3.24 Family Day

The last time Family Day came around, I was a little boy. It was the first weekend we ever spent with Mama after she and Dad separated. She took us to the beach, and that was one of the best weekends of my life. I was too young to fully understand what happened between them, and all I wanted was to go back home to Mama. Sims have described me as a mama’s boy before, and I can’t deny its validity. My mother was magical. Who wouldn’t be enamored with her? Family Day came around again, and this time I spent it with my dad. Neither of us could afford another weekend trip to Sulani, so we went to the pool in Willow Creek instead. At least we tried to. It was closed! Why wouldn’t it be open on one of its busiest days? We were pissed and had no other plans. But then Dad remembered seeing a swimming area at the pier when we went to Copperdale, so that is how we redeemed the day.

He’d been doing well on his fitness journey but still had a long way to go. I wasn’t sure if he got tired or wasn’t feeling the water, but he got out quickly. I was bummed, honestly. One thing I missed from Mama’s house was the pool. But if he was done, so was I. We talked on the shore for a little while, and he asked if I remembered the last time we were all at the beach. Memories from that day were foggy, but it wasn’t the beach I remembered. I narrowly remembered being with my gammy. Though I couldn’t recall a particular moment, I knew she was there. Dad said Less and I wore her out. We had played in the sand all day and went back to her house and played on her all night. When they went to her room to put us to bed, we were all fast asleep. The way she was sprawled out across the bed with us on top of her was such a sweet moment for my parents to witness. I loved receiving clarity about that day, especially learning that was the last time we saw her alive. I didn’t know I had been so close to her death. The only thing I could recall clearly was that she didn’t come to my birthday party. Gammy died happy, and I was a part of that. It made me smile.

As much as I loved hearing that story, I loved Dad volunteering it. He never talked about our life pre-divorce; It was too painful. But thinking about it, and putting together pieces of their stories, that period was brief. Mama said she was out of sorts from mourning gammy when she cheated, so this must have happened shortly after we returned home. Every time I understood the situation better, I felt for Dad even more. He really got the rug pulled out from under him, but that just made me even more proud of him for coming out of the fog.

We got dressed and headed to the pier to see what they had going on in Copperdale. Our first stop was the photo booth. We tried to take nice pics, but we couldn’t stop laughing about squeezing ourselves into that tiny room; They clearly made it for kids. Later, I went back to take solo pics to send to Mama and Less. After the silly pics, it was time for a sweet treat.

I had to pee, so I went all the way to the park to find public restrooms. Why they didn’t have any at the pier was beyond me; I was just glad I made it. On my way back, I saw Jasmine talking to a man in front of the rides. I almost didn’t recognize her with a different hairdo. She was still fine though. For a guy who was trying not to get into a relationship, I had way too many gorgeous women in my life.

I didn’t intend to interrupt their conversation, as I only wanted to wave and acknowledge her presence. But as I walked up to their table, the man got up to leave, so I took his place.

“Hey, Jasmine!”

She smiled uncomfortably. Should I not have joined her so quickly? Was I too enthusiastic?

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said hesitantly. “It’s just…my name isn’t Jasmine.”

A rush of panic shot through my body. Did she lie to me? Was that part of why she was so upset in my class? Was she in trouble? Maybe she’s hiding from someone and had to change her name. Wow…did she trust me enough to tell me her real name??

“It’s not?” I asked, nervously.

“No. It’s Yasmine. Everyone makes that mistake, and I usually don’t say anything. But…I just wanted you to know.”

I sighed in relief. I must have misheard her.

“I’m so sorry. Thanks for telling me. I’d hate to keep calling you something you don’t want to be called.”

“It’s cool. So, what are you doing in my hood?”

I don’t know why, but I got excited about learning something new about her. Especially since we could have been neighbors. Well, not really. We were never gonna get that house.

“You live here?”

“Yep. Downtown.”

“Small world! We looked at a house right over there. It was way too small though. We’re just out here celebrating Family Day and having some fun.”

She looked intrigued.

“You and your dad?”

“Yep. He’s right over there.”

“So, you moved?”

“Yeah. We’re in San Sequoia now.”

“I heard it’s pretty out there.”

“It is! You should see it.”

She cut her eyes coyly at me, and my entire body felt like it was on fire.

“So you’re inviting me over?”

“Y-yeah. Of course. Sure!”

I needed to figure out whatever I needed to figure out expeditiously because… Let’s just say I was a man who liked women, and I didn’t know how long I could keep it together around these friends of mine.