A New Beginning
10.12.2010
I was a rainy winter day in Downtown Bakersfield. A young woman and her boyfriend were about to take their high speed train to somewhere, but they did not seem to decide yet. He kept playing with his ipod, while she was wondering whether to accept his invitation or not.
-"Come on, Francisco. Are you telling me that you will not give your parents a second chance?" Arminda said.
-"I'm fed up with this situation. They only tell me what to do, and don't even listen to my point of view."
Meanwhile, the rain was pouring in the background, like an unwelcome intruder that dared to interrupt their conversation. Or, at least, that's the impression that Francisco had while trying to organize his confusing thoughts, just enough for Arminda not to feel that he really wanted to be by himself instead.
-"I think that you should go home, Francisco. We have the rest of our lives to be together. I don't feel ready to have this huge responsibility of working and studying in order to pay our bills," she said, while holding her tears, too. "Let's go home," she continued, "and try to solve this mess we're in right now. I don't want us to be drop-outs." "Please say something!" she exclaimed, while sighing in despair.
-"This is such a weird relief, Arminda! I felt trapped between what my parents wanted me to do, and what I thought you expected of me. I did not want you to think that I was weak because I changed my mind after I told you that I would never go back home and live with my parents again. I want to be a good son, and a good boyfriend!"
-"You already are!" Arminda said, while inviting him to walk away from that station that reminded her of a point of no return. "Let's go home, Frankie," Arminda said to him, while a smile drew on her face. "You're a good person already, and that's all I want you to continue to do: To continue to be yourself."
-"You're right, Armi. We need to return with our parents, and remember that we have to honor and respect them. I know a lot of guys at school who would say that this is not cool, and would even call me names if they could hear me talking like this, but I do not care. I see now that being a good son is one of the coolest things in the world."
-"Remember what your grandmother Fefa used to say?" "A good son makes a good husband! I know that this might sound very far away, but I can really imagine you as my husband."
-"Me too!" Francisco said, "I mean, I know that you'll be an awesome wife!"
As soon as they sat on the bus to CSUB and Arminda rested her head on Francisco's shoulder, the rain began to cease.
"Some birds are chirping outside," she thought, until she realized that it was their cellulars ringing simultaneously, as if they too were synchronized, and in need of a conversation that soothed their inner fears. Now, who was calling them at the same time?
-"Francisco! Francisco! Wake up, son! It's the time to get ready!" his mother said, while putting a warm cup of coffee on his nightstand. Arminda's mother just called me, and told me that she will be unable to take her to class today. The bus drivers are still on strike, so I told her that you'll go pick her up, and give her a ride."
-"That's ok, Mom! I kind of figured it out before you told me."
-"What do you mean, Francisco?"
-"Never mind, Mom. You know teenagers! Most of the times we talk without thinking, if we talk at all!"
-"Ha ha ha, Francisco! I wouldn't say that precisely about you! I think you're our most precious seventeen-year-old blessing."
-"Thanks, Mom! I love you. But don't you dare to tell anybody else that I told you so."
-"All righty! That will be your job, when you think it's the right time. That day, anyways, will be the most beautiful day ever."
Francisco closed his eyes, smelled his coffee, and looked through the window, while his mother trotted downstairs while calling him again.
"We have a new beginning, after all," Francisco thought.
I was a rainy winter day in Downtown Bakersfield. A young woman and her boyfriend were about to take their high speed train to somewhere, but they did not seem to decide yet. He kept playing with his ipod, while she was wondering whether to accept his invitation or not.
-"Come on, Francisco. Are you telling me that you will not give your parents a second chance?" Arminda said.
-"I'm fed up with this situation. They only tell me what to do, and don't even listen to my point of view."
Meanwhile, the rain was pouring in the background, like an unwelcome intruder that dared to interrupt their conversation. Or, at least, that's the impression that Francisco had while trying to organize his confusing thoughts, just enough for Arminda not to feel that he really wanted to be by himself instead.
-"I think that you should go home, Francisco. We have the rest of our lives to be together. I don't feel ready to have this huge responsibility of working and studying in order to pay our bills," she said, while holding her tears, too. "Let's go home," she continued, "and try to solve this mess we're in right now. I don't want us to be drop-outs." "Please say something!" she exclaimed, while sighing in despair.
-"This is such a weird relief, Arminda! I felt trapped between what my parents wanted me to do, and what I thought you expected of me. I did not want you to think that I was weak because I changed my mind after I told you that I would never go back home and live with my parents again. I want to be a good son, and a good boyfriend!"
-"You already are!" Arminda said, while inviting him to walk away from that station that reminded her of a point of no return. "Let's go home, Frankie," Arminda said to him, while a smile drew on her face. "You're a good person already, and that's all I want you to continue to do: To continue to be yourself."
-"You're right, Armi. We need to return with our parents, and remember that we have to honor and respect them. I know a lot of guys at school who would say that this is not cool, and would even call me names if they could hear me talking like this, but I do not care. I see now that being a good son is one of the coolest things in the world."
-"Remember what your grandmother Fefa used to say?" "A good son makes a good husband! I know that this might sound very far away, but I can really imagine you as my husband."
-"Me too!" Francisco said, "I mean, I know that you'll be an awesome wife!"
As soon as they sat on the bus to CSUB and Arminda rested her head on Francisco's shoulder, the rain began to cease.
"Some birds are chirping outside," she thought, until she realized that it was their cellulars ringing simultaneously, as if they too were synchronized, and in need of a conversation that soothed their inner fears. Now, who was calling them at the same time?
-"Francisco! Francisco! Wake up, son! It's the time to get ready!" his mother said, while putting a warm cup of coffee on his nightstand. Arminda's mother just called me, and told me that she will be unable to take her to class today. The bus drivers are still on strike, so I told her that you'll go pick her up, and give her a ride."
-"That's ok, Mom! I kind of figured it out before you told me."
-"What do you mean, Francisco?"
-"Never mind, Mom. You know teenagers! Most of the times we talk without thinking, if we talk at all!"
-"Ha ha ha, Francisco! I wouldn't say that precisely about you! I think you're our most precious seventeen-year-old blessing."
-"Thanks, Mom! I love you. But don't you dare to tell anybody else that I told you so."
-"All righty! That will be your job, when you think it's the right time. That day, anyways, will be the most beautiful day ever."
Francisco closed his eyes, smelled his coffee, and looked through the window, while his mother trotted downstairs while calling him again.
"We have a new beginning, after all," Francisco thought.
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