Split Love

CHAPTER 5

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2018

The mirror was completely fogged up by the steam from the hot water when Jasmine turned off the shower. Through the small round window on the second floor, she heard the sound of a car's handbrake. In front of her house, a blue pickup truck was parked.

Jordan.

Jasmine didn't rush out of the bathroom to get ready, as she had done years ago. His visit was like any other neighbor at that moment in her life.

With a towel wrapped around her body, she tried to wipe the mirror with her hand before combing her wet hair calmly, untangling her blond strands. For a few minutes, she looked into her own eyes taking a deep breath.

Jamie knew that the story of her sitting at the River Falls Diner with a complete stranger would soon be all over town, and would reach her grandmother's ears. Jamie was very knowledgeable about her hometown and neighbors. She knew the questions about who he was would come, she just hoped her ex-boyfriend wasn't the one to tell her grandmother.

After all, not even she knew.

For a minute an argument between her and her grandmother crossed her mind. She could almost hear her grandma enumerating the many reasons she got it wrong and how dangerous it was to talk to a stranger. But at the same time, Jamie knew she would never see him again, and she needed to thank him.

Walking down the hall to her room, she could hear her grandma and Jordan talking in the living room. She could picture him sitting on the couch - with his back to the window, while Debra, her paternal grandmother, was sitting on the couch on the other side of the wooden coffee table.

In her room, Jamie picked out a pair of denim overalls and dressed it with a black and white striped long-sleeved T-shirt. At her feet, Jamie slipped on her old Adidas Superstar with gray socks. She intended to go to the fair with her grandmother.

- Everything is wonderful like every year. Mrs. Lockwood has always been committed to making our small town the best in the area. - The voice of Jordan reached Jamie's ear as soon as she went down the stairs. They were no longer in the room.

- I'm sure it is, but this year unfortunately I won't go.

- And why not? -Jamie asked his grandmother as soon as she entered the kitchen. Jordan was sitting at the round dining table, in the same place he had been sitting all those years ago.

Some customs never die.

- Oh. There she is. Jordan came to see you.

- Why don't you believe me when I say I came to see you, Debra? - He laughs.

- We met yesterday at the fair. - Jamie said picking up a cup from the upper cupboard in the kitchen. - I told Jordan that you'd be happy if he visited you, grandma. I know you have a fondness for him. He's here for you.

She sat down at the table, jumping over the chair she was used to sitting in, so as not to sit right next to him. He gave her a questioning look, which she didn't understand if it was the choice of seats or what she had just said. Jamie wanted to make it clear that her ex-boyfriend wasn't there for her, but for her grandma - who Jamie knew was still rooting for the two of them to get back together.

- We haven't seen each other in months, Debra. I missed you.

- I miss you too, son. - Mrs. Davenport was standing between the two and placed her hands on each shoulder.