The birds were chirping and singing wildly outside. Children were out playing in their neighbor's yards. The rays of sunshine were filtering into the kitchen window. Mirrored on the sky was the loveliest shade of blue anybody could have ever imagined. Today was one of those days that school children wished and dreamed for.
"It's going to storm." Maria said aloud.
Maria Lopez was dressed and ready. Well that is to say, she was ready in regards to her appearance, but as to being ready for the situation that was about to occur she could not be. She was quite a sight. The naked eye could not have detected that something was wrong. She wore a beautiful navy blue business suit. She had on her favorite pair of blue wire rim glasses. Her long black hair was up in a stylish fashion and on her finger she wore her mother's silver diamond ring. She harbored no feelings of excitement, expectations, or anger about his impending visit. She just sat calmly in the kitchen looking at the tree branches tapping against the window. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. The constant tapping did not bother her one bit. She neither heard it, nor cared.
The phone had rung about an hour ago and it had been her father, Joseph. Would she see him? Alright, she had said so nonchalantly. She was waiting for him to come. She was waiting for the opportunity to understand the feelings that she had felt through the years and why none where coming now at such a crucial day in her young seventeen years. She was completely empty, she felt nothing towards him and this fact puzzled her. She sipped her hot chocolate and looked at her watch. Waiting, quite simply, just waiting.
The alarm clock went off upstairs in the bedroom. Beep, beep, beep. Oh, how silly of her, she thought. Maria had forgotten to shut it off. Today she was up earlier than usual. Today, was a special day. Today she was to graduate from high-school. Beep, beep, beep.
Maria shook her head in annoyance and got up from the table. She ran upstairs to her room. She shut off the alarm and sat down on her bed. The bed was covered with the light blue comforter her mother had given to her when she was thirteen. The comforter was old and faded. Maria sighed as she looked at the comforter. She had seen the comforter too many times to even count and yet, she never noticed how dingy it had begun to look. Today, however, was different.
"It was such a beautiful comforter when mother had first given it to me." Maria stated.
Maria ran her fingers along her favorite comforter. She sighed and laid back putting her head on her soft, soft, pillow. She began to stare at the markings on the ceiling. Why was she thinking of him, of Joseph? The appearance of the comforter had triggered something inside of her. It was something unknown. It was something mysterious. She closed her eyes. Blackness surrounded Maria and then, the memories came.
Her mind took her back to when she was eleven. Maria saw herself in her old pink T-shirt and her blue shorts. Suddenly there was the night sky filled with stars. This was when it all began. This was the time period when her maturity began to develop.
She heard a male's voice. Joseph? She cried out. She looked around for him and then he came into her line of sight. His face was blurred. She cried out to him, but there was no reply. Her father, Joseph Lopez, had simply disappeared. True, her parents had been divorced for years, but she had had contact with him. She didn't have much of a relationship with her father, but it was a relationship just the same. For the past two years, however, she heard nothing from him. Perhaps it would have been better if he had just stayed hidden.
The scene shifted and Maria found herself standing outside on a bright sunny day. She was on her way home from school. Here came her mother. She stopped Maria and told her to get into the car.
" What's up?" Maria asked as she obeyed her mother.
" Your father is in town," was all her mother said. They arrived at a small local motel. Maria's mother parked the car and told Maria to stay in the front seat. Her mother took off her seat belt and exited from the car. Maria was already confused with the circumstances of the situation. Her mother's request made her angry. She felt she was being treated like a little child. She knew something was going on and she knew it concerned her. She wanted to know what her parents knew. She wanted to feel grown up. The start of some shaking. The start of some tossing and turning.
Maria unbuckled her seatbelt and began to follow the path her mother had taken. She had not walked very far when she was greeted with the sound of voices, just ahead of her. She recognized them immediately. The voices belonged to her mother and father. She couldn't see her parents, but she knew it was them. Maria stopped walking and began to listen.
" How can you do this to your daughter?" Her mother exclaimed. " She needs you."
" No, she doesn't. You need my money for the support. And I am not paying it!" rang her father's husky voice.
" This has nothing to do with money! You're her father!"
" I can't be her father!" Maria heard her father exclaim.
" You mean you won't be!"
" Oh, drop it Doris! I can be her friend and nothing more. "
" She's just a kid. She doesn't need a thirty eight year old friend! Joseph! Joseph don't you turn your back on me! Joseph! She's your daughter! Joseph..." her mother's voice began to trail off.