Lifeguard from Maracas Bay

Chapter 12 - The Identity Problem

That night Maria and Willie went to bed thinking about possible solutions to the ever-present identity problem. Willie woke up excited shortly after 3:00 AM and shouted, “I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” Maria jumped up and asking, “Got what? What did you get Willie?” Breathlessly, he declared, “I’ve got the next secret solution.” Maria covered her head with the pillow and asked wearily, “At 3 o’clock in the morning!”

Lifting the pillow, Willie asked, “Did you notice that Freddie is always reading and playing with numbers while Teddy is more interested in drawing and coloring? Freddie likes to build things while Teddy prefers to teach pretend kids.” Before Maria could respond, Willie continued, “I think Freddie is more analytical and Teddy is more creative. You know, the right brain, left brain thing. Hopefully, we could covertly use that to tell them apart.”

He waited patiently for Maria’s approval but heard her snoring instead. Accepting temporary defeat, he sheepishly slipped under the covers and soon fell into a deep sleep. He dreamt that he took the boys to the city and had their hair dyed to resolve the problem. Freddie loved his green hair but Teddy hated his red hair. Willie thought this was a foolproof idea because the boys could not exchange the hair on their heads.

Feeling pleased with himself he completely forgot about how Maria would react to this outlandish idea. Still dreaming, he saw himself cautiously walking behind the boys towards the front door. He imagined Maria cheerfully greeting them at the door and praising him for being so clever.

Then he heard Auntie G’s loud shriek, “What have you done to my adorable nephews? Freddie looks like a lettuce and poor Teddy looks like an apple.” Her unexpected appearance startled Willie. He broke into a sweat and sat up in bed. He was relieved when he realized that it was just a bad dream.

The next morning, Willie suggested an earring for Teddy. When Maria said no, Willie protested, “But he’s the artistic one, he would appreciate it.” Maria shook her head saying, “He might appreciate it but I will definitely not have any of our boys wearing earrings. Why don’t we just forget about this identity problem for a while?”

Willie went off to work as usual but he did not stop thinking about it. As the morning slipped by Willie mulled over his outlandish ideas and laughed as he imagined Freddie with green hair and Teddy with red hair. He then grimaced at the thought of Teddy in earrings. Maria packed a picnic lunch and headed for the beach with the boys to meet Willie.

This was quite a nice surprise for Willie because it was their first picnic lunch since the boys were born. They sat together on a log in the shade of a coconut tree to enjoy their lunch. The boys played in the sand while Maria and Willie enjoyed some quiet time together. This was definitely the most perfect way to spend the few remaining weeks of her parental leave.

They had lunch on the beach at least two or three days a week and the boys loved the opportunity to play in the sand. Maria and Willie enjoyed it too. Grandma Brenda joined them once a week so that she could continue bringing the boys to the beach for lunch with Willie after Maria went back to work.

One day, Brenda took the boys to the beach while Maria stayed at home to prepare material for her return to work. The boys were noticeably uncomfortable because it was their first trip to the beach without Maria. After dinner that night Willie and Maria took the boys out for a moonlight walk. Paco and Brenda joined them and intentionally walked ahead with the boys leaving Maria and Willie behind.

Almost without warning the quietly dreaded night was upon them; the night before her first day back to school. Maria ironed her clothes and made lunches and dished out instructions as if she was going away for a week. Willie tried in vain to assure her that everything would be okay.

The next morning, Brenda hugged Maria saying, “Don’t worry about the boys; they will be fine with me. I promise to look after them so well that they will not even realize that you are not with them.” Maria smiled, and then laughed softly as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I know they will be fine with you Brenda. I’m more worried about me. Will I make it through the day without them?”

By mid morning, when her class had settled down, she went to the office and requested a transfer to the school in Maracas. This was a tough decision for Maria because the local school was small and she loved her students in the city school. On the plus side, the local school was close to home and her two adorable sons.

After a few weeks driving back and forth to the school in the city, Maria was noticeable exhausted. She and Willie agreed that it was time for the boys to spend a weekend with Maria’s parents to give her a much needed break.

On Friday morning, she brought the boys to school with her and asked her brother Peter to meet them. On the way home from school, Maria stopped by her parent’s home to have dinner with the boys. Leaving them for the first time with her parents in the city was almost as hard as leaving them with Brenda on her first day back to school.

Maria’s parents walked out with Maria and the boys to the car. Grandpa Alfie said, “Don’t worry about them; we have plans for a big weekend with them. Tonight I will tell them your favorite bedtime story about Peter and Friends. Tomorrow morning, they will go to the movies with Uncle Peter. On Sunday, we’ll drive them back to Maracas after lunch. Maria hugged and kissed the boys, “Now, promise me that you will be at your best behavior for your grandparents.” With tears in her eyes she narrowly missed the post as she reversed into the traffic.

Grandma Lucy suggested that they go for a walk around the block before going back into the house. The boys walked a few steps ahead of their grandparents and before long they were collecting bugs and other treasures along the way. At home, they agreed to leave all their treasures in the garage for the night. Grandma prepared a tray with milk and cookies while the boys changed into their pajamas.