I was in the fitful land of dreams when evil decided to pick a war with me. For no reason at all. I raised my hands in surrender to stop the tumbling off my bed.
Sighing, I sat up and they bombarded me with hugs and shrieks of "Mommy I'm hungry"
David was always hungry. Deciding to tease him I answered "Nice to meet you, hungry, my name is Diane" I said with a mischievous smirk. I loved to tease my kids.
"No mommy, I am really hungry" he whined again.
"I heard you and I said I'm Diane" I said with a straight face. I laughed when he attempted to give me a disapproving look. It only made him look so much more adorable.
I looked around for his brother and I didn't have to look too far. He was at the foot of my bed flipping through the channels. No doubt looking for cartoons. It was Saturday.
"Mario, where is momma's hug?" I loved my hugs. Especially now that they are getting older and more independent. This is what every mother dreads.
"I gave it to you mommy" he answered without turning his head, far too engrossed with his quest for cartoons.
"Really I don't remember. Besides mommy wants another hug from her little baby"
I saw him roll his eyes and jump on the bed.
"Mommy I am not a baby" he whined.
"Yes, you are" David argued.
"No, I'm not"
"Are too"
"Are not"
And the banter started. They could go on for hours. This was the usual way with my two boys.
Juan-David but simply called David (pronounced dav-e-d) and his twin Mario-Jose but simply Mario were the most rambunctious and hyper kids known to man. They were identical twins. No one could tell them apart except for my mother and I and a couple of our close friends.
If you think you could tell them apart by their characters you are so wrong. They are both loud and mischievous to the bone. These ten-year-olds were full of curiosity and adventure and could make you pull your hair out with all the pranks they play.
They were blessed with blond hair and gray eyes. Their lips and eyes were the only things they got from me. And at such a young age they had mastered how to use their puppy dog eyes to their advantage. Except on me of course.
They might be cute but I was the one who gave them their cuteness. They had the right amount of fear for their momma.
"Okay guys lets go and make some breakfast" I said trying to end the argument.
"Mommy abuela already did" Mario answered, hopping off the bed.
"Oh, abuela is here?" I was surprised. Last I checked she should still be on her two-week staff retreat. They were not supposed to be back until tomorrow.
"Yeah she told us to come and get you for breakfast" David answered.
"Okay. Well you guys go ahead and I'll join you soon"
They scrambled out of my room.
"Please close the door" calling after them.
I was answered with a slam.
I lay in my beds for a few more minutes. I was just relaxing. I didn't get many days such as these and I decided to savor it. But family called so I finally moved my butt and got started on my day.
It was going to be a busy day despite the fact that I was working from home today. There was no rest. I showered and dressed in a peach pencil skirt and a silk blouse and a jacket to match. I let my dirty blond hair hang down. I usually kept it in a pony but I was feeling lazy. Besides I had had it up all week. I was starting to get a headache.
Grabbing my phones (yes I mean multiple. I have three phones, I was a busy person) and my laptop and headed down the stairs. Around the corner, I heard giggles from two boys and the loud laughter of my mother.
"Hola mami" I greeted my mother with a kiss.
"Hola. Did we wake you?" she asked sipping her tea.
Yes, but it might as well. I had to get up anyway. George will be here in a couple of hours"
I sat down at the island and she served me my breakfast. I was really spoiled. It was eggs-Benedict, with hash browns and crepes. She was such an awesome cook.
"Why are you back so early mom?" when I was halfway through my meal.
"There was no need for me to stay. I had no interest in some of the activities so I left early"
"Oh. But it went fine?"
"Yeah. We thought of a couple new ideas and concepts. I'll run it by you later"
"Okay"
Picking the newspaper I read through the business section when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it you finish"
"Thank you, mom." I finished eating quickly.
Before I could stand up Mario took my plate to the kitchen. Yup, I had trained them well.
"Thank you, sweetie. When you're both done with the dishes you guys can watch TV for two hours and get started on your homework"
"Yes, mom" they chorused. I gave them both a kiss on the head and headed to my office.
I saw George and Blair sitting at my desk.
"Hey Hey" I greeted, closing the door.
Hey, Di" they replied calling me by my nickname.
For the next six hours, we started to work. We went through concept after concept, ideas, made calls, argued, had lunch with my mom and the boys, went back to work and at seven called it a night. I was finally done. The boys were in the den, no doubt playing FIFA courtesy of their uncle George.
I sat back on my couch with a large glass of juice. I never liked alcohol. I was too much of a sweet tooth girl. Closing my eyes memories came to me. I had come far. In ten years, people would consider me successful.
And I was. I was by no means a billionaire but my wealth was part of the hundreds of millions. It had been a long and tedious journey. It still was.
After being kicked out, we moved to one of the shelters. We stayed for as long as we could and when we saved enough money moved to a one bedroom house. I was working two jobs and was selling newspapers at a convenience store one Thursday evening when I caught my big break a year and some months after the boys were born.
