Jasmine held Charlene''s hand in one and tugged Thorne''s sleeve with the other.
"Come on, let''s go eat!" she chirped.
Charlene hesitated, trying to slip her hand from Jasmine''s grasp. But Jasmine
suddenly piped up, "You know, it''s been ages since I had dinner with both my
mom and dad."
Charlene paused, ncing at the little girl''s beaming face as Jasmine clung to her
and Thorne, surrounded by other children happily nked by their parents.
Charlene''s heart twisted.
She''d kept Jasmine when the unexpected pregnancy happened, her decision
alone. For years after, Thorne had barely been involved in Jasmine''s life.
Only in thest couple of years had Thorne started making an effort, but by then,
she and Jasmine spent more time apart than together as a family.
The truth was, Jasmine had never really known what it was like to have both
parents around—a normal family life.
In that, Charlene knew she''d let her daughter down.
She''d given birth to Jasmine, raised her, but had never really given her a typical
childhood.
No matter what happened between her and Thorne, they would always be
Jasmine''s parents.
Whatever the future held, even if they divorced, there would be times they''d have
to sit down together to talk about Jasmine''s future.
A family meal like this, really, wasn''t so hard.
"Mom?" Jasmine shook her hand and looked up at her with bright eyes when she
didn''t respond.
Snapping back to the moment, Charlene nced at Thorne, silently asking his
opinion.
He was already watching her, as if he could read her mind.
"What shall we eat?" he asked.
She looked away, her voice neutral. "You pick."
Thorne nodded. "Alright."
Soon, they each got into their cars and drove to the restaurant.
When they arrived, they were shown to a private booth. Jasmine slid into the
middle seat, and Thorne handed Charlene the menu. Then he turned to her and
asked, "Will you being by The Henderson Group this afternoon?"
"I''ve got other things to do, so I won''t make it."
"Alright."
He poured her some tea. Charlene nodded her thanks, then added, "Minnie''s
birthday ising up. How do you want to arrange it?"
Charlene hadn''t celebrated Jasmine''s birthday in two years.
Last year, she had nned to fly
over for Jasmine''s birthday, but
Thorne never replied to her
messages, and Jasmine seemed to
be having such a good time that she
clearly didn''t want her mother to
Jasmine''s actual birthday to make
the trip to Golnd.
She hadn''t expected things to go the way they did after she arrived.
Remembering it now, Charlene''s voice was calm. "You can handle it."
By then, the divorce would be finalized, and Jasmine would be living with Thorne.
He could celebrate however he wanted.
As for her, she might not even go.
While she was lost in thought, Jasmine spoke up. "Mom, will youe be with me
on my birthday?"
Charlene managed a soft smile, not promising anything. "We''ll see. If I have time,
I''lle."
Jasmine''s face fell. "Okay."
Thorne got busy with phone calls after they ordered, taking call after call.
Charlene barely spoke to him again for the rest of the meal.
When they''d finished eating, Charlene was ready to leave, but Jasmine grabbed
her hand, begging her to stay a bit longer.
Charlene gave in.
Thorne seemed to have finished his business and didn''t rush off. Instead, he
joined them as they headed to the arcade.
Charlene ignored him, and Thorne
seemed to pick up on it. He didn''t
press, just stood behind them
watching Charlene teach Jasmine
how to y the games.
After a while, Charlene kept quiet, but Jasmine worried Thorne might be bored.
"Dad, do you want to y with us?"
Thorne nced at Charlene, who
didn''t look his way, and smiled..
that''s alright. I''m happy just
watching you both have fun.
"Okay then," Jasmine said, content.