One August evening in a small high apartment in the hot bustling city something wonderful happened Mama and Papa Marcela brought their baby boy home His name was Maurice Duncan Marcela and he had just been born
When Mama and Papa and Maurice arrived at their apartment it was crowded with aunts uncles grandparents cousins and friends who had come especially to be there when Maurice came home for the first time Everyone squeezed in to look What is he going to be like they all wondered
Look He has my large hands exclaimed Papa He’ll be a baker just like me He has my watchful eyes whispered Mama He’ll be a writer just like me But look at his toes laughed Uncle Eddie They tap and twiddle like mine He’ll be a taxi driver just like me Don’t miss that nose It’s delicate like mine smiled Grandmother Marcela He’ll be a gardener just like me
Maurice fit comfortably into the Marcela household full of talking and laughing cooking and clinking plates Even after Maurice had gone to bed he loved to listen to the comforting sounds all around him He listened to Uncle Eddie whistling and the soft whirring of Grandmother Marcela’s sewing machine He listened to trucks rumbling and dogs barking outside on the streets below And every once in a while Maurice heard a marvelous thing that made him wrap his arms around himself and listen very closely It was the sound of singing voices They drifted up to him through his open window like the sweet smell of bread rising from a bakery As he listened sometimes Maurice would sing along
