I can still hear the thumping of two little feet running down the hard wood floored hallway. For years I heard it every night somewhere between three and four am. The sound was always loud enough to awaken me and on most nights brought a soft crack of a smile to my face. Within seconds a little body was jumping on the bed and making a part between me and Donna. Soon after sliding under the covers, and curling into a oval shape , I could feel a tiny hand lean on my turned back. Mary Kate, the second of our two daughters , was a regular guest sleeper in the master bedroom for what the “experts” would say was too long.
Donna and I had pledged to each other on numerous occasions we would never have kids. After six years of marriage marked by happy and selfish life styles Donna apprehensively told me she was pregnant. At 35, going on 20 , my reaction was a cavaliering “What the heck, let’s try being parents (hopefully of boys) and see how we do..” Laura was born in the deep and dark December of 1995. We made a calculating decision not to have an only child so Laura’s Irish twin, Mary Kate, was born the day before Saint Patrick’s day 1997. Now that she is 17 and a senior in high school I find myself asking the question all parents ponder at some point; ” where did the years go?”
The little girl in her pajamas scooting down the hallway at 3:00 am was now 5’9 and 130 pounds. She is beautiful, smart, and as independent minded as any person I know. She would never let me describe her as “my little girl” out loud without me receiving a hard punch, but somewhere in both our hearts she is daddy’s princess. Our subtly demented bond is not at all evident to the casual observer. If a film crew had followed us around on the daddy/daughter six day California excursion over the long Thanksgiving weekend it would have made for head shaking reality T.V.
There was not too much excitement getting to Los Angeles . Once on the ground at LAX the show started. Me, in charge of travel plans: rent-a-car, hotels, directions, plane tickets, etc, is never a smooth event. Once on the ground and having secured our luggage we started our search for the shuttle to the car rental venue. Instead of looking real hard I prefer to ask for the directions, I figured the traffic cop approximately 10 feet away from me waving on vehicles would be an excellent source. (here we go with the authorities again). ” Excuse me sir, excuse me , yo a little help please, just want to ask a quick question,” my voice was rising with each phrase. Mary Kate had already found the shuttle and did not hear or care about my inquiries .” I see where it is dad, let’s go,” ” Wait a second MK, this idiot is ignoring me. He is a fucking obnoxious moron who can hear every word I say but chooses to ignore me.” Without another word, sensing oncoming conflict, Mary Kate was gone as Mr. whistle blower was heading towards me. “What did you say?” up close and personal now, I repeated my mean spirited diatribe . Officer Krupke and I exchanged a few coast to coast geographical non pleasantries and argued about who had the larger rear end. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Budget shuttle going by and in the window was my princess, with a disdainful look giving me the one finger salute.
Our drive from LAX began at about 10:00 pm west coast time. The Los Angeles freeways were as quiet as they will ever be as the dynamic duo sped along at 80-90 MPH cruising to Palm Springs. The scene could easily have been the two of us moving about in Kingston. It was all her music, loud and distasteful. She was cold, I was hot. I was either driving too fast or too slow. With the exception of debating over directions, conversation was sparse. Of course I was responsible when at first we tried to check into the Palm Springs Renaissance, when in fact we were supposed to be at the Indian Wells Renaissance Spa ( totally her fault). I wasted my breath in a one way conversation about the ease in proportion to the reward in admitting to a mistake, or personal error. Finally on the morning before Thanksgiving 5:30 am New York time we were in the hay of our hotel room in the beautiful California desert.
Maybe it is something about the energy of the warm sun. Maybe it was the dramatic difference in everything regarding our change in coastlines. Or maybe it was just two irresistible forces moving at each other tired of the collision. Although we continued to argue, debate , and stand our ground, the following five days turned into a fun and memorable bonding experience for dad and his baby girl (At least I thought so) . The first day we spent many hours poolside working on our tans and kibitzing over how many Banana Daiquiris we each consumed, and the ambiguity of who ordered the virgin (Daiquiri) if anyone. We ate dinner outside at a quaint Italian Cafe with waiters and waitresses singing show tunes. Mary Kate actually acknowledged she recognized a couple of the songs and with that we had our first ever musical common ground.
When it came time early Thanksgiving morning MK was ready to do what she was there for; play field hockey. We arrived at the Indian Wells Polo Club at 6:30 am, well ahead of most of the 4,000 female players and over 400 college coaches that would be attendance. For the next four days I had the joy of witnessing my little girl grow up in the California blue skies. She played for a club team, and coach, that were completely strange to her. She felt the pressure of recruiters surrounding the 30 fields typing steadily into their lap tops. She had to be prepared to play a full 60 minutes for six games in three days. Unlike her personality off the field, Mary Kate plays with a calmness and coolness that would make Wayne Gretzky proud. Her facial expression never changes, she hustles 100% of the time, and she is always positioned where she is suppose to be. I observed her with her brand new teammates , I watched her play on a team that lost more than it won for the first time in her career , and I looked on from afar as coaches approached her after games were over. She was nothing but poised, polite, articulate, and confident. She was physically one of the bigger players on the field and shined in the desert sun.
Both of us dressed up for a “club team” Turkey dinner at the hotel Thursday night. I was one of the few parents there and Mk didn’t seem to mind me at her side and even invited me to sit with her teammates . I got this small feeling that maybe she wasn’t that embarrassed of me after all. The rest of the trip we soak up more sun, ate healthy, went to bed early, and got along like a couple of college roommates. As I looked on nervously she spent a lot more time playing field hockey, and we both spent considerable time talking to coaches.
By Saturday we were on the highway heading back to visit Hollywood and L.A. Mary Kate had programmed the directions back into her phone. Cruising at 90 mph and engaged in casual conversation I looked out of the corner of my eye and thought I saw the exist for 10 west. “Aren’t we suppose to take 10 West back to L.A.?” ” Don’t ask me, you’re driving,” responded the girl who never is wrong or makes a mistake. “Please check with the woman on your I-pod, because I think we just missed the exist.” Upon further review, indeed we did miss the exist, but of course it was my fault. “Yeah we were supposed to, but you have the music too loud and are asking me too many questions. I told you to not talk so I could hear the directions. See what happens when you don’t listen to me.” I was more amused than upset. ” You’re right MK, my fault we missed the exist.” Her head turned to the opposite window and I could see the slightest smirk come over her guilty face.
As Saturday moved from morning into twilight me and my friend found ourselves on Hollywood Bld. At first look main street Hollywood appeared like an exaggerated times square New York. Elvis was there , Michael Jackson, Minnie and Mickey, and other crazies . We checked in on a movie shoot , strolled along the stars” walk of fame” , and were solicited by a young lady offering to expose herself for a minimal fee . Me and my traveling companion giggled ,joked, and took pictures with the stars and the wannabes . She reluctantly indulged me to show off my Pac Man skills at Dave and Buster’s in exchange for me agreeing to have sushi for dinner. I ate with my chop sticks and looked out over the circus in front of me.
