Chapter 5
The Breakfast
Even though I woke up very early, I stayed in bed and opened the curtains. The sky was waking up too. It looked bright orange as if the sun was swallowing pumpkins. I think this is when the sky is the happiest. It was a brand-new day.
Good morning, beautiful sky, I said in my head. It’s my birthday today. I’m twelve years old and practically a grown up.
I glanced over to the other twin bed. Neli was sleeping soundly as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Her hair hung loosely over the edge of the bed. Her zig zag mouth was quiet.
The day before, she had taken my Selena Barbie and cut her long beautiful hair close to her scalp. I didn’t know why she did this. I was mega-furious and was counting to ten all day. Neli tried to tell me that now I had a more original Selena doll.
“Selena looks good with short hair,” she had asserted.
It was true, but I told Neli that that wasn’t the point. I was disgusted with her for messing with what was mine. Mama made her say sorry to me, but my sister said it with a zigzaggy mouth. Mama didn’t think she meant the apology and punished her. No SpongeBob for a whole week! Neli started arguing with her, but papa reminded her she must respect her elders.
“Be respectful. Stop being a malcriada,” papa had demanded.
Neli zealously shook her head, upset. “I’m not a brat. I’m not, I’m not, I’M NOT!”
“Go to your room and think about things,” papa snapped.
“Think about what you’re papa just said about respect,” mama burst. “Respect for yourself and respect for others. You need to learn about respecting your sister’s things.”
Neli stomped off to our room with her mouth zigzagging more than ever. I doubted she thought about the meaning of respect at all. When I walked into our room, she was playing a game on our laptop. She was very good at those games. I could never beat her. I guess it was because she spent so many moments on them while my time was for deep thinking and brain surges.
This had happened the day before. I sighed deeply hoping that today of all days she would be good. Please don’t ruin my special day, I told her in my head. Neli began smiling as I looked at her from my bed. She was still asleep but her zigzag lips became a huge smirk. I wondered what she was thinking. Was she thinking about my party? Was she thinking about places without soap and water? Was she thinking about the Chupacabras?
I decided to get up and take a shower. It was time to start my new day—my new year. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I headed to the kitchen. My papa was there, reading the newspaper.
“Good morning, Papa.”
“Buenos dias, Miranda. Happy birthday!” Papa extended his arms and hugged me.
“Thank you, Papa.”
“I’m glad you’re up. Let’s go have breakfast, okay?”
“Should we wait for everyone else to get up?” I asked.
“No, it’ll be a breakfast for just the two of us.”
I was excited. It wasn’t that often that my papa and I went on an adventure together. Okay, maybe going to a restaurant wasn’t an adventure, but I could pretend, couldn’t I?
As we drove away, papa asked me where I wanted to eat. I told him that I wanted to go to Mexico Hermoso. I liked their spicy sausage of chorizo mixed with eggs. They also served homemade tortillas.
I also loved the decorations in the restaurant. The floor had bright flowery titles. Hanging from the ceiling were bright star piñatas. The walls had murals of women and men from old Mexico—the women wore bright shawls, heavy braids, and long pretty dresses while the men wore big sombreros and white outfits. A fountain sat in the middle of the restaurant with water spurting out of a huge brown eagle.
Papa and I ordered our food. While we were waiting for it, papa gave me a serious look. Another talk, I thought to myself.
“Mija,” he said, “today is your twelfth birthday.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s a very important day.”
I nodded. “Yeppers.”
“Miranda, I wanted to tell you how proud of you I am.”
“Thank you, Papa.” I was feeling warm inside like someone had poured hot chocolate inside of me.
“You’re responsible and smart.”
“Thank you.”
“I know we don’t have a lot of money like your cousin Mirna. You’re Aunt Josefa married a rich man. Your mama and I work very hard, but our paychecks are still not very big. We can’t always buy you what we would want.”
“It’s okay, Papa. I’ve got what I need.”
“I feel bad I can’t buy you and Neli electronic tablets,” papa murmured, miserably.
“It’s okay. We’re lucky that we have a laptop. Some of the kids at school don’t even have that.”
“I can’t buy you many things, Miranda. What I can give you is this,” he said as he pointed to his gray hair. “This is more valuable than money. Even if I had a million dollars to give you, you could still spend it all and be left with nothing. If I give you wisdom, it’ll last forever.”
“Yes, Papa.”
“Many boys and girls your age get into trouble with things like drugs and bad activities and ruin their lives.”
“I know, Papa.”
“I’m so glad you’re smart enough to look at those horrible things and think long and hard about them.”
“Thanks, Papa.”
He sighed. “Sometimes I worry about Neli.”
“She’ll be okay.”
“There’s so much she doesn’t seem to understand.”
“I know, Papa.”
“When I was your age in Mexico, I worked in the fields to help my parents. I wasn’t getting into trouble. I was trying to make sure we had food to eat.”
My papa had told me this story many times. He told me that he never wanted me to forget where I came from, and I came from him and mama and their full lives.
“It must’ve been hard, Papa.”
