "Daddy, you're silly."

"I know I am." Gary grinned.

For lunch, they stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Gary and Cindy knew that it was time to leave when the twins started giggling and flinging French fries at one another.

Perhaps thirty minutes or so after getting back on the road, Cindy glanced into the back seat and saw that both twins were fast asleep. She smiled and exchanged 'Boys II Men' for 'Thirty Singalongs For Kids.'

"That's considerably more relaxing," Gary commented.

They enjoyed a couple more hours of solitude before the twins awakened and began asking how much longer before they got there.

It was near dinnertime when a car carrying two frazzled adults and two tired, cranky kids finally pulled into the motel parking lot.

"Want to just order out?" Gary asked once they were settled.

"Might as well. I definitely don't feel like chasing these two around a restaurant," Cindy replied.

They ordered two pizzas, a supreme for themselves and a cheese pizza for the twins. After dinner Cindy bathed the kids and then put the Nickelodeon channel on for them until they were asleep. Then she and Gary watched a movie on another channel and went to bed.

The next morning they went to a buffet for breakfast and then made their way to the stadium where the graduation ceremony was to be held.

"When are we gonna see Carly?" asked Rebecca.

"When she and all the other people graduating enter the stadium," Cindy told her.

"When's that gonna be?" asked Jonathan.

"In just a little while," Cindy told him.

Finally, 'Pomp And Circumstance' began to play and the graduates filed into their seats.

"Which one of them is Carly?" asked Rebecca.

"I don't know. There's too many of them, and they're too far away," Gary said. "We'll see her up close after the ceremony's over."

Rebecca and Jonathan made a game of guessing which graduate was Carly. When Carly's name was called and she walked to the front to receive her degree, they all cheered.

"Why did they all throw their caps up into the air, Mommy?" Rebecca asked after the ceremony was over.

"It's a tradition, honey. I'm not exactly sure how it got started," Cindy told her.

They waited with the other families at the stadium's exit, and at last Carly emerged, beaming.

"Well, congratulations, graduate!" Gary exclaimed, hugging her tightly.

"Thanks, Dad." Carly sounded as if she were about to cry.

Next it was Cindy's turn. "Congratulations, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you. I knew you could do it."

"Thank you, Cindy," Carly whispered.

Gary and Cindy took Carly out to a nice restaurant to celebrate her graduation, and then they went back to the motel to talk.

"I just can't decide what to do," Carly began. "Ben's going back to Oregon to work for his family's pharmacy, and he wants me to go with him, but it's such a small town, Dad. I doubt there's much demand for music teachers there. If I went back home with you two, I know I probably wouldn't have a problem getting a job, but I love Ben, and I'd miss him so much."

"Would you consider going to Oregon with Ben and taking a different kind of job until one for a music teacher opens up?" Gary asked her.

"That's one option," Carly agreed. "But how long might that take? And in the meantime, everything I've worked so hard for is just going to waste."

"Oh, honey, that's not true at all," Cindy protested. "An education is never a waste."

"Do you consider my premed degree to be a waste since I never worked as a doctor?" asked Gary.

"Well...yes. Don't you?"

"Not at all. I apply knowledge I received during those four years all the time."

"Oh...well, your situation was different."

"How so?"

"You never really wanted to be a doctor anyway. I do really want to be a music teacher."

"And so you shall be one someday."

"But I want Ben too. Why can't I have both?"

"Well, sweetie, that's just the way life is. It sometimes requires you to make difficult choices."

"But how do I know which choice is the right one?"

"Listen to your heart, Carly. That's what I've always done."

"But this is such a big decision, Dad. I really need some time to think it through first."

"Take all the time you need, Carly. There's no rush. And please remember that Cindy and I will support you no matter what you decide."

"Thanks." Carly smiled.

"What are your plans in the short term?"

"I'd like to go back home with you guys and spend a few days just thinking about it."

"And what are you going to tell Ben?"

"The same thing I've just told you guys. That it's too big of a decision to just rush into."

Gary patted Carly's shoulder. "Good luck, sweetie. I know you'll make the right choice."