The next day, I was awoken at 7:30 just like it was a regular school day.  I sauntered out to the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal and plopped myself down at one of the bar stools.  Vanessa had already left for the day, and Lin was busy getting the boys ready to go to day care.

Lin set a diaper bag down on the counter and began to fill up some little containers with snacks for Sebastian.  I silently pushed around my Cap'n Crunch, not in the mood to interact with anyone.

"I'll be out most of the day today," he told me.  "My mother is coming over soon to be here with you."

"I don't need a babysitter," I told him.  "I'm thirteen."

"And you're suspended from school," he reminded me.  "She's gonna be here to make sure you're getting your work done and not watching TV all day."

I grumbled and continued eating as Sebastian ran around the house with Spider-Man.  The kid was pure sunshine; the opposite of how I was feeling.  I couldn't believe how different my life was from a week ago.  This guy thought he was in charge of me just because he'd contributed half my DNA.

"You have all your assignments for the next three days," he continued.  "I expect you to be done with today's assignments by dinner time.  Got it?"

I didn't like him ordering me around.  He barely knew me.  "I'll get it done when I get it done," I told him.

"You'll get it done or I'm taking your phone," he told me.  "You've got the entire day to do it."

Why was he being such a hard ass?  He couldn't make me do anything.  I was not going to be the well-mannered, dutiful daughter he was probably hoping I would be.  When his mother arrived 15 minutes later, I got my first glimpse into Puerto Rican mothers.  If I thought Lin was being strict, then Luz was practically a dictator.  Puerto Rican mothers did not let their children slack off or talk back.

Lin left with the boys, leaving me alone with my grandmother.  I'd only met her one other time, but she proceeded to have me sit at the kitchen table and start working immediately.  She looked over my sheet of assignments for the day.  I had work in every subject, of course.  When I slipped out my phone to check my Twitter feed, she took it away.  There was no music, no TV in the background while I worked.  Just silence.  I had to admit, it did make it easier to concentrate.

"You can take a break in 15 minutes," she told me around noon.  "I'll start making you a sandwich."

She made me a healthy lunch of a turkey sandwich, mixed fruits, and celery with peanut butter.  I gratefully sat with it on the couch, glad to have some down time.  I'd managed to get about half the work done, which I guess set me up to get it finished by dinner time.  She joined me on the couch with a cup of coffee.

"So, Nora," she began.  "Tell me about your mother.  What is she like?"

I really didn't like talking about my mother, but to tell you the truth, Luz kind of intimidated me.  "Uhh...she's okay.  She usually works two jobs or so.  Minimum wage.  She went to college for a couple years but dropped out.  Never married."

"And what's your relationship like with her?" She pressed.

I shrugged and took a bite of my celery and peanut butter.  "Okay, I guess.  She got mad at me quite a bit."

"Why?"

"Because I do what I want to do," I told her honestly.  My mother had never really had good control of me.  She told everyone I was a "strong-willed child".

"I see," she nodded.  "Did she have men in her life?"

"Apparently, your son," I told her, and she raised her eyebrows.  "But otherwise, yeah, there was a constant stream of losers.  Most of them only stayed around for a couple months at most."

"Did you like any of them?"

"No, not particularly," I told her.  Most of them just ignored me.  Some of them apparently had something to prove to my mother, and would try to step in and get me to behave.  Usually, they got sick of either me or my mother, or both, and take off.

"You know, your father cares a lot about you," she told me, setting her mug down on the coffee table.  "He feels badly that he didn't know about you."

"He doesn't know me," I told her.

"He wants to, though," she said.  "He loves Sebastian and Francisco with all his heart, and I know he feels the same about you.  It's impossible for him not to."

It made me uncomfortable hearing that.  He'd only known I existed for a week.  How could he love me as much as he loved his sons?  I'd called him a dick yesterday.

"You have to give him a chance," she went on.  "I'm sure it's really weird being dropped here, away from Queens, but he really wants to help you."

"I don't need to be helped," I told her.  I knew enough that I could take care of myself.  Luz just watched me, judging me.

"Don't shut him out," she advised me.  "Don't shut Vanessa out.  They're here to help you."

Wordlessly, I popped the last piece of fruit into my mouth and carried my plate to the kitchen.  Not bothering to protest, I sat myself down at the kitchen table and continued my work.

I got done with my assignments around 3:30, so I figured I'd just go hang out in my room until dinner.  Luz had different plans.  She decided to put me to work instead.  Even though they had a cleaning lady that came every other week, she had me vacuum the floors, sweep, and clean the bathrooms, which was disgusting.  By the time Lin and Vanessa got home around 6, the place smelled fresh.

Luz kissed her son and daughter in law, and then took Francisco.  She spent the next half hour or so talking to him in Spanish and playing with Sebastian.  Obviously, she adored them and they adored her back.

"How'd your day go?" Lin asked me, sitting down on the couch.

"Fine," I told him.  "I got all my work done."

"Good," he told me, pleasantly surprised.  Or maybe not so surprised since he knew his mother was in charge.  "Looks like you got some cleaning done too.  Thank you."

"I didn't have a choice," I told him.

"My mother runs a tight ship," he said.  "By the time I was ten, I was doing laundry.  She'll be back again tomorrow, but on Friday I'll work from home.  Maybe if you get all your work done, we can go do something together."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Maybe go to a museum or go sightseeing," he said.  "Ever been to Ellis Island?"

"No," I told him.  I'd never been to any of the famous New York City landmarks.  We never had the money.  Looking was free, though.

"Think about it and we'll go somewhere together," he said.  Sebastian ran up and catapulted himself into Lin's lap, and he pulled him in for a hug.  "What do you think, Sebastian?  Should I take Nora to see the Statue of Liberty?"

"Yeah," he agreed, sitting down in his father's lap.  Lin kissed him on the temple.  I wondered what that felt like.

Luz said her goodbyes a few minutes later, and soon it was dinner time.  I sat through family dinner again, giving short answers when I was asked.  Afterwards, I disappeared into my room, glad to have some time to myself.