jaz valentine

jazmin eliza valentine 31 cali girl owns wildflower cafe

[jazminvalentine]

poppydrakos​:

“Hi?” Poppy dropped her hand with the cigarette between her index and middle fingers, keeping her dark hues on the peppy blonde heading in her direction. Truthfully, the last thing she thought was that she had a face that deemed approachable but she thought she’d hear the woman out. “Oh,” she shrugged, glancing around to look at the semi-empty beach. “Most people come more towards noon. We’re the early bird crowd,” she turned her head back towards the blonde, giving her a tight lip smile. “Poppy,” she introduced herself as she brought the cigarette back up to her lips, taking a small puff as she tilted her head to the side. It was a bit strange but she understood the whole new girl in town routine since it was one she played herself years ago. “Alright.” She said as as she dropped the cigarette to the ground, stepping on it to put it out and leaning down to pick it up so she could toss it into the nearest bin. “Are you plannin’ on being the cook?”

“Early bird gets the worm.” If Jaz learned anything from her family in the last week, it was that southerners liked their cute little sayings. She had a list of them on her phone, jotting them down in her notes app every time her aunt, Emmi, or one of her many cousins said one that had her turning her head with a smile. The one she spouted was common, she knew the meaning and was comfortable using it unlike some of the other ones. Jaz watched her step on the cigarette and waved her inside once she was done. “Nice to meet you, Poppy. Tell me, what’s your favorite drink?” She arched an eyebrow and shook her hand. “I wish! I own the place. Just bought it!” Jaz perked up as she pulled the door open for the woman. “We have the baristas down, but still looking for a cook. Do you know anyone interested?” Jazmin walked her to one of those tall stools by an even higher table. “Sit down, I’ll bring you something. Coffee or do you prefer a freshly squeezed juice?”

[jazminvalentine]

astrid-valentine​:

“Sure.” There was never any fighting when it came to Jazmin. Her sister raised a white flag the moment she felt any contention. It helped to keep the peace and Astrid used to push because she craved more. She used to want to see Jazmin step into a less than perfect time to make her own childish insecurities feel better, but after seeing her break with what happened with Louis…. Astrid took all the negative and demanding word’s she had ever spoken to the universe back. She pretended things were okay because she thought that was what Jazmin wanted to believe (and Astrid wasn’t going to take away the bit of happiness her sister held on to). “Let’s to the wall pastel pink and add accents of neon around. I pinned a cute light on my pinterest. Look.” She shuffled through her phone and handed it to Jazmin. “I can go to the hardware store and get more of the pastel pink.” There was a girl there that seemed indifferent. Astrid like that and she wanted to talk with her. 

Jaz was focused on the adjacent wall that Astrid talked about. She tried to picture her little sister’s vision and cocked her head to the side to see if it would make it easier. It did, but Astrid’s idea helped. Jazmin thought the world of her little sister, but she knew how much everything affected her and how much she tried to be there for her after things happened with Louis. She talked to their aunt about not wanting to be a burden for Astrid, but she couldn’t dodge the blows every time. Life wasn’t fair. “Ooh yeah. I’ll look at it now. I can probably find some with quick shipping on Etsy. Good idea.” She nodded at Astrid. “Where is that? Take my car, the keys are in my purse in the back.”

[jazminvalentine]

restingsinners​:

There was a brief confusion struck into the small group of men, but Darcy didn’t miss a beat. One agreement was all he needed to head out, but then again, he was already leaning out of his chair with one foot pointed in the direction of the door. He’d be willing to leave and simply come back to get them later if need be. There was a brief muttering about Ubers, another claim that someone definitely was not looking to go home at all that night, and then a reluctant agreement to drive themselves home as someone else was utterly unimpressed by the selection of drinks. 

“We could just go somewhere else,” Darcy interjected, and turned to the woman who seemed to be the only one on his side. “Any suggestions? You’ve got to have better taste than the rest of us if you’re ready to head out, too.”

Jazmin’s eyes grew wider, but not with panic. She looked at the stranger for help for a second before she finally mouthed I’m new/ She only knew what Williamsburg was because her little cousin told her all about it. It was the nearest happening place, but she wouldn’t go as far as to call it a bustling city. Places like Los Angeles and New York City were reserved for that. Jazmin just needed an excuse to leave without being followed. She wanted to call an Uber and go back to her aunt and uncle’s house in Rosewood hills. “I’m starving, so I could go for anything right now and only the drinks are good at the bar. How about we decide on our way out?” She hooked her arm around the man’s and smiled at his friends. “See you later, boys. Or are you coming too?” She started to pull the man towards the door the moment she saw the other one who had been bothering her approach them.  

