Changes

Greta sat in the kitchen thinking about the trip they just returned from. She smiled a wistful smile wondering what was going to happen next. She had an appointment with some of the best specialists and they were at best optimistic yet cautious. She finally knew that she was going to die. She didn’t want to leave her little girl and it was breaking her heart. She was determined to fight this to the end and give herself as much time as possible without letting anyone know what was wrong. She was to begin treatment next week and knew it would be hard to keep up appearances but she was determined.

Maria came bounding into the kitchen where her mother sat joyfully. She was happy to be finally home from school. She gave her mother a big hug and went to her room to do her homework. Greta knew right then and there what she must do.

The treatments started and Greta fought with every bit of strength that she had. It was hard going for the treatments and still taking care of Maria. Dom took more time off from work and was doing more and more at home. His wife was fighting for her life and he was going to give her the best chance that he could. He made sure she had the best doctors, and treatments available to her that money could buy. He did his best to make sure that his daughter was unaffected by her mothers illness. They did their best to hide it from her.

After some time Greta was finished with her treatments. The doctors told her now that all they had to do is wait, and wait they did.

As the years passed Maria and Michael were still best friends but their little group of two had grown to a group of four. Maria had a friend now by the name of Jody, a beautiful girl with jet black hair. Michael had a friend named Shawn who was just as adventurous in spirit as they come. Michael and Maria began to spend more time apart and each with their own friends yet they knew they would always be there for each other no matter what.

Michael and Maria had started high school. Maria may have been two years younger than Michael, she was very bright. In elementary school she was skipped ahead 2 years because she was just that far ahead of the others. She was constantly found on her computer doing something. She always had an interest in how things worked and always had her hands into something. Her latest project according to her was top secret and she wouldn’t tell anyone what it was all they knew was that it had to do with her computer.

Greta was not feeling right. She knew the treatments were only going to do so much for her. They had bought her the necessary time to help bring her daughter up as far as she could. She hoped that she had done enough. She knew her time was coming that she would leave them soon. She didn't want to go thru that horror again she refused to be pumped full of chemicals and have her strength sapped away. She didn't want to be remembered like that. She didn't know how far it had come but she knew she was sick again and this time wasn't going to worry anyone.

Michael had finally done what he had planned to do. He finally saved up enough money to buy the car of his dreams. He went with his father to go and buy it and was so proud to drive home the black trans am. He had worked at saving every penny for the last two years so that by the time he had his drivers license he would have it, and now he had both his license and his dream car.

Maria watched in awe sitting on the porch with Jody. She couldn’t believe it he finally did it. Michael sat for a moment and looked over at the house next door he could see Maria sitting on the porch with Jody. He couldn’t believe how much Maria had changed in the past few months. Gone was the little girl who he used to tease and play with. She had turned into a beautiful young woman. Her long red curly hair was no longer always in a pony tail, her clothes were different, and her smile was contagious. He knew in his heart that he loved her but knew that they had different dreams or so he thought.

At 14 Maria was a petite but very beautiful girl. Her once unruly red hair was now a gorgeous darker red with soft flowing curls, her once boyish figure was turning into more of the woman she was becoming with soft curves. She used very little makeup to enhance her appearance. She saw Michael pull in and looked more at him then at the car. Jody knew that she had a crush on him. Who wouldn’t he was gorgeous. He was nearly six feet tall and had the most beautiful eyes. His body wasn’t bad either. He didn’t work out per se but he played enough sports to keep in good shape. All the girls in school wanted to go out with him but for some reason he didn’t really date anyone in particular. Maria knew she loved Michael but she thought he just believed she was still a little girl.

The girls walked over to look at the car. Maria looked up and down it and then met Michael's eyes.

"Nice, very nice"

Jody snickered, she didn't know if her friend was talking about the car or him.

"Thanks"

"Can you take us for a ride?"

Michael knew that she wanted to be the first one to ride in it and couldn't but help smile at the thought.

"Sure where do you want to go?"

Maria looked at Jody and they both smiled.

"The mall."

Jody had a party coming up at her house that weekend and both girls planned on finally showing the guys that they weren't babies anymore. They were going to go and buy the perfect outfits to prove the point.

Maria ran back to the house and told her mother what her plans were and that she would be home later by curfew. Greta nodded and gave her daughter a quick hug.

Michael got in the drivers seat as Maria and Jody argued over who was going to sit in the front. Jody only argued to set Maria off. She knew that anything that would give Maria the opportunity to be closer to Michael was well worth making her work for. On the way Michael stopped by and picked up Shawn. Jody had the biggest crush on him and Michael knew it. Jody had well mastered the art of flirting and Shawn was usually the target of it.

When they got to the mall they all piled out and the girls went their separate way from the guys agreeing to meet up in an hour. The girls tried on dress after dress finally picking what they thought were the best. Maria picked a simply black dress that came down to just above the knee that wasn’t too low cut that her mother wouldn't let her wear it but just cut enough to give an idea what was there, and a pair of low healed black leather ankle boots. Jody bought a red dress that was long and flowed with her every move and red shoes to match. Both girls giggled and knew that they would steal the show.

Michael and Shawn browsed thru stacks of tapes in the music store. Shawn looked at Michael and knew he was thinking about Maria. It was no secret that he wanted to go out with her but he wasn't sure on how to go about it.

"Michael just ask her."

Michaels head snapped up and he looked at Shawn.

"Ask who?"

"Maria"

"Ask her what?"

"For a date. Geez buddy, what do you take me for. Its obvious that you like the girl so go for it."

Michael smiled, "When are you going to ask Jody?"
"Jody?"

"Yeah Jody. I see the way you look at her."

"Well I already did."

"What??"

"She invited me to her party and I asked her if I could be her date."

"What did she say?"

"What do you think she said, she said yes."

Michael laughed and said "well its about time."

"So Michael when are you gonna ask her?"

"I don't know."

It was almost time to meet the girls outside the record store so they went out and sat on the wall there. Michael knew he wanted to ask her but didn’t want to risk ruining the friendship that they had all for a date. He knew what he had to do. He had to have a good talk with the one person who understood him the most. His mom.

Michael dropped everyone off at their homes and went into his house. He knew he had some serious thinking to do so he went up to his room. Jenny was in the living room as Michael came in and could see that something was bothering him. She knew that Maria had a crush on him and that he had one on her but neither was willing to act on it. If someone or something didn't bring these two together they were going to be miserable. She thought of Maria as the daughter that she never had. If anyone was good enough for her son it was her. The two of them were the best of friends, and when they fought were the worst enemies but always came back together no matter what. She smiled when she remembered the statement Michael made as just a little boy. That he was going to marry Maria and she knew that one day it was going to come true. They were destined to be together.