Daphne's POV
For sixteen years, I couldn't figure out why my mother called me Daffy. It wasn't until I found some letters that never got sent that I understood.
Dear Sodapop,
Okay. Sodapop? Who in the world was Sodapop?! And what kind of name was that anyway? I mean, really. Who names their kid after a type of drink?
I'm sorry for what happened in Tulsa. I shouldn't have just shown up like I did, with the baby and everything. I just needed to come home for a visit. You have no idea how lonely things can be in Miami when you're a single mother living with your grandmother. Of course, you'll never have a problem like that. And I'm sorry for what happened before too. With my just leaving and returning your letters, I hope I didn't hurt you too badly. I've taken up your habit of calling the baby Daffy. I hope she won't mind when she gets older. You were always proud of your original name, so I can only count on her being the same way. Speaking of Daffy, she must be awake from her nap by now. Once again, I'm sorry, Soda. Love, Sandy
Sandy. My mother, unless there was some other Sandy I knew with a baby with my name—Daphne—who was a single mother around here. Yeah, right. Of course it was my mother. It was who Sodapop was that baffled me. I checked the envelope and saw that it was addressed to Sodapop Curtis of Tulsa, Oklahoma. I knew my grandparents lived in Tulsa, but that was all my mother ever said about that place. And we'd never even gone down there to visit. The few times I'd seen my mother's parents, they'd come to Miami. And my great-grandmother had died three years ago. We still lived in her house, though. For my whole life, it had just been my mother and I. No father in the picture, and my mom had never had a boyfriend she brought home. She put me first instead of finding a husband. When I was younger, I used to imagine her life before I was born—which was when she was my age, sixteen. In my mind's eye, I created a secret lover, whom my grandparents didn't approve of, but Mom still loved him and went behind their backs to see. He was incredibly handsome—like a movie star—and he had the most amazing smile as his face lit up when she came to see him. Mom was beautiful, with her bright blue eyes and blonde curls, completely in love with him. He was from the wrong side of the tracks, but she refused to stop going out with him. In my mind, it was a romantic love story. But that was just a fantasy from before I came along and stopped everything. And after that my fairy tale would end. I never thought of what happened to Mom's Romeo. Until the day I found that letter.
Now I knew his name was Sodapop, but that was about it. And I knew that I had been to Tulsa, Oklahoma at least once in my life, but I was too young to remember. What else had she never told me? That my father still lived in Tulsa, maybe? But why wouldn't she tell me something like that? Because she was worried I would try to find him someday? Well, she was right.
I might've been only sixteen, but I definitely had a right to know my own father. And there really was nothing (short of grounding me) that she could do to stop me. She was at work, and by the time she came home I'd be out of there. Never mind that I had absolutely no idea how to find my dad once I got to Tulsa. Babysitting was a drag, but it was good for one thing: saving up money. And cash was exactly what I was going to need for this trip.
I realized as I was grabbing my stash of babysitting savings and packing a small suitcase that I was making an awfully sudden choice in leaving Florida to find a guy Mom had never even told me anything about. The only thing she'd told me that had even come close was when I was twelve and I asked her about my dad. She didn't really want to talk about it, so she just sad, really quietly and sad, "I made the wrong choice twelve and a half years ago, Daf." I'd always just assumed the wrong choice was sleeping with him before they were married. And all the other times I tried to ask about it, she would change the subject quickly. It was time for me to find out for myself if Mom wouldn't tell me.
Still, I love my mother, and leaving without so much as a word of warning would be a stupid way to repay her for everything she'd given me over the years. So I penned a note:
Dear Mom,
Sorry that I don't get to tell you this myself, but you should have told me about my dad a long time ago. I found that letter you wrote to him when I was a baby. Is his name really Sodapop? Sorry, but that's kind of a weird name. Anyway, I promise I'll call you soon, once I've talked to my father. I'll be careful. Love, Daphne
And then I grabbed my purse and suitcase and was on my way to the airport. To find my father.
Note: Please tell me what you honestly think. Is she Mary-Sue-ish? Should I keep going or should I just stop here? Oh…and if I continue, will Daphne realize that Soda isn't her father before it's too late???