Untitled - ScholarWorks Home - California State University, Northridge

The television in the living room barks sports announcements. Michael
grumbles in his sleep, and drools on the cushions. He doesn't sleep as peacefully
anymore. The cat clock on the wall reads 8:37. It's another three hours before
Julianne is home. They will be wide awake and you will need to be asleep before
then. You pour yourself another glass and sit in the living room.
You pry the remote from your brother's sleeping fist and wonder about
genetics. What other sorts of things are passed down? As kids, you were mis­
taken as twins, despite the five years between you. He had your father's height,
and you your mother's tired face. You had the same light hair and dark eyes.
Though you flip through the channels, you are looking out the window. Did he
have dreams like you did? Did he, when he got older, crawl into your bed for
comfort? Funny that, as close as you thought you were, you never discussed
this. He'd put on weight in the last few years. You'd lost more weight than what
was healthy. You only remotely bore any resemblance to each other anymore.
The little girl in the guest room had your coloring, his coloring. She had her
mother's nose. Your dreams.
Angela will grow up. Her hair will get longer, and so will her face. She
will grow into her mother's nose. She will not be as concerned with her past as
her aunt once was. She will not focus on how different she is from other children.
She will not ignore her nature, and she will not forget her dreams.
Her parents will separate. Her sixth birthday will mark the last day she
spends with her father. Her mother will not speak of him. She and her mother
will live in a small apartment in Hollywood. Her father will think of her daily
for a few years. Then he will try to forget her because it hurts. Angela will
remember him vaguely, for a few years. She will forget him as well. One day,
she will buy groceries from him; they will not recognize each other.
She will be a bright student, with an eager­
ness for learning. Angela will play handball and teth­
erball. She will wish her mother could put her on the
soccer team. She is good at running, and in high school
will join track. She will attribute it to the wind in her
bones. She will teach herself to paint, but will prefer
her sketches. She will prefer black and white to color.
She will prefer landscapes to human figures. This she will
also attribute to the wind.
Angela will have friends who think she has a beautiful voice. In chorus,
she will be picked to sing solo. Her mother will wonder where it came from.
Angela will only know it's another one of those things she can mysteriously do.
80