The ride to the airport is silent. Unbearably so. At the airport, we board the same plane that brought me out here. Jafar sits on one side, so I purposely sit away from him. He works on a laptop, and I listen to an audiobook with my headphones. It’s nice. So nice that I almost forget he’s here until a shadow falls over me. He's scowling, so I take off my headphones.
“What?”
“I asked if you’re seriously thinking about asking off work for a month to be at Jasmine’s beck and call.”
I blink. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
He huffs, sitting across from me. His long legs almost brush mine, and I resist moving away from him.
“She’s just using you because she knows you’ll be good at it.”
It’s not a lie. I’m organized, love planning things, and love the Met.
“Why did you pull some strings for her if you don’t think she can do it?”
He rubs his bearded chin. “She’s been bored since she quit the law firm.”
“She quit the firm?”
“You didn’t know?”
I shake my head. “Did you… was it your idea?”
“No. That was all her doing. Said it was time for us to start a family and quit her job the next day. She didn’t even take into consideration that she’s on birth control. And she hasn’t made any moves to take the bar yet. She’s been working all this time as a paralegal.” He scoffs. “She thinks having a kid will help with our problems. I know from experience it won’t.”
I shift. This seems too personal to be sharing with me. But it also sounds like something Jasmine would do. She’s always leapt first, not thinking or caring about the consequences. I didn’t know she hadn’t taken the bar yet. She made it sound like she took it a long time ago.
I find myself speaking before I can stop the words. “It’s almost like when a single parent remarries, hoping to fill a void when they’re only making things worse all around.”
There was once a time when speaking of my father like this would come out sounding bitter. Now I only feel sad for him.
Jafar says, “Exactly. She quit months ago, and she’s been bored. When she showed interest in the Met, I figured it was better than sitting around the house, doing nothing.”
“She didn’t want to go back to work?”
“I suggested it. Many times. You know how she is. Once she sets her mind, there’s no changing it. Which is why we’re both flying back to the middle of nowhere on a Friday morning.” He pauses. “Out of curiosity, why Kansas?”
Because it was somewhere I knew they would never want to visit.
“The cost of living is low, and the people are nice.”
He hums but doesn’t comment. He doesn’t move, either, and scrolls on his phone for the rest of the flight. By the time we land, I’m ready to be away from him. He makes me more nervous than I care to admit, and I definitely don’t want to delve too much into why that is.
Outside, a private car waits to pick us up. I climb in first and Jafar follows.
“I’ll drop you off at your place and then go to my hotel. Let me know when you reach out to your job, and I’ll go with you to speak to them.”
“That won’t be necessary. Ty is usually pretty understanding.”
He stills. “Who in the fuck is Ty?”
“My boss, Dr. Tyrell Kelly.” I smile. “He’s great.”
“Is he now?”
Something in his tone has me on edge. Maybe that’s just how things go in his world. He probably has to be leery of everyone he meets. Lord knows he acted the same way after Jasmine introduced us for the first time.
He’s silent until we arrive at the house that I rent. Right away, I can tell he doesn’t approve. The tiny, white craftsman style house with chipping paint is barely in my budget. Even the flowers I planted out front do little to make the outside appear better. Mostly because I can’t seem to get grass to grow no matter how hard I try. I think a green lawn would help things a lot. Who am I kidding? The house needs a lot of work, but I still like it.