Alice

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, its warm here at this café. I'm tired from the flight, but not so tired that it's noticeable. I'm supposed to be excited today, it's the first time in three years I've come home to Florida. Except I don't feel that way, I feel awkward. My mom is coming to get me in a while, I haven't seen her in months and we haven't been in contact lately. I wonder how she's doing, I worry about her sometimes but she's a strong woman, she's had to be since my dad died.

I take out my phone. One message from Brice. It says "Hey baby, how are you? How was the flight! Sorry I couldn't be there with you but I'll definitely see you soon" there's a kiss emoji at the end. I smile, Brice is such a good boyfriend. "I'm here love, and I'm okay, a little nervous but I'll get through it, hope you're okay as well."

Even though I grew up here, Miami feels alien to me. I feel, out of place. Three years in another country does that to a person I guess. Everything is so different here, the people are so much more expressive and flamboyant in comparison to Germany. I sigh, that part of my life is over, university is over. I'll re adjust and everything will be okay, I have faith in myself. The next few years here will be an adventure. I'll get to see my old home with fresh new eyes.

I look around and a few meters in front of me, with her hand over her mouth and her purse in her hand, staring right at me with teary eyes, is my mom. An immense surge of feelings rush in, tingling through my body. I stand up and she runs over to me, embracing me the way cling wrap covers the top of a lunch bowl. She all but stifles me as she sobs. "Baby I missed you so much, how are you? Is everything okay? I have so much to ask you." I smile, "It's okay mommy, we have a lot of time to catch up."

I hug her as well, she looks the same as when I left her, a tall, blonde head turner. She's thirty seven but doesn't look a day over twenty five. As always when she's around, all the men within eyeshot sneak glances while their significant others aren't looking. I wish sometimes that I was half as beautiful as she is.

She takes my hand and we walk out of the Café. We head toward a waiting car. In the front seat is a well groomed, softly featured black man in a suit, "Mom, is that him?" I whisper to her, "Who Jack? No that's just Joseph, his assistant."

Jack is my mom's new husband, they'd been married for two years, since I and my mom lost touch for a little while I had never gotten to see him, but I heard that he was a wealthy man from the Caribbean, naturally I assumed he was black.

"I can't wait for you to meet jack, you two'll get along great, I've pictured it for a long time."
   I wonder if she's right, that would be strange, what would we even talk about? He's a thirty seven year old C.E.O from a whole different country, I'm well...me.

We enter the car "Hey Joseph, we're all set to go home, this is my daughter, Alice, who I was telling you about."

He looks at me through the rear view mirror and smiles, "She's even prettier than you described Miss Carlisle."I blush, "Hi joseph," we shake hands and he gets the car ready. We start driving, 'Miss Carlisle' rings through my head, it occurs to me that I've never really internalized the fact that my mom has someone new in her life, since my dad died so many years ago, she'd been so lonely, so disconnected from everyone but me. She'd had a few flings here and there, but none of the men seemed to even come close to dad in her eyes. I was too young to know him well, only about four, but from what she told me, he was an amazing man with a beautiful soul.

Besides the crying when she met me, she seems, happy, for the first time in a while, she actually seems happy. That makes me wonder what Jack is like.

I stare over at my mom, whose smile is as bright as the yellow sundress she's wearing and I realize that things here are different. Everything is going to change for me, this is my new life now, and I'm ready to live it.