Diana stepped up to the podium with a small stack of papers. She looked out over the crowd feeling very nervous. She licked her lips and glanced at the Principal of the school. She had cleared one speech with him, but had chosen to give a completely different one. She had a choice and had taken what she felt was the better one.
Looking out at the audience, she said, "Today we graduate high school. This ceremony is intended to mark the transition from teenager to young adult. Until this day, our parents have sheltered us so that we could grow. We have grown and soon we will leave that shelter behind. Some of us will go off to college. Others will embark on careers. We will get married and raise children of our own.
"Today, we listened to our Principal praise us for what we have achieved. We have heard Mayor Doorman talk about becoming the future leaders of our community. They have given us words of inspiration, but their words alone are not enough to guide us through our lives. There are other words that you must hear and take to heart.
"Let me tell you the facts of life..." Diana said noticing that the Principal was getting up from his seat. She had been afraid that he would do that when she deviated from the speech she had cleared with him.
Irritated that she was deviating from the speech, the Principal wanted to escort Diana off the stage before she said something that would get the school into trouble. Diana held up a hand to stop him. Without looking to see the effect of her gesture, she faced the audience. There was the normal nervous titter on hearing what she was going to tell them.
"Life is not fair," Diana said. She stood at the podium and looked across the room. A few people laughed at the statement, but she stood there calmly waiting for the laughter to stop. She had tried to come up with a way to convey all that those words meant, but short trite phrases of explanation would not work.
The Principal stopped to listen to what she said next. He had no idea where she was going with this speech, but he had a feeling that she wasn't going to step too far over the line.
Diana knew the laughter would stop with the next fact of life. She said, "No one is exempt from death."
The Principal returned to his seat deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt. A number of people shifted nervously in their chairs. This was not the kind of speech that they were expecting from the class valedictorian. She glanced down at the sheet of paper and said, "Physics rules the universe and biology rules life."
"The universe does not care," she said. She looked around the room at the shocked faces staring back at her. Her audience definitely wasn't expecting that one. By now, the room was totally silent.
After waiting for the tension to build, she said, "The only constant in life is change."
In a soft voice that carried across the quiet room, she said, "There is always a choice."
"Wishing never makes it so," she said while shaking her head. The urge to explain this fact had tempted her most. She wanted to shout, "You'll have to work to achieve anything." She resisted the temptation.
"A person can't exceed their limits."
The last one had left a number of puzzled faces in the audience. Diana ignored the frowns and read the next fact, "A person is responsible for their own happiness."
"It is impossible to change the character of another," she said.
She picked up her stack of papers and straightened them. Looking out at the audience, she said, "Those, my classmates, are the facts of life. Ignore them at your own peril."
As Diana stepped away from the podium to return to her seat, an old man rose from his chair and shouted, "For the love of God, listen to her."
The audience slowly rose to their feet led by the oldest members first. Grandmothers and grandfathers clapped with energy. Teenagers, many of whom were more likely to listen to their grandparents than their parents, were surprised by their reactions to Diana's speech. Diana walked across the stage and returned to her seat. It was time to hand out the diplomas.
Dan had listened to the speech with a frown. He felt that his sister was using the facts of life for her own aggrandizement. He leaned over to Tom and asked, "What do you think?"
"I don't know," Tom answered watching Diana closely.
"Where are we going?" Amanda's father asked. He didn't understand why they had gone to the graduation ceremony of the sister of the friend of the boy his daughter was dating. It had all started when he insisted that she spend the day with her family. She had countered that if they wanted her to spend the day with her that they go with her.
"Parker's Perfect Pizza," Amanda answered.
Amanda's father drove away from the high school shaking his head. The graduation ceremony had been a complete waste of time until that one girl gave her speech. He had actually found it interesting and hoped that his daughter learned something from it. He looked in the mirror at Amanda and said, "I would be happier if you were dating that girl who gave the speech than that low life who brought you home. Now that little lady has some common sense unlike that dolt you took up with."
Amanda said, "Tom is not a dolt."
"The idiot brings my little girl home at eleven o'clock at night after I've been waiting for six hours for you," her father growled.
"I called you," Amanda said.
"His best friend works in a pizzeria. He probably makes minimum wage. That's a real ambitious bunch you're running around with," her father said shaking his head.
Irritated at hearing Tom constantly trashed by Amanda's father, Terry crossed her arms and said, "The girl who gave the speech is Diana Parker. Her brother is Dan Parker and he owns Parker's Perfect Pizza. His best friend is Tom. Tom is the one who found an article on the facts of life. He gave the article to Dan. Dan gave it to his sister. She used that article for her speech. They are not a bunch of lowlifes."
