I Can Ride

The Move

------>>> picture of Candy on the right

Sitting in the moving van, looking out the window, I felt depressed. I felt angry at my father for making us move. I didn't want to leave the house that I had grown up in. All the memories we had with mom were there and moving was like we were leaving her behind, leaving a piece of ourselves behind. Mom died five years ago when I was 12. She died from a car accident. The first responder said that he was just driving down the road when he noticed a car lying in a ditch. He said the front windshield was completely broken and  that glass was everywhere. The front hood of the car was pushed up and the head lights were busted. She had ran into a tree. He called the ambulance once he checked on my mom and realized she was unconscious. The ambulance drove her to the hospital and we got the call that she was emitted into the local hospital. She was dead before we even got there. I didn't leave my room for weeks. My neighbor would come by everyday and bring me my homework from school, but I never did it. I couldn't help but think how the accident had happened. The cops who where there to get a statement from the witness said that it was most likely a drunk driver that ran her off the road. I felt a sense of hate as soon as the police officer said that. I felt hate toward the person who had killed my mother, someone I hadn't even known or met. It's a strange feeling, hating someone you don't know. You cant pinpoint the anger to a specific someone. It's one of the worst feelings because you cant just walk up to the person and blame them for what had happened. You can only imagine what it's like. It's an unsatisfying feeling.

A few hours later, we pulled into a brick driveway with monkey grass going up along the sides of the pathway. The house in front of us was two stories. It was white with a red door. The porch was wooden and there was a balcony that went all the way around the second story of it. It was beautiful but, it wasn't home to me. Not yet anyway. When I stepped out of the van, I was hit with the smell of salt water. We had moved to Orlando, Florida and dad had apparently gotten us a house right across from the beach. The smell was going to have to take some getting used to. It's not something you're used to smelling when you live in Virginia, or should I say lived.

I walked up the driveway and carefully opened the door. I walked inside and looked at the empty living room. The walls were an off white and the carpets were tan. I walked through the living room and into the kitchen. The floors were tile that were white with little black specks. It had the regular appliances that any kitchen would have: fridge, stove, sink, cabinets, etc. I walked out of the kitchen and made my way around the rest of the house. It had three bathrooms: one downstairs and one in two of the bedrooms. There were three bedrooms and the walls and carpet were the same as in the living room. I found the house was quite homey. It just didn't feel like my home.

I walked back out of the house and noticed my dad taking boxes and furniture out of the van. I walked over to him and started taking boxes out as well. "How do you like the house?" my dad asked. "It's ok." I said with an emotionless tone. "Do you know what room you want yet?" "Yeah. I want one of the one with a built in bathroom." "Ok. Well, why don't you go ahead and start bringing the boxes that contain your things into your new room?" "Alright." I put one of the cardboard boxes on top of another one and picked them both up and carried them up the stairs into my room. I set them down and walked back to the front door. "Hey dad. Can we go ahead and set my bed up so I'll have some place to sleep tonight? I mean, it's already 7." I shouted from the door. "Sure thing kiddo. Help me grab the pieces for it." I walked over to him and grabbed the head piece and the two pieces that go on the sides while dad grabbed the mattresses and the piece that goes at the foot of the bed. I led the way up to my room and he followed me. Once we were there, we started setting it up and had it finished in about 10 minutes. My bed frame was white with all kinds of little drawings and song lyrics that I liked written all over it. My mom had given me the idea and after doing it a few times, I couldn't stop. It's a good way for me to remember her.

I went back down to the van and helped unpack the rest of the boxes with dad. By 10:00 we took a break. In three hours, we had accomplished getting all the boxes in the house, the couch set up in the living room along with the tv, recliner and love seat and coffee table. We had his and my bed set up and the kitchen table and chairs set up in the kitchen. We were sitting in the kitchen, eating pizza that we had ordered from a local pizza place. "Candice, I know you're upset that we had to move but, this will be good for us." My dad is the only one that calls me Candice. Everyone at school and around our old neighborhood called me Candy. I'm not sure why my dad doesn't. "You're right, I am upset. I didn't want to move. I wanted to stay in the house that I grew up in and that had all of our memories with mom in it." "I know honey but, living in that house was just too hard for me. I'm going to miss our old house too but, our memories are always going to be with us. I just, I don't want you being mad at me and being miserable while we're here." I put the piece of pizza that I had in my hand, down and looked at him. "I'm not mad at you anymore dad. I know that it was hard for you to live there after mom died, it was hard for me too. I'm just, really going to miss it there." "I know sweetie, I know." He gets up from his chair and walks around the table and I stand up and we hug.

I love my dad, so much. I don't know what I would do without him. He's the only one that is there for me all the time and the one that helped me cope with moms death. I didn't have any friends back when my mom had passed because after her death, I became the closed off girl and the shy girl. I finally changed last year once I had realized that this was holding me back from enjoying my life. I changed my style, attitude and as soon as I got my license, I used all the saved up money I had and bought a motorcycle. I know what you're thinking, a teenage girl and motorcycle, there's just no way. But there is, and I'm the proof of that. I finally started making friends again and I really missed them. But hopefully, I'll make some new ones on my first day of school Monday.

Once we had finished our dinner, we went to our rooms and got ready to go to bed. I went to my bathroom and took a quick shower. I was so tired from today. The drive took forever and we spent the last three hours of the day, unloading and unpacking some boxes. After I got out of the shower, I slipped on my pajamas, put my hair in a ponytail and hopped into bed. The coolness of my sheets welcoming me after my hot shower. I cuddled up into my comforter and within minutes, I was in a peaceful sleep.