Ixchel Park needed to get away.
From her family, that is. When Nancine Durant, anthropologist, had married Che Park, community event organizer, they had had gifted children. Ixchel was one of them and had been encouraged all her life to embrace her heritage. Her mother delighted not only by educating the youngest generation of Parks about her background but also the intertwining lineages of Che’s family, Mexican plantation owners and Korean royal chefs, if you traced the lines back far enough.
For young Ixchel it had been overwhelming. It wasn’t that she hated her heritage but the lessons her family taught were not ones that were easy to describe to the other kids at school. Ones that bombarded her with endless questions, poked fun at her skin, name or physique and the other myriad ways kids could be cruel. While her cultural heritage was rich indeed Ixchel was unlucky enough to be the worst off compared to the branches of her family in the genetic department. A predisposition to obesity thanks to a Mexican market oversaturated with processed foods for generations and her rounded Korean phenotype had left her struggling with her weight ever since she was a kid.
Ixchel marshaled through family events as best she could. She was always a studious child and when left to her own devices she took an interest in math, science, and fantasy literature. She blended her loves the way her own bloodlines had been blended, becoming a full on nerd as she matured.
She didn’t dislike large crowds; after all, there where numerous Parks and the family’s offshoots and distant connections before you even got to the integrating families that home life was never quiet. Ixchel much preferred the company of other people who could understand her.
Maybe that’s why, years later, Ixchel found herself living with her favorite cousins. Unlike the rest of Ixchel’s relations the Durant daughters of her mother’s brother had never judged her harshly. Audrey, Reagan and Phoebe were the closest to Ixchel in age compared to the first, second and third cousins Ixchel had to remember names for during family gatherings. The four of them had a lot more fun together as kids than Ixchel could honestly say about those who were more closely related to her by blood.
Whether it was her parents conscious decision or not, Ixchel did not carry the same sensibilities being of the modern generation. She appreciated Audrey defending her whenever she got too shy, for the twins providing the right amount of friendship and naughtiness to broaden Ixchel’s horizons in a new direction. She looked forward to their visits the most.
Come college, Ixchel had fast-tracked herself into computer programming. She also had an interest in the medical field, graduating early and landing a well paid position with a medical technologies company. She was set up with everything but the right living situation, so when she heard that her cousins were looking to share the rent on a townhouse in a major city Ixchel moved in with them.
The townhouse soon became cramped with the addition of a fifth roommate, Audrey’s college friend Uma Ferro, but that was nothing new to Ixchel. Being one of five occupants was much more of a breeze compared to life back home. She had converted one of the rooms into her programming den/office, being able to work remotely from home for 97% of her work schedule.
Today, Ixchel was taking a break from some long hours preparing the new heart monitor matrix update for the company’s newest medical app. For someone as loosely connected to the medical field as Ixchel was she had been trying to keep her propensity towards being overweight under control.
She could stand with losing twenty pounds but she ate healthy. While she hadn’t originally liked her inherited culinary education from her household she had to admit that knowing how to cook helped her as an adult. She had almost put thought into setting up a culinary app but she thought the market was already flooded with the software. The other residents of 8422 Fordham Ave liked it when she cooked.
Ixchel leaned back in her ergonomic chair. Her hair was a deep dark brown and rather long. Her skin was a rich umber and she tended to tan easily. She was wearing a purple dress and a black long sleeved top. Her excess weight left her rather pudgy looking. Her hours and hobbies kept her from really optimizing her diet. When she wasn’t coding or bookkeeping Ixchel liked to play video games, watch anime or listen to her favorite K-pop bands.
She kept a hot thermos of spiced horchata by her desk when she was craving something sweet. Given the traditions of her two cultural cuisines Ixchel liked spicy food. Few ever took to spicy chocolate but that was one of Ixchel’s favorites.
At the very least, she had acceptance from others her own age at the townhouse along with their emotional support, while still having the freedom to breathe unlike the obligation that had almost smothered her as a child. Living at the townhouse was great.
Well, almost always.
Things at 8422 Fordham Ave never tended to stay quiet for long and Ixchel could never escape it.
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