Chapter 20
“You can’t avoid Nathan forever.” Linnea peered into the bathroom mirror the next Saturday morning as she swept mascara up her lashes.
“Oh, I probably can.” Jasmine slipped the lacy pink dress over her head and smoothed it down. “He hasn’t called for a couple of days now.” Sure, that hurt, but she’d get over it. She’d gotten over him before. Right?
Adriana and Myles’s wedding was due to start in just over an hour.
Certainly being a third wheel with Linnea and Logan — again — was better than attending with Nathan.
She’d had such high hopes for today. Hopes that included dreaming of a day when she’d be the bride in white, waiting for her groom. For Nathan.
A gal might as well wish on wildflowers. Here today, gone tomorrow with a puff of air.
All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls.
Jasmine tried to stop the recitation there, but she knew the scripture from First Peter too well to turn it off. But the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Didn’t Basil deserve the good news?
The mental battle took on now-familiar lines.
Of course he did… not that Basil didn’t already know. He’d been raised in the same household she had. Gone to Sunday school every week, listened to Dad read Bible stories to them every evening when he was home, or Mom when Dad was at work. Gone to kids’ club then youth group at the church.
Basil knew as much as she did. He knew what he’d turned away from.
I have loved him with an everlasting love.
Wasn’t that from Jeremiah? For an instant, Jasmine wished she didn’t know her Bible so well. But the litany of the passage continued. Therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built.
Enough.
Basil’s court case was coming up soon. The only thing her brother had built was a pall on the Santoro name.
He’d probably do some time in jail, and a driving suspension was certain.
She’d looked it up and, unless Basil received a miracle he certainly didn’t deserve, he’d lose his license for three years.
Judges weren’t lenient when blood alcohol levels were more than double the legal limit, to say nothing of Basil running the checkpoint.
Three years! Bridgeview Backyards needed them all to be able to drive to the various gardens and transport produce to the markets. Babysitting Basil for that long was unthinkable .
Fingers tugged at Jasmine’s hair, and she pressed her hands to the sides of her head.
“Thought you wanted a French braid crown.”
Right, she’d asked Linnea to do her hair for the wedding, back when she wanted to look gorgeous for Nathan. Now she didn’t care. “I changed my mind. I’ll just brush it out and put in a clip.”
“I don’t mind. We still have time, and I’d be glad to do it.”
Jasmine took a step away and shook her head.
Her roommate angled a look at her. “You need to talk to him.”
“I can’t trust him.”
“His heart is for Jesus. For forgiveness and redemption. I think it’s your heart that’s messed up.”
“Thanks.” Jasmine didn’t even try to keep the sarcasm out of the word.
“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t point out the truth to you in love? You’ve been that kind of friend to me. I might not have appreciated it at the time, but you’ve given me good counsel when I needed it most.”
Jasmine stared at Linnea. Mostly she remembered telling her roommate that she was more in love with the idea of being in love than actually being in love with Logan.
It had been true at the time, but Linnea had grown out of that phase.
Jasmine had no qualms. Linnea’s love for Logan had matured.
In just a few weeks, it would be their wedding day.
Everyone was getting married. Everyone but her. She was pretty sure she and Nathan had been close to focusing on a future together, but then he’d gone and blown it.
It was all Basil’s fault. As always.
Nathan straightened his tie and eyed himself in the mirror.
Maybe he should just pass on this wedding.
It wasn’t that he knew either Myles or Adriana particularly well, but he’d met with Adriana a couple of times to flesh out her idea for catering dinners in her beautiful riverside home.
She’d invited him herself and seemed thrilled that he’d planned to come as Jasmine’s plus-one.
If he was going to live in Bridgeview, there was no avoiding Jasmine. He’d seen Rae at work every day after their breakup in L.A. and survived. But Rae wasn’t Jasmine.
No, Jasmine was the woman he loved.
His cell phone rang, and his heart leaped. Maybe this time it was her, saying she was sorry. But, no. Pops’s name popped onto his screen. Nathan hadn’t heard from his father in a couple of weeks.
“Hi, Pops.”
“Nathan? It’s Makenna. Your dad… he isn’t doing so well. I’ve taken him to Deaconess Hospital, and he’s asking for you.”
“I can come up this evening. Visiting hours are until eight?”
“Please, can you come sooner? I… I think we’re close to the end.”
The wedding. But his fingers were already loosening his tie, yanking it off, tossing it on the bed as he strode past. “I’m coming. You okay?”
“Yes.” She sniffled. “No. I’m not sure. I mean, I knew this was coming, but… ”
For some reason Nathan had never quite figured out, Makenna actually seemed to love Pops.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
The wedding was simple. Beautiful. Jasmine dabbed away tears as Adriana, eyes shining, pledged herself to Myles. As Myles’s voice grew thick with emotion while he promised to love Adriana above all others as long as they both should live.
This was Adriana’s second marriage. Her first husband had died when their kids were very young. Now Sam and Violet stood beside their mom and Myles, beaming with the same happiness that emanated from the couple.
Adriana had loved her firefighter husband with everything in her.
Now she was giving herself joyously to Myles.
That should give Jasmine hope she could love again, too.
Love someone other than Nathan. Of course, he was very much alive, unlike Stephan Diaz, even though he wasn’t present at the wedding.
