“Alex!” my mom yelled my name from downstairs.


“I’m coming!” I yelled back.


I walked down my 20 step stair case. I saw my mom standing in the kitchen talking on the phone. It was almost 10:00 at night, so she was in her ridiculous Wonder Women pajamas. But, the look on her face distracted me from her embarrassing ensemble. Her expression looked as if she was on the phone with my principal and he just told her I was getting expelled from school.


I whispered to her while she was listening to the person on the other line. “What’s wrong?”


“I have Alex here with me, would you like to talk to her?” my mom said to the person on the other line.


So many things were running through my mind as to whom my mom was talking to. After a few moments, my mom handed me the phone.


“Hello?” I said.


“Hey Alex, it’s Theresa.” She said in her raspy voice.


Theresa was a long time girlfriend of my dad had. She was about 5’6” and very skinny. I wouldn’t say she was more than 100 lbs. Her hair was a light brown and very frizzy. She was about 6 or 7 years older than my dad, so she was in her late 40’s. Theresa also smoked, so she had a very low, and raspy voice. It was very easy to identify her through the phone. Although I would love for my parents to be back together, Theresa was a really good woman for my dad. I liked her a lot.


“Oh, hey?” I questioned.


“How are you doing?”


“Pretty good, what’s up?” I asked so she could get to the point as to why she was calling.

“Well, before I tell you this just know that everything will be okay.”


“Okay?” I said nervously.


“Well, I just got a call from your dad. He told me that he has been incarcerated in county jail. But I promise you that I will do whatever I can to help him, and know that he loves you very much.”


The phone stayed silent for a few moments.


“Why was he sent?” I asked.


“I’m not exactly sure on what had happened, but I’m going down there tomorrow to find out, and see what I can do. I’ll keep you updated.”


“Okay.” I replied as my eyes started to tear up.


“Alright, thanks, bye.”


I hung up the phone and looked at my mom, who seemed very concerned for me. To be honest, this whole situation didn’t come to a surprise to me, my dad has been in and out of jail for as long as I could remember. So by this time I knew what my dad was all about; drugs, alcohol, partying, and driving while doing all of the above. Usually just get a letter in the mail from him telling me that he was in there for a few months. So there was something different about this time, because Theresa called my mom. I wasn’t sure of what it was yet.


“What do you think happened?” I asked my mom.


“She didn’t tell you?”


“She said she didn’t know.”


She shook her head and said “When he came here to visit, (which was about one week ago, from this day) he was on probation. So when he went back to New Mexico (where my dad currently lives) they did a random drug and alcohol test on him and they came out positive for both.”


I put my head down in disappointment.


“How long do you think he’ll have to stay?” I asked.


“Theresa told me they were looking up to a year.’


“What!” I said in shock.


“That’s probably what’s best for him, so he can stay out of trouble.”


The tears started to come out. It dawned on me as to why Theresa called, because his sentence was going to be a year. He’s never been there for that long! I stood there and went through all the memories we had, in my head. I didn’t see my dad much, except for once in a few years after he moved to Albuquerque when I was eight or nine. But this last visit he had promised me he was going to start coming to see me more. I also made it a point to tell him how I felt about his lifestyle. He seemed to understand at the time, but this showed me that nothing and no one, not even his own daughter could change him. So maybe being in jail for a year was what he really needed to change. But I wasn’t holding my breath.


“I agree.” I replied back to my mom.


“I don’t want you to follow his path, Alex. Look where it’s getting him.”


I looked in my mom’s eyes and saw the pain she was going through too. I know she still cares for my dad and I know that she was disappointed that he let me down.