Don't Marry Your Contractor*

Chapter 29 - The Valedictorian

Thirteen Years Earlier:

The night before graduation, Charlotte and Lena were in Lena's room one last time as high school students. They were both getting ready for the big day in their own way. Lena had set out her outfit and accessories just the way she wanted. Charlotte, on the other hand, was going over her valedictorian speech and was doing her best to make it just right, and short! Lena looked up and smiled at her friend. "I'm all set here Char, how's the speech comin'?"

Charlotte shrugged and held out a five by seven note card. "Okay, it's going to be pretty short, just so you know they gave me a list of things I'm not supposed to talk about, you know sex, religion, politics and the like."

Lena laughed at her brilliant friend. "Char, you can say anything you want. What are they gonna' to do, kick you out of school?"

Charlotte laughed. "I know that L, but I have plenty to say without breaking my promise to principal Rogers."

Lena gestured to the pile of handwritten note cards. "Are you going to memorize all of that Char?"

The tall girl shook her head. "Oh no, I'll just have one card with a few notes, that's the way Gramps taught me to speak in public. Told me that's how they do it in the Air Force. Just have three main points and a bucket of ice water."

"Ice water?"

Charlotte winked. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow."

Lena winked and gave her BFF a conspiratorial look. "Well then, I also have one little surprise for you and you'll have to wait too!"

As Charlotte went back to her notes, Lena picked up her phone and started a long text message chain...

The next morning after overly long speeches by the president of the school board, the principal and one of the school's best and most popular teachers, Charlotte was finally introduced as the class Valedictorian. She stood up and smiled and gave a little wave to where Gram, Gramps, Jackie, P.C. and Justin were sitting. She then stepped up to the mic and said in a clear and confident voice. "Well, we made it!"

There were loud cheers from the graduating class as Charlotte continued. "Hi everyone, I'm Charlotte Janssen." She paused a moment as Lena had asked her to do just before stepping up on the stage. Simultaneously her entire class then shouted. "That's Janssen with a Y!"

Charlotte's eyes moistened a bit as she let the cheering die down and then laughed. "Well, I see that you all know me. Well here we are after four long years." She then held out a note card. "They gave me a list of the things not to say..."

Charlotte flipped the card into the crowd where it was deftly caught by one of the basketball players. She turned around to the dignitaries and whispered. "Don't worry principal Rogers."

Charlotte then turned to the crowd. "I'll keep this short. My grandfather taught me that if you have more than three main points and can't keep your hand in a bucket of ice water for the duration of the speech it, is too long."

They were polite laughs from the audience as she then continued. "Okay so here they are. First I'm supposed to say our lives are in front of us, work hard, make the world a better place, and blah, blah, blah. So do all that stuff."

With that, she tossed another note card into the audience. "Okay, with the formalities observed what I really want to say is thank you. Some of you know that I first moved here nine years ago to live with my grandparents. I don't think that at that stage of their lives they expected to raise their nine-year-old granddaughter." Charlotte turned to make eye contact with the married couple of a half-century or so and went on. "Thanks Gram, Gramps, I love you. Next, I want to thank my BFF Lena and her family. That first day after I moved here Lena declared 'I think that we can be friends.' I also remember her little brother Justin telling me that I had pretty eyes, so thanks Lena and Justin for the nice welcome to the neighborhood. I also want to thank Jackie and P.C. for being the best soccer, track, volleyball and ski mom and dad ever. They drove me all over the state for various sporting events over the years."

Charlotte looked into the audience and at Lena's mother. "Don't cry Jackie, I love you."

That comment only made Jackie's tears flow more and she was joined by more than a few others in audience at that show of strong emotion. The tall valedictorian went on. "I also want to thank all of my teammates from the track and volleyball teams, you guys all made me better. Also a special thanks to all the moms and dads who gave permission for their kids to take a plane ride from a 17-year-old girl pilot. At last count I have flown over 30 Young Eagle flights."

With that came another round of cheers. Charlotte went on. "Thanks to all of our teachers, especially the ones who had to put up with a skinny middle schooler taking high school math and science and all the ones who taught those great A/P classes. I'll make sure to tell my kids that when I was 13 I had to walk to two different schools on the same day uphill in the snow both ways."

There was a bit of laughter and Charlotte smiled broadly. "In conclusion, love like Doctor King and Gandhi and lead like Kennedy and Reagan. Above all else, be excellent to each other."

Charlotte smiled broadly and stepped away from the podium and high school to loud cheers and applause.