Ch. 10: Making a Difference

Chapter Ten: Making a Difference

"Alright, I think everything is good to go. All the food is out, right Lyd?" Avery looks around the large community dining room in the dorm hall making sure the tables are set, the food is out, and multiple magazines with Addie's story published in them are out on display.

"Everything looks perfect, Avery. Just relax now and let's enjoy tonight. Should we go get Addie before the guests arrive?" 

Avery takes a deep breath and smiles, "Yeah, let's go! I'm so excited for tonight!"

"Me too. I'm so proud of Addie. I can't believe her story is finally published!"

The girls walk up to the third floor and knock on Lydia and Addie's dorm room door. 

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"Addie? Are you ready to go?" Lydia's voice comes from outside the door. 

I'm just finishing my make up. I look in the mirror and smile at myself before answering Lydia, "Yeah, I'm ready. You guys can come in if you want."

Avery and Lydia walk into the room with big smiles on their faces. "You look beautiful, Addie!" Avery throws her arms around me. "We're both so proud of you. Seriously, this is a big night for you so just remember to have fun." 

Avery and Lydia are throwing me a small dinner party with our friends here at the dorm to celebrate the publishing of my article in ParentsToday. "You guys remember to have fun too. You don't need to worry about making tonight perfect. It'll be great just getting together with everyone, alright?" 

They nod their heads and smile. "Alright, Addie. Let's get down to the party." Lydia links her arm through mine and Avery does the same. The three of us walk downstairs to the dining room with smiles plastered on our faces.

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We have all eaten and now everyone is just mingling and enjoying the night. Some people are still hanging around inside the dining room, others have moved into the lounge area, and some have made their way outside to the bonfire, where Avery, Jack, Lydia, and I currently are. 

"Hey, congratulations again Addie!" A friend from my English class says as she passes by, "I've gotta get going but thanks for inviting me. I had a great time." 

"Thanks for coming, Riley!" I smile and turn back to my friends.

"So, Addie." Jack smiles at me, "You never did tell us where you got the inspiration to write this piece."

Avery and I share a knowing look. Even though I've become really close with Jack and Lydia I haven't talked much about my mom's story. About losing Charlie. Avery is the only one who knows. I'm proud of my mom and everything she has accomplished but I'm not sure if she wants her name attached to her story just yet. Someday she'll be ready, and when she is I'll tell my friends.

"I'm just really passionate about SIDS. Someone close to my family lost a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and after learning about their story and their journey through grief and despair, I just felt like I needed to do something, bring some awareness to it all."

"Well it's a really beautiful piece, Addie. It's great that you're helping to spread awareness." Lydia squeezes my hand and gives me an encouraging smile. 

"Thanks, Lyd. I've been thinking though, I want to do more."

My friends give me a questioning look. "More than writing an article the entire country can read?" Jack laughs.

"Yeah, I was thinking about setting up some type of fundraiser. You know, get a bunch of people to come out and raise money for SIDS awareness."

"Dude! That's a great idea!" 

I laugh at Lydia's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you think so, because I've actually already discussed it with the local bowling alley. I just wanted to make sure you all were up for it first. You'd be willing to help right?"

"Are you kidding? Anything for you, Addie" Jack bumps my shoulder with his as Avery and Lydia agree with him.

"Want me to make some flyers to put around campus?"

"That'd be amazing, Lyd. Thank you. I'll just figure out a date that works with the alley and I'll let you know. Thank you guys. Seriously, you have no idea how much your friendship and support means to me. I love you all." I catch Jack's eye and something about the look he gives me makes my heart flutter. 

Tonight I am thankful for many things; for the opportunity to share a small part of my mom's life, for my wonderful friends, and for this party they are throwing for me. Tonight is exactly what I need to move past the "Drew" part of my life and back towards what's important, friends, family, and happiness.

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It's the night of the fundraiser and the turn out is great. I can't help but smile tonight as I look at all the people hanging out with friends, bowling, eating and drinking, and just having a good time. "Each and every one of these people are making a difference just by being here." I turn to Avery, "This is absolutely amazing."

