The States

honey bee

Forty-six years. 

It took forty-six years to go from territory to state. 

Well, Emily thinks as she smoothes down the skirt of her dress, Theo's been around longer than I have and he hasn't gotten his statehood yet either. 

Emily likes to believe the best of people, but even she has to admit that there might be some truth to Austin's 'they don't want to have to deal with more brown states' argument. Theo swears up and down that the reason it took him so long to even become a territory was that he was Native American. 

Emily stares at her reflection, turning just enough that her skirts swish around her, showing the pale yellow of the petticoats underneath. The dress looks startlingly white against her brown skin. 

Cordelia had done her hair, braiding her bangs back into a crown and taming her curls into a bun. 

All that's left is to tie the yellow sash around her waist. 

Emily turns as someone knocks on the doorframe, holding the ends of the ribbon.

Alfred smiles at her. "Hey, kiddo." 

"I can tie that for you." He sets down a box on her bed and takes the sash. 

"Thank you," Emily says as he finishes. 

"Your mom couldn't make it," Alfred rubs the back of his neck. "Too short notice. But she got this for you a while ago, for today." He hands her the box. 

It's a jewelry box. Emily looks up at Alfred, and he motions for her to open it. 

There's a dainty gold cross necklace and a rosary with topaz beads. 

"It's tradition," Alfred tells her when Emily just stares at the rosary. "Cal, Austin, Nate, Jules, they all got a rosary and a saint necklace for their ceremonies. Your mom knows you're not catholic, though, which is why you got a cross instead of a saint."

Emily fingers the rosary beads for a moment before setting the box on her nightstand and carefully lifting the cross necklace from the box. "Will you fasten it for me?"

Alfred smiles. 

The cross pendant falls against her sternum. 

For the first time that day, Emily feels settled. "I think I'm ready to go."

𐐺

The ceremony itself feels like a blur. 

She gets handed her star, she signs her name. Her full name. Emilia Valerie Jones-Martínez. 

She knew that Austin and Cal had both dropped Martínez when they'd become states, but Emily had never really considered it. 

Afterward, there's a party, but Emily just feels... weird. 

"Weird, right? Being a state?"

Emily glances over at Nate. His bowtie's undone, hanging around his neck, jacket sleeves rolled up. His dark hair is artfully tousled.

He grins at her. "Want to see something cool?

𐐺

"Where are we going?" Emily whispers. She's entirely certain they aren't supposed to be here, but Nate had keys. And Emily had a tendency to not always make the best decisions in regards to Nate. 

The Washington Monument is spooky at night, lit only by the lantern Nate's carrying. 

"You know the memorial stones?" Nate asks. 

"Don't we all?"

Nate tilts his head at her, eyes gleaming mischievously in the lantern-light. "Did you know you have one?"

Emily stops still. "What?"

Nate smiles. "Yeah." 

Emily's silent as Nate leads her the rest of the way. "Here it is."

Emily stares at it. At Deseret, carved into the limestone. 

Nate's leaning against the wall, smiling, and Emily feels suddenly brave. 

Nate takes a step back when she leans in to kiss him, smile gone. 

He looks away. "Look. Kid. Emily, you- you don't want to do that. Trust me, okay?"

All the bravery drains out of her at the word kid. Because that's all she is to him. 

Nate clears his throat, obviously trying to ignore what just happened. "Anyway. Me and Cal, we got you something." He digs a little velvet bag out of his pocket. 

He hands it to her, running his hand through his hair after she takes it. "Don't tell them I told you so, but Marisol and Eli and Jules got you earrings, I think."

The note says Happy Statehood, love Nate and Cal ♥ in Callie's handwriting. It feels like further reinforcement that she's just a kid to him.

"It means honey bee, right? Deseret?" Nate asks as she shakes the ring into her hand. 

Emily slips the ring onto her index finger, the honey bee on it looking so tiny. "Yeah, it does mean honey bee."