Jasmine swallowed, making sure to keep her tone even. “OK, can you please tell me where I can find her? I um... I have an invite to my wedding next month that I want to give her.”
“Wedding?”
“Yes, my fiancé, Adam, and I would love to have her along. You’re invited too, of course.”
“Really? After the last time we saw your parents, they want us there?”
“It’s all water under the bridge for them.”
“Well, it isn’t for me. That day cost this family everything. A friendship was destroyed, as was our marriage. I’ve been single for quite some time now and for what? I’m glad at least you’ve seen the light. Ava, as it turns out, refuses to leave the darkness. She hasn’t been here for years, and I haven’t heard from her. Last I heard, she was living with two queers. For all I know, she still could be.”
“Sorry,” Jasmine said, shaking her head, “you haven’t spoken to her in years?”
“And unless she repents, that won’t be changing. Good luck, Jasmine.”
The door closed without another word, and it took Jasmine several seconds to replay the conversation in her mind. She retreated to her car, not quite believing what she had heard. Ava was gone. As bad as her own parents reaction had been, they had not thrown her out into the bitter cold like Ava’s parents seemed to have done.
A feeling of guilt welled within her. What had happened to Ava? She had a feeling she couldn’t shake that she should have been there for her best friend, her first love. But how could she have been? She had been trying to get herself sorted, and slowly, very slowly, she had managed that.
Jasmine looked at the invitation and the name she had hand written on it. How badly she wanted, needed, to see Ava. To ask if she was OK... No! Surely it was a sign from God, Ava not being there. Things were different now. Jasmine was going to be married. She was going to be happy. Adam was the one for her. She didn’t need anyone else. Shewasgoing to be happy. She only showed up here to offer an invite. She wasn’t missing anything in her life. She didn’t need anything else in her life. She held her breath and repeated that in her mind as her phone rang.
“Hey, honey,” Jasmine said into the phone.
“I’m at your house. Where are you?”
“Meeting with the wedding planner went long. Sorry.”
“Seriously? Two and a half hours?”
“It’s just coming to the crunch. Last minute details. I want everything to be perfect.”
“Where are you now?”
“Just getting in the car. I’m leaving now.”
“You’re leaving the office, right now?”
“Yes. I’ll be home soon.”
“Interesting. I just got off the phone with her. You left an unsigned form there when you left. Thirty minutes ago. So, I’ll ask again, where are you?”
Jasmine closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.Lord Almighty, you really know when to lay the boot in when people fuck up, don’t you?“I got you a present,” she answered with a melancholy tone. It was a lie she would have to create, but it worked to subvert Adam’s anger somewhat and it would ease her guilt at longing for something she shouldn’t want.
“What is it?”
Jasmine thought about scrunching the invite, but after staring at the name, she just couldn’t. She let a tear fall down her cheek but hid the sniffle well. “I’m bringing it home.”
Jasmine walked in the door holding a paper gift bag. She ventured forward to find Adam, cross-legged on the couch, taking a sip from a beer can. He lowered the volume of the cricket match to address her fully, which she appreciated.
“Are my parents here?”
“No. They left right before I called you. Dinner with friends. What did you say about a present?”
Jasmine tossed the bag, which he caught, gently towards him. He opened it up and pulled out the sixty dollar, lace underwear she had rushed to buy on her way home.
“What’s this? My present?”
“Half of it,” she replied, taking off her jacket.