Chapter 1: The Birthday Present

Ginny Merriman was about the happiest little girl in the world at the moment on her twelfth birthday when she opened her first present. Several months ago she had asked her parents for a particular birthday gift, and they had told her that if she was a good little girl until the day of she turned 12 she could have it.

For almost seven months, an eternity to a child her age, she had been on her very best behavior, because she wanted this particular present very badly. She knew it was expensive, but she also knew her family had a lot of money. Her Mommy worked on Wall Street. So she ate all her vegetables, did all of her homework, and brushed her teeth three times a day each and every day. She got straight A's in every class, and some of the other girls at Benjamin Franklin Middle School called her a bookworm, but Ginny didn't care. She wanted this particular present very badly indeed, and she was determined to do the things it took to get it.

Ginny's father, a short athletic man of only thirty, woke her on the morning of her special day. Her birthday conveniently fell on a Saturday, which pleased the preteen very much. He brought her breakfast on a tray, and sat it on her lap as she sat up. She gave a sleepy yawn, curling her little painted toes and stretching her thin arms over her head, and smiled at her daddy in thanks.

He grinned down at her. "Happy Birthday, Princess." he said, bending down to give her a sideways hug. Ginny loved her daddy very much. He wasn't like most of her friend's daddies. He was younger, for one thing, and he was really cool. He played basketball and X-Box with her and her friends, and always took the time to explain things to her when she didn't understand. He dressed casually, and was infinitely approachable. Half of her friends were in love with him, and Ginny didn't blame them. And he was there every morning to drop her off at school with a fatherly goodbye kiss, and every to pick her up every afternoon when she was done with school in the family's minivan.

Ginny's daddy used to work with her mommy when they were younger. When she had inevitably asked why he didn't work like other people's daddies, he had explained to her that when she was born he felt very strongly that either he or her mother should stay at home and raise her. He said that it might be fine for other people to use daycare or hire a nanny to watch their children, but he and her mother felt very strongly about raising children themselves. Besides, they had a lot of money and one of them could afford to stay home with her. Her mommy had always made a little more money than her daddy, so they had decided that he would stay home with her.

"Besides, Patricia (This was her mommy's name) has never been very domestic, and I love to cook." he told her. The cleaning was done by the maid.

The little girl lay in bed, picking at her eggs and ham and making conversation with her father until she was full. Smiling, he took the tray away. She got up and walked into the bathroom joined to her room, pulling off her pink pajamas as she went. Ginny took a quick shower and dressed herself in a red sleeveless party dress her parents had bought her specifically for today. She usually liked to dress in jeans and a t-shirt or tank top, but sometimes she liked to dress especially nice for special occasions. While she got ready for the day, Ginny reflected on her mommy and daddy.

The only time that Ginny could remember her parents arguing was when she was only five years old. It had been about her schooling. Her daddy was from a poor family, and believed that she should go to public school because that's where he went. He felt it would allow her to get along with people better, and to gain a fuller understanding of the world. Her mommy was from a very rich family, and she thought Ginny should go to a private school. She argued that it would allow her to develop 'connections' (Ginny didn't know what that meant) and that she deserved every opportunity to succeed. They finally decided to allow her to choose where she would be educated.

They had explained the pros and cons of each option to her, and allowed her to make her own decision. Ginny wasn't the typical five year-old. She remembered that her daddy always told her to stop and think about important decisions before she made them, so she thought about it all that night and most of the next day. She understood that both of her parents wanted her to grow up to be like them, so little Ginny decided to pick the parent she wanted to be like the most.