• I did not want to move in with my aunt. Louisiana was sticky and muggy, and well, California was beautiful. It was full of wide beaches nestled under a clear blue sky. Who in their right mind would want to leave this place?
    I stood in my bedroom, looking at myself in the mirror. I saw a slender 20 year old woman, with long, brown wavy locks, big green eyes, and a big white smile. My skin was naturally pale, but I tanned easily. Right now, since I had been at the beach all week, I was tan. I wondered if my skin color would go over well in Louisiana. I figured that since the mosquitoes were so bad that they would all stay inside, therefore their skin would be white. That would mean I would stand out.
    “Hello, my name is Kitty Scott,” I started to greet imaginary people in the mirror. As I listened to myself, I realized that I had no southern drawl.
    “Hello, my name is Kitty Scott,” I said again, this time with more of a drawl. No, that sounded fake. I sighed and bid the imaginary people farewell. If anyone had been watching they would have thought me to be crazy. I walked over to the window and opened it, and looked out at the clear blue ocean. I would have to remember to thank my dad for buying a house over the most beautiful beach in California.
    “Kitty!” I heard my mother call from downstairs. I ignored her and continued to stare out my window. The wind blew cool salt air on my cheeks that found its way into my tangled dancing tresses. The surf crashed on the rocks below me, harder and harder, as though it was upset that I was leaving.
    I just wanted to say, it’s okay, ocean. I’m upset too. I wish I could stay here with you forever. You’re the only one that seems to understand me.
    I could remember climbing on those rocks when I was little. I was sit out there next to the waves and sing until I was hoarse. My best friend, Erica, and I would sometimes go down to the tide pools to see the little fish that had got caught in the surf.
    “Kathryn Danielle Scott, get your a** down here now!” My mother interrupted my thoughts once again.
    I picked up my kitten, Shadow, and sulked down the stairs. When I reached the bottom step, I could hear my parents arguing in hushed tones.
    “I don’t see why I have to take her, you don’t do s**t around this household. I do everything.”
    “Linda, all you do is spend the money that I earn. You’re lucky that I have a well-paying job!”
    “Then why don’t you use that money to take Kitty to Louisiana?”
    “I can’t take off work, and you know it.”
    “You’re just lazy!”
    Dad sighed. He was obviously tired of Mom’s accusations. He opened the fridge, grabbed a beer, then lumbered into the living room to watch TV.
    “My stuff is already in the car. I’ll be there in a minute. I want to tell Daddy bye first,” I told my mother as I walked across the kitchen.
    I sank down in the couch next to my father and he put his arm around me. I loved watching football with him as a child. I never really knew what was going on; it was just nice to spend time with him. I was definitely a daddy’s girl. Growing up, it seemed that he was the only one that really took care of me. Mom was always out dancing and drinking, sometimes she wouldn’t come home for days at a time. That was okay though, she was always sort of a b***h. Daddy wasn’t though. He was my rock, my protector. He had always been there for me, and I knew he always would be.
    “I wish I could take you to Louisiana,” said Dad, running his fingers through his short, graying hair.
    “I wish you could too.”
    “Do you understand why I can’t?”
    “Yes sir.”
    “Don’t worry, Kitty, as soon as this house sells, I’ll be down there with you and your mom.”
    He ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead.
    “You better go, your mom is waiting. Impatiently, I might add.”
    I forced a smile.
    “I’ll miss you, daddy.”
    “I’ll miss you too, Kitty.”
    He wrapped me in a tight bear hug and walked me to the door. Once outside, I took one last look at the house I grew up in and the man I loved the most. I didn’t know when I would see either of them again.
    “I love you!” I yelled out the car window as the wheels started to turn.
    “I love you too!” he yelled back.
    I waved. He waved. I’m pretty sure that we were the only ones that cried at that departure. What I didn’t know was that at the next departure, I would be the only one able to cry.