“Yes, Miranda. It was. You don’t know what it’s like not having enough to eat. You and Neli have never had to go to sleep with your stomachs growling.”
“No, Papa, we haven’t.”
“You’ve got to be thankful for every morsel that hits your mouth.”
I smiled. “Yes, Papa.”
“And you can’t expect life to always be easy.”
I thought about my problems with Neli and slowly nodded.
“Miranda, many people think that life is about being happy all the time, but it isn’t,” he continued. “Sometimes life is up and sometimes it’s down. It never stays the same, but it’s should always be an adventure.”
“Okay, Papa.”
“Miranda, I really want you to understand what I’m saying.”
“I think I understand.”
“Around us there are those your age who are struggling to survive another day. People are in desperation and going hungry. There are so many awful wars out there. I want you to care about what’s going on with other people and not just what a famous reality star is wearing.”
“I understand, Papa.”
“If you only think about yourself, you’ll never understand what life is about.”
Our food came soon after that. It seemed my papa had decided to end the serious talk and change the subject. He told me that the day before, when he was driving to work, something licked his neck. It scared him half to death. He turned slowly and realized it was just Feo. Papa had left the car door open that morning when he had forgotten something in the house, so Feo must’ve jumped in the car.
I told him that if I had felt teeth on my neck, I would’ve fainted. Vampires might really exist for all I knew. Their big fangs may be ready to bite at any minute. Feo had huge teeth. I was surprised that papa hadn’t had a heart attack.
On the drive home, I thought about papa’s serious talk. There were so many bad things happening in the world. Life wasn’t just about me.
Neli was waiting for us when we got home, pacing fanatically in the l
iving room. For some reason she looked furious.
“Where did you go?!” she snapped as her eyes shifted from papa to me.
“Breakfast,” I informed.
Her hands jerked to her hips. “Why wasn’t I invited?”
“Neli, today is your sister’s birthday,” papa shot back, irritated. “I took her out for a father/daughter talk.”
“It’s not fair!” she burst. “I like to eat breakfast too, and I’m your daughter too!”
“Neli, it’s your sister’s cumpleaños,” papa burst, his voice tight.
“So? What if it’s her stupid birthday? Everybody ignores me because of her!”
My papa’s eyebrows shot up. “Stop it, Neli.”
“You only care about her! You don’t care about me!”
“Neli, that’s enough,” papa snapped.
“It’s true! It’s true!”
“Neli, you go to your room right now!”
“I won’t!” Neli growled defiantly.
“Neli!” papa warned.
“Mugre papa! Mugre papaya!”
All of us became quiet. We were so surprised—even Neli. I didn’t think she had meant to call our father a dirty papaya. Her mouth sometimes ran faster than her brain. I knew for a fact that she disliked papayas. She must’ve been really angry to call papa that. She was a big mouth but she hardly ever went this far!
My papa’s face turned a scorching red. “Am I going to have to ground you for a month with no TV or laptop?”
“Sorry, Papi!” Neli chortled. “I didn’t mean to say it! Sorry!” She rushed to our bedroom.
Mama came in the back door with Anai. They had been in the backyard decorating.
“Come and look!” Anai gushed.
Papa and I hurried outside. Balloons and streamers were everywhere. A gigantic banner saying, Happy Birthday, Miranda, hung on Big Oso tree. It was then that I noticed a large red ribbon around my new treetop gift.
“You’ve finished my treehouse, papa!” I exclaimed excitedly.
“You bet, Miranda,” he murmured.
“Can I see inside?”
“Of course, it’s all yours.”
Everyone stayed on the ground while I climbed up the ladder. Each step took me to my dream. I opened the door which had Miranda’s House carved on it. It was so beautiful inside that I was struck motionless. I just wanted to stand there and gaze at my gift.
“Go in there,” prompted mama.
I stepped inside and sat on some bean bags covered with the colchon my mother had made. I saw her making the quilt but thought it was for one of my aunts. It was very colorful with patches of reds, oranges, blues, and purples. Mama had embroidered it with my favorite animals—cats, porcupines, and dogs. The dogs looked like Feo.
As I scanned the treehouse, I was surprised at how large it was. It seemed smaller from the ground. Up here, my new home looked like it could fit up to ten people.
“Thanks so much, Papa!” I bellowed as I stuck my head out a glass free window.
“You’re very welcome.”
Then I saw two beady eyes staring at me and a tongue stuck out at me. Neli was at the window in our bedroom. I counted to ten and ignored her.
“Thanks for the colcha, Mama,” I said.
“You really like it?”
“It’s a beautiful quilt.”
“Do you like my gift?” questioned Anai.
“What gift?”
“Look around.”
Finding her gift on the other side of the quilt, I tore open the colorful wrapping on a large box. A world globe popped out of it. I whirled it excitedly.
“Thanks, Anai!” I exclaimed.
“Do you like it?”
“I looooove it!”
I now had my own house and the world. How could I complain? Even Neli’s Godzilla tongue didn’t bother me. Today was my day.