“Sarah, please,” Mother called out, her voice carrying across the quiet lawn.

“After everything we have sacrificed for you both, you are just going to walk away?”

She took a fragile step forward, dabbing at the corner of her eye with a manicured finger.

“You are ruining what should be a milestone for this family,” she said, her voice cracking with practiced precision.

I stopped and looked back at her.

I felt the weight of twenty years of her theatrical tears, but today the weight was gone.

“We are not doing this, Mom,” I said.

“I am going to celebrate my degree, and Derek is going to celebrate his.”

“If you want to sit in an empty restaurant and feel sorry for yourself, that is your choice.”

Mother’s hand dropped from her face, her expression instantly hardening.

“Derek, tell her she is being absurd,” she demanded.

Derek reached my side and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“I am going with Sarah, Mom,” Derek said.

He looked back at Father.

“Dad, you are welcome to join us, but we are heading to the Peninsula Taproom.”