Gripping a tepid mug of tea between his palms, a man mused how Washington DC was now a world away from all he'd known back in London...
Washington DC, February 2009
Alan Jackson had earned a long overdue promotion from GlobalTec and with it a one way ticket to their head office in America. His daughter Maria had made the most difficult decision of her young life; to leave everything and more importantly everyone behind to go with him. Maria was an incredibly special girl and not just because she was his only child. She had a very important role to play in the wider universe and he had barely begun to understand just what that involved. It was a massive wrench for her to have left it behind and return to an ordinary life, whatever that meant these days. Alan knew a little of what she was feeling because he felt it himself and he'd only been privy to a small part of it before their move.
There had also been Maria's close friendship with their neighbour (and reason for the Universe related issue) Sarah Jane Smith to factor in. Maria had befriended her son Luke, but not until after their own burgeoning friendship had already been forged. Alan realised that now, having had a chance to look back on the last eighteen months. Sarah Jane Smith was an incredible woman; attractive, worldly and mysterious and a mother figure and a friend at a time when Maria had so desperately needed one. Alan took a sip of his tea; a small reminder of home when everything felt so different and far away. He heard the soft footfalls of his daughter behind him and instinctively knew that she would be carrying two fresh mugs of tea with her. They were so alike and so attuned to each other, it was just like looking at a younger version of himself. Which also meant he anticipated the mistakes that Maria would make as she grew into an adult and how he could do nothing to stop her from making them. He knew he'd made enough of his own and the reasons behind them and couldn't take those key moments away from her, even if it caused her great heartache.
"What are your plans for today?" Alan asked as Maria sat beside him on the patio step.
"I'm going to the mall with Shannon. Her older brother said he'd give us a driving lesson afterwards as well." It was her nonchalant inflection that caught Alan's attention.
"You're 15!" he exclaimed. Although, of all the things Maria had experienced in her young life so far, Alan knew that underage driving lessons would hardly be too much of a worry.
"It won't be on the road, just on their land. They have acres of it!" The cheeky teenager reasoned, but she knew she had her dad wrapped around her little finger anyway.
"I can't exactly stop you can I? Just be careful!" Maria snorted into her tea as she attempted to take a sip.
"After everything we've seen and done and you're worried about a simple driving lesson?!" It reminded Maria of a conversation about skateboarding she had with someone special not so long ago.
"You're my daughter; I worry about you all the time." Alan did and always had done, despite his carefree and relaxed way of dealing with things.
"Aww, my Dad, the big softie!" Maria set her mug down on the patio floor and squeezed herself into his side. Alan savoured the precious father-daughter moment.
They had always shared a close relationship and had never argued. He was lucky that Maria wasn't the sort of girl to push the boundaries but he could see a day when they would disagree over something important. He just hoped they were strong enough to get through it. Shannon's name appeared to be cropping up on a more frequent basis these days. Alan was glad that Maria had finally made a friend her own age out here in Washington. Making friends had never come easy to her, whilst it was true she was very personable and bubbly, Maria was far more mature for her years than most of her peers and they soon tired of her seriousness. Sarah Jane had brought out the best in her and not only had she been taken seriously; she'd been accepted exactly for being herself. He'd seen her confidence climb and the fun creep back into her life. Speaking of their ex-neighbour, Alan realised that he hadn't heard anything from her in a while. In fact, Maria hadn't mentioned anyone from back in London for a long time, besides her mother of course. He wondered whether to mention it or not but looked at Maria smiling at something in the distance as she drank her tea and thought better of it. He stood up from the patio step and leaned over to ruffle his daughter's hair like a good embarrassing dad.
"I've got some work to do. Let me know if you want a lift over to Shannon's later," he offered. He would always offer to help his only daughter, whatever that might involve. At the moment it was a simple lift and it was a task he could easily perform.
"Thanks Dad, you're the best!" Maria grinned up at him and the moment emblazoned itself onto his heart. His smile faltered as he wondered how long he'd still be 'the best' anything in her life.
That evening Maria flopped heavily onto her bed and curled up into a foetal position willing the bitter tears to go away. The overwhelming urge to cry overtook her and she buried her face into the pillow to muffle the sobs. She'd received an invitation to Sarah Jane's wedding in the post, which meant that there was a whole chunk of her friend's life that she had missed out on by being in America. She shouldn't really have been so surprised as they barely kept in touch these days. Maria had emailed everyone frequently in the early days but the replies had got fewer and farther between. Sarah Jane had virtually stopped responding altogether. Whilst Maria realised that both the universe and the journalistic day job didn't keep office hours, she'd thought that she had been important enough to fire off the odd email to make sure she was alright. Perhaps this Peter bloke had been taking up all of her free time lately? Maria felt even more heartbroken at that thought, knowing that she hadn't been good enough, that she was never going to be good enough. Always too young, yet too old at the same time.
It was hard to acknowledge that life in Ealing was moving on without her. She'd been quickly replaced by Rani, both in home and heart it seemed. She had seemed pleasant enough on the video phone, but Maria had instantly felt jealous that she seemed to share an instant connection with Sarah Jane through their love of journalism, something Maria hadn't been quite as enthusiastic about. Rani was taller, slimmer and slightly older than Maria and she'd formed a bond with both the boys too. Did Sarah Jane confide in Rani like she had used to do with her? Did they cuddle up on the sofa watching documentaries or reading books whilst the boys played computer games with Mr Smith? Had Sarah Jane told Rani about Peter Dalton and how she had fallen in love with him? Maria hit the pillow with her fist and swallowed a scream. Her heart was breaking and she couldn't tell anyone about it. She loved her dad and knew that he wouldn't judge her, but she wasn't ready to have that conversation just yet. Maria sat up and roughly wiped the tears from her cheeks. She would refuse the invitation, citing her upcoming exams as an excuse, knowing that they probably wouldn't question it if they were beginning to forget she had existed at all anyway.
It was a shame the invitation had arrived today since Maria had enjoyed a lovely day with her classmate Shannon. The redheaded girl was in several of her classes and didn't appear to be terribly popular. Maria had bonded with her over their love of a good cup of tea at recess and found each other to have been equally as geeky as the other. But Shannon was also fond of shopping and other such girly activities and even though these were things that didn't really appeal to Maria, she thought she ought to make an effort anyway. The free driving lesson had also been worth the effort and Maria knew that as soon as she was old enough she'd put in for her test. It was after all a ticket to freedom and independence from her father and a rite of passage that most teenagers went through. Maria did briefly consider that she would prefer a motorbike, but thought that maybe she would indulge in that aspiration after she'd got her driving license first. Shannon seemed genuinely interested in Maria and asked her all sorts of questions about growing up in England and what sights she'd been to in London. She'd even asked if she could travel with her the next time she went back home. Maria doubted it would be for quite some time the way things currently stood with her old friends, but promised that they would go back together anyway. The redhead had said goodbye with a shy kiss to Maria's cheek, which had made them both blush from embarrassment. Maria hurriedly left before she could really think about what that kiss might have meant.