Page 20 of Fourth Heartwarmers Trilogy
“She said I didn’t need to be afraid anymore. And then she gave me the words I’d never heard from any other adult. She said she loved me.”
“Oh, Jassie. My mom is such a doll. No wonder Dad and I adore her. I’m so glad she found that assisted living facility in Phoenix so she’s close to her sister, Angie, in Maricopa. It’s perfect; a place where Dad can stay with her in their tiny apartment.”
“I still can’t believe they’d sell the house and give us a portion of the proceeds to bankroll us so we could move to Los Angeles and have our chance.”
“They believed in us and it helped, right? Knowing that they were so sure we’d be successful certainly gave me the backbone to start up the clothing site here. The fact that you’d taken the cosmetology courses meant you’d have opportunities, and you worked your ass off to make enough money to pay your own way. They both told us then, ‘You girls have ambition and goals and the brains and means to get from one to the other. You’ll be just fine.’ Remember?”
“Yes. I remember, and then I went and screwed it all up by meeting the idiot who’s name we never speak—”
“You mean Romeo?” Mia’s sneer brought a smile to Jasmine’s face.
“Yeah, Romeo. He had me totally hoodwinked.”
“He made you fall in love. Come on, girlfriend. You were ripe for some guy to come along and sweep you off your feet.”
“It was more like he swept the rug out from under my feet and played me for the fool I was. How come I didn’t listen to you when you warned me he was a creepy jerk?”
“You thought I was jealous. Hey, let it go. He’s gone, and good riddance. We’ve done a good job raising Maisie on our own. She’s a happy, well-adjusted four-year-old who loves her world.”
“That’s because you’re in it with her. I hate that I’m always on location, traveling all the time. You’ve been super, staying home, taking care of her daily needs.”
“Right. I’m a freaking angel. Come on, Jassie. You know I work from home. Even if Maisie wasn’t in our life, God forbid… I’d still be working from home. That’s why we got this apartment with the big studio.”
Jasmine turned to look at Mia and she leaned her forehead against her friend’s shoulder. “You always know what to say to make things better. I love you, Mia. For being such a good friend and looking after me since we were kids in kindergarten.”
“You’re my sister of the heart. I tell you that all the time. I hated being an only child, and you changed my world. I wasn’t so lonely. It worked both ways, kiddo. I needed you as much as you needed me.”
Looking back, Mia wiped the tears from her cheeks and gazed down at the little one who made life so perfect. She missed her friend terribly and knew she needed to leave this place, get away from the heart-wrenching memories and build a new future for her and Maisie.
The precious little doll had no idea that her world had turned upside down just one week ago. Mia and Jasmine had been roommates since they’d left their home in Phoenix six years ago to come to Los Angeles and make their fortune.
Things hadn’t turned out quite as they’d planned. Jasmine had given up her dream of being an actress after meeting Maisie’s nightclub singer daddy, Earl Lane. First, falling in love, and then falling in hate with the same man after he’d disappeared leaving her alone to bring up their infant.
Though she’d found him months later in a club in Dallas, he’d made her accept the truth once and for all. He wanted nothing to do with her, her baby, or her future. His words that both girls heard on the phone’s speaker were brutal. “Jasmine, you’re a good lay. I liked being with you. But baby, time for me to move on. If you decide to keep the kid, good luck. Don’t call again.”
Mia had held Jasmine many times after that day as she’d cried her eyes dry and wept for broken dreams. It had been a difficult decision for her friend to keep her baby. Mia knew without her pleas and pledging to be there to help the pair through the hard times, Jasmine probably wouldn’t have taken on the responsibility.
But the minute that Maisie entered the world, both girls were in love and blessed the fact that Jasmine hadn’t made any rash decisions.
After Maisie’s birth, Jasmine had continued working in the movie industry, but rather than concentrating on acting, she’d focused her abilities on her cosmetology degree and knowledge of skin care products. More and more often, she got called to be the assistant for the head make-up artist on movie sets.
With her name getting volleyed around in the industry, she’d been whisked to New York and many other cities to be on location. That’s where Mia came in.
As a young girl, she’d started a blog and a podcast about the job of caring for her elderly parents. Both suffered from the beginnings of crippling arthritis and needed constant help. Her father wasn’t as bad as her mother, but he’d had his own disabilities, and he’d never leave his wife.
After two years where their health deteriorated, they forced Mia to let them sell the house and go into an assisted living place in Phoenix. She argued with them about their plans; couldn’t imagine them living anywhere but the old home she’d grown up in. Through discussion and laying out the true facts that the house and large yard were more than they needed or wanted, she finally saw the light, shut down her arguments and backed out of their way.
She knew part of their idea for using the house money was for her and Jasmine to have their chance in the city. Jasmine, who was like a second daughter to them, wanted to be an actress and what better place than L.A. to get her break in the industry.
Jasmine had been in their lives since the girls were in kindergarten. Over the years, Mia and her folks had watched Jassie’s young mother deteriorate due to alcohol and hard living. When Jasmine turned sixteen, she’d come home from school one day to find all her mother’s clothes and personal items were gone. She’d been abandoned.
There was never any question as to where she would go. She’d spent more time with Mia’s family than at her own squalidapartment. Being so distressed, filled with disbelief that the woman she’d lived with all her life could just up and leave her; broken-hearted, she’d gone to them to share the news.
Once they heard, the outcome was a no-brainer. She’d move in with their family. Accepted wholeheartedly, she grew to call Mia’s parents Mom and Dad.
Throughout, Mia continued her blog because the growing audience she felt close to weren’t only interested in her health reports but in her as a person. The thought of closing it down seemed so alien, she couldn’t bring herself to even contemplate it. But she now needed a new focus for her talks.
In the past, she’d begun sharing her dreams of sewing baby clothes that were specialty articles. No two alike. And her audience had stuck with her.
