Page 93 of A Journey For Jasmine

“I think she missed them more than us,” Jasmine said to Dahlia.

“It will be nice to see them, but you know as well as I do that she was needier than us. How do you think it’s going to go living with her?”

“I guess we’ll find out,” she said.

Ivy came rushing up the stairs with her parents and brother and hugs went all around. She noticed her father had a lot less hair and most of it was gray now. Her mother had a lot of gray hair too. She’d never been vain about her appearance and it wasn’t like there were hairdressers around where her parents were living.

She remembered how her mother had cut everyone’s hair for years. She probably still cut her father’s hair too. All three girls had long hair, but they had styles to it, not something simple that their mother could trim at the ends or give them bangs.

“It’s so good to see you girls,” Andrea Greene said. “Look at you all. So stunning. Aren’t they stunning young women, Tim?”

“They are,” her father said, giving them each a hug and kiss. “I can’t believe how much time has gone by.”

“When are you thinking of retiring, Dad?” Dahlia asked.

“I’ve got years left in me,” her father said. “You know I love what I do and am making a difference.”

“We know,” Jasmine said. She kept the sarcasm out of her voice when she replied.

“Where is your bathroom?” Chase said.

“Down the hall,” Ivy said. “Isn’t Jasmine’s place great?”

“It’s lovely,” her mother said. “You’ve made it your own. And now two of my children will be in the same place. I’ll be happy to know that.”

“Ivy needs someone to watch out for her,” her father said. “Maybe she can get her feet under her with some guidance from you, Jasmine.”

“Ivy is going to be just fine, Dad,” she said. She saw the smile drop from Ivy’s face to get some negative criticism. “She’ll get a job in no time, but she can take some time to find what is right for her.”

“That’s right,” Dahlia said. They did tend to bond together when it mattered. “She’s got Jasmine in her corner now and it will all be great.”

“Who knows?” Ivy said. “Maybe we can get Dahlia to move here too and then three of us could be in the same place.”

She knew it was a joke and expected her oldest sister to make some snide remark, but she didn’t. She just laughed and said, “Can we get you guys something to eat? Jasmine has sandwich meats. We can relax until dinnertime.”

“Food sounds great,” Chase said, coming out. “Do you have pastrami?”

“Eww,” Ivy said. “Why do you want that?”

“It’s awesome,” Chase said.

“I think we all found food that we never had before and want nonstop. Pizza was mine,” Jasmine said. “I’m not so bad with it now, but I love anything Italian.”

“Tacos,” Dahlia said. “I couldn’t get enough of them. I didn’t even care where I got them.”

“Ice cream,” Ivy said. “I ate so much ice cream that I thought Grandpa worried he’d have to buy a cow to keep in the yard and Grandma would have to churn it for me.”

They all laughed and continued to talk about the old days. Not bad memories either, which surprised her.

Maybe she’d matured more than she realized.

31

A Great Adventure

“They are on the way,” Wesley said to his mother hours later. “Jasmine just texted.”

“I can’t wait to meet them all,” his mother said. “I’ve got a table set up in the back. There are a few others back there, but I moved us off to the side so that the noise is less.”

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