Eliana Vera

Eliana, a character in the The Senior series, was a student at Hartfeld and is only seen in flashbacks. She was later revealed to be the late wife of Enrique and the late mother of Gabriela. She is first seen in Chapter 2.

Appearance
Eliana has long black hair with brown streaks, brown eyes and tan skin. She wears an orange shirt with hash pattern.

Personality
Enrique thinks Eliana is witty and brilliant. She has a big heart, as she spends time volunteering. She also is encouraging and pushes Enrique out of his comfort zone. She has faith in him, but she also wants him to have faith in himself.

The Senior

 * Chapter 2: Year of the Cat
 * Chapter 4: Mr. Blue Sky
 * Chapter 7: Hooked on a Feeling
 * Chapter 9: Rebel Rebel
 * Chapter 11: Go Your Own Way
 * Chapter 12: Don't Go Breaking My Heart (mentioned)
 * Chapter 13: London Calling
 * Chapter 14: Come And Get Your Love (mentioned)

Enrique Vasquez
She and Enrique met in the 1970s when they attended classes together. During his junior year, he had a short story seminar with her but he never spoke to her. When he runs across her in the beginning of his senior year, he thinks she is out of his league. Because she is bold enough to take initiative, she gives him her phone number and they make plans to volunteer at a soup kitchen in Northbridge that weekend.

As they spend time together, he is flabbergasted that she enjoys his company. She knew he made up his Adventure List, but still wants him to try new things, such as "taking a leap of faith" and jumping off a waterfall. After spring break, when Enrique tells her that he is considering the bookkeeper job with his father's firm, she tells him that she wouldn't be able to enjoy the nice things he buys if they come from something that crushes his soul. Although she loves him, after they graduate college, she tells him that she can't tell if he really wants them and breaks up with him. She doesn't want to follow him back to his hometown and she never asked him to provide for her. She sees he is settling for things that don't fulfill him.

When he finally realizes she was right all along, that he would never be happy or feel complete or fulfilled if he kept working as a bookkeeper, he flies back to Hartfeld and proposes to her. When she accepts, the years that follow weren't "easy" as they lived with Eliana's mother. He pens a letter to his future daughter telling her that they fought passionately but never stopped loving just as passionately, and he never stopped writing.

Trivia

 * She tells Enrique that she is a photographer; creative writing is her minor.
 * The name Eliana is of Hebrew, Arabic and Greek origin, which means: God has answered (Hebrew, Arabic); sun (Greek).
 * The surname Vera is of Russian, Albanian and Latin origin, which means: Faith (Russian); summer (Albanian); truth (Latin).