Maya Had a Plan…
by Sharmagne Leland St.John

She’d save her Christmas money and her weekly allowance to take Mama to breakfast on Mother’s Day.

May was a long way off. She’d miss the weekly bubble gum and after-school churros, but she wanted to do something special for her mama.

Maya stuffed the five crisp dollar bills Abuelita had given her for Christmas into her pink, clay piggy bank.

On New Year’s Eve she noticed a wiggly tooth, the one they called her “baby tooth.” Maya wasn’t a baby anymore… she turned six years old on her last birthday. She kept pushing and prodding the tooth with her tongue, and finally on January 3rd the tooth came out.

Mama folded the tiny tooth into a lacy white handkerchief and told Maya to place it under her pillow that night and the Tooth Fairy would leave money in place of the tooth.

In the morning Maya was disappointed to see the hankie was still there, but when she opened it she found four shiny quarters in place of the little tooth.

Maya counts the rest of her teeth…there are 19.  She hopes they’ll all come out by May so she’ll have $25.00. 

The quarters clink as she puts them into the slot on “Piggy’s” pink back.

On Valentine’s Day Maya gives Mama a red construction paper heart glued onto a lacy white paper doily.  She’s doing everything she can to not dip into her savings.

Mama tapes the Valentine to the refrigerator door. Mama gifts Maya with a heart-shaped box full of chocolates.

In March, Maya goes to the Pow Wow and is careful to avoid the vendors’ wiki-ups with tables full of beaded treasures, silver bracelets, wooden  flutes, arrowheads, butterfly shawls. quilled leather moccasins and other beautiful handmade items. Mama treats Maya to warm fry bread covered in honey and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Maya dances in the circle and visits with her school friends. They try to persuade her to come with them to the vendor’s table with the beaded hair barrettes.  Maya says she wants to stay and dance. They go without her.

Easter Sunday comes and goes. Maya resists the large chocolate egg with marzipan filling. Mama gives her a basket filled with “Peeps” and jelly beans. They dye hard-boiled eggs together, using natural things from the kitchen rather than store-bought dying kits. Mama boils walnut shells, red and yellow onion skins, beets, spinach.  Maya is amazed when she dips an egg into the pot with the red cabbage leaves. The egg turns a beautiful colour of robin’s egg blue!

Finally May arrives! 

Maya removes the plug from “Piggy’s” tummy. Her small fingers reach in and pull out the dollar bills. She shakes out the quarters, nickels and dimes she has saved from her weekly allowance.

She has the $5.00 from her Christmas money, $2.00 from the Tooth Fairy (after she lost another tooth!), $11.00 from her weekly allowance and another $3.00 she had already
saved before she came up with her “Grand Plan.”

On May 11th Maya told Mama that they needed to go to The Trading Post.

“Let’s have breakfast first,”said Mama.

“No, we have to go right now,”insisted Maya.

First they had to dress. Maya pulled on a blue tee shirt, a pair of jeans and the moccasins Abuelita had made for her from doeskin.  Mama wore her favourite poncho over a broomstick skirt.  Maya watched her as she added a pair of colourful earrings to her pierced earlobes. Mama was so beautiful!

Butterflies were dancing in Maya’s tummy as they walked down the dusty road toward The Trading Post. Mama started up the wooden stairs leading to the open door, when Maya said, “No, Mama, we are going here!”

She pointed with her lips and chin to the little café owned by Willow and Jim.

“What in the world?” said Mama.

“HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!” shouted Maya. “I’ve saved my money and I’m treating you to breakfast!”

Mama’s heart rose up in her throat. She blinked back tears of joy.  

Inside the café, they were seated by the window.  The view was fantastic. Maya laughed as she pointed out a cactus that looked like a giraffe peering at them as they ate.

After breakfast Mama picked up the menu and said, “Maya, this was a wonderful secret plan. May I treat you to a bowl of flan?”

Maya nodded, and they shared a bowl of Willow’s delicious Tres Leches Flan.