Jasmin took the little girl's hand, smiled at Wayne, and left him at the entrance as she brought bonnie over to meet her babies. The little girl instantly fell in love with them, hugging each one. She saw down to let them climb on top of her and share wet kisses.
Jasmin could hear Wayne in the background with her sister. "It is so nice to see you, Wayne."
“Likewise, Miranda."
“These are my daughters Alyssa and Darby.”
The chatter faded to the background as she set up a plate of snacks for Bonnie, crackers, pretzels, a cookie or two, and a juice box she found in the refrigerator. "Here you go, darling, do you want a game or something to play with until dinner?"
"No, my dad gave me his phone."
She watched sat the little girl sat amidst the three dogs eating her food and playing with her father’s phone.
Everyone spent the evening catching up, getting to know each other, and enjoying the food. Jasmin was delighted but confused to see Wayne alone, where was the little girls’ mother?
“Your daughter is so beautiful.”
"Thank you. I love Bonnie so much, she is the reason I am selling the properties. I want to make sure I can provide for her and her future.”
While Jasmin didn’t have kids of her own, she knew the importance of having stability when you had children. "Where is your wife?"
Wayne looked briefly confused. “Oh, you mean Bonnie's mother?"
“Yes.”
“Bonnie isn’t my daughter, I adopted her last year. I never got to have more kids, and I wasn't really looking for a relationship or marriage, so I decided to adopt. I mean, I was a foster parent first, but when she came into my home, I just knew."
Jasmin was floored, how unusual for a single man to foster children and adopt. “I don’t have any children, but I have always wanted to. I never thought of that. How wonderful for you both." Her heart melted a little more at the reality of how special this man before her really was.
She watched as he walked the little girl out to the water so she could dip her feet in and how he sat beside her on the couch when she got tired of adult stuff and wanted to watch TV.
“I remember sitting for hours with you and Miranda on this couch and watching cartoons and movies. Your parents would feed me endless snacks and let me sleepover. My parents hated it, I think they secretly knew I wanted to be a part of your family.”
She watched as his eyes wandered the room to find Miranda and her new boyfriend. They stayed on her, briefly making Jasmin sick to her stomach. "Well, we all felt the same about you."
“So, what's the deal with Miranda?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is she married, single, is that her boyfriend, is it serious?”
“I wouldn’t know, you might want to go over and talk to them to find out the answer you want.” She was trying desperately not to be rude, but she just couldn't help it.
His eyes turned to her, obviously surprised by the tone in her voice. "What's eating you?"
"Nothing, will you excuse me, please?"
Without another thought, she hurried out the door and sat down on the lounge chair beside the water. She knew now what she was missing all these years, the happiness that eluded her. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she recalled the photo album that had been found earlier in the summer by her nieces.
For so many years, as far back as she could remember, she had always wanted to be a mother. Growing up, her sister had always played with Legos and Barbies while she had always been drawn to baby dolls and stuffed animals.
Every doll or animal had a name, everyone was unique in her heart like the elephant with the pink ears that her mother gave hers so long ago. Molly was her favorite; she carried it everywhere, made sure it always had a blanket to sleep with, and pretended to feed it every time she ate.
Losing the baby had been hard for her. She never told anyone how much it had hurt her inside.
After all, was said and done, she pushed past the pain that came with that situation and forced herself to move and smile every day no matter how painful life was or what it threw at her.
In all her years, she had never even thought about fostering a child or adopting. Somehow, raising a child alone was scary, but now at her age, she knew she had what it took to be a mother.
Oh, she wouldn’t likely be your usual run of the mill mother that went to soccer practice and baked cookies mind you. She would be that mother that explored the world with her child, learning and discovering new things. She would teach them new ideas that foster their unique qualities instead of squashing them like so many other parents did.
Once the summer was over, she would begin her mission of adopting a child. She didn’t care how long it took, or how far she had to travel, she would open her heart, home, and life to a child that needed her as much as she needed them. She would find him or her.
She took a deep breath, letting that decision sink in. It wasn’t often that she made hasty decisions, but this one just felt right. She knew what she wanted out of life, and it was unlikely that she would find happiness in love anytime soon, so why not adopt and forget that whole area of her life. With that decision, she also realized that she had enough of Wayne as those eyes for her sister.
She was going to tell him tonight what she thought of all that and put an end to that nonsense. Since he helped her, she would help him too.
“Beautiful night.”
His voice broke through the silence from behind her. Turning around, her breath was lost, his eyes held hers, a slight smile on his face. She sometimes hated the effect he had on her. "It sure is. So Wayne, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, anything.”
"Why are you still so googly-eyed over my sister? She clearly has no interest in you and is happy with the man she is with."
Her question must have hit a nerve, for he seemed to frown slightly. Silence drifted on, and she was sure he wouldn’t even reply as she waited.
"I don't know, really. I feel like I fell in love with her so long ago, but I can’t remember why or when. She never seemed to take an interest in me. I am sure for a woman like you, that seems so weird. I know she is happy where she is, but somehow I just feel drawn to her.”
“I know the feeling.” She hated it when her lips worked before her mind cleared the clutter. Sometimes she ended up putting her foot in her mouth, now was one of those moments.
4
Wayne
Wayne had noticed the irritation and sadness on her face earlier. This was so unlike her usual bubbly, happy demeanor. He found himself drawn outside to see what she was doing. Now, as he stood beside her, breathing in her perfume. Watching her dress float around her like a cloud, suddenly he felt intrigued.
“What does that mean?” He knew what she meant, he was hoping she would reveal what one person on the planet was immune to the charms that ignored her.
Without a word, she swished past him in a flourish of skirts. "If you don't know the answer to that, you need to look in the mirror." Her words echoed in his head long after she left him standing in the sand.
Swallowing hard, he tried to access what had just happened but what unable to come up with a clear answer. Was Jasmin saying that she had the same feelings for him all these years for her sister Miranda?