Chapter 51: Chit Chat

“Come on, dearest. I’d like to get brunch with you,” Susan said to the lump underneath the blankets. 

“No, thanks,” the lump responded groggily. 

The woman sighed and, like she had many times before, walked in and pulled the blanket off Jasmine. “I’ve already made reservations, so if you could make yourself presentable, I would appreciate it.”

She left the room without another word, exuding the same confidence she always had that her orders would be followed. 

Jasmine would play ball, if only to give the woman what she wanted this once, so she would feel no guilt when she left in three days. 

After getting ready, with the help of Asher’s constant movement motivating her, she walked downstairs to see her mother in her summer best. She wore a yellow sundress with a white floral pattern, a scarf tied around her head, and a far too large beige sun hat. She looked like she was trying to relive her glory days before her children decided to test her every limit. 

Her mom eyed her up and down and pouted. “I wish you’d put on something nicer.” 

Jasmine wore a pair maternity pants and a loose green shirt that was comfortable. “I look nice enough. Now let’s get this over with.” 

Susan huffed, walked out to the car parked outside, and got in the driver’s seat. 

Jasmine cocked an eyebrow. “What are you doing?” 

“It’s called driving. I’m not sure how much of it you do in the catastrophe that is New York, but here, we still like to have control over the wheel.” 

She couldn’t contain her laugh. “You’ve driven maybe three times my whole life. What, couldn’t afford to keep paying Gary?” 

The slight narrowing of her eyes, and the flare of her nostrils’ indicated Jasmine was closer to the truth than comfortable. 

She hopped into the passenger’s seat. “So, where’s brunch?” 

“Egg Yummy.”

Jasmine’s guard increased. “I thought you hated that place?” 

“Well, I know it was your favorite spot when you were little. I can suffer one meal for the sake of my daughter.” 

Somehow, none of that reassured her.

Susan started to prattle on about the various gossip and scandals of the last decade, not caring that Jasmine had tuned her out within a matter of seconds. She was pretty sure her mom was more interested in the sound of her own voice than the attention of her audience. 

They pulled into the packed parking lot and found a spot suspiciously close to the entrance. The calculated nature of the whole morning continued to keep her on edge. 

Even when they sat down and ordered their meals, she couldn’t help but run over any number of nightmarish scenarios. Everyone in the restaurant could be a part of some surprise wedding about to happen, ready to cart her off to the local church; it was crazy, but she wouldn’t put it past her mother. 

Her appetite was nonexistent by the time food arrived. She picked at the fruit bowl absentmindedly. When she did take a bite from her waffles, it wasn’t as delicious as she remembered.

But of course, her mother sucked the joy out of everything.

It was the lack of sound from her mother’s mouth that caught her attention. 

She looked up and saw her expectant expression. 

“Sorry, what?” 

Susan set down her fork and deflated. “Really, I can’t even hold your attention for five minutes?” She sighed. “I was saying is I’d like to show you the place we got for you.” Seeing her daughter’s anger, she quickly added, “For when you visit. So you don’t have to stay with us.” 

“I don’t plan on visiting enough to justify a whole house,” she said, and put some food in her mouth to have an excuse not to speak more. 

“Please, just give it a look over. We got something small and comfortable, which you seem to prefer.”

“If I go, will you sell it once I’m gone?” 

“If you truly don’t like it, then yes, I’ll sell it as soon as you leave.” 

Jasmine side-eyed her, not believing her, but accepted it for the moment. 

The property was far too close to her parents for comfort. It was surrounded by a thick ring of trees though, providing a much bigger sense of privacy than there would likely be. They wound through the rough road until the trees finally broke to reveal a meadow unlike any she’d ever seen. 

She gasped. Acres upon acres of wildflowers grew, any sense of grass gone underneath their petals. Atop a slight hill, there was a small cottage that looked like it came out of a fairytale. 

It finally clicked: her and Andrea would sneak over here when they were younger, but back then, there were a lot less flowers, a lot more weeds, and the cottage was boarded up and in disrepair. 

Now it was picturesque. They had to have spent a good chunk of change to get this place livable and the landscape perfectly untamed. 

They pulled in front of the cottage. “Your father suggested this place. I think you deserve better, but he insisted you would like this.” 

She bit her tongue. She didn’t want to admit that he was 100% correct in his assumption. 

Susan pulled out a single key from a small pocket in her purse and unlocked the door. 

It was beautiful. Two stories, two bedrooms and two baths, fully furnished and ready to move in. The perfect size for a small family. The kitchen and the front room bled into each other, and Jasmine could picture playing with Asher in front of the roaring of a fire while Nick made dinner in the kitchen.

She shook her head. This wasn’t the type of place Nick would ever live in. 

Still, the house screamed home. She reminded herself that this was just another bribe to get her to stay. 

“It’s lovely,” she said in a muted tone to not betray her love for it. 

“Your sister helped with the renovations. She’s got an eye for interior design.” 

Jasmine wandered the halls for a while, and found her gaze transfixed on a picture hung at the end of the hall. 

It was her and Andrea, wearing flower crowns and laughing in the middle of the fields. A moment of youthful joy unhampered by the strict nature of their parents. She had no memory of it being taken, but she was glad it was captured. 

“So? I’m assuming I don’t need to sell it,” her mother said in her cocky tone. 

“Yes, you do. Someone else deserves this beautiful home. I already have one in New York.” 

She pursed her lips into a tight grimace. “Well, let’s see the view outside. I think it might change your mind.” 

“Doubt it, but alright.” 

Her mother opened the door to reveal a line of cars heading in their direction. Several had already parked where they could, some of their tires crushing the beautiful flowers. People began to spill out, with a myriad of balloons, flowers, and other gifts. 

“What the hell is this?” 

“Just be patient.” 

Patience was the last thing on her mind. If she wasn’t worried about tripping, she would have made a run for it. 

Eventually there was an arc three people deep surrounding the entrance of the cottage where she stood. One person pushed through; it was Mark, the man who played the game better than the others. 

Her heart sank as she saw what was about to happen. 

“Miss Thornton. Your family told me all about your successes and trials that you have faced, how strong and capable you were to face it all. I thought they were exaggerating but meeting you I found they were right.”

Move, legs, move.

“I know we don’t know each other that well, but I’d like to get to know you better. I’d like to support you in whatever way I can as you face the challenges of motherhood.” 

Come on, do something, do anything but stand there. 

“So, consider this a promise.”

He dropped to one knee.

“To know each other, to always be by your side, and to protect you in any way I can. Jasmine Thornton, will you marry me?” 

This should be Nick. 

“No.” 

Susan leaned over and whispered into her daughter’s ear, “Mark is a good man, and there is no chance your boy toy in New York will ever step up like he should. Think about this.”

“No!” she screamed and whirled around. “I’m done with this bullshit. I can’t believe you actually thought this would work.” 

She turned to face the crowd. “Whatever she’s told you, it’s a bunch of lies. I’m not staying, and I never planned to. I’m not in desperate need of a man to raise my kid. If the father doesn’t want to be involved, then I can raise this baby myself. This woman has abused me my whole life, and I know many of you are in the same position.” She gave Mark a pointed look. 

“I’m done with this charade. The rest of you should be as well.” 

With that she grabbed her mom’s purse, fished out the keys, and took off in the car. 

The crowd stared at the retreating car while Susan pulled out her phone. 

She dialed a number with careful precision and held it up to ear. 

“Yes?” the other side said. 

“It’s Susan. Run it.”