Chapter 3 – Paloma
Twelve years ago…
Dear Dallas – (if that’s even your name?),
Whose parents name their child after a major city in Texas when you live in California? Did you grow up in Texas? How do I know you’re not actually my birth mom, Margarita, posing as some boy named Dallas?
Anyways, let’s assume that you are a kid named Dallas living in California (weird – BTW. Were you picked on as a kid for your name?); what’s Los Angeles like?
I’ve always wanted to visit California. Is everyone there rich? Did you just graduate from high school? Are you going to college? If so, where? What are you studying?
I’m a sophomore in high school and hate it.
My public school is so big and yet everyone knows everybody because it’s located in a small town in Texas. I don’t know if I want to go to college when I graduate.
College sounds like an extension of high school which did I mention, I hate?
My older brother will probably take over my parent's ranch when he graduates, and my older sister will likely do something smart. She’s so much smarter than me.
My mom said I’m smart too but that I should do something where I get to be pretty because I got the 'pretty genes.'
Which is funny, considering the fact that I’m not even related to them so who did I get the pretty genes from? I must have gotten the pretty genes from my birth mom who is a movie star.
(BTW – are you my mom? It’s ok if you are, I’m not mad at you for lying and saying your name is Dallas. That was a funny joke, though. Who names their kid Dallas and lives in California? HILARIOUS.)
What’s it like being an adult? Is it as fun as the movies make it seem? Do you eat whatever you want and go wherever you please?
I watch a lot of movies because I’m always trying to see if I can find an actress who looks like my birth mom (aka you), but I haven't seen anyone who looks like me - yet.
Maybe I look more like my dad. I don’t know what my dad looks like either so it’s hard for me to even imagine what my birth parents could look like. Maybe I'm a cute blend of both.
Was my dad there at my birth or was it just you, Margarita?
Oh yea – I forgot your name is “Dallas." (Wink-wink.)
I can’t tell you where I live in Texas until I know you’re actually Margarita, but I think you’d like to visit here.
It’s a really small town and quiet. Even though everyone knows each other, it feels like home.
The only thing we’re known for is our big rodeo and massive ranches that supply food to the majority of Texans.
My parents took me to Austin once, and I hated it. I wonder why your parents didn’t name you Austin instead. You should ask them.
When I visited that city, everyone was rushing around and being loud. It's not that I dislike noise—I can be quite the loudmouth, especially when I sing—but the people in Austin seemed trapped in their own worlds, unwilling to notice those around them.
Where I live, there are animals, sunshine and I get to be barefoot without worrying about stepping on broken glass bottles. I play outside a lot, too.
Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to have grown up in Los Angeles. Would I be different? Would I actually prefer the noise and mayhem like Austin? Would I be a movie star?
I’d like to live somewhere else someday, maybe even Los Angeles, but I think that even if I lived in Los Angeles, I’d somehow always find my way back here, to this small town in Texas where you can sit outside and hear nothing but the birds and the bugs.
Please write back Margarita (or Dallas. I don’t care either way now.)
XoXo – Paloma