Brave This Storm

Mariana was sitting on the sofa next to her grandma at midday on New Years Eve, Donovan asleep in Mariana’s lap. The three of them had just finished their lunch, and clearly Donovan was still tired, so they were just relaxing for now. But Mariana could tell there was something on Amelia’s mind.

“What’s eating you?” Mariana asked curiously, stroking her son’s head.

Amelia laughed at the phrasing before smiling weakly.

“I’m just thinking about you. There’s still so much I don’t know about you, like your childhood or how you came to live in Compton after living in Palos Verdes. I don’t want to push you to say anything that makes you uncomfortable, but it would be nice to hear some of your story,” Amelia explained.

Mariana bit her bottom lip as she thought. There wasn’t much interesting information about her childhood that she could say. She had been overindulged and pampered while she grew up, but unlike her ‘friends’ who’d turned out to be complete brats, she’d come out of the lavish lifestyle with a good head on her shoulders. But her move from Palos Verdes to Compton? She supposed there were parts of that she could tell.

“Okay, I’ll tell you about moving to West Compton. It starts on my 16th birthday, so we could be here a while,” Mariana said softly.

Amelia just stayed silent, allowing Mariana to take a deep breath before she started.

“On my 16th birthday, at my 16th birthday party, I lost my virginity to a one-night stand. I was so drunk that I don’t remember who he was and I passed out after it, but I woke up naked and alone with an ache between my legs – I knew what happened. 1 month later my period didn’t come. I panicked and went straight to a doctor out of the area. If I went to our family doctor, my parents would’ve found out. Sure enough, like I’d feared, I was pregnant. I knew I couldn’t abort the baby because I had always believed it was wrong, so I’d decided to keep it. I spent a month planning what to do with my life. I knew my parents would kick me out as soon as I told them, hence why I was holding off the announcement. There was only one person I could talk to that I knew would keep my secret. Our family accountant, Jeremy Hutchins,”

“Mariana, do sit down. Why do you look so scared?” Jeremy frowned, sitting the other side of the desk.

“I-I did something that’s going to change my life as soon as people find out,” Mariana whispered.

“What?” Jeremy asked, confused.

“I’m pregnant. And I’m keeping the baby,” Mariana whimpered.

Tears filled Mariana’s eyes when Jeremy’s jaw dropped. He knew as well as she did that the community her parents came from heavily looked down upon teenage pregnancy.

“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked carefully.

“I went to a Doctor in Gardena that one of my friends mentioned once. And I don’t believe in abortion,” Mariana explained.

“You went to Gardena?!” Jeremy yelped, not liking the thought of the young girl in an area like that.

“I had to get out of the neighbourhood,” Mariana sighed.

Jeremy ran a hand over his thinning hair before looking at the young girl. She looked so scared, yet at the same time there was a look of determination in her eyes that he knew would not leave.

“Why did you come here?” Jeremy asked.

“I want to move all the money in my trust fund to a new trust fund that only I have control over. A trust fund for my baby,” Mariana said firmly.

“Wow, are you sure? You won’t have any access to your money until he or she is 18,” Jeremy asked seriously.

“I know that. I want my daughter or son to have money and I know that as soon as I tell my parents they’ll kick me out and seal my trust fund, so if I empty that trust fund into a new one that they can’t access then that solves that problem,” Mariana nodded.

“What are you going to do if they kick you out?” Jeremy asked.

“When they kick me out, I’m going to have to find a job somewhere and get a small apartment to myself. I know I’ll have to go to a relatively bad neighbourhood to be able to afford anything, but as long as I keep to myself then gangs won’t come near me, right?” Mariana said nervously.

“No, I’m not letting you move out somewhere on your own. I’ve known you since you were born, Mariana, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you were hurt in any way,” Jeremy said firmly, “you can live with my wife and I,”

“The two of you live in Palos Verdes too! My parents would never allow that,” Mariana retorted.

“Then at least let me find you somewhere to work and live! I don’t think your parents ever told you this, but I wasn’t always as fortunate. I grew up in Compton but my parents scraped together everything they earned to be able to send me to a good school in Long Beach. I reckon I could find one of my old neighbours who would be more than willing to look after you. I still have a few good friends in Compton,” Jeremy said, rambling to himself at the end.

“Compton?” Mariana squeaked.

Jeremy looked sadly at the young girl in front of him.

