Pieces of us

Chapter Nine

It's Saturday, and Auntie Jasmine is around. She hasn't come since the day she dropped us off at the house.

While Mom is out shopping, Auntie Jasmine sits with me in the kitchen, asking about school and my new friends.

Then she brings out some things she got for me. A few new clothes and a pair of new headphones.

I squeal in excitement and throw my arms around her.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“And who's the best godmother in the world? Go ahead. Say it.” She points a finger behind her ear.

“Of course, you know it's you.” I tell her, and we both laugh.

Just then, Mom walks in, and I hurriedly show her the things her friend got for me.

“Jasmine, you didn't have to.” She chuckles as she sees Auntie Jasmine roll her eyes. “Thank you,” she says again.

Auntie Jasmine leans against the kitchen counter with her arms folded, raising an eyebrow. I turn from her to Mom and then back to her.

“Babes, what was that stunt you pulled? You were sick and didn't tell anyone. Why?”

“I thought I could manage till I gathered the strength to go to the hospital.”

“And till when were you going to gather your strength? After you'd died?”

She sounds like she's interrogating a suspect in court. The lawyer in her seems to have taken over.

“It could have been so much worse…” she continues. “What if something had happened to you? My poor baby here must have been frightened out of her mind.”

I'm pouting now, looking from her to Mom.

“I'm sorry, baby.” Mom gives me a soft smile.

I move closer to her and cling to her arm. This is the second time she's apologised. Who apologises for being sick?

Just then, Mr Omar walks in.

“Hey, Jas,” he says, walking past his sister to open the fridge.

“Omar, don't you think it says an awful lot about you if your employee can't tell you when they're sick?” Auntie Jasmine asks.

“Jasmine, it's not like that…” Mom starts to say.

“You can't blame me for something I wasn't told about,” Mr Omar responds, straightening up.

“Well, if you were a lot more approachable, Debbie here would have been able to talk to you at least. How's someone living with you and you don't know the state of their health?”

“I won't know if I'm not told.” He smiles and glances at Mom.

“How will you be told if Debbie can't even look you in the eye?”

“That's not…” Mr Omar lets out a sigh. “I can never have the last word with you, can I?” He laughs.

“If you're blaming anyone, it should be me, Jasmine,” Mom says.

“Oh, I blame you. Of course I blame you too…”

Auntie Jasmine says it, making Mr Omar and Mom laugh.

“I guess even the ill won't be escaping my sister,” Mr Omar says, looking at Mom.

I'm watching all three of them and can't help but notice that Mom and Mr Omar have been making more eye contact, and Mom's looking him in the eyes instead of looking at his feet or somewhere else.

“It's not Debbie's fault she got sick. And we're all guilty of ignoring our health sometimes. Right, Jasmine?”

Auntie Jasmine only rolls her eyes.

I quietly excuse myself and head to my room. Going up the stairs, I can hear Auntie Jasmine's, Mom's, and Mr Omar's laughter. It gets even louder the farther I go.

* *

“Geez! It's almost 6:30.” I gasp, hurriedly packing the books from the desk and returning them to the shelf. I'd completely lost track of time.

Mom's going to give me an earful.

I quicken my steps as I head out of the library and onto the main road. Passing by the basketball court, I run into Kevin.

I was going to just pass by as usual without letting him see me, but he saw me first today.

Great.

“Hi, Dawn.” He waves at me with a smile.

“Hi.” I wave back, wishing my heart would stop racing.

“Do you live close by? You always pass by here.”

“Well, not too far away.”

So much for thinking I was invisible before.

I look around the area.

“Eddie isn't here today?”

“Yeah, he couldn't come today. He went to a family function.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Going back home now?”

“Yes.”

“I'll walk you home.”

“You don't have to. Your house is in the opposite direction.”

“I don't mind. Besides, I'm waiting for my older brother, and he won't be here for another thirty minutes or so.”

“Okay.” If you insist.

“So… where did you go to school before?” Kevin asks as we walk side by side.

“Faith Hills Comprehensive College. It's on the mainland.”

“Oh, you used to live on the mainland?”

“Yes. Then Mom got a job here, and we had to move.”

“I see,” Kevin says, nodding his head.

I look up at his face. The light from the setting sun makes his already grey-coloured eyes look really pretty.

“I like your eyes.” I tell him.

Or maybe I shouldn't have said that.

“Thanks.” He answers with a smile.

I immediately look away before I get carried away.

“You and Nora… You seem really close.”

“Yeah, we are. We've been best friends since kindergarten.”

“Oh, really?”

“Our dads are friends. It's how we got so close.”

I nod.

“It's funny ’cause Nora and I used to fight a lot…”

I look up at his face again, and he's smiling, but this time it looks different.

“I guess we just kind of grew on each other,” he says.

“That's really nice.” I say to him.

He just sighs, and we both go quiet for a minute.

As we approach the house, Kevin looks around.

“I've been here before. Mr Omar's house is somewhere around here.”

“Actually, his house is over there.” I point at the black gate up ahead. “I also live there.”

“Woah. Are you related to him?”

“No. He's my Mom's boss. We live in his house.”

“Oh, I see.” Kevin replies, nodding his head. “I would really like to go in and say hello, but he'll most probably ask why I'm at his house so late.”

We both chuckle. There's a brief pause.

“Thanks for walking me home,” I say to him.

“Sure, anytime.” He says with a smile and turns back.

As I approach the gate, I hear him whistle. I turn around and see him waving at me. I wave right back, then knock on the gate and wait for Mr Jonas to open it.