The summer had come and gone, without any memories or stories to share. All that mattered now was going back home; packing and getting my ass back to college for my last year. I had been away from home the entire summer, driving from town to town shopping around for a grad school that would suit me. I had two weeks to get home to Georgia, pack my stuff and back to school in Texas in time for classes to begin. I was currently staying in Louisiana with my Aunt Mae, really getting stressed out from the lack of planning I had done for the entire summer.
"It's only two weeks until school Aunt Mae! I haven't found a grad school that I like, I haven't packed my stuff, and I'm just not ready to leave school yet!"
"Good gracious child, calm down!"
"I can't!"
I was pacing back and forth on the front porch while Aunt Mae was sitting in her rocking chair, mending my jeans. She was an old and wise woman, only a few years older than my mom was. Her husband Rick had died last year, so now she lived all by herself in this big house out in the country. It was late August, and it felt like it with the humidity and the heat that seemed to rise up from the dirt.
"God! Can't it rain or something? I'm hotter than a forest fire."
It was night, which caused the heat to cool just a little, but the humidity stayed the same.
"Don't blame the heat for your problems now, child. It ain't done nothin' to you."
"I'm sorry Aunt Mae, it's just that I'm so frustrated!"
I stood still a while and placed my hand on my forehead to help me think.
"I'm just going to have to go home and tell mama that I didn't find a grad school that I liked."
"It'll be all right child, you'll see."
"What are you preaching about now aunt?"
"Things always work out the way they're supposed to in the end, you'll see."
She handed me my jeans that were now mended. I took them from her and mumbled a polite thank you before I ran up stairs to pack my bags. It dawned on me that what I was dealing with didn't seem like a lot to someone else, but then that someone else didn't know my mama.
***** "Jasmine, your home!"
Mama came rushing out of our house, too excited to even think about letting the screen door slam shut behind her-something that annoyed the hell out of her.
"I'm so glad your home! How was your trip? The last time you called you didn't tell us what you thought about that school in Arkansas."
"Well, mama, the truth is I..."
I couldn't finish my sentence. Standing in our doorway was a man I didn't recognize. He was taller than mama by about a few inches, I couldn't tell much about him, but I could tell he had short hair and he was smiling. Mama must have seen the reason why I stopped talking because she immediately went into a panic.
"Oh! My goodness, where are my manners? Jasmine, this is Arnold Baker, he and his brother have agreed to stay and help out while your father is away in Kansas. He and Sean have been helping us out all summer and when Hank got the call..."
"What? Daddy is gone? When were you going to tell me this? And who is this guy mama?"
"Now honey, don't get upset. Your father's brother Jeff is in the hospital, he left yesterday to be with him. You were already on your way home from Mae's house when it happened so I had no way of telling you. Arnold and his brother Sean have been helping us out all summer since you were gone and your father needed the extra help with the new cattle coming in and everything..."
It took me a while to let it all sink in. Yes, I think mama did mention something about daddy needing some extra help, but I didn't think they were staying in our house with us.
"Mama, where have they been sleeping all this time?"
"Honey, they've only been here since last night and um..."
"Mama, where?"
"Well, um, Arnold is currently staying in your room and Sean has the couch. Oh dear, where are we going to put you now?"
"Mama, I need my room!"
"Now, honey, don't get all upset. We'll make it all work out some..." I didn't listen to the rest of her sentence. I walked up to the house stormed up to the door and looked at this 'Arnold' right in the face.
"Listen, this is my home. You may be a guest here but I live here. Stay out of my way for the next week or so and we will get along fine."
He didn't say anything; he just stood there, arms crossed across his chest with a stupid smile on his face. I spun around to face mama.
"Have him out of my room by this afternoon mama. I'm going into town to get some things I need."
I stormed off towards my car. My homecoming hadn't been a very welcoming one. ***** I arrived in town fixed on getting my mind off of my home situation. I walked around town so pissed off at everything that I almost forgot that I needed some necessities. After a few hours of storming around town like a woman on her period, I finally realized that I was all upset over nothing really. I forgot that mama had told me about Arnold and Sean, that was my fault. I didn't find a grad school that I liked and I was going to be a senior next year. It took me a while to realize that I was more scared of leaving school that I thought I was. When I'm scared of something, I get mad in order to mask how scared I am. It was getting late so I went back home.
That night, I arrived just in time for supper. I was tired and I didn't feel up to having dinner with my mom and the two new members of the house. But, after I did all of that thinking, I had decided to give these guys a shot. They couldn't be all that bad, right?
I went up to the door and could already smell my mama's chili and corn bread. I was actually happy to be home for the first time that day. I walked into the kitchen and the good feeling I had vanished. Sean and Arnold were already eating the chili and bread without even the decency to wait until I got home first. "Oh, Jasmine. This is my brother Sean." Arnold said, his mouth full of chili and pointing to the man beside him.
"Hi. Where's my mom?"