Amanda looked over at Terry surprised by the anger in her voice. She said, "Tom has a perfect GPA. He's got a summer internship here in town and starts work on Monday."
"He's so smart that the professors are fighting over him," Terry said.
"I don't care if he can walk on water. He's stringing the two of you along. Damn man has two girlfriends. That's not right," her father said. He sniffed and said, "You are two idiots for going along with him."
Furious, Amanda said, "Terry is not Tom's girlfriend. She's my girlfriend."
As soon as she had heard Amanda declare their relationship, Terry wanted to hide. She couldn't believe that Amanda had actually said that to her father. She could imagine the fireworks that were about to explode inside the small sedan.
Her father almost drove off the road. Stopping the car, he turned around to look at his daughter. He asked, "So who is Tom?"
"He's my boyfriend," Amanda said.
"Let me get this straight. You've got a girlfriend and a boyfriend," her father said shaking his head. He hoped his daughter wasn't using girlfriend the way he thought she was.
"Oh my God, my daughter is a lesbian," her mother said holding a hand to her forehead. This was the great secret that her daughter was hiding from her.
Terry rolled her eyes and said, "She's not a lesbian. Lesbians don't have boyfriends. Tom is her boyfriend."
"Thank God. That's a relief," her father said. He turned around and resumed driving to the pizzeria.
Terry looked at Amanda's father and shook her head. She couldn't believe how easily he denied what Amanda had told him. Amanda's mother was another matter entirely. She turned to face Amanda and asked, "Do you have sex with Tom?"
"Yes, mother," Amanda answered.
Her father was almost relieved to hear that answer. He might not like Tom, but at least he was a male. His stomach tightened when her mother asked, "Do you have sex with Terry?"
"Yes, mother," Amanda answered after glancing over at Terry.
"Oh, shit," her father swore. Tightening his hands on the steering wheel, he asked, "What in the hell are they teaching you at that school of yours?"
"Biology," Amanda answered.
"Business," Terry answered thinking that biology probably wasn't the wisest answer to give in this particular context.
"That damned boy must have put you up to that," her father said.
Losing patience with her father, Amanda replied, "Terry and I were together before I met him."
Her father shook his head. Under his breath he said, "Maybe the wife was right. Maybe I should have let her date more when she was in high school. At least she would have learned that she was a woman and women are supposed to have sex with men."
The rest of the drive was spent with each of them lost in their thoughts. Terry stared out the window of the car terrified that Amanda's father was going to pull over to the side of the road and throw her out of the car. Amanda was worried about the fights that were sure to follow the earlier revelations about her sexuality. Her mother was trying to figure out what she had done wrong in raising her daughter. Her father was trying to figure out who to blame.
Taking the easy route out, Amanda's father had decided that everything was Tom's fault. He was not in a good mood when they finally reached the pizzeria and was more than happy to let Tom know it. Before he had a chance to find Tom, he spotted someone he knew. It was just his luck that he'd run into someone important at this party. There was nothing like making a scene in front of someone who could get you fired from your job. He said, "There's Mr. Eldridge."
"Who?" his wife asked.
"Mr. Eldridge. He's one of the directors where I work," Amanda's father answered. John Eldridge had a reputation as a very good director. His directorate was always rated very highly in the company. He rewarded people who did good work in a very public way that earned him a high degree of loyalty.
Terry smiled when she realized who Amanda's father was talking about. Nudging Amanda, she whispered, "That's Tom's father."
Loud enough for her father to hear, Amanda announced, "That's Tom's father."
"Shit."
Diana sat down at the table with Tom and asked, "What did you think of my speech?"
Tom looked up from his slice of pizza not wanting to answer the question. After a painful silence, he answered, "I'm not sure."
"What do you mean you're not sure?" Diana asked puzzled by his lack of enthusiasm.
Tom frowned as he considered how to answer the question. Finally, he said, "So far you've been giving lip service to the facts of life. You use them like some kind of shield to explain why you are doing what you want to do. You claim to be following the advice in the pursuit of happiness, but I don't see you actually following the advice. You think you are taking control of your life, but it seems to me that your life has been out of control lately. If I view your speech from that perspective I would say that you are begging to be applauded for espousing something that you don't really believe."
Diana pursed her lips as she considered his reply. A week earlier his words would have hurt, but now she considered them as constructive criticism. A week earlier, he would have been right. Nodding her head, she said, "I can see where you could say that."
"It was even worse than that. You didn't quote the author," Tom said looking at her.
Diana frowned and dug through her purse for her speech. Pulling it out, she read through it and said, "Yes I did. I said 'Let me tell you the facts of life by... '"
"No you didn't. You left out that part," Tom said shaking his head. He added, "You took credit for the facts of life. As far as anyone in the audience knows, the facts of life that you read to them originated with you."
