"So your mother tells me you're talking to a boy?"
I close my eyes as I tilt my head down. Knowing my mother spilt this secret to my dad means that my whole family, including the ones in Colombia, know about it, too. I pick my head up and look at my dad from his position at the head of the table. I look at my mom, at the end head of the table and she smiles and winks at me.
"Kind of." I shrug as I dip my fork into the rice she made as part of the meal.
"What's his name?" My dad asks. "Remember: whatever you don't tell us, we can get out of Paige and your friends."
"Daddy, it's not a sure thing." I sigh.
"I'm just asking his name. Not telling you to bring him to the house so we can discuss how many goats and chickens you're worth." He replies.
"Shawn." I say then quickly change the subject, "So why couldn't Chandler make it to dinner?"
"He had to drop Chloe off at the airport. Where's Shawn from?" My mom replies.
"Canada. Is he gonna make an appearance at least?"
"You're slick, but not slick enough, kid." My dad says to me. "How'd you meet him?"
A friend was drunk out of their mind and he spoke to me in the alley of a party I shouldn't have been at. "Through a friend."
Before they could ask anymore questions, the house phone rings and my dad excuses himself as he gets up to go answer it in the other room.
"I didn't mean to spill the beans, Yasmin." My mom says to me. "It slipped."
"How though? Did you tell him, Oye, Ian, our daughter just met a guy she's been on three dates with?" I reply.
"Okay so maybe it sounded like that." She says. I deeply sigh and sit back in my seat. "Oye que te pasa? Jasmine, what's wrong if I tell him that you're seeing a guy?"
"Everything! If this does turn into a possible thing - which I doubt it is - daddy's gonna want to meet the guy and you know how intense he can be."
"Alright, fine. I'll find a way to distract your father about the whole thing, ha?" She asks.
"Please!" I reply.
"So is he cute?" She quickly asks.
"Ma!"
= =
The time is nine fifteen and I was lying on my bed with Diana and Charlie. My hair was air drying and I had the towel around my body even though I got out of the shower a mere twenty minutes ago. I scrolled through my phone as Diana got up and went to the bathroom to shower just as Paige got out.
"Have you figured out what you're wearing tonight?" Charlie asks me.
"Yeah. I'm gonna wear that white dress." I reply.
"Which one?" She asks.
"The one you said makes me look like a baddie."
"Ooh, perfect! Can I do your makeup?"
"Sure. Nothing too dramatic, though."
"No worries. You'll be looking mad fine tonight mama's."
"Wanna get started now? I have to wait for my hair to get damp before I can begin to blow dry it." I say.
"Alright. Wanna change into something comfortable first? I'd hate to see a nipple pop out while I'm in the middle of doing your liner." Charlie says. I laugh and hit her lightly with the throw pillow before getting up and heading to the drawer. I grab under wear, a baggy tee, and then slip the underwear on under the towel. With my back to Charlie, I drop the towel and quickly put on the shirt before bending down and hanging the towel to dry against the back of the door.
