correcting himself. “ Couldn’t handle a situation.”
Jasmine saw her dad relax. A small speck of hope glimmered inside her. When the time came, she could at least broach the subject without dad’s head spinning. The ruse of a grandparent living a few houses down was a brilliant touch she was sure Yumi had created.
After a moment of silence, Emma chimed in. “So, how did you two meet?”
“School , ” Jasmine quickly answered.
“Do you have classes together?” Emma asked.
Jasmine opened her mouth to speak but Honorio cut her off.
“We have Family Development together.” Honorio looked at Emma, and smiled. “She glided into class like an angel, and stole my heart . I found myself quite fortunate that she was assigned to sit next to me.” He reached over, and put his arm around Jasmine’s shoulders.
Jasmine wanted to gag at h is duplicity, and pick his arm up with two fingers, like a piece of moldy bread, to place it back on his side . But she managed to smile, instead.
Emma’s eyes glistened and she leaned in as though she couldn’t miss a single word. “ Was the concert your first date?”
“Yes, ” Jasmine blurted.
“No.” Honorio said at the same time.
Jasmine looked at him in surprise. She started to sweat, her mind desperately searching for a way to fix their differing answers .
Honorio spoke first. “Jasmine, remember when we went to the park?” He looked at her intently.
She nodded, playing along. She was clueless as to where he was going with his story.
“Sir, I knew that a young lady of Jasmine’s caliber had to be courted properly. I invited her to join me in a picnic. We went to a local park, and enjoyed a lunch I had prepared for her. She may not have thought it a date, as we were only just friends at the time.”
He smiled lovingly at her. Then he looked at Emma, and grinned. “Full disclosure , my roommates helped me prepare the meal. Yumi and Malika were amazing, and put the proper feminine finishing touches to the picnic.”
Dad started coughing, and they all looked at him. He took a drink of soda a nd recovered quickly. “Yo u live with girls? Unsupervised ? ”
“Yes, sir. Two of my roommates are girls, ” Honorio answered. “I can understand your concern, but we all have no interest in relationships with each other. We recognize it would complicate our living situation, and we abide by the house rule, established by our parents, to avoid internal relationships without question, sir.”
Dad shook his head. “Well, I suppose your parents trust you a great deal.”
“They do, sir. It helps that we have joined them, for the past two summers, overseas. We know what it means to be responsible, and we have seen the consequences wrought by those who ...” Once again, Honorio coughed. “ Don’t.” He took a sip of his water.
Dad grimaced. “How did they ever come to the conclusion that you were all ready to be on your own, even if you all live together, that is?”
Honorio threw his head back and chuckled at Dad’s silly concerns. “Before we were old enough, our parents would take turns watching us, while the others were overseas. They finally concluded that we had reached the stage whereat we could be trusted on our own, and they saw an opportunity to let us become accustomed to self-reliance before we get into college. So, you might say it is educational.”
Absolutely dumbfounded, and not sure what to think, Jasmine’s father just stared at Honorio, while silently chewing his most recent morsel.
Emma took over the conversation. “Tell us more about your picnic.”
Grudgingly grateful to Emma, Jasmine looked at Honorio, and waited for him to continue.
“We spread out a blanket on the grass, and unpacked the basket I had brought. We listened to a small radio as we ate our meal. The light shone off Jasm ine’s hair, and it seemed like golden silk.” He brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Jasmine fought inner turmoil. She knew that it was
Jasmine saw her dad relax. A small speck of hope glimmered inside her. When the time came, she could at least broach the subject without dad’s head spinning. The ruse of a grandparent living a few houses down was a brilliant touch she was sure Yumi had created.
After a moment of silence, Emma chimed in. “So, how did you two meet?”
“School , ” Jasmine quickly answered.
“Do you have classes together?” Emma asked.
Jasmine opened her mouth to speak but Honorio cut her off.
“We have Family Development together.” Honorio looked at Emma, and smiled. “She glided into class like an angel, and stole my heart . I found myself quite fortunate that she was assigned to sit next to me.” He reached over, and put his arm around Jasmine’s shoulders.
Jasmine wanted to gag at h is duplicity, and pick his arm up with two fingers, like a piece of moldy bread, to place it back on his side . But she managed to smile, instead.
Emma’s eyes glistened and she leaned in as though she couldn’t miss a single word. “ Was the concert your first date?”
“Yes, ” Jasmine blurted.
“No.” Honorio said at the same time.
Jasmine looked at him in surprise. She started to sweat, her mind desperately searching for a way to fix their differing answers .
Honorio spoke first. “Jasmine, remember when we went to the park?” He looked at her intently.
She nodded, playing along. She was clueless as to where he was going with his story.
“Sir, I knew that a young lady of Jasmine’s caliber had to be courted properly. I invited her to join me in a picnic. We went to a local park, and enjoyed a lunch I had prepared for her. She may not have thought it a date, as we were only just friends at the time.”
He smiled lovingly at her. Then he looked at Emma, and grinned. “Full disclosure , my roommates helped me prepare the meal. Yumi and Malika were amazing, and put the proper feminine finishing touches to the picnic.”
Dad started coughing, and they all looked at him. He took a drink of soda a nd recovered quickly. “Yo u live with girls? Unsupervised ? ”
“Yes, sir. Two of my roommates are girls, ” Honorio answered. “I can understand your concern, but we all have no interest in relationships with each other. We recognize it would complicate our living situation, and we abide by the house rule, established by our parents, to avoid internal relationships without question, sir.”
Dad shook his head. “Well, I suppose your parents trust you a great deal.”
“They do, sir. It helps that we have joined them, for the past two summers, overseas. We know what it means to be responsible, and we have seen the consequences wrought by those who ...” Once again, Honorio coughed. “ Don’t.” He took a sip of his water.
Dad grimaced. “How did they ever come to the conclusion that you were all ready to be on your own, even if you all live together, that is?”
Honorio threw his head back and chuckled at Dad’s silly concerns. “Before we were old enough, our parents would take turns watching us, while the others were overseas. They finally concluded that we had reached the stage whereat we could be trusted on our own, and they saw an opportunity to let us become accustomed to self-reliance before we get into college. So, you might say it is educational.”
Absolutely dumbfounded, and not sure what to think, Jasmine’s father just stared at Honorio, while silently chewing his most recent morsel.
Emma took over the conversation. “Tell us more about your picnic.”
Grudgingly grateful to Emma, Jasmine looked at Honorio, and waited for him to continue.
“We spread out a blanket on the grass, and unpacked the basket I had brought. We listened to a small radio as we ate our meal. The light shone off Jasm ine’s hair, and it seemed like golden silk.” He brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Jasmine fought inner turmoil. She knew that it was
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