Three Sisters of Delta Gamma Ch. 10

"I agree," Jules added.

Julia took her seat and, as Robert directed, she wrote "1 of 250" and her signature in the lower corners on the border just below the art. Robert purchased number 2 and asked Jules to ship it to his home in Canada. He then bid farewell to Julia, again with a warm hug, and reminded her to call him at any time.

It took almost two hours to complete the signatures. Julia remembered to call Cliff with only 30 minutes to spare.

"Hi sweetheart."

"Hey, are we still on?"

"That's why I'm calling. I brought the seashore painting up to Jules and the grizzly prints had arrived this morning. I'm signing and numbering those now and am afraid I have to cancel our lunch."

"I'll have to find some other beautiful woman I guess."

"I'm sure you will. How about we have dinner later this evening?"

"I'll check my schedule and let you know."

"Thanks. Love you."

"Love you too, bye."

That exchange bothered Julia. She had just put her art priorities ahead of Cliff. But it was too late to do anything about it.

Julia walked into the office area and Jamie handed her an envelope. She opened it and saw a check for $37,000. "What's this?" she asked.

"It's your share of the grizzly prints. Jules is buying them from you, paying the printer and then will sell them at his galleries. Jack is also negotiating with the University of California Promotions Department for a fan print. It's perfect for their golden bears mascot. Jack will call you with the details."

"I didn't expect to be paid so soon."

"That's the way Jules does business. I noticed that you haven't cashed that first $25,000 check he gave you for the paintings."

"I know. I was waiting for Cliff to make some decisions."

"Well, at least stick it in the bank so we can keep our accounts current."

"I will."

"Do you want to take the number one print with you or have us ship it to your home?"

"Could you ship it to my parents?"

"Of course. Jules loves your seaside painting. I knew he would. He said to offer you $3,000 for the painting and he wants to make 150 prints, which will give you another $20,000. Does that sound fair?"

"Yes, I can take that."

"He also wants to send both the first wolf and the second one you did of the pack for 250 prints each and he has a proposal from the Minnesota Timberwolves Marketing Group for a fan poster of the pack. Jack is negotiating that on your behalf. The total for those, assuming the fan poster deal closes, will yield $79,000 to you. Again, I'll call you when the prints are ready for signature."

"Great."

"Let me get that $3,000 check for you now."

Julia left with more money in her pocket than she'd ever had in her life. She drove directly to the bank near the campus and deposited the checks totaling $65,000.

That evening, Cliff picked up Julia for dinner at a local steakhouse. On the way, she told him about meeting Robert Grey and how nice a man he was. She didn't tell him all the words of praise he had for her work and about him buying the print.

"Did Jules buy the seashore painting?"

"Yes, he liked it and bought it. Have you had a chance to look into a trust or individual retirement account for us to fund?"

"Yes. As soon as the money comes in, we can open one with Merrill Lynch."

"Jules paid me for the grizzly prints today so let's do it soon."

"Very good. How much do you have?"

"Counting the originals he bought, $65,000."

"Wow." He turned to Julia and smiled. "I'm proud of you. Does that mean you're going to pay for dinner?"

Julia smiled and reached for his hand. "I think I could do that. How about a nice bottle of wine to go with it?"

"If you insist." He smiled as Julia pulled his hand to her lips.

****

Graduation came and families flew or drove in from all parts of the USA for the ceremonies and party. Cliff's parents and sister finally had a chance to meet Julia's parents. Charles parents came up from Raleigh with Susanna's parents for the big event and most all of Layla's family came, except for the younger kids, to join Eric's family. Julia's grandmother even managed to get away from the assisted living facility and her boyfriend long enough to attend.

Following the ceremony, everyone went to the house for a cookout and to party. Michelle and Gabby were invited but they had committed to attend another party and couldn't come. Amy was the youngest child there so she spent most of the time in someone's lap. She had brought her Jenga game and a number of the adults played. Cliff's sister, Janet, was very good at Jenga and gave Amy a tough time.

Thankfully, the girls had purchased a keg of beer. It was all consumed. The party was catered by a local restaurant and there was plenty of great Italian food to accompany the grilled steaks, lamb chops and red snapper. Anna had made cannolis and Kathy brought the chocolate chip cookies that Amy liked.

Everyone had brought gifts for the five graduates and time was spent opening them together in the family room. Although it was a celebration, it was also a sad going away party, as each would be leaving for another home. Many tears were shed as fond memories of the last four years were shared. By 10pm, Amy was in bed and all of the guests had left for their hotels or home. The three couples relaxed after cleaning up the few remaining dishes.

Susanna said, "I'll be here with mom and dad for the next two weeks to get the house ready for the sale. Charles is staying to help also. Layla, you're leaving this week, I think."

"Yes, Eric and I are moving in with his parents starting tomorrow for a couple of months and then to the townhouse at the beginning of August. Eric has been hired as a paramedic full time in Philly until school begins and then he'll be working a few shifts each week."

Everyone congratulated him.

"I've got five weddings to video in the next two months and will be shutting down the studio here as soon as I do those. I'm still looking for a new studio in Philly but may have to just work out of our house. We look forward to seeing everyone at the wedding."

"Wouldn't miss it for anything," Julia replied with everyone agreeing. "Cliff and I are headed to Wyoming tomorrow but we'll stay in close touch with everyone. My parents are riding back with us to share the driving. It's a hard three-day trip so pray for our sanity and safety." Everyone nodded.

"So tonight is our last night together," Susanna said. Tears rushed to their eyes and the three sisters of Delta Gamma stood and hugged and cried until they couldn't cry anymore. The guys then joined them in a massive six-person hug.

As they broke, Layla said through her tears, "I think we won."

"We sure did," replied Julia.

Susanna added, "And we did it together. By the way, Layla, you never told us who's going to be your maid or matron of honor."

"Why Amy, of course."

Everyone cheered, "Okay!"

The End. (at least for now)

Thank you for reading my fiction. I plan to write another volume to tell you what happened to each couple and Amy during the following few years; but I need a break to finish up two other major stories I have under development. I'll be back later this year. I always enjoy your e-mails and you can contact me through the profile page. Just click on Memorable_Event below and it will take you to my profile. All the best for now.