-- two days later --
Karen and I head out to town in the early morning. She wanted to go shopping and suggested that I come along. We arrived to town in about thirty minutes. The warm wind caused the skirt of my sundress to ruffle.
"So, Jasmine, where do you plan on going to college?" Karen asks me as we walk down the pavement of a little shopping plaza.
"I'm not sure yet." I lie.
"You can tell me." She nudges me lightly. "You remind me of myself when I was about your age."
"I do?"
"Of course. You can keep a secret. Now, spill it." How does she know?
"How would you know if I kept a secret from you?"
"A mother always knows." She smiles. "Now, tell me where you plan on going to college."
"As much as I'd love to, Karen, I think it's best to not tell anyone until I know for sure what college I'm going to attend." I tell her.
"What state is it in?"
"Illinois."
"Chicago?"
I nod. "Please don't tell Shawn."
"If you haven't, why would I?" She asks. I relax, knowing she won't spill my secret. "Jasmine, I did the same thing when I was younger."
"You did?"
She nods. "I chose my future over someone. It's important to choose what you want in your life over something or someone you've known for a few days."
She and I enter the grocery store to get some things Karen will need to prepare dinner for tonight. I grab a shopping cart and walk with Karen down the aisles as she has a list in her hand.
"I have to ask." I say. "Why does Shawn fight?"
Karen chuckles. It must not be serious as Shawn makes it seem. "He was always the rough one of the bunch. We put him in boxing at a young age, he eventually grew into it."
I start to laugh. "I'm sorry. Shawn always made it seem like a private and sensitive subject to bring up."
"We just don't want him to make a career of that." Karen adds.
"Well why not?"
"Because, oh hold the cart." Karen grabs a few items and places them in the cart, checking some things off her list before talking to me again. "His father and I don't think it's a good career to be in."
"What, fighting?" I ask.
"Exactly." She nods.
"Did you both want him to be a lawyer?" Karen turns to look at me. "He mentioned that on the plane ride over here."
"I want him to be whatever he wants to be." She answers.
"But his dad doesn't?" We come to the end of the aisle and make a left turn into the next aisle.
"No. He wanted him to be in the law business." Karen grabs two bags of rice and places them in the cart, crossing the item off her list with a blue pen. "I won't lie, I thought he would have made an excellent lawyer. He was smart, too. But he just didn't want to do it."
"It wasn't him, was it?" Karen looks at me and shakes her head.
"So, Chicago?" Karen asks me.
My stomach drops. Just the mention of Chicago and having to leave Shawn makes me feel uneasy. Almost as uneasy as when I spent 70 dollars online shopping with my moms credit card, but that's a different story.