“It’s the last place your parents would ever think of. I won’t let you go there until I know I’ve got you a job and a place to live. And don’t tell your parents until I’ve found you somewhere. I don’t want you having to leave until you really have to,” Jeremy said.

Mariana took a deep breath, before nodding. She trusted Jeremy and right now she was going to have to rely on anyone she could find to help her. The tiny fetus inside of her needed her to be strong.

“Okay. Now, let’s get started on my trust fund,” Mariana said confidently,”

Mariana paused, looking down at the sleeping Donovan in her arms with a small smile. All of her struggles had been worth it, she knew that. She didn’t regret one day of Donovan’s existence, and she never would.

“What happened after that?” Amelia asked quietly.

Mariana looked up at her grandma to see her with tears in her eyes, so she smiled reassuringly and linked their hands together, something which surprised Amelia but made her feel a bit better.

“When I was 3 months along, so one month after I’d been to see Jeremy, and I was just at the point of not being able to hide the small bump that was showing. All I could wear were baggy jumpers and floaty tops, so I was getting desperate. Jeremy took me to my three-month scan where I’d found out that the child growing inside of me was a boy, because I’d allowed him to let his wife in on the secret and she was more than willing to help too because she knows what my parents are like. Jeremy told me he’d been in contact with an old friend of his who owned a car workshop in West Compton who really needed a receptionist. The son of the owner, who also worked there, had a spare bedroom in his apartment, and he was more than willing to help out too. I immediately agreed and told my parents when I got home. Like I expected I was yelled at, sworn at and threatened. I told them I was leaving and they told me never to come back. Luckily I’d had my bags packed for weeks, so I was able to leave that afternoon. Jeremy drove me to his friend’s workshop that night,”

“So you’re the one that got knocked up, huh?”

Mariana swallowed heavily and nodded, her hands resting on her small bump out of nerves. She was standing next to Jeremy in the middle of the workshop, unused to the strange smells of oil and sweat and to the rough appearance of the balding, dirty, slightly-overweight man in front of her. He’d announced his name as ‘Big El’ in a loud rasping voice that Mariana had never come across before, and she just wished that Jeremy could stay by her side.

“Ah don’t look so nervous kid. Anyone that works in my shop is family, so we’ve got your back. Now Jerry’s bought all your bags in here, I’ll take you over to the office where you’ll be working,” El told her.

Mariana quickly turned to Jeremy, fear in her eyes. Jeremy smiled warmly and placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Call me if you need anything. I trust El with my life, and I hope you will trust him too. You’ll be safe here,” Jeremy said reassuringly.

“O-Okay,” Mariana nodded.

Jeremy gave her a firm hug and shook El’s hand before leaving the two of them alone. The large man looked down at the fragile girl before sighing. This was clearly a complete change for her. He beckoned her forward so she followed him as they walked towards a small lighted room closed off in the far corner of the building.

“Alrighty Miss Mariana. I don’t ‘spose Jerry’s told you what the job is, so I’ll tell you while we walk. Basically, my wife used to be our receptionist, organising files, taking calls, managing bookings and finances, but she died nearly two years ago and I just couldn’t replace her. So naturally everything’s fallen in chaos and it’s up to you to sort it all out,” El explained.

Mariana just nodded. El smiled reassuringly at her as he opened the door to reveal a small office. But what made her jaw drop was the mountains of paperwork everywhere. She couldn’t even see the desk! El laughed at her reaction before guiding her inside.

“It’ll take you a while to sort through all these, but you should get them done before you get too pregnant to move stuff. The filing cabinets on the left are for finances and the ones on the right are for bookings and current work. When some of us aren’t working we’ll come in and help you, but you’ll be doing a lot of this on your own. Feel free to close the door while you work, but all my boys are decent and they’ll respect you. I’ll kick their asses if they don’t, so make sure you tell me if anyone says anything. If you keep the door open you probably won’t feel isolated because we make a hell lot of noise while we work,”

Mariana laughed. Laughed at the situation, laughed at the manner in which spoke, and laughed at how her life would now be lead. She never thought she would ever be in a place like this, let alone be working here, but she knew that she had to make the best of it all. Her child needed a good support in life, and for some reason she knew she’d get it here.

“Thank you so much for all this. I know you’re an old friend of Jeremy’s, but you didn’t have to take me in. Not many people would help out a pregnant teenage girl who barely has any skills,” Mariana said.