[jazminvalentine]

antoniomorino​:

Antonio looked at her when she complimented him. He was slightly unsure how to respond as he wasn’t used to receiving them all too often. Especially from beautiful women. “Oh um..” He paused for a moment and let a small chuckle leave his lips. “Thank you! And yes, please. Antonio, or some people call me Anti. You can choose though, I don’t really have any preference. Except when people call me Dr. Morino and we are not in the hospital. That doesn’t sit right with me..” He stopped himself when he realized he was rambling. Having a conversation that didn’t involve medical phrases or talk in general wasn’t common to him. Whenever he didn’t work, he usually spent time with his son, and he figured the topic of dinosaur and cars weren’t exactly appropriate on a date. “Yeah? Do you maybe surf then, or are you more of a enjoying the beach kind of a gal?” He asked her out of curiosity. “Wildflower Cafe - I’ll make sure to check it out.” He smiled. “Do you need like, help with anything?” He wasn’t the most handiest of men, but he knew how to do the little things. Antonio laughed at her following words. “I won’t. Trust me. I won’t even try and make you swim with them, as long as you don’t do the same to me.” He added with a small smirk. Nothing about the idea was appealing to him. Actually, when it came to the ocean, sharks were probably one of the things he feared the most. “I’d like to see the penguins! I think my son would like them, so if I could take video of them I might be able to persuade him to join me one day.” He explained. “Then we can get some food and head back home?” He was fairly relaxed as far as how their day went as he had not made any other plans. “I do. To some extent. Not sharks though. Or most deep ocean creatures. Those freak me out. I take it you do too? Considering you are opening a cafe close to it?”

Jazmin had no plans on admitting it, but her aunt and cousin had to prep her for the basket date with Antonio. It had been a long time since she went on a first date and she was cautious and felt nervous, but she was excited. She was taking the fresh start to heart and the pep talk from her extended family helped remind her that it was okay to be herself again, she was safe with them in Fallbrook and they would help her if anything were to happen. She couldn’t put off dating forever and she didn’t want to let her time with Louis ruin her entire life. Antonio was handsome, he seemed polite, and she deserved to have a nice time dammit. She looked at him and smiled when he said he didn’t like to be called doctor. “Because you’re more than your profession?” She wondered aloud. “Anti it is. Jaz and Anti take on Echo Bay!” She chuckled and looked around at the exhibit they were near. “Both!” She was about to tell him more about her hobbies when he casually told her some crucial information. “O.m.g. you have a son, that’s so cute! What’s his name?” She had so many questions now, but she didn’t want him to feel attacked with her curiosity. Patience was a virtue and everything else would come with time. Jazmin nodded and walked down the hall, along his side towards where the penguins were. “You should stop by the cafe with him! We can grab some food and I can take you two to catch some waves! I have a couple of boards there, but we’ll have to rent a smaller one for your son. Do you think he’d like it? I’ll make sure no creepy crawlies are around.” Jazmin realized how that sounded and corrected herself. “No pressure. I don’t mean to make it sound like another date when this one isn’t even over!” She wanted to start making connections, Fallbrook was her new home. That’s why she was determined to make sure if nothing else happened, that they would at the minimum become friends. 

[jazminvalentine]

cordeliavalentine​:

astrid-valentine​:

/

There was no denying who the high pitched squeal came from. Astrid babysat Bentley last night and ended up staying the night. Right before she had fallen asleep, she got a text from Jaz about having the day off. Great. She send back and slept in, only to wonder downstairs when her stomach started to growl for some cereal. She took her food to the breakfast nook in the kitchen and slipped her red beats over her ears. Her plan was to ask Cordelia is she could stay there for a couple of months before she went back home, their extended family was too much and she was exhausted from all the activities they had. One Jazmin she could handle, but like twenty? That was a different story. She turned down the music when she saw Jazmin’s lips start moving and rolled her eyes. “We’ve been in town one week and you have guys lined up and down the block for you already?”

@cordeliavalentine​ 

x

When her sister decided it was time to have a little reunion at the expense of her home, Cordelia was in the middle of telling her assistant the various errands she needed her to run over the phone. Please make sure to pick Bentley’s uniform up from the cleaners and do not forget to tip her using the money I gave you. I also need you to run the new bathroom design ideas to the club as the contractors will be there to take a look and lastly I’ll need you to pick lunch up for me. Any salad will do, just make sure there aren’t too many croutons this time.. and with a click of her phone, she hung up and averted her attention to her younger sisters with the widest smile she’d had in months. “Ah, well I’m very, very happy for you, Jazzy… you’ve gotta tell me all about it.” Taking a peek over at Astrid, she chuckled through her nose before speaking again, “and can you put that down for a moment? We haven’t been together like this in a while.”

