Antonia Briggs

(Read mom Pauline’s info for the whole story)

Meet Antonia Briggs, short Toni. Antonia moved to the neighborhood with her mom Pauline a while ago. Since then there have a lot of exciting new things been happening in her life, and the move and the new school is just one of them. 

Until she was seven the only family members she knew have been her mom, her grandparents and an aunt. Antonia knew that her biological father was out there somewhere, but from what her mom told her she thought she’d probably never meet him. He just didn’t know he had a daughter. Antonia didn’t miss him, she was quite happy with her mom, nana and gramps.

After the move her mom seemed to have found a new boyfriend. Antonia didn’t like the other one her mom was dating some years ago, but she liked Walden right from the start. He showed her how to use a camera and fixed her bike. The two of them have been spending a lot of time together. And it didn’t take long for her to figure out that this man who looked so familiar was her dad, even before they told her.

Antonia is really happy now. The new neighborhood is so green and friendly, the new school is exciting and she made lots of new friends. But the best thing is: Her biological father knows she exists now, and he is happy to be the father of such a fabulous little girl. And her mom seems to be really happy, too. It’s still a bit weird sometimes, they are not like the families she knows from friends. They don’t live in the same house and her mom and dad are not married. But Antonia and her dad seem to have so much in common, they do not only share an outward resemblance. 

Antonia feels safe and accepted with Walden, for her it seems just natural that he became part of their family. She loves to beat him at scrabble, go on bike rides with him and tell him how her day at school was. They cook and eat together and he helps her with her homework. It’s a bit like when she lived next to nana and gramps. She lived with her mom, but their door was always open for her. She misses her grandparents, but they go to visit them almost every week.

Antonia is a lively and friendly little girl. She likes people and animals, riding her bike and taking photographs. She even likes going to her new school. She is glad she escaped a bully at her old school and the teachers are much nicer. She has a lot of new subjects now, too. She still needs help with maths and physics. Antonia is a bright pupil in general, but she has some problems with numbers. And with sitting still for longer than half an hour, to be honest.

But Antonia enjoys her new life very much, and she is looking forward to her tenth birthday. Her mom promised to invite all her new friends from school, and she will get her own digital camera. Walden will bake a big cake for her, he’s really good at baking. She will go on trips with mom and dad and take pictures of all the exciting things she will see. And she will take some very pretty pictures as gifts for her family. Her mom’s friend Melisande payed her for watching her daughter Vivi, so she will be able to buy frames, too. But for now she’s still nine, and will have to do some chores. Later, promised!