“I took you in because my wife would’ve done everything in her power to help anyone in your situation. Jeremy told me you’re smart and good with numbers, and that your pregnancy was the result of a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, Mariana. It’s how we learn from them that defines us. You shouldn’t be punished for what you did, and you shouldn’t have been kicked out of your home, especially at 16. Me and the boys will look after you, so don’t you worry,” El smiled.

Mariana sniffed and gave him a quick hug before stepping back. El laughed and patted her shoulder before beckoning her out of the office.

“Right, let’s get you and your bags to Juan’s place. Juan’s my son, but I think Jerry already told you that. He’s 25, so a bit older than you, but my wife and I brought him up to respect women. He’s a good guy, he’ll look after you. He doesn’t live far from here either, in a little complex. I think you’ll like it,” El told her.

All Mariana could do was nod.

Tears filled Mariana’s eyes as she thought of Juan. He really was the best man she had ever met. Amelia smiled sadly, knowing that there were things that her granddaughter still couldn’t say to her yet.

“Just tell me what you can. I’m not going to pressure you,” Amelia said softly.

Mariana sniffed and nodded, pressing a kiss to her son’s head.

“El took me to Juan’s apartment. It was a small two bedroom place but it was secure, warm and Juan really had tried to make it as comfy as possible with good furniture. As soon as I met Juan, it was like love at first sight. He was the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, with a deep natural tan, prominent cheek and jaw bones, short dark hair with a slight curl on the ends, 6ft tall with wonderfully broad shoulders, strong arms and large hands, with gentle brown eyes and a smile that made me melt. He was so kind to me for the entire time I lived with him. Juan was by my side when I gave birth to Donovan and he was even the first person to hold him. He was my best friend. I’d only known Juan for 6 months, but those 6 months had been the happiest of my life,”

Mariana paused to wipe a lone tear from her cheek, before continuing.

“When Donovan was 6 months old, so when I’d been living with Juan for a year, Juan asked me out on a date. We knew it wasn’t normal for a 17 year old girl to date a 26 year old guy, but we didn’t care. El watched Donovan while we went out to a wonderful restaurant in Long Beach, and that night he asked me to be his girlfriend. He said he’d liked me since I first moved in but he didn’t want to put pressure because of the baby. I said yes without any hesitations. Donovan loved Juan like a father, but never called him ‘dad’ or anything like that. Juan was sweet, protective, and charming. The perfect gentleman. I didn’t have an unhappy day in our relationship, not even while we worked together,"

Mariana bit her bottom lip as she thought over the days in the workshop where Juan would just come into her office, surprise her with a slow kiss and a dazzling smile before going back out to work on the cars. Those days she would remember forever.

"Yeah, I stayed working at the car workshop, Donovan spending his days in the corner with whatever toys or colouring materials I could get for him. I only worked 9-3 so I could take Donovan home and start dinner before Juan came home, because as soon as dinner was done I went to night school to get my GED. When I completed my high school diploma, I realised that Juan really valued his evenings alone with Donovan because he didn’t have kids of his own, so I continued going to night school, this time to get a qualification in finance. A sort of tribute to Jeremy, for helping me start my new life. I got that qualification nearly a year ago now, and Juan said he’d never been prouder of me. We dated for 4 years before I had to leave,”

Mariana paused again, this time because she couldn’t carry on. The memories were still too painful for her to think about, especially those with Juan in.

“And the reason you had to leave is what you can’t talk about?” Amelia asked.

“Yeah, I can’t talk about it. I promise I will, but even this much talking has been a bit too much for me. I just...can’t right now, “Mariana whimpered.

“Ssh now, you can tell me when you’re ready. Your story is so...traumatic, Mariana. I don’t know how you survived such a change in lifestyle, but I’ll be damned if I don’t say how much it’s obviously made you into a strong woman. Thank you for trusting me with this much of your story,” Amelia smiled.

Mariana just nodded and snuggled closer to her son, closing her eyes like he had. Amelia smiled and pressed a kiss to both their heads before leaving them to nap. It was clear Mariana needed to sleep before the bonfire tonight, so she would leave them to it. After all, her granddaughter had clearly been through enough stress and strain over the past five years – it was about time she let someone else take care of her. And Amelia would do everything in her power to make sure Mariana never had this kind of heartache again.