Sunflower

Chapter Four: A Fighting Coward

My dad grabbed the pocket knife off his key chain and cut the tape off. He opened it slowly and peeked before fully opening it, "No trigger wires," He said in full seriousness. 

"Dude, I was joking about the bomb."

He laughed before bending the cardboard flaps back. I stood back watching as he pulled the tissue-paper out, "Oh my god." 

"What?" I walked over looking inside. He pulled out the dull pink blanket with baby deer on it. The opposite side was fuzzy gray and black faux fur, "A blanket?" 

"Kov, this was your baby blanket."  

"How the hell did she get it?" 

"I have no idea." 

"There's something else," I pointed to the white square box at the bottom. Moving the shipping box over he placed it down in front of me pulling the top lid off, "Is that a..." 

"Princess crown. I think so." 

It was a golden structure with small hearts made up of diamonds. It had to be pretty pricey, "Wait, there's two?" My dad pulled both out and a little note at the bottom in cursive handwriting. 

For Clara and Kova. Best wishes, Maria

"Still think she wasn't using her real address?" 

* * * 

It was late a night and I sat at my desk staring at the same homework page for the past 35 minutes. OCD got the best of me. I'd never googled my own mom. I opened up my laptop and went to the search bar, "Maria Mays," I said out loud typing it in. There were hundreds of results. So I tried narrowing down the search, "Maria Mays London." 

I expected a Facebook profile or something to come up... but no. What came up was much different. 

"Meet our designers at Burberry?" I asked myself self clicking on it. A photo came up, I mean I think it was my mom. 

I quickly went to the search bar searching her name again, "Maria Mays Burberry," I snapped a photo on my phone of it showing her face and ran to my dad's room. 

"Dad!" 

He jolted awake like there was something wrong, "What? What? You okay?" 

"Yeah I'm good but I have a question." 

He groaned falling back down onto the bed, "Can't you ask me in the morning?" 

"No." 

"Fine, what is so important?" 

I walked in opening my phone to the photo, "Is that my mom?" I showed him the screen. 

"Jesus Christ that's bright," He blinked before taking the phone, "Uh yeah that's her. What're you doing up so late?" 

"I was doing homework then got distracted."

He grabbed his phone on the desk looking at the time, "Kov, it's 2 o'clock on a Monday morning. You have school."

"And...?" 

"Your insanely weird." 

"Says you." 

"Go to bed Coco." 

"How about I just go back to my room?" 

"Eh, guess that works now let me sleep." 

I sat back down and looked at the paragraph describing her. 

Maria Mays is a London based Fashion designer with a Masters degree from the London College of Fashion. For the past 10 years, Maria has been a big part of Paris fashion week and the MET Gala in the United States. An adviser to both Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wedding dresses as well as many of Her Majesty herself casual outfits.