Okaeri (Welcome home) Chapter 1:Flight and Hello's

Chapter 1: Flight and Hellos.

            A series of crackling sound escaped my vertebrae as I stretched my arms out into the air after roughly almost five hours of flight from Seattle to Chicago due to crabby weather. Finally the soft crisp chilly November wind has tickled my face shortly after getting out of the plane which, ironically, my body had once again felt the warmth feeling of my home. It’s the end of my semester which gave me an opportunity to spend my time with my mom and dad for this year’s Christmas since I haven’t seen them for almost sixteen months because of my thick school schedule and work during breaks, and maybe I won’t be able to see them for another year for my last semester.

 

I claimed my luggage, then went straight to the arrival area to find my parents.

 

“Olivia!” A familiar voice called from far. I stroll through the crowds hoping to find my mom. Little too soon, a woman rushed in front of me and hugged me tightly until I’m unable to breathe. Yes, my name is Olivia; Olivia Caecilla Brunelli. My name was derived from my Latin great-great grandmother, my father’s great grandmother. They named me after her because of my deep dark eyes and golden brown hair which they thought I inherited from her.

 

“Woman, you’re going kill our daughter.”  A smile automatically spread across my face as I finally see both of my parents in front of my eyes after a long time of lack of connection between them and me.

 

“How are both of you doing?” I asked after the awkward moment of exchanging greetings and hugs.

 

“We’re both fine, sweetie. How ‘bout you?” My dad, not typically a mouthy man but he knows how to make you feel better without even saying a word. He’s a great man, as what I’ve seen when I was growing up.

 

I grew up in a family where money isn't much of a problem and not much of a big deal. My dad works at local machinery downtown which has a pretty nice pay, while my mom owns a little pastry shop giving us a great income for my school need. And currently, I also have my own work as waitress in a diner just few blocks away from my school to annually support my college dues and dormitory monthly rental fees, although my parents are still helping me with my bills.

 

“I’m doing well, Dad. How’s the bakery?”

 

“I was thinking of expanding it, actually. Since I already had enough money to pay some carpenters to do the job�"“My mom was suddenly cut off by a ringing phone. “Is that yours, honey?”

 

I reached for my pocket to see my phone, but the ringing wasn’t mine. “No.”

When dad took his old phone from his pocket and stared at the screen, his eyes went wide. “It’s Ruiz.”

 

The same reaction registered from my mom’s face, Surprised. “Answer it, Honey.”

He put the phone in his ear, and then dad’s expression went from confusion to devastation then blank. Me and my mom stood there for a while watching him as he listens from the voice on the other line which I had no idea who it was. Maybe just some close co-worker. After a series of ‘Mmhh’s’ and ‘Uhuh’s’, he finally mouthed an ‘Okay’ then put his phone back to his pocket.

 

To my frustration, his smug face has never turned back from the second I arrived from my flight.

 

 “Is it from work?”I stared to my father’s troubled face as his forehead crease from distress. Running his hands through his golden hair, he looked at his wrist watch with anger hinting in his eyes.

 

“We have to go home,” He grabbed my baggage, and then quickly walks away from the opposite direction away from us.

 

“What’s the deal, mom?” I got to admit, I felt really annoyed with my father’s outburst.

 

“Ruiz is from his family abroad.”

 

I frowned. “So?”

 

“We still don’t know the reason of the sudden call.”

 

Both of my parents have never talked about their siblings to me, neither their parents nor the rest of the family. Just my grandma Olivia. And as far as I could remember, both of them hate to bring their family up in a conversation. They once fought over that, when I was three and It went really, really bad.

 

My mom and I follows dad as he stroll away.

Author's Note

A review is always welcome! :)

Reviews

[simonmabee]

definitely needs to be cleaned up a bit which is to be expected. Interesting but I don't really feel grabbed/hooked as a reader at this point. A little more of a description or a grasp characters when they are first introduced would be nice, I know who people are but I don't know WHO they are, which considering they're family we should at least get a vague idea at this point, smug dad was good though. This is one of those if I was just flipping through books checking out the first page or chapter I wouldn't keep reading unless I had heard good things or the overall plot looked like something I'd like.