Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
GABE
“What are you going to order? The rainbow unicorn with sprinkles is the best!” Rory said when we walked into the ice cream parlor. She skipped to the display case while we trailed behind her, not waiting for Jasmine’s response. Jasmine giggled, amused by her fervor.
“I remember being that excited about ice cream at her age. It was devastating the first time we passed this shop after getting my diagnosis, knowing I couldn’t have it,” she said, and my stomach sank.
“Shit, Jasmine, I’m sorry. I wasn’t even thinking.” I felt like the world’s biggest asshole for bringing her here when she couldn’t even eat what they served.
She held up her hands to stop me. “Don’t worry about it. I know how to manage my diabetes now and can have a little ice cream here and there. Back then, my parents were terrified of doing something wrong and were still learning how to navigate this new lifestyle.”
“Are you sure? We can go somewhere else. I think they have a place that serves frozen yogurt in Oneida,” I offered.
“And refuse Rory her rainbow unicorn sprinkle ice cream? Not a chance,” she replied playfully.
After we placed our orders, Rory and Jasmine went to find us a seat while I waited for our ice creams. Once I had them in hand, I headed toward the corner booth where Jasmine was showing Rory her insulin pump and explaining how it worked.
“So it squirts insulin in your belly all the time, but you can make it squirt extra if you’re going to eat ice cream?” Rory asked, curiously.
“Something like that,” Jasmine replied good-naturedly. “I have to give myself a little extra any time I eat. Ice cream just requires more because of how many carbohydrates are in it.” Rory was fascinated. She studied the device like it was alien technology.
“And your phone tells you how much sugar is already in your blood?”
“Yep. It's connected to this little guy right here,” Jasmine replied, pulling up her shirtsleeve and tapping on the white disc attached to her arm.
She pulled up the app on her phone that tracked her glucose and showed it to Rory.
“It reads the level of sugar in my blood all the time. It will also send me a message if it gets too high or too low.”
I loved that Jasmine took the time to answer all her questions and explain things in a way she could understand. My daughter was at that age where she was curious about everything and wanted to know how it all worked. She was also unapologetically nosy.
Taking the seat across from them, I slid their ice cream across the table and handed them each a spoon.
They both thanked me before digging in. They chatted between bites, and I took a moment to simply observe them, imagining doing this regularly and making Jasmine a part of our lives.
The age difference was starting to feel like less of an impediment the more time I spent with her, and watching her with Rory showed me how easy it would be to integrate her into our lives.
If she was any other woman, I might consider letting my guard down and seeing how things went, but she wasn’t just any woman.
She was my best friend’s daughter. And I knew for a fact he wouldn’t share his mother’s sentiments regarding our age gap.
“What’s wrong?” Jasmine asked, and I lifted my gaze to her worried face.
For a moment I feared she knew what I was thinking, but then she nodded to my ice cream.
“Is yours not any good?” I looked down and found my untouched double scoop of Rocky Road melting and tried to recover quickly by digging my spoon into it and bringing it to my mouth.
“No, it’s fine. Just got a little brain freeze,” I said, popping my spoon into my mouth and chewing to keep from saying anything else. If she caught onto my lie, she didn’t let on.
Once we were finished, we headed to the movie theatre.
There were only a few other families there to watch the new animated film, so we had an entire row all to ourselves.
I was relieved when Rory insisted on sitting between Jasmine and me.
Sitting next to her in a dark theatre was more than I could handle.
The temptation to take her hand in mine or wrap my arm around her and pull her close would be unbearable.
But sitting here, with my daughter between us just felt …
right. It felt like the start of something I was powerless to stop.
And I didn’t want to.
“That movie was so good! I think it’s my new most favoritest,” Rory proclaimed when we came out of the theatre.
“It was awesome,” Jasmine agreed, pulling her in for a hug. “Thanks for inviting me. I had a really good time.”
“Wait, you’re not leaving yet, are you,” Rory asked, panic lacing her voice.
“Oh, um…” she began, her gaze flitting to me in question. I had nothing to offer since we had no other plans. At least none that I was aware of. “Was there something else you wanted to do?” she asked, refocusing on Rory.
