Chapter 3

I was in the fruitful land of dreams when evil decided to pick a war with me. For no reason at all. I raised my hands in surrender to stop the tumbling off my bed.

Sighing, I sat up and they bombarded me with hugs and shrieks of "Mommy I'm hungry"

David was always hungry. Deciding to tease him I answered

"Nice to meet you, hungry, my name is Diane" I said with a mischievous smirk. | loved to tease my kids.

"No mommy, I am really hungry" he whined again.

"I heard you and I said I'm Diane" I said with a straight face. I laughed when he attempted to give me a disapproving look. It only made him look so much more adorable.

looked around for his brother and I didn't have to look too far. He was at the foot of my bed flipping through the channels. No doubt looking for cartoons. It was Saturday.

"Mario, where is momma's hug?" I loved my hugs. Especially now that they are getting older and more independent. This is what every mother dreads.

"I gave it to you mommy" he answered without turning his head, far too engrossed with his quest for cartoons.

"Really I don't remember. Besides mommy wants another hug from her little baby"

I saw him roll his eyes and jump on the bed. "Mommy I am not a baby" he whined.

"Yes, you are" David argued.

"No, I'm not"

"Are too"

"Are not"

And the banter started. They could go on for hours. This was the usual way with my two boys.

Juan-David but simply called David (pronounced dav-e-d) and his twin Mario-Jose but simply Mario were the most rambunctious and hyper kids known to man. They were identical twins. No one could tell them apart except for my mother and land a couple of our close friends.

If you think you could tell them apart by their characters you are so wrong. They are both loud and mischievous to the bone. These ten-year-olds were full of curiosity and adventure and could make you pull your hair out with all the pranks they play.

They were blessed with blond hair and gray eyes. Their lips and eyes were the only things they got from me. And at such a young age they had mastered how to use their puppy dog eyes to their advantage. Except on me of course.

They might be cute but I was the one who gave them their cuteness. They had the right amount of fear for their momma.

"Okay guys lets go and make some breakfast" I said trying to end the argument.

"Mommy abuela already did" Mario answered, hopping off the bed.

"Oh, abuela is here?" | was surprised. Last I checked she should still be on her two-week staff retreat. They were not supposed to be back until tomorrow.

"Yeah she told us to come and get you for breakfast" David answered.

"Okay. Well you guys go ahead and I'll join you soon"

They scrambled out of my room.

"Please close the door" calling after them.

I was answered with a slam.

I laid down on my beds for a few minutes. I was just relaxing. I didn't get many days such as these so I decided to savor it, but family called so I finally moved my butt to get started for the day.

It was going to be a busy day despite the fact that I was working from home today. There was no rest. I showered and dressed in a peach pencil skirt and a silk blouse and a jacket to match. I let my dirty blond hair hang down. I usually keep it in a pony but I was feeling lazy. Besides I had had it up all week. I was starting to get a headache.

Grabbing my phones (yes I mean multiple. I have three phones, I was a busy person) and my laptop and headed down the stairs. Around the corner, I heard giggles from two boys and the loud laughter of my mother.

"Hola mami" I greeted my mother with a kiss.

"Hola. Did we wake you?" she asked sipping her tea.

Yes, but it might as well. I had to get up anyway. George will be here in couple of hours. "

I sat down at the island and she served me my breakfast. I was really spoiled. It was eggs-Benedict, with hash browns and crepes. She was such an awesome cook.

"Why are you back so early mom?" when I was halfway through my meal.

"There was no need for me to stay. I had no interest in some of the activities so I left early"

"Oh. But it went fine?"

"Yeah. We thought of a couple new ideas and concepts. I'll run it by you later"

"Okay"

Picking the newspaper I read through the business section when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it you finish"

"Thank you, mom." I finished eating quickly.

Before I could stand up Mario took my plate to the kitchen.

Yup, I had trained them well.

"Thank you, sweetie. When you're both done with the dishes you guys can watch TV for two hours and get started on your homework"

"Yes, mom" they chorused. I gave them both a kiss on the head and headed to my office.

I saw George and Blair sitting at my desk.

"Hey Hey" | greeted, closing the door.

Hey, Di" they replied calling me by my nickname.

For the next six hours, we started to work. We went through concept after concept, ideas, made calls, argued, had lunch with my mom and the boys, went back to work and at seven called it a night. I was finally done. The boys were in the den, no doubt playing FIFA courtesy of their uncle George.

I sat back on my couch with a large glass of juice. I never liked alcohol. I was too much of a sweet tooth girl. Closing my eyes memories came to me. I had come far. In ten years, people would consider me successful.

And I was. I was by no means a billionaire but my wealth was part of the hundreds of millions. It had been a long and tedious journey. It still was.

After being kicked out, we moved to one of the shelters. We stayed for as long as we could and when we saved enough money moved to a one bedroom house. I was working two jobs and was selling newspapers at a convenience store one

Thursday evening when I caught my big break a year and some months after the boys were born.

By writing a play and submitting it in a contest. The winner would receive $500. During those times $50 would be a blessing. My family and I were struggling. I was still working two jobs and my mom was looking after the boys. Then I would come home sleep for a couple of hours, breastfeed and go back to work.

In high school, I was always writing stories and plays and songs. I decided why the hell not. It wouldn't hurt. So during my breaks, I wrote a play. A play about a girl who was slowly dying of pain. It was heart-wrenching and tear jerking. To cut the long story short, the playwright loved the story. Asked for more and produced them. It became a town hit. I started earning more money and was able to move to a better apartment. It was not luxurious but it was better than the first one. When you don't see cockroaches and rats anything is better.