Dismayed at the charge, Diana looked at her speech and said, "I'm sure I said it."
"You didn't," Tom said. He looked her in the eye and said, "You can ask Dan if you don't believe me."
Diana tried to remember back to the speech. She had started to read the facts of life but the Principal was on his way to stop her. She had gestured to him to stop and then continued the speech. She tried to remember if she had forgotten to give credit to the original author. Feeling sick to her stomach, she said, "I can't believe that I didn't give him credit for it."
Tom shrugged his shoulders and said, "Believe it."
"What can I do?" Diana asked.
Tom said, "You don't have to do anything. You can leave it as it as and no one will be the wiser."
"I can't do that," Diana said staring at the sheet of paper in her hands. She wanted to cry. She looked up as tears started forming in her eyes and asked, "What can I do?"
Tom answered, "Well, Monday morning you can go to the school with a copy of the speech and ask for a mailing list of all of the students. You can send them copies of the speech with a cover note acknowledging your error."
"What if they won't give me the mailing list?" Diana asked.
"You're smart enough to figure that one out yourself," Tom answered knowing that she probably had a student directory with all of that information in it already.
Diana nodded her head and said, "You're right."
Tom asked, "Have you really taken the material to heart yet?"
"Yes," Diana answered. She said, "I finished writing my personal definition of happiness and my goals earlier this week. The whole reason I gave the speech was that one of my goals was to help others find their way in life. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to pursue that goal."
"That is a good goal and your speech was a good opportunity. I'm sure that you were successful in some small measure," Tom said. He looked at her and said, "I would have to say that I liked our speech outside of that one small error which you will correct."
"Why do you say that you liked it now when you didn't know if you liked it earlier?" Diana asked.
Tom smiled on hearing that question. He had hoped that she would ask it. He answered, "There is a difference between a speech meant to help others and a speech meant to bring attention to the speaker. I like speeches that are meant to help others. I don't like speeches that are little more than a boast by the speaker. Now that I know what your intentions were, I can say that I liked it."
"Oh," Diana said. She looked down at the speech and asked, "Did you really think that I gave this speech to attract attention?"
"Yes."
"Why?" she asked.
Tom shook his head and said, "You need to ask Dan that question."
"I want you to tell me why you believed it?" Diana said.
Taking a deep breath, Tom said, "You've been rather self-absorbed the past two years. I've seen it in how you treat Dan. I've seen it in how you talk about your boyfriend."
"I'd like to say that you are wrong, but I can't. I came to that conclusion myself. I didn't see that in myself until I wrote out my personal definition of happiness," Diana said wondering how close she had come to chasing off everyone who liked her. She was dismayed to learn that Tom had noticed despite being away at school most of the year.
Tom took a sip of his root beer. Putting down the mug, he said, "You need to have a heart to heart with Dan."
"I need to talk to a lot of people," Diana said looking across the room at Dan. He was busy cooking pizzas for everyone there. There were two graduation parties being held at the pizzeria that day. Sandra had also graduated from her high school and was celebrating at the pizzeria. He wasn't doing it for money or glory. Dan was covering the cost for Sandra's party too. He was working to provide everyone else with a good time. Shaking her head, she said, "He's so much better than I am."
"It isn't that he's better. It is that he works harder at being better," Tom said rising from his seat.
"Where are you going?" Diana asked.
"I'm going to where I can work harder at being better," Tom said looking across the room.
Seeing where he was looking, she asked, "Who is he?"
"That is Mr. Ludwig. He's Amanda's father. He's not a happy man right now and I'm a good part of the reason he's not happy," Tom said.
"Are you sure you should go over to him?" Diana asked. The man looked like his dog had died.
"Yes. If anyone needs a root beer then it is him," Tom answered. He swung by the pizza stand and ordered another root beer. His was only half empty. He hoped there was enough to last through what was likely to be a horrible conversation.
Sidney Ludwig was seated at one of the picnic tables staring at the wall. He was not enjoying the mural, the food, or the company. As far as he was concerned, this was the worst day of his life. He glared at the table wondering how things had worked out so poorly.
Tom set a mug of root beer down on the table in front of Mr. Ludwig. Taking a seat next to the man, he said, "I imagine that you'd rather spend the night in a tent with a dozen skunks than have to talk nicely to me for ten minutes."
"Two dozen skunks," Sidney said with a snort. He glared at Tom and added, "A dozen rattlesnakes could take up residence in the sleeping bag and I wouldn't complain."
"That hurts," Tom said shaking his head. He raised his mug of root beer and said, "Here's to skunks and rattlesnakes."
"Did you come over here to rub it in?" Sidney asked.
