Tio Carlos

I had been waiting for this day for so long. It was like waiting for Santa on Christmas, thinking you’re hearing his sled & reindeer on the roof. It was like waiting for you birthday b/c you know you’ll get what you’ve been wanting.I put on the dress my aunt bought for me. It matched my 2 sisters. Purple, pink, yellow, green, the flowers on the material were so vibrant & made my little 7 year old mind wonder if there were really flowers that beautiful in the world. The fabric was so itchy and uncomfortable but I had to wear it. Today was a special day. Everybody was waiting, we’ve been waiting for this day for so long. The grill was going, I could smell the charcoal, the mi for the fajitas, the tortillas I could hear random music go up & down. I was bare footed running around in the yard. I could feel the over grown grass in between my soft little dirty toes. The car pulled up & he stepped out. My protector, my savior, the only man I ever knew as my father. My uncle Carlos was home from prison, there were tears & laughter & I wanted to show him I had learned how to do a cartwheel. I ran, placed both little grubby sticky hands in the ground & flipped my little body in the air. Then I heard all the women yell “Kimberly go & put shorts on.” B/c they could see my ruffled panties. Oops forgot I had a dress on I guess.