My first time in a taxicab was not at all what I thought it would be. I thought the first time I would ever drive in a taxi would be in New York city or Philly or some other cool place. Not in the weirdo town of Colorado Springs. Everything seems way too green here. It’s too fresh. It almost seems fake to me but I know it’s not. Nothing is fake about the situation I’m in right now.
“Almost there, darling.” The taxicab driver says. I nod in return, not really up for small talk. Especially with someone I’ll probably never see again. But that’s okay, I’ve lost too much already.
After my mom died suddenly in a car accident this past summer, my life seemed to turn upside down. And then it turned upside down again when I found out who my real birth father was and that he was alive and lives across the country. I’ve never met him before because my mom told me he died when I was a baby. I’ve never seen pictures or have even known his name until a couple days ago when my lawyer told me I’d be living with him seeing as I have no other family. They tried to get in contact with him but there was no luck. He either missed the calls or avoided them. Since I don’t have anywhere else to go, I was put on the earliest flight to Colorado Springs with the little amount of belongings I had and here I am in a taxi cab on my way to his house.
As we pull into a subdivision I notice the houses are huge. My mom and I lived in a small two bedroom apartment in New Jersey. I’d never known what it’s like to live in a house because none of my friends did. Everyone I knew lived in apartments, so seeing a house this big overwhelms me. I don’t realize my hands are shaking and my heart is pounding until the taxicab driver speaks.
“We’re here.” He says. I feel like I’m frozen in place. A million thoughts are running through my head. And while most of them are about my mom and how much I miss her, a good portion are of who I’m about to meet. I know he has a family. He has a wife and a daughter. How am I gonna feel meeting them? Are they going to like me or hate that I probably just ruined their perfect little life. “I’ll help you get your bags.” He says.
The driver opens my door and I step out into the crisp and slightly cold Colorado air. On wobbly legs I force myself to take hold of my two suitcases. I pay the driver and watch as he slowly drives off, leaving me to my new life. Turning back towards the vast house in front of me, I take my suitcases and approach the door. I wipe my sweaty hands on my ripped jeans and brace myself before I ring the doorbell.
Moments later, a woman, probably in her late thirties opens the door. She has long blonde hair and big smile on her face. That’s before her eyes land on the suitcases.
“Hi, can I help you?” She asks, her voice level.
I swallow around the lump in my throat. She’s beautiful. While she’s probably forty she looks like she’s twenty. “Hi, um, does Austin West live here?” I ask.
“Yes he does. Hold on a moment, let me get him.” The lady says. She closes the door slightly and returns a few moments later with Austin. Holy shit, yeah that’s my father. Tall, dark brown hair like mine, hazel eyes like mine and much more.
“Hi, can we help you?” He says.
“Yeah. Well I guess there’s no easy way to say this.” I start, figuring I don’t need to prolong this and should rip the bandaid off. I look between who I assume to be his wife and my father. “I’m your daughter.” As if on cue both of their eyes widen and their mouths drop. “Yeah I’m just as surprised as you guys are.” I say, seeing as they’re not saying anything.