@jazminvalentine​

Blue eyes darted to Cordelia who looked at Cordelia who was busy on the phone, making Jazmin hold a hand up to the side of her mouth and whisper at Astrid. “Okay okay, calm down, it’s two guys. Not fifty!” She said to the youngest of the three and walked to Cordelia when she was done to give her older sister a tight hug. Jaz spent a lot more of her time with Astrid after Cordelia got married and moved to Fallbrook. The distance made her want to make up for lost time so she was a little more affectionate with the woman. She reached for an orange off the fruit tray on the counter after letting go of her sister and took a seat in between the two women. “Thank you!” Jazmin blushed, happy to feel happy. She looked at Astrid and laughed. “She’s always on that.” Jaz waved her hand done. “Anyway, so their names are Rhys Wilkes and Antonio Morino. Rhys is British!” She paused for their reaction. “And totally hot. We stayed at the fancy hotel in Williamsburg. Antonio has the cutest smile and dimples, we went to the aquarium.” It was the first time in years that Jazmin talked like that about men after Louis. She wanted to feel a bit of normalcy and being in Fallbrook was starting to feel like a fresh start. 

@astrid-valentine​

[jazminvalentine]

rhyswilkes​:

 Rhys had dropped his overnight bag onto the carpeted floor once they had made their way inside the hotel, while his eyes scanned the room. Having been on the road for the majority of his career, this wasn’t the first nice establishment he had stayed at, but it was one of the nicer once in the area. Looking over at the blonde, he offered her a small smile. “Nice to meet you, Jazmin.” The brit said, accent still clear in his voice. “Jaz it is. I am Rhys. Rhys Wilkes. But you can call me just Rhys.” He introduced himself, before eyes scattered around the room yet again, taking in the view. “It isn’t too shabby, no.” A small chuckle emitted past his lips as she went on. “Not to worry. I am not married.” He reassured her. At this point, he doubted that he ever would be. “But for all I know, you might be?” He added, curios whether or not he should be worried about someone banging on the door at 3 o’clock in the morning to kick his ass. “And I am fine with whatever. I was planning on checking out the place for myself, including the indoor pool, but if you’d rather we take turns, that is fine by me.” He smirked teasingly. “Then we can always enjoy our separate meals, in our separate rooms, if you’d like.” He quipped before chuckling under his breath.

“Oh my god, you have an accent!” She giggled, knowing that technically everyone had one. “You know what I mean!” She corrected herself and turned back to him. He looked like he didn’t mind the conversation and Rhys was quick to ease her worry about an angry wife waiting to snap her neck when they got back. “I bet you’re totally a hit in town!” Everyone loved cute accents, including herself. “No! No no, not married. Goodness. Can you even imagine it? Me? Married?” She laughed to answer her own question. No one saw how irreversibly broken she was from the outside, he probably thought her answer was weird. She rushed to correct herself, but stopped and laughed because she wasn’t a rambler but she felt like one in that moment. “Sorry. I just mean that I’m new in town and it would be a little insane if I was hitched and bidding on date baskets.” Then she realized what he was doing when he started echoing her concerns with his words. She could tell that he was teasing her and it made her smile. “You’re making fun of me.” Jazmin pointed out. “Well, seeing as we’re both totally single I suppose it would be great to have some fun. Want to grab something to eat? Or do you want to check everything out first? And just to clarify, I’m still staying in that bedroom.” So he wouldn’t get any funny ideas. Unless things went well. She was a California girl who liked to have fun. Who could blame her?

[jazminvalentine]

girl’s day with my favorite human @joflores, thanks for being my hype girl! 💞💖

[jazminvalentine]

in Rosewood Hills with @astrid-valentine & @cordeliavalentine​

“Hello!” Jazmin let herself into Cordelia’s home. Her big sister was the greatest and she always felt close enough to her family to welcome herself into their spaces unannounced. It was a weekday morning and that meant Bentley was at school, the bar wouldn’t open until late, and she was a new business owner who closed up shop for the day so they could all get some sisterly bonding in. Jazmin sprung herself through the mud room where she slipped her shoes off and headed into the kitchen where she found Astrid with headphones permanently attached to her head and Cordelia grabbing something. “How is everyone on this totally lovely morning? I have news and it’s that I met two really cute guys!”