“You need to come over so we can watch the first movie!” The one we’d just watched was the second film in a popular franchise.
Jasmine had confessed while eating ice cream that she had never seen it before.
I should have known my daughter would latch onto that and use it as an excuse to get more time with her.
Jasmine’s eyes widened in surprise and shot to me again, searching for any indication of how she should respond.
Rory had just invited her to our house without even clearing it with me first, and I didn’t know how to proceed.
To say I hadn’t envisioned Jasmine in my home multiple times would be a lie.
There were nights I pictured her in my bed, wishing I could hold her close, wishing I could make love to her until the sun came up.
I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to have her in my space. It felt too much like tempting fate.
But if I said no, I would rob Rory of quality time with her favorite person.
There was no good reason, aside from my own selfish desire for the one woman I couldn’t have, to deny her.
My only hope was that she already had plans this evening since it was Saturday and would have to decline.
But if she did, I’d want to know what they were and who she’d be with.
Even though it was none of my business, it would eat me alive.
I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet, uncomfortable with that line of thinking.
“If you don’t have any other plans, you’re more than welcome to come over and watch a movie with us.” I meant to say Rory, but that us came out before I could stop it.
Jasmine chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, her gaze bouncing from me to Rory, who watched her with wide eyed anticipation, then back to me again.
“I’ve got time,” she said, shrugging nonchalantly. A flurry of emotions overtook me, and my pulse thrummed in my ears. Jasmine was about to be inside my house. It was an intimate and welcome invasion, but I was glad Rory would be there too. I couldn’t do anything reckless with my daughter present.
My hands shook with nerves as I drove us home, Jasmine following close behind. Rory was out of the truck the moment I parked in my driveway. I scrubbed a hand down my face and heaved a deep breath before stepping out to greet our guest.
Rory was already dragging her by her hand up the front porch steps. “Come on, Dad!” she called impatiently. I climbed the steps and unlocked the door, ushering them inside. “Do you want to see my room?” Rory asked the second Jasmine was through the door.
“Uh, sure,” Jasmine replied tentatively.
They disappeared down the hall, Rory talking a mile a minute.
The low murmur of their voices interspersed with the occasional giggle filtered out from her room while I straightened up the kitchen.
I kept my house pretty tidy, but there was still a mess from where I’d made pancakes for breakfast.
“Can you set up the playpen for Andy?” Rory asked, skidding to a stop on the hardwood floor. Rory was only supposed to handle and play with Andy in a secure, enclosed space. I wasn’t taking any chances after the toilet incident.
“Sure,” I replied, wiping my damp hands with a dish towel before going to the living room to do as she requested.
Rory ran back to her room, emerging a few minutes later with Andy in her arms and Jasmine trailing behind her.
They both entered the pen and sat cross-legged on the floor.
Rory snuggled Andy for a moment before turning him loose and letting him explore.
It only took a few minutes for him to warm up to Jasmine, and soon he was sitting in her lap.
She gently ran her hand over his head and down his back.
“Wow, he’s really soft,” she mused. He let her pet him a few times before taking off again, but he came right back a moment later. It seemed he was drawn to her just as I was.
“Can I pick him up?” Jasmine asked. “I’d like to try to hold him.” Rory nodded and scooted closer, scratching between Andy’s ears.
“Do it just like I showed you,” she instructed, her expression so serious I had to stifle a laugh.
Jasmine scooped him up gently and cradled him against her body.
“He’s pretty cute,” she said, and Rory beamed.
“I still can’t get over how soft he is,” she marveled.
She was smiling softly, watching his little whiskers twitch as he sniffed her.
Then suddenly, her expression changed, her eyes widening as they snapped up to meet mine.
Alarmed, I straightened, searching her face for any indication of what was wrong.
Then she glanced down at herself, and I watched in horror as a wet spot bloomed across her shirt.
“He peed on you!” Rory squawked, startling Andy. He leapt from Jasmine’s hold and scurried across the floor. “Don’t worry. You can borrow one of my shirts,” she offered unhelpfully.