L.O.V.E.- A Short Story

Chapter 7

"What do you mean she's back?! She died when we graduated, remember?" My dad explained. I became confused very fast.

"Yeah well somehow her daughter found her way to the mall to bother your daughter." He showed my dad an article in a magazine. The headline of the article: "Daughter of Bigtime Music Producer John Green, gets into an altercation with Nicole Brown." The picture: Nicole shoving me into Ariella. That would explain the camera flash.

"Did this little girl hurt you?" My dad asked, standing up off of the couch swiftly.

"No but what is going on? Who is Jasmine?" I asked, wanting to get a better understanding of what was going on.

"Jasmine was the girl every guy got with in high school. All they wanted was one night, but after the one night, she would play with their emotions and lie and manipulate them into becoming someone they weren't. After college graduation, one guy just wouldn't give her what she wanted, so she tried to kill herself, because she had his baby, Nicole. Obviously she didn't try hard enough." My uncle said in a disgusted tone.

"And it looks like her daughter is just like her. Trying to start trouble." My dad added while my uncle just shook his head. Just then the doorbell rang.

"That must be Mel." My dad huffed as he jogged to the door.

"Aw they already have nicknames for each other." I swooned.

"Hey John, you left your jacket at my place on Saturday and I came to bring it back." She said holding my dad's jean jacket.

"Oh okay thank you. Come in, someone wants to meet you." He took her hand and led her into our house.

"Celest, this is Meleny, my girlfriend. Meleny this is Celest, my daughter." He introduced. I've never seen my dad act so soft.

"Oh I've heard so much about you!" She hugged me. I like this woman already. She was too good to be true.

"I've heard a lot about you too." I said, embracing her hug.

"Oh John, she's beautiful!" She said, grabbing my face.

"By the way, I made omelettes for everyone. Should 11 be enough?" She asked, holding a large tupper ware container.

"Dang girl that's enough for today and tomorrow!" My dad laughed as he took the container to warm them up. I found her and my father to be very cute together. Uncle Chris and I went to wake up the other half of our family.

"Ari, wake up." I shook her.

"Ugh.. 5 more minutes." She groaned.

"Girl, wake up! There are omelettes downstairs." I pulled back her covers.

"Omelettes?" She questioned.

"Yes, now wake up." I laughed at how lively she had become at the mention of food. After we ate, Meleny stayed for another hour, but then she had to go to work.

We decided to buy the baby's cribs one at a time, since they were pretty expensive. When my dad bought the cribs home, Uncle Chris and I decided to build it together. Aunt Cali was sleeping with her babies, my dad was at the studio, and Ariella was at a job interview. I need to get one of those.

"Uncle Chris? Where do you think my personality would find a good job?" I asked him.

"Well, do you want to work well with customers or co-workers?" He asked.

"Both." I replied.

"You should work at the mall. I think Windsor needs employees." He told me. I'd go check it out tomorrow.

"Thanks Uncle Chris." I said putting the last piece on the crib.

"No, thank you. I would not have figured out how to put this thing together on my own." He said as we left the room.

After I showered that night, my mom came to me again.

"The next time you see Meleny, look at her spirit, not just the outside. See the real her, not just the part of her that can cook.." She instructed in a rather strict tone.

"How will I see her spirit?" I questioned.

"God will give you what you need when you need it." She spoke as she began to fade. Once she was gone, my father called me to the attic.

"I'm sure she would have wanted you to have these." He said, handing me a pair of glasses. Just then my mothers words from earlier echoed through my ears. With that i slept peacefully.