Mandy & Minnie

Jasmine loved how her little niece called her Minnie. Jasmine stood in the kitchen with her hands rested slightly on her plump hips, staring at Mandy.

“Minnie, Minnie, I’m hun-gey”, Mandy tugged on Jasmine’s dress looking up at her.

“I know you are baby girl, I’m looking for something to make”, Jasmine scanned the pantry. She had ketchup, a large bin of oats, flour, noodles and day old bread from work. Finding something to eat wasn’t a top priority at the moment. Her mind was occupied with the lasting sting of her sister’s death. It was unpredicted and stupid, just stupid. Jasmine shook her head in anger and grief while her sister’s baby lay hungry in Jasmine’s care. Amber was never married; her boyfriend left soon after Mandy was born. Neither of the two had spoken to their parents in years. Jasmine moved out at seventeen and Amber had left long before that. Jasmine swore to herself that she would never start a family, because her family was clearly cursed. Nobody stayed together, all that was built soon crumbled like over baked cookies.

            Mandy reached into the pantry and pulled out noodles for the fourth night in a row. Minnie never complained, as long as she was fed, she was happy. Minnie had big brown eyes with long eyelashes that fanned through the air when she blinked. Her skin remained tan all year round, which accented her curly black hair. She was tough to figure out, and most people guessed her to be Hispanic. Her skin was thick and so was her little body, with rounded finders and toes.  A trail of small brown freckles dipped from one cheekbone to the other, with a cluster atop her nose. Her freckles were the only feature that resembled Amber. She really looked like more of an angel than a child. An angel that seemed to have no cares in the world, not even one. Her mother had just committed suicide yet she sat on the floor smiling up at Jasmine. Her life had taken a dramatic turn and Jasmine would do her best to hide it from her. Jasmine wondered how such an obedient child could be the product of such a dysfunctional family. It was now her quest to keep Mandy that way, innocent and sweet.

            Jasmine fed Minnie noodles at the kitchen table filled with her roommate’s stats homework. Her roommate, Samantha, took the news about Mandy well. It was only their second year in college. It had always been Jasmine and Samantha from the moment they met during Freshmen Orientation at Baylor University in Texas. Jasmine wanted a degree in Pediatrics. As she spun noodles around her fork, she questioned being in school. Mandy couldn’t be home alone. Jasmine stared at Mandy, feeling reality change her plans. Just a week ago, Jasmine was a college student that was searching to find more to life. Now she has a child. Jasmine resented her sister for leaving her own daughter and sister in this position. She hated the way she felt guilty for resenting her sister. Her sister’s selfish actions had thrown Jasmine off course. Jasmine knew what she had to do, and her life was no longer her own. Mandy would now become her main priority.

            Samantha opened the front door and Jasmine smiled as Mandy ran into her arms. Mandy loved everyone. Jasmine planned the night consisting of doing the dishes, giving Mandy a bath, tucking her into bed and then homework. There were three weeks left in the semester, and Samantha agreed to watch Mandy while Jasmine went to class. Even when she was in class, her mind was always somewhere else.  It was a fight to make it work, but Mandy was worth it. She had something special inside her and Jasmine was the perfect person to help it grow. Jasmine quit school after that semester. She kept her job at the bakery, while also working as a secretary full time.  Jasmine dropped out of college, with hopes to return but didn’t truly see it a possibility. Jasmine brought little Mandy everywhere, and despised the way people watched her. If only they knew her situation. They would understand why a nineteen- year-old girl has a three-year-old child.  Many late nights, Jasmine would lay awake at night thinking and planning. When her thoughts got too tangled and messy, she would begin to tear up. Jasmine kept Mandy’s bitter beginning from her forever, never allowing her to know. When Mandy graduated college, Jasmine felt just as accomplished as if it had been her. Jasmine didn’t want her to go. Mandy changed her life, and Jasmine didn’t want it any other way.