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As they pulled up to the first house, Alissa looked at Cara confused. This house was far too nice for her to afford. She had told Cara on the phone that she only wanted something cheap like an apartment but this was a small house that had its own yard. The house was a light shade of blue with white trim. The deck was painted white and there were flower gardens all around the house and deck.
Cara just smiled at Alissa as she got out of her car. Quickly Alissa opened her car door and followed, “I’m sorry, but I must not have been clear, there is no way that I can afford this house. I really am looking for something much cheaper.”
“Oh,” Cara said, shaking her head in disappointment, “But this house is on the low end of the price range you gave me.” She winked at Alissa as Alissa stared at her in amazement. “Are you sure you don’t want to have a look around? I mean the other houses we have in your price range are not nearly as nice and this one would even leave you with extra money left over.”
Alissa could not believe what she was hearing. She nodded to Cara and followed her up the stairs to the front door. It was a simple white door with a peep hole and a silver knocker. Alissa knew that she would feel safe behind it if she lived in that house. She was already starting to fall in love with the house, dreaming of flowers she could plant in the gardens and how beautiful an old white rocker would look on the front porch.
As Cara opened the door Alissa could not believe her eyes. She walked into the living room of the house and saw that it had hardwood floors throughout it. The house only consisted of a living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and small utility room, but it was all that Alissa could have dreamed of. The paint was fresh and the house smelled as if it was brand new.
The lights were bright and the sun flooded the house through all of the windows. Alissa smiled as she imagined coming home to such a peaceful little house each afternoon when she got off of work. She thought about how nice it would be to go into her clean kitchen to prepare meals and to sit at her table doing her school work when she started college.
She looked at Cara with tears in her eyes in complete disbelief that this could be her new home. Cara just smiled and walked into the next room calling Alissa to follow her. The two women spent the next half an hour talking about the house and exploring every nook and cranny of it. They talked about how it could be decorated and what Alissa could do with the outside of the house. Cara even told her that she could have a dog if she wanted and since the backyard was fenced in she would not have to worry about it getting hit by passing cars.
Alissa wanted to scream she was so excited. She has never been allowed to have a pet before and it seemed as if everything in her life was finally falling into place. As Alissa looked around her future home, she knew she had only one person to thank for it. Miguel Santos was responsible for her happiness and she was going to make sure she thanked him first thing Monday morning. Alissa was not naive, she knew that a house like this even if it was small was far out of her price range but she was thankful she had an amazing boss.
As Alissa signed the papers and gave Cara the money for the house she wondered if Miguel knew about her family and where she had come from. She prayed silently that he did not, that he was just being a nice guy or taking care of his employee. Alissa did not want people looking at her with pity anymore, no matter what it got her in life she wanted respect more than anything, respect that she would earn.
Alissa walked to her parents’ house to tell them that she was moving out. Before she made the announcement she went to her room to gather her few possessions that she owned. She was lucky that the house was less than what she had anticipated and she would have enough left out of her check to purchase food for the week and a few small items for the house. As she was packing her bags she was already thinking about all of the things that she would need for her house and although it seemed overwhelming it was exciting as well.
As Alissa made her way back to the front door of her parents' trailer she looked at the two of them. She had a black trash bag in her hand that contained her clothes and a few trinkets from her childhood. “I am moving out,” she said flatly. They both looked up at her. She saw the sadness in her mother’s eyes, then anger.
“Are you moving in with a boy,” she mocked Alissa, “Let me guess you’re pregnant.”
Alissa’s eyes filled with tears. She knew that her parents really had no idea what they had put her through in her life. They seemed to live in a world of their own.
“I am not pregnant,” she responded to her mother, “I have a house of my own and I am not coming back.”
“Good riddance,” her dad said from his run down chair. Alissa had not expected them to care that she was leaving and simply turned and walked out of the front door. She hoped that was the last time she would ever be in that trailer again. She walked all the way to her house and let herself in when she got there. She wanted to wash her clothes in the washer and dryer that had come in the house. She wanted to ensure they were clean before she hung them up in her closet.
She busied herself the rest of the weekend picking up small items for her house. Towels, a plate, a glass, a pan to cook in, and so forth. She knew that she would have to get her furniture one piece at a time, but that did not matter to her. She did not care that she would be sleeping on the floor for a few weeks as long as it was in her house that was all that mattered to her.
The weekend flew by and Alissa was excited to head off to work on Monday morning. She was ready to start earning money that she could use to fix up her house. She had decided that once she had everything in her house, she would look at getting a car. She had never driven before and hoped that she could find someone who would help her learn, but part of her felt like it was just a dream.
When she arrived at work everything was normal. Everyone started their work just as they normally did and Alissa let the dreams of her future be replaced by thoughts of work in her head. That was until Miguel showed up at her desk again.
“Mr. Santos,” Alissa said with a smile on her face, “I wanted to thank you for helping me find my little house.”
“Miguel,” Miguel said, correcting her, “I’m glad you like it. Now tell me what type of furniture do you need.”
Alissa lowered her head part of her felt embarrassed to tell her boss that she had nothing yet. She knew that she would get that same look of pity.
“Actually,” she said, “I need everything, it is kind of a work in progress.”
“Well,” Miguel said, “that will never do. How about I stop by after work tonight and we will see what we can do?”
Alissa looked up, “Why are you being so nice to me?” she blurted out.
Miguel laughed and winked at her then he walked down the hallway to his office. Alissa shook her head. She felt as if she was in a dream as if someone had decided that after years of suffering she finally deserved to have all of the things that she wanted.
She thought about what Miguel had said throughout most of the day. She was not sure if she should take Miguel’s help. She wanted to earn everything she had but she also knew that if she could get the things she needed for less than what she would normally pay or free, she needed to accept the help.
The day went by quickly and Alissa continued to wonder why Miguel was being so nice to her. As she began walking home, she heard a car pull up next to her. “Need a ride?” Miguel called through the passenger window.
“Sure,” Alissa said, smiling. She quickly walked over to the car and jumped in.
“How do you like your house?” Miguel asked as she closed the passenger door.
“I love it,” Alissa said excitedly. Miguel could see the happiness on her face and she could tell that her happiness gave him pleasure. “I thought you would,” he smiled back at her.
