"Melissa, are you going to get up sometime today?" my dad asked, as I lay crawled up under the covers of my bed. "C'mon sleepy head, you don't want to sleep your weekend away."
Clinging to a dream that was quickly fading from my sleepy mind, I turned my head to the sound of his voice and opened my sleepy eyelids, "Yeah, I'm getting up," I squeaked softly.
"I'll believe it when I see it," he pressed on winking at me with that warm smile that detected my lie. As I twisted to regain comfort in my sheets, I heard the soft creaking of the wooden floor in the hallway as he departed.
He knows me too well I thought. I hugged my pillow one last time before raising my frizzy haired head off the pillow. I sat up and looked at the alarm clock on my bedside table; it read 10:36am. I hadn't been sleeping the day away, I thought rather annoyed. It isn't even 11:00 yet! For a brief moment I flirted with the idea of diving back under the puffy pink spread and staying there until at least noon, but then I was startled by a buzzing sound coming from my left.
My cell phone was slowly vibrating along my dresser top. I hopped onto my feet and reached for it. A miniature picture of my best friend Kristen's smiling face was displayed.
"Hey Kris," I squeaked in my morning voice.
"Hey, I called you an hour ago, you're still sleeping?" Kristen shouted over the receiver. The echoing music in the background made me think she was probably in her car.
"Yup," I replied in mid-yawn as I cleared some of my blonde hair from my eyes.
"Wake up girl! It's a beautiful day, do you want to go to the beach or what?"
I walked over to my bedroom window and reached for the little stick hanging to the left of the Venetian blinds in front of the panes. With a twist, the vertical plastic slats opened pouring golden sunlight into the room. I squinted immediately to let my eyes adjust to the brightened room. "Yeah, of course, I said I would."
"Well, I'm on my way to Rachel's, start getting ready, OK?" I knew she was probably upset that I overslept, but with all the rain that had fallen over the last week, I didn't expect today to be any different. After my eyes allowed me to open them further, I looked out the window. It appeared to be a beautiful summer day, and the warmth from the sunlight brightened my spirits immediately. The baby blue sky matched the small spaghetti strap top I was wearing, and I didn't notice a cloud in view. It was very refreshing to see the sun again. I just loved days like this.
"I'll be ready in 20 minutes," I said as I ended the call. She told me she'd pick me up at 11:00. I wondered if I should bother taking a shower. Since I was probably going to be sweaty and wet with salt water in only an hour or so, I figured it was pointless. I'd shower when I get back, before we go out tonight I thought. I opened my bottom dresser drawer and rummaged through various shirts for my bikini. I was very excited to finally get a beach day. The nonstop showers we'd had during the week had me thinking I'd never see the sun again.
My family moved to the Miami area two years prior because of a high-paying position my mother accepted with a popular cruise line that operates out of the area. At the time of our move, I was absolutely miserable. I hated having to leave my friends up north and give up the popularity I had achieved at my high school. I didn't see why I should have to change my life for my mother's career, and I resented her for that.
My mother and I had never gotten along too well. She always seemed so much more concerned with her career than with my brother and I. Maybe that's why I developed a closer bond with my dad, or maybe it was just his fatherly nature. He had always been there for me, and I turned to him whenever I found myself having problems. If I needed help with homework, it was Dad who helped me out. Whenever I had a problem with my personal life, I could always count on him for advice. I didn't ask for money often, I preferred being independent. However, if I ever needed some extra cash, he never hesitated to offer it. He often drove me and my friends around like a chauffeur for years when I was younger, and my friends all liked him too. He was the stability I needed in my childhood life, my rock, and I trusted him more than anyone.
When confronted with the news of moving away, he assured me it was for the best. My mother was the breadwinner of the family and he sacrificed his coaching job in New York for hers. A few months after relocating, he eventually landed another job at the local high school as a gym teacher. Before leaving, I explored other options to remain in New York. My brother Mike was already settled in a small apartment by then, and I begged him to let me stay with him until I got into college. Of course he didn't want any part of that idea. My parents wouldn't have allowed me to stay with him anyway, but even if they did, he wouldn't have had his little sister ruin the 'bachelor pad' he was spending most of his paycheck on. So I regretfully sulked my way down the interstate to our new address in sunny Florida.
The first few weeks I was a miserable bitch, complaining as often as possible, and mostly toward my mother. It wasn't easy on my father, having to be the buffer between us for a while, and I only regret my behavior because of how it affected him. I hated my mom for changing my life and stealing my friends from me. Each passing day my father tried to lift my spirits, and I could tell he was upset about the relocation too. He had a great job up north and friends of his own, but the optimist that he was, he saw the positives in the change, and he tried to explain those things to me.
