November 6 #2
That was definitely a risk. Hell, there was a risk that she may have tracked down the wrong woman.
Her search was based on the only information she knew of her mother—a name and date of birth.
Statistically, the odds of two people having the same name and date of birth were low, so it was a risk she was willing to take.
The limited details on her Facebook account were all Jasmintha had.
There were no pictures, no status updates, nothing.
It only had a name, birthday, hometown, and company of employment.
That wasn’t a lot of information, but it was enough to pique her curiosity.
It could end up being a wild goose chase, but she had to know.
If there was a chance, any chance at all, of meeting her biological mother, she had to take it.
Besides, she had nothing better to do until Christmas Eve.
Feeling a little edgy, Jasmintha stood up again and shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll take my chances. And I’ve decided to fly back, but…I’m gonna drive there. I already rented a car and plotted out the entire trip and everything.”
This time the protests were so loud, she had to cover her ears to drown out the sound.
“What if you get a flat tire? Do you even know how to change a flat tire?”
“What if you get hijacked, or kidnapped by some lunatic?”
“What if you get lost? No one will know where to find you.”
They were all throwing these what-ifs at her at the same time.
It was impossible to determine who said what.
She could understand their concern. She’d never left the house without an escort before, had not done one thing by herself.
That needed to change. She could easily book a flight to Georgia, but there were many purposes for the road trip.
Firstly, she had planned it to take roughly three to four weeks.
That way she could buy some time and psych herself up before she actually met her mother.
She also wanted to learn everything she could about this place, a country she would at some point have to consider home.
And finally, she just wanted to…live, live her own life without anyone dictating where to go or what to eat or where to stay. No nannies. No escorts.
She wanted to see the world and make new friends.
She was on a roll. She already had six friends on Facebook.
Six! It didn’t matter that three of them were the three ladies on the screen in front of her and that one woman had only sent her a friend request because she was trying to sell her skin products, the other two were totally legit.
And she was just going to keep adding to it.
With every mile, with every state, she was going to meet new people and learn new things and she was going to have fun doing it.
“What if you get caught in a blizzard?” Rachel asked worriedly. “Isn’t it winter there?”
“I think it’s autumn…or fall, whatever they call it, but it feels like winter. So I’ve done some research and they said that most of the states I’m driving through don’t get snow every winter.”
Pratiskha’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Who’s they?”
“Um…Google and…Yahoo Answers.”
“Oh, my Gawd!” She rubbed both her temples as if the response had caused an instant headache. “You’re going to be driving thousands of kilometers based on advice you received from Yahoo Answers?!”
Prenisha was always the more level-headed one in the group and again she tried to bring calm to the situation.
“Cuz, we worry about you. This is a long trip that you’re going on all by yourself.
You wouldn’t know danger until it literally hit you in the face and…
and also…you…you don’t know…how to be…around other people.
” She shrugged almost pitifully. “They won’t understand you, Mini. ”
If she were normal, that statement would have made her cry, but as her cousin was very carefully trying to point out, she wasn’t normal.
She’d learned how to not cry years ago. Yet it was a fact she needed to accept.
Society wouldn’t see her as normal. How could they?
She’d never been introduced to society. She could count on both hands the number of people she knew.
But…whatever. Screw it! She had six friends on Facebook. The world was her oyster. There was no better way to become socially acceptable than actually socializing. She was scared. No. She was terrified, but fear of the unknown was half the fun.
“Guys, you know I love all of you and, trust me, I understand your concerns, but this is something I need to do. I start a new job in a few short weeks and I don’t want to be this weird, awkward mess of a person.
I need to learn how to fit in…And I want to meet my mother.
I’m starting a whole new chapter of my life and I want her to be part of it.
Maybe she abandoned me. But what if she didn’t?
I have to find out. I’ve only heard one side of the story and it’s not even the full story.
What my dad did was selfish. He just took me away and if he never gave me a proper explanation, then I’m sure he didn’t say anything to her either.
She probably tried to contact me…or look for me, but we were gone and she didn’t even know where to find us. ”
They all seemed a lot calmer after that speech. Over the years, she’d confided in them, told them about every hopeful dream she had of the day when she would finally get to meet her mother. They understood what this meant to her.
“We love you, too, Mini Mouse,” Pratiksha said. “But please call us every opportunity you get and tell us absolutely everything.”
“I will. Virtual hug.”
They wrapped their arms around each other in a group hug, but because she was alone, as always, she just spread her arms and pretended like she was there too.
Rachel leaned forward and blew a kiss. “When are you leaving?”
“As soon as we end this chat.”
After they gave her a teary-eyed goodbye, she shut down her laptop and packed it away.
She slung the bag over her shoulder and rolled the other two through the lobby to the rental car outside the resort.
She’d decided on a blue Prius, because it was fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.
It was a small car, but the rental agent had told her it would be sufficient for the long trip.
“Oh, hey. Let me help you with that,” Dalton said from behind her.
He was an assistant at the glorified guesthouse and also one of her legit friends on Facebook.
They’d been getting to know each other in the two weeks she’d been staying there, and he was such a nice guy.
Friendly and sweet. He was cute in a scruffy kind of way, skinny with curly ginger locks.
Even dressed in the ugly navy-blue golf shirt with the South Star logo on the breast pocket, he still had a subtle appeal.
He carried her bags the rest of the way and loaded them neatly into the car.
“So…you’re going somewhere?” he asked.
“Just a little trip. I should be back in a few weeks.”
He shifted nervously on the balls of his feet. “Did you think about what I asked you?”
“Oh…um…I thought you were joking.”
“I could get fired for asking one of the guests out to dinner, so…no. It wasn’t a joke.”
This was strange. This situation was new to her and she didn’t know how to handle it.
Dalton was already nervous and she thought it would be better if she didn’t reveal that her dad actually owned the resort.
He would withdraw the offer immediately.
Asking out the boss’s daughter would definitely get him fired and she was tired of being dictated to by her dad, whether directly or indirectly.
She wanted to make her own decisions for a change.
“Dalton, you’re sweet and kinda cute. I’m just not sure if I like you…
in that way. It’s not something I’m opposed to, though.
I mean, that’s the whole point of a date, to see if two people can like each other like that.
We don’t really know each other that well, and I don’t know if we have anything in common, but I guess—”
“You’re doing it again,” he cut in awkwardly. “That thing you do when you think out loud. It’s one of those questions where a yes or no would suffice.”
“Oh…that was me saying yes. Yes, I would like that…but not now…when I get back.”
“Cool,” Dalton said as she hopped into the car. “See you when you get back.”
She smiled her farewell and waited for him to walk back in before she closed the door. She was a dork. No question about it. A complete and utter dork. Dalton would be considered about two steps above socially awkward and she made him seem like a smooth talker.
This was going to be difficult. Starting a life where she would be in constant contact with different people was going to be the biggest challenge she’d faced to date.
Learning how to interact with different personalities, facing the world on her own—those were skills she still needed to develop.
She was scared and nervous, but she reminded herself that this was the reason for the road trip, to meet new people, experience new things, and she was more than ready for that.
For nineteen years, she’d been escorted everywhere.
Her father hadn’t even allowed her to go to the mall unless Prenisha or Pratiksha accompanied her.
But now was the time to change all that.
It was an impulsive decision. She hadn’t put much thought into it, but after living her entire life with rules and schedules, some spontaneity was refreshing.
She set the coordinates on her GPS and let out a slow, nervous breath. “World…here I come.”