[jazminvalentine]

antoniomorino​:

Antonio stood back and could not help but quirk his lips up into a small smile, all while chocking back a small laugh, at the encounter between Jazmin and the otter. “You alright?” He had asked when she had turned around to face him, nodding his head slowly at her explanation. “Right, I guess that is fair enough.” He told her with a small chuckle. “I take it you are not into the sea much then, are you?” He asked her out of curiosity, taking the opportunity to try and get to know her a little more. She has won his basket at the auction after all, the least he could do was play his part. It wasn’t like he did this kind of a thing very often, if ever at all. “Ready to check out the next one? According to the brochure has the bigger underwater fish, like sharks and such.” He explained, not sure whether or not that was her thing. “Or are you starting to get hungry? We could always grab a bit to eat as well before in any case.”

Jazmin shook off the slimy feeling of the little creature and looked at Antonio. “Oh totes, I’m fine!” People confused Jazmin’s enthusiasm for her being ditzy a lot, but she was smart and confident. Or she used to be, before Louis. She wanted to get back to that. No one in Fallbrook knew her, they only knew she was a Valentine from California and that gave her a sense of relief. She appreciated that he asked and it made her want to make him feel good too. “You have a nice smile, Antonio. Can I call you that or do you go by a nickname like me?” Spending time with Antonio was nice so far. He didn’t make her feel uncomfortable and seemed very receptive to conversation, but she didn’t know if that was because they barely met or natural southern charm in him. “What? No! I love it!” She brushed a hand across her shoulder to flick her long hair back. “Always there, you should check out Wildflower Cafe when we’re back in town! I’m renovating it so it’s still shabby looking, but the ocean view is stellar.” She nodded at his suggestions and thought it was nice that he wasn’t rushing the experience .It had been a long time since she went to an aquarium and she was enjoying it. She hoped he was too. “We could take pictures with the sharks! Just don’t make me touch them, I’m not really into the idea of swimming with the sharks.” She giggled because she knew he caught on to that already. “What about you? Any exhibits you want to see? Like the penguins? Or do you want to eat and head back home?” She pointed to a sign that led them to the shark area. “Are you a fan of the sea?”  

[jazminvalentine]

lydia-kim​:

The woman could really talk! Lydia liked that because it meant she needed to do less to avoid an awkward silence, which, to be honest, she usually let happen anyway because she hated putting so much effort into conversations. “Wow you really are a Valentine.” She pointed out before becoming much more intrigued at the mention of Elta MD. “And you know your sunblocks.” She nodded in approval. “I personally love Biore UV but the shipping time takes forever. Most American brands are awful on my skin and always have that nasty smell.” She followed Jazmin towards the table and took a seat. “I’m quite tall too, 5′6″.” She pointed out before nodding her head again. “Tea would be nice. Want to give me your email? I’ll send you all of my contacts. Honestly, my best advice is word of mouth for cheap labor where you don’t need professionals. You can print out more flyers and put them up around Eris, people there usually need work and are down for temp jobs.”

“I am! Like I said, you can just call me Jaz though.” She was starting to see the influence that giant family of hers had around Fallbrook and it felt a little weird, but hopefully it would help her make friends fast. She followed Lydia’s nod with one of her own about the sunscreens. “I agree! Australian suscreens are totally up my aisle too. They’re some of the best, I think I have a brand new, unopened one that I can give you to try out! Busy Bee, right? I can stop by tomorrow. It doesn’t have a white cast and it’s so moisturizing.” A friend! That’s what she was hoping. “Yeah! Totally, that would be incredible. Let me get your number and I’ll send you my email through there too.” Everyone’s curiosity for new people in Fallbrook was turning out to be a good thing! “Oh my god, you’re like a marketing genius. That makes sense since everything is so different here. It really is a little web community. If you got started with flyers, I should too. How long have you had the B&B?” 

[jazminvalentine]

gwen-valentine​:

“Henry and I will show you the old cafe tomorrow, sweetie. Emmi said she would give you a little tour to freshen up your memory after, but I’ll be at city hall taking care of some business so I won’t see you again until dinner time.” She wanted Jazmin to take it easy when she first arrived, but Gwen knew it was good to keep busy when escaping a life that had been  hard for that long. “We’re happy you’re here with us, darling.” Henry and Gwen were willing to do anything as long as her sweet niece was safe. She sat down where Jazmin invited her to and tucked beautiful blonde hair behind her niece’s ear. She wished she could take all the pain away, but that would come with time. “There’s never any rush so you just hush about that. It’s a gift, you know that.” She patted Jazmin’s knee before resting her hands on her own lap. “In case you’re wondering, not a soul other than your uncle and I know what happened. You can tell anyone you’re in town for any reason you see fit.” The Valentine’s were good people, but they were best at keeping secrets in the dark. 

