Come Home: Five Problems in Paradise

Chapter 1 - Perseverance

Maria was unhappy. She missed the last train out of Connecticut. Clearly she was not going to make it in time for that Machel Montano concert in Boston. The tears came before she realized. She worked so hard she deserved a break and a lime. What was the point of giving it her all, if she could not enjoy life? If only that programmer had not kept her back. She called her mother and started to complain. Her mother said "Well if you are not happy, come home." She thought about those two words. Could she really go back home to her country of Trinidad and Tobago? What of the life she established in Boston? Would her new mindset and MBA training present problems? If so, how would she deal with problems in paradise?

Maria had always been a happy and bright child. Even at the times when she was not happy she thought she could count on being bright. That is why when she slipped from first place in her end of term test to tenth, she was so disappointed in herself.

It's true that her parents just got divorced but that was no excuse! Then the one family friend she thought she could trust immediately phoned and told her mom. She wondered what long talk she would have to listen to this time.

Her mom was a psychologist. So family problems were dealt with at home. Most likely at family meetings around the dinner table.

Sigh.

Maria reflected on her results again. She had not realized she was under stress. She would have to remember this for the future.

The future. Maria's mind turned to what she would do when she grew up. She liked the idea of going to university. She spent a lot of time there as her father was a university lecturer but she had no clue what she would study.

She loved to read books. Especially mystery stories. Nancy Drew was her favourite. She had read all the books in the series except "The Mystery of the Old Oak Tree" but her best friend from Guyana, promised to bring her a copy. She did not think she could get a degree in reading, so she decided to pick something much more serious than that.

At the end of the day, Maria decided to study a combination of her parents' careers. It seemed to make sense that she would do well in their areas, especially if she combined them. After all, they were essentially scientists at heart.

She had a chemistry set at home. It was a lot of fun. She had been doing really well until one of her mixtures exploded onto the ceiling. It was orange, but her mom did not seem to mind the little orange flecks. Surprising! She was sure she was going to get licks for that one!

End of chapter one