By writing a play and submitting it in a contest. The winner would receive $500. During those times $50 would be a blessing. My family and I were struggling. I was still working two jobs and my mom was looking after the boys. Then I would come home sleep for a couple of hours, breastfeed and go back to work.
In high school, I was always writing stories and plays and songs. I decided why the hell not. It wouldn't hurt. So during my breaks, I wrote a play. A play about a girl who was slowly dying of pain. It was heart-wrenching and tear jerking. To cut the long story short, the playwright loved the story. Asked for more and produced them. It became a town hit. I started earning more money and was able to move to a better apartment. It was not luxurious but it was better than the first one. When you don't see cockroaches and rats anything is better.
After the first three plays, I was recommended to another playwright called George Sinclair and decided we should collaborate together. Our work was bringing in quite some money. He wanted to go bigger and further than our town. He wanted to go national. I was skeptical. But I went along with it. The first 3 years were tough. We were constantly shot down and turned away. There was a lot of doubt.
We were always rejected and I was scared, this was a make it or break it industry. And I had a family to feed. George talked me into quitting one of my jobs to give my full attention to new movie idea he had. It was a gamble. But I did do it.
I wrote one of my best piece of screenplay's and he used his connections and sent it to one of the biggest actresses in the state. She fell in love with it and bought it for $32 million.
Taking the risk we put all our money in it. Plus the money we earned from the plays. We were able to get a loan from the bank. And together we produced and directed our own very first film. I wrote and George directed. It was an international hit. The movie Sands become one of the most talked about movie of the year. Unfortunately, it was not nominated for an award, but it did put our names out there.
The rest was history. A year after Sands we wrote and produced another mega hit The Miners of Detroit. This was even more successful than Sands. George was nominated for Best Director and our lead actress Francisca Veni was nominated for best lead actress. They both lost. But it was a big event. Over the years, George directed and produced other movies.
George was a good man, he encouraged me to strike out on my own. I took his advice. I wrote three screen plays, all of which I sold quickly. I wrote a customized one for Liane Patrick, which earned her an Academy Award. I didn't stop there, I wrote and created and produced two hit television series 100 and End TIme. HOT was another series I was working on which will feature my mother. It was a cooking and talk show. It was becoming quite popular.
But the sky was the limit. I wrote three detective novels; all three New York Best Sellers. And of course, songs were just another form of screenplays. Some songs earned me Grammy's and nominations. I took an online school to get a degree in creative writing and music.
I was not famous, I mean I was no celebrity to the world which was no surprise. Most people do not care how a movie or song was created, just who sang it and who acted in it. Which was fine with me. I hated the paparazzi. How people did it was beyond me. Always hounding and looking for the right moment to strike. Like snakes.
But I was a celebrity in my own right. I was a celebrity to the stars. I had grown close to quite a few them. Writing songs or plays or movies for them gets you close to them. But apart from that, I was content with peace and quiet. Which is why each time I declined George's offer to be his date on some premiere or award.
I was relaxing and dozing off when one of my kids bellowed from down the den
"Mom, we are watching a movie!"
"Please do not shout" I called back.
"Sorry" he yelled again.
I grabbed my juice and headed down the stairs. The den was dark and the movie was on a 72" plasma Tv. I took a seat next to mom. She handed me some popcorn. The den was a theater room, with a small kitchen and concession stand. I turned my eyes to the screen.
"Hey, why is he doing that?"
I knew that had to be Mario without turning my eyes from the screen. He always talked during movies. It drove his twin crazy. David took his movies very seriously; at times way too serious. That was one of the rare differences between the two boys. Apart from that, they enjoyed the same things. The same color; green. The same cartoons, Bugs Bunny and Flash. The same subjects at school; science and social studies and music. They were both big football fans (soccer). Supporting Barcelona FC. And ironically they were both left handed. They did not finish each other's sentences but they were definitely entuned with each other's emotions. And they loved to play pranks on people.
I always say that they learned to cause mischief before they learned how to speak or walk.
"Shut up Mario" he growled.
"You shut up"
"Hey, hey no fighting" I reprimanded them. The movie went on. We watched another one and it was time for bed. It was past ten and tomorrow was church. That was one thing my mother no matter how old I was ordered me to go to. She did not care how busy or rich I was, Sunday was the Lord's day.
When the boys were in bed and tucked away I headed to my room. My mom was there sitting in my dresser chair.
"Everything okay mom?"
"Yes, sweetie. I just wanted to check how you were doing?"
I had to sigh. We went through this every week. She always asked how I was doing. I always told her I was fine and happy. There was no cause for worry. But she asked anyway. She thought I was holding everything up and one day I would explode without warning.
I told her I was fine and not to worry her pretty little head over it. I was beyond okay. Those people were out of my life and I did not have to worry. I was happy. I had my family. I had her and the boys and were the most important things in my life. Nothing else mattered.
Nothing could tear me or bring me down ever again. No man or woman or thing could.
I had learned very well in my 27 years.