Jen's Journal

“Where’s Carmen?” Linda asks, coming out of Carmen’s bedroom.

“She’s out with her boyfriend,” Jasmine says casually from the couch.

“Again! It’s almost curfew. Dad is going to flip if she’s not back in the next hour!” Linda shouts.

Jasmine shrugs her shoulders, unaffected by the situation. Linda grabs the remote and shuts the TV off.
“Come on, we’re gonna find her before she gets into trouble again,” Linda says.

Jasmine sighs but throws her jacket on anyway. They drive ten minutes to the club Carmen’s been going to recently. As soon as they get in, Jasmine makes her way to the bar for her usual whiskey ginger drink. Linda looks around the bar. She wraps her jean jacket closer around herself as she feels people watching her.

Carmen was nowhere to be found. Linda walked over to where Jasmine was and ordered a Vodka Soda for herself. She took one sip before a tall, dark man asked her to dance. She took one more big gulp of her drink and took his hand. He led her towards the middle of the dancefloor and immediately wrapped one arm around her waist, the other held her hand.

As they were dancing, a couple next to them caught her attention. It was a petite man, maybe an inch taller than Lina was, dancing with a big girl. He could barely wrap his arms around her. The two locked eyes and all they could do was laugh. They did this until the song was over, and as she hoped, he walked over to her and introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m Paul, what’s your name?”

“Linda.” She shook his hand, which lingered a second too long, but she didn’t mind it.

“Nice to meet you, Linda. May I have this dance?” He asks, extending his hand out once more.

“Yeah, sure.” Linda couldn’t hide the smile on her face if she wanted to. She forgot what she was there for, or rather who. They spent the rest of the night dancing, and still, there was no sign of Carmen. It was Jasmine who found her in a corner, making out with her boyfriend.

Eventually, the night came to an end. The lights in the club came on and Paul escorted Linda and her sisters to the car. Carmen reluctantly said goodbye to her boyfriend and climbed into the back seat. Jasmine lingered around Linda and Paul, being nosy as always.

“Excuse me if I’m being too forward, but can I get your number?” Paul asked.

Linda hesitated, unsure if she wanted to continue seeing him.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

Jasmine butted in and said, “Why don’t you both write your numbers down and go your way.”

Linda gave her the stink eye but wrote her number down anyway. Paul wrote his number and handed it to Jasmine. Jasmine took Linda’s number as well and gave them each a phone number. Linda, still upset Jasmine intervened and got in her car, thinking that was the end of that. She was pulling out of the parking lot when Paul banged on her window. She sighed but rolled her window down anyway.

“So sorry but I got my number! Can I please have yours?”

Maybe it was the fact that he was so persistent, or that they laughed with each other the instant they met, but she reached into her pocket and pulled out her number. He gave her his number, double-checked to see her number, smiled, and was on his way. She didn’t know it then but she had just met the father of her future kids. Paul, with the slicked-back hair and the leather jacket. Paul with a smile that melted her heart. But that night, she simply backed out of the club, took her sisters home, and went to bed thinking of him.