Cindy

Cindy's mother died when she was ten years old and she would never forget the way her body froze when her father, Chuck told her the news and how the shock and numbness of it burned away at her skin. That night she couldn't sleep so she curled up in a ball on her bed and held her teddy bear close and softly sang it to sleep so at least one of them could get some rest. "Don't worry Teddy", she said." It's all just a dream. Tomorrow when I wake up it will be like she was never sick or gone. She will have long flowing brown hair instead of a shiny bald head and she will sing to us and make Mickey Mouse Pancakes!" She curled up into a ball on her bed and held her pillow almost to keep from falling. She watched how the shadows on her walls changed as light from passing cars on the city streets danced through her window. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, but at one point it seemed as if those shadows became people: her mother and father smiling at her and inviting her with outstretched arms to hug them.

Her father was a smart and gentle man with a great sense of humor and wanted to keep his daughter happy, but he was distant and knew very little about her. He could not bear to be alone and didn't know how to properly take care of someone. He just lost his wife Janet whom he loved very much. How could he care for someone when he didn't know what to do for himself? He was always attracted to strong women who could make decisions for him, especially in the proper way to raise a child. He did what many New York men had done in his position before; he put his profile on J-date. Chuck's charm and witty profile was irresistible and he began going on several dates until one day he found Portia. They got married when Cindy was thirteen, just three years after Janet died.