He and Basil were probably together, bonding like the good friends they were.
At least he wasn’t here, trying to catch her eye across the sanctuary or, even worse, sitting beside her pretending nothing was wrong.
Everything was wrong. Including the fact that Nathan had planned to come to the wedding and wasn’t here, even though she didn’t want him to be.
Logan’s fingers brushed Jasmine’s shoulder as he gathered Linnea, who sat between them, closer to him. Jasmine shifted away. She shouldn’t be with them. Shouldn’t be anywhere near happy couples .
What a brutal year for weddings. Rob and Bren’s. Eden and Jacob’s. Adriana and Myles’s. Soon it would be Linnea and Logan’s. Jasmine had once held a faint hope in there somewhere that she and Nathan might be headed that direction, too, but not when he interfered between her and her brother.
As soon as she was able to slip out of the church, she did so, avoiding the receiving line. Adriana wouldn’t even notice. Jasmine sidled into the restroom with Hailey on her heels. Great.
“Another lovely wedding,” commented Hailey.
Jasmine avoided eye contact. “Yes, very nice.”
“Where’s Nathan?”
Of course she’d notice. “He couldn’t make it.” That was self-evident. Did she really have to go into the details with Hailey?
“Everything okay with you guys?”
Did she only want to know if the coast were clear to pursue Nathan again herself?
Jasmine shoved the uncharitable thought away and shrugged.
There had to be more to Hailey than met the eye.
They’d never been close, though they’d known each other since kindergarten.
But Eden and Hailey were friends, and Eden was great.
To say nothing of Kass, who worked with her cousin daily and seemed to like her just fine. So maybe Hailey wasn’t all that bad.
“I was sure sorry to hear about Basil. Is he doing okay?”
The other subject Jasmine definitely didn’t want to talk about.
She pivoted and met Hailey’s gaze. “As well as can be expected, I guess.” Truth was, she’d avoided him and cut off anyone who tried to talk about him.
She hadn’t been able to avoid the knowledge that his court appearance was next week, however.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard. I mean, I knew he drank — I think everyone in Bridgeview did — but I thought he knew better than to—”
“We all thought that.” Jasmine edged past Hailey. “Excuse me, please.” She reached for the door handle. Escape couldn’t come quickly enough.
“You don’t have to be so prickly about your brother. It doesn’t reflect on you.”
Is that what Hailey thought? And it wasn’t even true. “Sure, it does.” She lilted into a falsetto. “Look at that fine, upstanding Santoro family. Except for Basil, of course.”
Hailey shook her head, a half smile poking up one side of her mouth. “It’s not all about you, Jasmine. You can’t fix him, but washing your hands of him won’t help, either.”
The words stabbed deep. “Oh?” How did Hailey have the nerve to prod into her psyche, anyway?
The other woman sighed. “We all know how focused you are.” She caught sight of Jasmine’s face and raised a hand. “I mean that in the nicest possible way. The world needs more people who know what they want and how to get it.”
As if. Jasmine had failed at everything.
She’d failed to keep Nathan twice now. She’d backed out of college and taken the easier road to massage therapy.
She’d failed to make her passion for foraging into anything but an escape, and Bridgeview Backyards was in danger of folding through her brother’s idiocy.
Like she was any good at holding things together.
“You don’t see that, do you?” Hailey shook her head. “I’ve always admired your individuality. That you don’t care what other people think of you.”
“You’re wrong, okay? I do care, and I care what they think about my stupid brother.
He’s likely going to jail for a while, you know.
It could be up to a year. His driver’s license will be suspended.
Imagine being thirty years old and depending on public transport or your friends to drive you around. ”
“Lots of city people don’t own cars. Buses go through Bridgeview every twenty minutes. It’s not that big a deal, Jasmine. I mean, the DUI is, but it’s not like his suspended license will be tattooed on his forehead.”
“It might as well be.”
“I don’t get you. You have all those brothers and all those relatives, and you’re completely bent out of shape about one of them.
Don’t you even see the blessings you have?
I was an only child, raised by my grandparents because my parents thought a child inconvenienced them in their diplomatic travels.
I have one cousin, Jasmine. One cousin. And Kass is awesome.
I’m honored to operate a business with her and see her every day. ”
Jasmine remembered to close her mouth. Was she really blind to all the good stuff in her life? Did she really try to control everything? But Hailey’s words had a ring of truth to them. Of all people to deliver the message, though.
No. That was diving back into the better-than-everyone thinking that had gotten her into this predicament in the first place.
The restroom door surged open, catching Jasmine’s shoulder. She stepped out of the way as Nonna billowed in.
“Jasmine! There you are. Will you drive me home? I’m not feeling so well.”
“What’s the matter, Marietta?” Hailey edged closer, concern filling her voice .
Nonna shook her head. “Just tired, that is all. I’m not as young as I used to be, and weddings are exhausting.”
Jasmine had caught a ride to the church with Linnea and Logan, but she could borrow a car. Taking her grandmother home was the perfect excuse to get out of attending the reception. “I’ll get Dad’s keys. You wait here.”
“I’ll walk her out to the parking lot.” Hailey took Nonna’s arm.
Good idea. Jasmine nodded and ducked out of the small room, back into the throng. Worry for her grandmother only slightly clouded her relief at her chance to escape.