Shaking his head, Tom said, "No. I came over here so that you tell me what you think of me."
"Can't," Sidney said with an angry frown.
Tom looked around at the crowd of people before he asked, "Would you rather talk outside where no one will overhear?"
"Just leave me alone," Sidney said.
Tom shook his head and said, "You have some things to say to me. I'll listen."
"You don't want to hear what I have to say to you."
"You're probably right, but I'll listen," Tom said.
Taking care not to make a sound, Dan walked around the corner of the building from the alley. At the far end of the side of the building, Sidney was telling Tom exactly what he thought of him. The tirade lasted for more than ten minutes with Tom saying nothing. He stood there and listened to every word the angry man said. Dan watched to make sure that the verbal abuse did not turn physical.
After venting, Sidney jabbed his finger in Tom's direction and said, "That's what I think."
"You have a right to your opinion," Tom said respectfully. There wasn't a hint of belligerence in his voice. He looked at the man for five seconds and then asked, "Do you feel better?"
"No," Sidney answered. He had run out of things to say long before his anger had a chance to diminish. He glared at Tom thinking, 'That damned boy turned my little girl into a lesbian.'
"I am sorry to hear that," Tom said. He turned and headed towards the front of the pizzeria. Before reaching the storefront, he faced Sidney and said, "Have a mug of root beer. I find that things always look a little better when I'm drinking a root beer."
"Root beer?"
Tom turned the corner and was almost run over by his father. He grabbed his father by the arm and turned him back towards the door to the pizzeria. He said, "It is a private matter. Don't interfere."
"You're sure?" his father asked. He had heard a little of what Amanda's father had said to his son. He was more than a little angry.
"Yes," Tom said. He went into the pizzeria with his father.
Sidney was left standing by the side of the building. Dan walked up behind him and cleared his throat. When the man spun around to see who made the noise, Dan said, "I think that you owe Tom an apology."
"I'm not apologizing to that boy. He's twisted my little girl into something ugly," Sidney said. He knew that Dan was Tom's friend and was going to defend Tom.
Shaking his head, Dan said, "Physics rules the universe and biology rules life. That is a fact of life. Your daughter is being driven by biology to love as she has does. You can deny that, but you are denying a fact of life.
"Even if he wanted to do it, Dan couldn't change her into something that she is not. You can't change the character of another. That is another fact of life."
"What she is doing is wrong!"
"Life is not fair. That is another fact of life. Amanda didn't choose to be sexually attracted to men and women. She couldn't prevent that. Despite the fact that she always has a choice, that wasn't one of the options available to her. The choices facing her were to deny her attraction to men, to deny her attraction to women, or to accept that she is sexually attracted to men and women. Denying the attraction doesn't eliminate it; it only makes it more destructive. She has chosen to accept who she is and what biology has made her," Dan said.
"We didn't raise her to be like that," Sidney said wanting to make sure that Dan understood that point. It wasn't his fault that his daughter turned out that way.
Nodding his head, Dan said, "I'm sure of that. It was quite clear from what you said to Tom how you feel about the matter. I have no doubts that you would have done anything in your power to keep her from being that way."
"You're damned right," Sidney said.
"I know," Dan said with a sad little smile. He looked down at the pavement and said, "Life isn't fair. Like I said -- that's a fact of life."
"You keep saying that," Sidney said.
"I'll keep saying it until you accept it," Dan said looking the other man straight in the eye.
"And what happens after I accept it?"
Dan smiled and said, "You have to make a choice."
"What choice?" Sidney asked.
Dan answered, "You have to choose how you deal with your daughter. Will you accept your daughter as she is? If you accept her, will you accept Tom and Terry as her lovers? Will you reject her and risk losing her in your life?
"You always have a choice. Occasionally, none of the choices available to you are ones that you will particularly like, but you still have a choice. I'm not going to advise you on what choice you should make."
"Oh," Sidney said staring at Dan.
Having said what he had intended to say to the man, Dan turned to walk away. He stopped and turned back to face Sidney. Deciding to reinforce what he had come over to say, he said, "You owe Tom an apology. In fact, you should be thanking Tom for what he did for you."
"What in the hell did that bastard do for me?" Sidney asked getting angry.
Dan shook his head at the outburst of anger. In a soft voice, he answered, "Tom made a very difficult choice. Rather than trying to convince you otherwise, he has allowed you to continue to blame him. He has put himself between you and Amanda so that you would take your anger out on him rather than her. He took your abuse so that you didn't destroy your relationship with your daughter. He loves her a lot and thinks that she will be better off going through life with you in it."
Sidney stared at Dan as the young man walked away. Shaking his head in disbelief, he asked, "Where in the hell did that kid come from?"
Lazlo Zalezac