When Mandy turned eighteen Carol and Arthur threw her a beautiful birthday party at the family´s island.
There were flowers everywhere and the place looked like a dream, more than ever.
Carol´s new assistants, Debbie and Harvey had made sure that everything was just perfect.
Mark had a personal request and Carol was delighted to hear about it. He asked to have one thousand candles spread all around the place.
The party was going to start with lunch, then they would have pool games and activities at the seashore, like volleyball, jet-skiing or surfing.
The elderly people could have drinks by the pool or enjoy card games inside the enormous beach house.
And when night came, for the dinner to be served in the outside tables, there would be the romantic candles.
LOVING GUESTS
Mama Castle and the grandparents were the first to arrive because they wanted to make suggestions and enjoy the preparations as well as the party.
The tender feeling was felt by everyone on the island since the news of Carol´s pregnancy had spread. Congratulations were in order, as well as some tears of happiness and best wishes to the proud parents and sister-to-be. On the day of her birthday, Mandy felt as if her feet were not touching the ground because happiness made her light. The food served for lunch was delicious at the party and the orchestra music was heard mingled with heartfelt laughs. Mandy took the microphone and thanked each person that had attended her party, saying their names with a wide smile that was instantly returned. She made sure that Mark was by her side at all times. They held hands and whispered love words to one another all the time. Mandy declared her love for the baby that was on the way and people applauded nonstop. Then she asked Arthur and Carol to join her on stage and gave them the microphone. She heard their congratulations for her birthday and their dear word
Carol´s pregnancy was a period of enjoyment for her and Arthur. They took long walks and talked to each other about what was dearest to their hearts. They would sit down under the sun and Arthur would talk to Carol´s belly addressing their baby. When he finished talking, it was time for her to say the most loving words to welcome this baby into the world. And of course, they professed their love for each other all the time. Mostly because Carol was so athletic, she could share these moments with their family. She didn´t stop traveling or doing her usual activities because of her pregnancy. They went to France again and this time, Mama Castle was proud to show them a construction she had already started in the middle of the beautiful garden. It was a miniature castle for her future grandchild to play inside. The mini furniture was already purchased and it was very expensive and pretty. It was stocked with hundreds of toys that would be transferred to t
The intensity of love that people feel for their babies belongs to that category of mysterious things in life. This new arrival in the world was not a part of your life, but from the moment you set eyes on the little human being, you are able to declare that you can´t imagine your life without the baby. Even if your reasoning tells you that you have lived all those years without this person in your life, your subconscious tells you that only now you can feel really fulfilled. You know that you just can´t live without such love. It was like this when Wendy was born. Mandy was right when she declared that everything had changed for them. Because it had. It was a huge change for the best. Even the smallest action of buying fruits or a pillow became something special that needed attention since it was intended for the baby. Every moment became valuable and life gained a new purpose. Mandy especially enjoyed her visits to Wendy´s room, beca
MANDY POV I was dozing in an armchair in the private room of General Premium Hospital when I heard my mom screaming at someone in the corridor. “How could this happen?” “It was a sad accident.” “Sad? I will show you sad…” I noticed a hysterical pitch in her voice. I was expecting some nurse to put her in her place, but the voice I heard made me shiver. “Calm down, lady.” “Calm down? I´ll calm down if you tell me exactly what happened to my daughter…” “I don´t know...” “You don´t know? What irresponsible piece of...” “Mooom.” I interrupted her just in time. She was about to swear in the face of my boss. “Oh darling, you are awake... What a relief.” “Your screams must have awakened her.” Mr. Boss (yes, it´s his name, Arthur Boss) gave his opinion and her attention was back to him. “I will sue you.” “I can suggest a great lawyer.” “Ah, we have a cynical type here.” “I
6 months earlier MANDY POV Well, I was never like the mathematician Pascal, that solved Euclides´ 32 propositions at the age of twelve. Far from that. But I always loved math, and my teacher, Mr. Jackson encouraged me very much. Since I was ten I also took part in math competitions and was used to win. So, it was natural for him to recommend me to be an intern at ‘Billions Investing Group.’ I was amazed to be introduced to the CEO himself, Mr. Boss. “Welcome aboard, Mandy. We expect a lot from you.” “Well, sir, since I´m only 15 and work as an intern, I hope you don´t keep your hopes too high.” He gave a little laugh. He seemed to be enjoying my answers so far. “We invest in geniuses. My personal friend Prof. Jackson talked highly of you.” “What exactly did he say?” I was kind of in shock now. “He said that you can solve almost any math problem that we present you.” I cou
MANDY POV So, maybe I´m the teacher´s pet. But it´s not like I intended to be. I sit at the back of the classroom and I hang with the cool kids. But my grades are very good and it pleases the teachers a lot. I´ve always had a way with the exact sciences. And of course, math is my passion. I can do homework for two hours and not even feel the time passing when it comes to math. Mr. Jackson, the math teacher has always counted on me to win some of the most important competitions in our city and even in the state. I never went to national competitions, because my mother wouldn´t allow it. I´m her only child and she treats me like her personal little Nemo (yes, just like the dad, in the animation ‘Finding Nemo’). She keeps her eye on me. Everything is too dangerous or too difficult if I have to be away from her. Even at summer camp, she would often join me. How? I´ll tell you. She would volunteer to b
MANDYMark kept staring at her in the middle of the cafeteria. She was unsure of what to say or do, when he asked, “You are very good at math, right?”“Is that what Charlie told you?”“Yes. And also, everybody kind of knows, with you winning competitions and all.”Wow. He had noticed her. If she didn´t already love math, she would start this moment, just for that reason.“Let´s say that math is my thing,” she decided to clarify that.“Good. So, I was thinking if you could help me for the next test. I really need to improve my grades. The swimming coach kind of implied that.”“Are you failing the class?”“We can say I´m average. See, math is not my thing,” He informed her with a big smile that moved her. Coming to think of it, he was always so serious. Now that she saw his smile, she loved it.“I´ll help you s
MANDYSince Mr. Jackson told Mandy´s mom, Carol Hill, that she shouldn´t just ignore the girl´s gift for math, she agreed with her participation in a special program for super abled kids. Mainly because it was local.According to special capacities, these youngsters were sent to the real world to interact and find out a way to leave an impression on the world.Kids that painted, for example, were sent to museums, where they could learn from recognized masters and even expose their works at small events specially organized and sponsored by the program.In Mandy´s case, she went to obtain experience in an environment where numbers were essencial. The finance world.Other career options would be to teach, following academic life. But she had to try one possibility at a time. So, Mr. Jackson, her teacher, had arranged for her to be an intern at his friend´s company.And here she was for her first day at ‘Billi