"Moving?" I almost scream.
"Yes honey, we're moving, to a small town in Arizona. I'm sorry it's last minute but you know I need to take this job offer and if that means picking up and moving, then we have to" my dad tells me as he packs his office. My dad is a surgeon and his job means the world to him, so of course my mom agreed to this big move. Arizona is at least 1,000 miles from our current home, and a completely different climate.
"all I wear is winter clothes. How am I supposed to live where it's boiling hot all year round? And what about my friends?"
"We will get you new clothes and you can make news friends, rhea. Everything will be fine, I promise" he began taking the photo frames from my school pictures off the wall and placing them in a box.
"When are we leaving? What should I pack?" I lean my weight onto one leg and cross my arms.
"We're leaving tomorrow night, we're flying but I hired movers to drive our stuff down. You better start packing and saying goodbye to your friends" my mom spoke up, she was standing in the doorway. I groaned but listened and started towards my room. All the pictures were gone from the stairway, I assumed my mom had done it while I was talking to my dad.
My mom placed boxes outside my bedroom, a stack of 5 leaned against the wall. I glanced around my room, looking at all my photos of friends, parties. What is it going to be like in Arizona? I've moved a lot, I've been in this current house for over 2 years, but before this we moved every year or so. It's because of my dads job, he goes wherever needs a surgeon basically. Usually we stay up north, Washington, Montana, even New York for a year. This is the first time in the south.
-
"Let's go, rhea!" My mom called downstairs. I grabbed my airplane bag and ran down the stairs, skipping the bottom step and almost falling on my face. When I collected myself I noticed my mother shaking her head.
"Sorry" I apologized before putting on my black combat boots. My mom is the typical Mexican mom, high expectations and all. My dads the typical white business dad, so basically my parents are all work and no play.
"Listen, your dad has a sister in town who has a son your age. He told her to tell him to watch out for you, make sure your not alone. Understand, Mija?" She grabbed her purse with one hand and her keys with the other.
"Got it". Then, we headed to the airport.
-
The plane ride was only a few hours, I slept through most of it. When we got off and grabbed our bags, a short, brown haired woman was standing with a sign the said 'Welcome Silva Family' written in blue ink. She wore a tight blue dress. When her eyes landed on us she immediately dropped her sign and ran at us with open arms.
"That's my aunt?" I whispered to my mom.
"Yup" my mom said, rolling her own eyes. My aunt engulfed my dad in a hug without even letting him set his bags down. He made an 'oof' sound from the impact.
"Hello Laura, nice to see you again. It's been a while" he greets her.
Once she separates is when she responds. "Yeah cause you basically fell off the face of the earth when you moved. You didnt even come back for dads funeral".
I remembered when my grandpa passed away. I never got to meet him, or anyone from my dads home town for that matter. Dad said he couldn't get time off work to come down here but mom told me it was because he didn't like his father. I was 9.
"You must be Andrhea, it's so nice to finally meet you" she greeted me. I put my hand out but she pulled me into a hug instead. I was a bit shocked.
"Call me Rhea, nice to meet you too Auntie Laura".
"Oh please, just call me Laura! Auntie makes me sound old". She is old though, not super old, but old enough to have a kid my age.
"Where's your son? I thought you were bringing him to the airport?" My mother asks in a rather harsh tone. I get the feeling they don't like each other.
"He's at school. He had an important test today that he didn't want to miss. He will be there at our dinner on Sunday, though. And I thought we could come over and help you guys pack if you would like" she picked up her purse and one of my bags.
"Dinner?" My mother and I ask at the same time, both of us looking straight at my dad.
"Yeah, I thought Laura and her family could come over for dinner so we can get to know each other" my dad gave a pleading look at both of us. I looked at my mother, who was trying to hide her anger.
"Sure, we'll have dinner and you guys are welcome to help us unpack Sunday. The second furniture truck shouldn't be here till then anyways so you can help us unload" my mother spoke through gritted teeth. I patted her shoulder for her effort.
After that we walked to the car that Laura brought, an old Volkswagen. Mom and I were crammed in the back with our bags. The drive from Pheonix to our small little town was about 2 hours. The entire time, my aunt was singing along to country music, everyone in the car with her was not happy. Eventually, we pulled into a neighborhood was was smaller than our last one. The houses were still town stories, but the backyards were much smaller. We finally pulled up to a blue house. It had about 7 steps to the front door, and was obviously on a slight hill. 'Interesting' I say in my head.
"Welcome home, guys" dad says to us, a big smile on his face. It was obvious my mother was not happy with it either.
We said goodbye to my aunt as she pulled away, then we walked into the house. "It's so... small" I say to them as I put my bags down next to the front door.
"Yeah, we had to downgrade a bit, Arizona is expensive" my dad told me, he turned on the living room light.
"I thought with a doctor and lawyer salary, it would be better than this" I trailed off. "How many bedrooms is it?"
"5, actually" my dad said proudly.
"Where?" I asked. I scoffed at the idea of small bedrooms. Where will my vanity go?
"Well there's one on this floor, two upstairs and 2 downstairs" my mother said, suddenly happy with the house.
"There's a downstairs?" I ask. I wonder around the first floor until I found a door under the staircase.
"Open it" my dad says. I reach my hand to the door, I feel the white painted wood. Why are they making such a big deal about it? I move my hand to the handle and twist. At first it's stuck, and the door is slightly to big for the doorframe so you have to pull hard to open it, but once I did there was a staircase. It was dark and a lightbulb and string hung from the ceiling, so I pulled it.
"We'll update that" my mom says at the light. I step into the room and down the stairs. I was met with with a small corridor, consisting of a washer and dryer set and a door.
"There's not much down here" I tell them, turning to see them at the top of the stairs.
"Open the door, rhea" my dad said. He began climbing down the stairs, old to hit his head and grumble. He ducked lower and walked down the stairs, my mom followed. I opened the door to see a big empty room with three doors across it. At the back of the room was a tiny kitchenette with a mini fridge and a microwave. Next to that was a door to the backyard.
"Woah" was all I could think to say. "What's this?"
"It's your new room, well, living room. The first door is a bathroom, and the other two are bedrooms. I figured you could turn one into a music studio or make it a guest room if you want. This area is all yours, honey" my dad wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He passed me a set of two keys. "The blue ones to the back door and the silver one is to this door" he pats the doorframe we are standing in. "We have spares but as long as you treat this area right and still go to school, we'll only use it for emergencies".
I engulf my father into a hug and pull my mother in too. "Thanks mom and dad! I love you guys so much"
"No problem, kiddo" they smile at me. Later, we order take out from a Chinese restaurant Laura recommended and sat on our living room floor. My dad went and bought us air mattresses to sleep on for the night. "The first truck comes tomorrow at 3 with most of our bedroom things, the other two trucks won't be here till Sunday. Sleep well, Rhea".
"I will, dad! Goodnight" he smiles and goes up stairs to his room. I do the same and descend into my cave.