The Unexpected Visit
The loud knock at the front door sounded like the trumpet of judgement as it woke him from his sleep. He struggled to get out of bed as the late night of drinking had caught up with him. As the room spun, he closed his eyes and walked towards the living room, feeling the way with his hands, luckily he managed to grab a bottle of water on the way there. His head thumped louder as another knock echoed throughout the small living room- finally arriving, he peeked into the peephole.
He opened the door as his overbearing sibling walked in. "What can I do for you Jasmine?" He asked as he was closing the door only to be stopped as someone put their hand on the door.
"Jesse, when was the last time you cleaned?" Jasmine said as she sat down and patted the cushion. "Come, sit with me."
Jesse watched as his niece walked in and just like her mother sat down. He stared at them for a few moments. It always surprised him whenever he saw them together, you'd think they were sisters, the way they looked almost identical. Both had long straight brown hair, beautiful faces adorned with mesmerising smiles and deep brown eyes. All of that plus they sported nice slim toned bodies (Jasmine is what you would call a fitness enthusiast and well Ashley was a young vibrant teen).
Beauty, however, was just skin deep. Jasmine is what you'd call, model gorgeous, she always had the boys after her all throughout their school years and because of that Jesse found himself a lot of times in awkward situations. But her undeniable beauty made her into a very conceited person thinking everything belonged to her.
"Jasmine... It's Saturday, I had a long night and I don't really feel like doing this today." he said, hoping she would take the hint and leave.
"Actually, it was my idea to come, uncle Jesse." Ashley said.
"Oh, I see, and what may I do for you Ash?" he said, finally closing the door and taking a deep chug from that much needed water bottle.
Ashley looked around before finally looking back at him.
"I am here to see if you'd allow me to spend part of my summer here. I have finals in a few days, mom and dad are going to get the house renovated. They'll be gone for a month and I don't want to go where they are going, please!" Ashley said, batting her eyes.
He took a deep breath.
"Ashley, that's an awfully long time. I may not even be here this entire summer, my work takes me on the road at times." he told her, hoping she'll change her mind.
Jasmine gave her brother a stern look. "Jess, it's that or she spends the summer with Bill and I, at moms."
The image of a teenage girl stuck at her very strict grandmothers made him slightly cringe. Ashley wasn't like her mother at all, physically speaking perhaps, but she was a nice, even tempered young woman. He took a long look at them both before finally acquiescing.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Ashley said as she ran and hugged him deeply.
"You're welcome." Jesse said looking right at her mother. He knew very well that Jasmine put this idea in her head so she could go off somewhere with her husband.
Jesse sighed as he gave his twin sister a smile. She always knew just how to get what she wanted and now he was stuck babysitting his eighteen year old niece Ashley.
Two weeks passed by very quickly and the big day was finally here. Ashley was on her way upstairs while Jesse brought up the suitcase. After he closed the front door, it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks, he was going to be spending the next three weeks with a teenager. He figured that Ashley would be fun to talk to- funny and quirky- but it would still be awkward to have someone else in the apartment for any prolonged period of time. In the last year he had to endure hearing his wife ask for a divorce and that led to the loss of his house; she kept it, it was inevitable.
Afterwards, he lost his job and then his teenage daughter Madelyn decided to go and study abroad. As any father would've done, he dipped into his savings and worked two jobs so he could give his angel whatever she needed.
As you'd guess, long sleepless nights and months living alone, so much so, that he became accustomed to being alone. But being alone all the time really sucked and he did try to change this. Unfortunately, none of his attempts at relationships has worked out.
Ashley joined her uncle in the kitchen after stowing away her stuff. They stared at each other for a few seconds and he could tell that she was trying to find something to talk about.
"Listen, I don't want you to feel weird or anything. I am not like your mom, but I will set up some rules while you're here." He said, taking a sip from his favourite mug.
"Hey uncle Jess, when's Maddie coming to visit?" Ashley asked her uncle.
"She'll be here in two months, just in time to celebrate her eighteenth birthday." he replied.
"Aw man, I just celebrated mine. I was hoping that we could've hung out together since she couldn't make it for my birthday, oh well. So, uncle Jess... are you dating anyone?" Ashley asked.
"Not at the moment kiddo, truth be told, I guess... I just haven't found someone as great as your Aunt Tessa was." Jesse looked around, now he was at a loss of words. "Maybe one day, well see." he said with a smile.
"That's such a grown-up answer." she said smiling. "So, what are your rules?"