Jazmin looked at her hands and nodded. Her extended family was incredible, it made her feel guilty for not visiting more after she grew up and stopped going on family vacations to visit them in Fallbrook. Happy birthday posts on Instagram and holiday texts weren’t enough for everything that they were willing to do for her, but that was what family did and she knew it because she would drop everything and run to them on a whim if they needed her too. “Thank you, Aunt Gwen. Emmi is the sweetest peanut, but I’m not surprised when she had you two to raise her.” Jazmin nodded again, but her smile wasn’t as happy. She was having a hard time processing the magnitude of these changes and her body and heart felt full of emotion that her brain couldn’t sort through. She could feel her eyes well with tears, but blinked to keep them in. “Astrid and I talked about it on the way here, just a little. We’re just going to tell people I wanted a change from the routine and decided to come here because of you guys, because we have family here. She said she’s heading back in a month of two but it’s been nice having her with me.” Jazmin thought for a moment and looked at her aunt. “Sometimes I feel like Astrid is my big sister. I don’t know if that’s fair to her.”

[jazminvalentine]

restingsinners​:

open to: everyone location: strip club on the outskirts of town

“I know this was suppose to be the ultimate liberating experience,” Darcy started, a hand clasped over their shoulder. “But we did it, and it’s over. How about I drive and you can choose the music and think about how successful you were getting me out of my shithole apartment, and we can call it a night?”

It was a daring experience, and Darcy had quite enough of it already. He had watched his friends nurse a drink, and after three songs, he was ready to go. He was on the outskirts of town close to his own curfew and if he broke it, he’d be screwed. He also wasn’t particularly fond of how handsy some people were getting. 

Jazmin was quick to realize that strip clubs were a lot different in LA than in little towns around North Carolina. Back home they were another place to have fun, dance and drink, and catch up with friends while cheering on the dancers and making them feel empowered. Those were the experiences she was used to, but things were different in Williamsburg. She could see the shame on some people’s faces and she felt dumb for thinking she could make friends there. She heard someone talking about leaving nearby and used it as an opportunity to escape the sketchy person who kept trying to buy her drinks and touched her arm a bit too much for comfort. Jazmin pulled the thin gold strap of her bag over her shoulder and walked to the other group. She found a spot by the person who was last talking and gave him a pageant girl smile before looking over the rest of them. “We’re heading out boys?” She hoped they would be able to tell that she just wanted to leave safely too. 

[jazminvalentine]

lydia-kim​:

Even her laugh was as glorious as that surname. It made Lydia’ narrow her eyes for a moment but she relaxed soon after. It was hard not to with that adorable little laugh. “Wow, well thank you. I’ll have to buy some fruity pebbles, I like coco puffs myself. And sunscreen. Not to eat, not the skin. It helps a lot, it’s how my mom’s kept so young. You should see her, practically looks like a movie star. You’re from LA? No wonder I haven’t seen you before. Your family is all over town, they’re kind of hard to miss. You’re all tall and pretty so everyone gawks most of the time.” Including herself, to be honest. “Totally.” That wasn’t a word Lydia used regularly, if ever. But she wanted to try it out for some reason, probably because it sounded so interesting coming from the blonde. “Okay.” She nodded and went to take a seat, looking around for a second before settling her eyes on her again. “I’m Lydia Kim. Did I say that already? I remodeled the B&B too so if you need any help finding the right people for the job let me know.”  

“Coco puffs and sunscreen. I’ll keep that in mind! Have you tried the Elta MD one? That’s my favorite for the California sun, but I ran out recently and they don’t have any at the pharmacy in town. I checked! I would totally love to hear any of your recommendations.” Jaz was keen on making friends, because Fallbrook wasn’t going to be a temporary vacation for her any longer. It was going to have to turn into her home whether she wanted to or not, might as well make the best of it. “Sunny California! I’m excited to see seasons for a change.” She laughed at how she described her extended family. “They’re my cousins! That’s a pretty funny way of putting it, but you’re right. They’re all really tall. I am too! I’m 5′8″.” Tall for a girl, but not as tall as the Valentine boys. “I’m not sure, I was too excited about having my first visitor! It’s nice to meet you, Lydia. I would love help! All the help! Any help! It would all be useful.” She brought her over to a table to sit down and talk. “Do you want anything to drink? I don’t have the coffee machines installed yet but I have fresh water and some tea my aunt brought over.”

