• Antonia Garcia was from Mexico. She came from a family of 6, including herself. Her mother was Isabel Hidalgo Garcia. Her siblings were: Isabella, 14, Antonia, 13, Nina, 12, Theresa, 8, Celina, 7, and her father whose name is lost to all of us, even Isabel, his wife.
    It was late morning in Guadalupe, Mexico. The sun was high in the sky. It was almost 95 degrees in the sun. That’s when Antonia heard the news. Isabel had cancer, and needed to go to a 5 star hospital in Yuma, Arizona. All 6 girls packed everything they had. They were going to Arizona-like it or not.
    When they finally arrived in Yuma, Isabel became an American citizen, and moved in to a 2 bedroom apartment in Yuma. On the first day of school, Antonia met Maria, Ana, and Cruz. Maria had long, straight, blonde hair and was a little self-absorbed. Ana had long, straight, brown hair and was very considerate. Cruz had black hair and was a total jock. He played football, basketball, tennis, hockey, and every other sport offered to 7th grade boys. Antonia’s grandfather, Juan Hidalgo taught science at Antonia’s school, Manzanita Leaf Elementary 5th grade. Kyrie Hidalgo was the school librarian. Antonia was happy that her much beloved grandparents worked at Manzanita, but library time was no longer gossip time!
    After school, Antonia and Ana would stop at Arizona Ice Cream for a blueberry-banana smoothie. One day, all that changed.
    “Will Isabella, Antonia, Nina, Theresa, and Celina Garcia please report to the front office,” called Principal Lupe Garza. Antonia felt tears welling up in her eyes, she knew what had happened. When the news was given, all 5 girls burst into tears. Principal Garza almost drowned from the salty tears of 5 Mexican girls. Isabel had died of cancer about a half an hour earlier.
    The next day, the phone rang. They said that they were their grandparents, but they weren’t Juan and Kyrie Hidalgo. Then the girls realized that it was grandma and grandpa Gonzalez-a.k.a. their father’s parents.
    Jorge and Angelica Garcia, who the girls had never met, said they would take in one girl; the rest would stay with Juan and Kyrie Hidalgo. They chose Antonia to come with them. She had friends here, and Jorge and Angelica lived in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
    On her first day of school at Benjamin Franklin Memorial Intermediate she was puzzled. No one had names like Diego, Maria, or Lucia. More like Anna, Jennifer, Ben, Jacob, and Samantha. When she got home, Angelica Gonzalez told her about her father. He was alive, living in England with his wife and five kids. Antonia wondered why he would abandon her, Isabella, Nina, Theresa, and Celina and not the others. He probably didn’t even know that Isabel was dead. Angelica said that his name was Pedro Garcia; he changed his last name since he hated his father. Then the phone rang. It was long distance from Yuma. Antonia couldn’t believe it! It was her best friend Ana. They talked for hours. After that Angelica told Antonia that Pedro was married to a woman named Anne Livingston. His children were Lucia, Cassandra, Martin, Bailey, and Angelica.
    “Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Antonia, Happy birthday to you. It was Antonia’s birthday. She got $100 from Grandpa and Grandma Hidalgo. Ana sent her a pair of baby blue earrings. Her sisters sent her a handmade card. The best gift was from Jorge and Angelica. It was an airplane ticket to London, England.
    The next day Jorge, Angelica, and Antonia flew into London. Jorge rented a car and drove to Pedro’s house. He wasn’t home Anne and the kids were. Antonia said that Pedro was her father, that she was her stepmother and that Lucia, Cassandra, Martin, Bailey, and Angelica were her half brothers and sisters. Anne called Pedro, but he didn’t answer. He didn’t come home either. Pedro called Anne and said he had left for China, and he was never coming home. Anne was frantic and asked Jorge and Angelica was willing to take in 14 year old Lucia. Since her birthday Antonia was 14. That night the four of them flew to China. They asked the street vendors if they knew where he was. Turns out he had a Chinese wife Mai-Lin. He had 3 kids. Jun-Li, Jul-Lin, and Maria. This time Antonia caught him. He saw Antonia and Lucia standing by the door, tears welling up in their eyes. He knew they were his kids. Antonia told Mai-Lin. Mai-Lin was disgusted at him for abandoning two families from different parts of the world. When Pedro asked his mother {Angelica} for Antonia and Lucia back, she said no. He asked where Isabel and Anne were. Antonia said, “Anne is in England, Isabel died of cancer last year.” For a minute, Pedro was disgusted with himself
    Afterward
    Pedro took the matter to court in Arizona, and Angelica won. Jorge and Angelica kept Antonia and Lucia. They moved closer to Yuma so Antonia could be with her friends and family. Anne, Mai-Lin, and their families moved closer so they could be one big family.