"Addie, you realize the reason these people are here is because of you. You're making a difference too." She hugs me and whispers in my ear, "I'm sure you're mom is very proud of you right now."

I don't normally get emotional but thinking about my mom and Charlie brings tears to my eyes.

"Hey, tonight is a happy night!" Avery squeezes my arm. "You better get up there and make your speech before the night is over."

I pull out my phone and look at the time. "Holy crap! I can't believe it's so late. Tonight has flown by. Alright, I'll be back in a few." I approach the small podium in the corner of the dining area and check to see if the mic is on. "If I could just have everyone's attention for a few minutes, that'd be great. I promise I won't keep you long and you can go back to enjoying your night." The alley gets quiet as everyone turns their attention towards me.

"I hope everyone is having a good time. I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank you all for being here, it may not seem like it but you're making a difference. I just want to take a moment to talk about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, with you all. SIDS is the number one cause of death in infants between one month and one year of age. It is estimated that SIDS takes the lives of about 5000 infants in the United States every year. As the name suggests, it is sudden and unexpected and even after autopsies are done, no cause of death is found. It is a terrible tragedy where in most situations parents check on their infant that they believe to be sleeping, only to find them dead." I swallow the lump in my throat as the image makes me think about my mom and Charlie. I scan the crowd and find the faces of my friends. Avery gives me an encouraging smile and I find the strength to continue. 

"I know it's a sad topic, but I hope you can find happiness in knowing that you are helping this cause. The owners of University Bowl have generously agreed to donate half of all the proceeds that are made tonight to The American SIDS Institute. This institute is dedicated to the prevention of sudden infant death and the promotion of infant health through research, education, and family support. If you feel you would like to do more, personal donations can be made as well, just find me for more information. Thank you again for coming out and showing your support! Now go have fun!" 

I step down from the podium as the crowd of people shout and applaud. It's not what I was expecting but I it feels great to see the support I have brought to an important cause. All I want to do is go call my mom. I'm about to head outside to give her a call when someone lightly grabs my arm. 

I turn around and see Jack smiling at me, "Hey, that was a great speech."

I laugh. "Thanks, but I took a lot of it from SIDS website. So I can't really take credit for it."

"Yeah but you still got up there, delivered it and brought awareness to sudden infant deaths." He leans a little closer to me and says, "Do you think we could go outside for a second, I've been wanting to talk to you."

My heart feels like it skips and the familiar sensation of butterflies fills my stomach. "Sure." That's all I manage to squeak out as Jack grabs my hand and leads me outside. 

We walk around to the back of the building and up the stairs until we're standing on the rooftop, with the lights from the college town spanning before us. The silence settles over us and we just stand there. I don't know what to say and I'm hoping Jack will start the conversation. I look down at my feet, kick a rock that's by the tip of my shoe, and then look back up at him. His eyes lock with mine and my cheeks heat up.

Finally he chuckles. "Ok so this went over better in my head. I had all these things I wanted to say and now I have know clue how to say it."

I smile, "Just say what's on your mind."

He seems nervous but covers it with a smile. He takes a deep breath and then the words come pouring out, "You're amazing, Addie. I've known this from the moment we met, and this is going to sound so unbelievably cliche and cheesy, but there's just something about you. You're different. A good different. You live your life with passion and that's a quality that I admire so much. Seeing you up there tonight, that shows how much passion you have. You are such a good person, and I hope you know that. And you're beautiful. So god damn beautiful, Addie. Sometimes I just can't stand it."

He stops to take a breath and my body moves before I have a chance to think about it. I close the gap between us in less than a second and I press my mouth to his. I feel his smile before he kisses me back. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to him. His mouth moves against mine and my heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest. 

He pulls away slowly, places a small kiss on my lips, looks into my eyes and smiles. "I have been wanting to do that forever." 

I laugh and throw my arms around his neck, kissing him again. 

Tonight has been crazy I think to myself, And I am absolutely alright with that.