[jazminvalentine]

astrid-valentine​:

@jazminvalentine​ ; wildflower cafe ; closed

“Yeah I get that you like that neon pink, Jaz. All I’m saying is that a pastel pink is going to look better on that wall.” Astrid was as dead set as her sister about what color she liked better, but Astrid thought that having the underside of her hair different shades of pink every month gave her the advantage. It wasn’t going to be her cafe and she didn’t even plan on staying in down for more than a couple of months but as the youngest of the three sisters she felt it was her duty to argue. 

“Well, can we just agree to disagree? Because I’m not seeing your vision, Astrid.” Jaz did her tight and forced little laugh that she did when something was stressing her out. “I just want people to walk in and think happy thoughts while they have a drink and eat something fresh.” She looked at the paint samples on the counter and tried to see what her little sister saw, but the neon pink was so nice! “What if we do neon on that wall and pastel on that other one? Or would it be too much? What about accents of both?” It was going to be called Wildflower Cafe so it had to be colorful. “What if we paint the wall a little and see how we like them with everything else?”

[jazminvalentine]

javicrcastillo​:

Javier glanced down towards his arm where the woman had poked him, furrowing his brows at the touch as he raised his eyes back up to look at her. “Uh…” He cleared his throat but before he could say much of anything the woman kept talking so he stared at her as she spoke, the furrowing of the brows still creasing on his forehead. He took the flyer from her, brushing his tongue along his lower lip. “You’re in Eris which is a ways away from Rosewood Hills but if you go straight all the way past the mechanic shop and take a right. You’ll end up at the start of Rosewood HIlls.”

Jaz nodded, a smile on her face while she listened to his instructions. The guy looked like someone she had run into once, but they weren’t the same person. Just lookalikes. There were a lot of those in the world, she remembered someone once told her that every person on earth had like eight doppelgangers or something. What did he say? Jaz widened her eyes when she realized her thoughts had gone somewhere else, but she didn’t want to be rude and ask again so she gave him her pageant girl smile of understanding. “Oh yes! Such clear directions, thank you! Should be easy enough to get there. Please don’t forget to ask around if anyone needs work! Take a few more.” She gave him a couple more flyers and waved. “Ta-ta!” And she started walking in the wrong direction. Did he say she was in Eris? She shrugged it off.

[jazminvalentine]

gwen-valentine​:

closed for @jazminvalentine​

“Now that all the boys are gone honey, how about I show you to your room?” Gwen stood from the sofa and smiled at her niece. It had been a while since the last family vacation to California where one of Henry’s brother lived with his wife and three beautiful girls so it was nice to see Jazmin. Gwen could feel her heart break when Henry and her got a call about what happened, they quickly opened their home up for Jazmin and set things up for her to have a smooth transition into Fallbrook. “Your hair is so much longer than I remember.” She led her upstairs towards one of the many bedrooms in her home that went unused nowadays. “This is Emmi’s old room. She’ll drop by after work to say hi but left a basket in the bathroom with things you might need in the meantime.” Gwen walked to the dresser and pulled out new pajamas from the top drawer. “I know you must be tired so how about you leave your suitcases alone for tonight? Hopefully these are you size.” She handed her clothes. 

“That would be great!” Jaz got off the couch and followed her upstairs to her little cousin’s room. It was still intact for the most part and she thought about why Emmi decided not to take most of her old things to her new home. She took the pajamas from Gwen with a smile. “Thank you! I’m sure they’ll fit great. I’ll try them on in a bit.” They were soft. Jaz sat on the bed and tapped the spot next to her for her aunt. “Aunt Gwen, I really don’t know where I would be without all of your help. Uncle Henry too. You guys have totally helped me. I know I’m in a rough spot and you sacrificed a lot for me to be here. To be here safe. I want you to know that I’m going to pay back every cent once I get back on my feet. I promise.” Jaz was determined to make herself useful in the meantime. She wasn’t sure how much her cousins knew about the situation, but everything considered they probably didn’t know much. It was in everyone’s best interest if they didn’t know why she moved to Fallbrook all of a sudden and Aunt Gwen was a very discrete woman despite being so kind. 

[wavsofgay]

- April Rose Pengilly