Time after time

It's summer...

Noah POV

Succeeding in my third year at Harvard: check ✅, I said to myself as I left the amphitheater where the exam for my family law course took place. It was an intense course that spanned two sessions! Chloe and Hayley had taken this course with me which had helped me a lot. Chloe just came out of the amphitheater with a big smile:
- Harvard Law degree completed!" she said to me with her arms in the air, triumphant.
- Congratulations Chloe!" I said to her, taking her in my arms.
- Next step will be law school which won't get any easier!" she said to me with a pout. "But first of all, let's enjoy summer!

We joined our group of friends outside of law school. Greg and Abby were the first to join us followed by Rebecca who was also euphoric to have completed her degree in pre-med. She had already been admitted to medical school at Harvard and Columbia University. Her boyfriend Chris, who graduated from MIT this year, managed to find a job in Boston which allowed her to choose Harvard. Elle was very stressed about losing her tutor while Rebecca was hesitating between Boston or New York. The news was greeted with great relief by my wife. Precisely, this one was missing until now.
- Has anyone seen Elle?" I asked.
- She didn't seem to have finished her exam when I left the lecture hall 15 minutes ago." replied Alyssa, one of her pre-med colleagues.

Mid and end sessions have always been difficult for my wife. She tends to be a perfectionist and wants to give the best of herself. She even studied very late for her pathophysiology exam today. Around midnight, I dragged her to bed and told her that sleep helps her retain information. I knew she was particularly nervous for this exam. And the fact that she hadn't come out yet made me worry that it hadn't gone well. I took my cell phone to send her a text:

Noah: Chloe wants to go eat at the oyster bar downtown. We'll be waiting for you in front of the law school as soon as you finish. It's summer time 🍦👒👙!

We wait for another 15 minutes before I saw my wife crossing campus to join us. To see her face, she looked mixed and I had confirmation of this when she collapsed in my arms, not from relief but from disappointment.
- It didn't go well?" I asked in her ear.
- I don't know!" she said to me keeping her face hidden in my chest. "The way the questions were worded, I always had a little hesitation. As if I wasn't sure of anything!
- I'm sure it went a lot better than you think, Shelly. Anyway," I told her, putting my hands on her cheeks. "you can't change anything anymore.
- I know! I'm going to need to take my mind off things!" she said to me with a pout.
- I know what you need, Elle!" Chloe said, joining our conversation by putting her arm around my wife's shoulders. "An evening at a trendy bar drinking wine. It's summer time...

A few hours later, after stopping by the apartment to shower and change, there was a large group of us on the terrace of this restaurant in downtown. There were Caleb, Dakota, Steeve and Charles, Chloe's boys, Alyssa and Elliott, Elle's pre-med colleagues, Eliza and Amanda, soccer teammates, Dan and Brian, football teammates, Greg and Abby as well as Rebecca and Chris. The atmosphere was festive! Everyone was relieved that the session was over and everyone went about their plans for the summer.

Elle was on the edge of the terrace railing with Abby telling each other about their plans for the summer. Abby was heading to Philadelphia for the summer having gotten an internship at a local newspaper through Greg's father. The latter told me that he was starting to think about proposing to Abby in view of next year being their last year at Harvard. Elle, for her part, landed an internship with a physical therapy researcher at Boston Children's Hospital through Josie, the team's physical therapist. Elle began talking about pursuing a master's degree in physical therapy after her pre-med degree. I was really happy that she was starting to see the future knowing how she struggled before knowing what she wanted to do in life.