America 1982-Chapter 249 - 83: The Belated Gift_3

Not upset about being interrupted, Tommy merely asked with a smile, "The last time I saw you, you had that glamorous and fashionable aura of a student from New York’s Upper East Side."

"Last time was only because I had to help Mark meet someone in New York, so I dressed up like that. You’ve said it before, clothes are another face of a person." Susan looked down at her attire, "Now that I’m off to be a freshman, I naturally want to look younger and more vibrant."

Tommy slowly lit a cigarette, gazed into the distance, and softly offered his advice, "I think you might as well start a political science internship during your time at Stanford University, like, establishing a Fraternity organization that both men and women can join. The only hard criterion for joining this Fraternity is that the other person must be... a first-generation Stanford University student from a family. If you can win over these first-generation college students and get them to recognize you, I think once you graduate, you can take on many high-paying jobs related to political science."

"Fraternity?" Susan paused, "That’s somewhat unexpected."

Tommy looked at Susan, "I will cover the expenses for your first year, but from the second year on, you and your organization will have to be self-sufficient. If you want to receive my donations, you must offer something that attracts me. That is the first lesson in political science, resource exchange."

"I guess you’ve already thought of its name?" Susan shrugged her shoulders, smiling at this young man who, despite his age, always managed to make her habitually rely on him.

Tommy spoke up, "The Greek letters O-N-E combined spell the English word ONE, and that will be its name, as well as the name for all members of the Fraternity. ’First-generation’, what do you think of this name?"

"If you like it, that’s good enough. The name isn’t important; I’ll try to establish it," Susan said to Tommy, "if that’s what you want me to do."

"What reward would you like? I mean, getting your transfer acceptance letter is worth an extra reward," Tommy said with a smile to Susan.

Susan exhaled deeply and after a long thoughtful moment, said to Tommy, "Give me a hug, Tommy, just a hug."

...

Rhode Island, Warwick City.

Colin Hawk opened the envelopes embossed with the Stanford emblem, reading their contents aloud:

"Tommy Hawk, upon confirmation, your overall GPA has reached above 3.5. We are honored to award you the Stanford Academic Achievement Honor Cord."

"Tommy Hawk, upon confirmation, thank you for the breakthrough achievements you’ve made representing the Stanford University table tennis team, achieving third place in the California league. We are honored to award you the Stanford Exceptional Achievement Honor Cord."

"Tommy Hawk, upon confirmation, thank you for your contributions to the Computer Science Department at Stanford University in the research projects for software engineering standards and information technology standardization. We are honored to award you the Stanford Significant Topic Participation Commemorative Honor Cord."

"Tommy Hawk, the former chairman of SSD, we are honored on behalf of all the brothers in SSD to award you the SSD Graduation Commemorative Honor Cord before your graduation ceremony."

Tommy looked at his father, "These honors give me the courage to invite you to my graduation ceremony, Dad. They prove I haven’t wasted my time."

"Of course, you haven’t wasted your time, but these aren’t the most important things. In my opinion, what you really deserve praise for is..." Colin Hawk carefully put away the letters and told Tommy:

"What really deserves praise is that you found a girlfriend during college. Ottelia is a good girl. Each time she came home during vacation over the years, she’d always make a point to visit me and Bessie. I need to tell you something very seriously, the Hawk family has its own rules about break-ups. If Ottelia finds a better man and decides to leave you, I will console you, son, and encourage you to win her back. But if you fail her because you can’t control yourself, or if you decide to leave her for another woman, I don’t know what Mr. Farrell will do, but my advice to you is the same as what I gave your brother Tony. If a Hawk man dares betray the woman who has given him so much, I will personally castrate him and mail his bits to his girlfriend as a keepsake."

"Remember how I said I’ve prepared a gift for you? It took quite some time, but it’s finally ready just before my graduation, and right now it’s waiting for you in California," Tommy said, seemingly recalling something else.

Colin stared into Tommy’s eyes, "If it’s a California girl kind of gift, I guess your mother in heaven wouldn’t appreciate that gift. I’ll say it again, you can’t let down those who have been good to you. Ottelia is rushing back from abroad. She even called earlier to let me know, asking the tailor to arrange a home visit to measure me for a suit to wear to your graduation ceremony. You can’t let down a woman like that."

"What are you thinking, Dad? Setting my father up with women? Is that what you think of your son?" Tommy said indignantly at his father’s words.

"Tony mentioned on the phone how you taught him to take college friends to nightclubs and flirt with dancers, and thanks to you, Ashley, who has moved to Maryland to join him in his study, calls him up three times a week now," Colin said, taking a sip of his beer: