Character Sketch

3/7/1972

***

Jasmine kicked her shoes off. She had just recently learned to walk in tall heels. She had not worn a heel over a half inch until this past year. She could not believe that she let her metrosexual cousin convince her to where some heels that were an inch high. After prating for a whole week, she was finally able to walk in the heels without stumbling. Oddly enough, her male cousin had taught her how to walk in the heels. Jasmine laughed as she thought about all of the things that her male cousin had taught her about being a girl. He was the one who had taught her how to put on her make-up. He was the one who had taught her how to put an outfit together. The only thing Jasmine hated about her cousin’s vast knowledge of being a woman, was that he was often called gay. He cousin was not gay. He was just good at looking good, smelling good, and dressing good. He was 20 and did not have a girlfriend, but he was not gay. Why did church folk think that you needed to be married once you turned 20? It was always amazing to Jasmine because most of the people who were always asking her when she was going to get married, either had rocky marriages or were divorced. Jasmine did not have a good view of marriage. With divorce running rampede through her family and having seen so many rocky marriages in her church growing up, she could not have a good view of it.

Jasmine brushed her long black hair out of her face. She hated having hair in her face. She would have cut it off, but her cousin, aunt, and former church family would have had a fit. They believed that women should not cut their hair short, especially if they had been blest with long hair. Jasmine would never cut her hair, but there were times when she was tired of having long hair. It did come in handy when she wanted to pull it back into a ponytail.

Jasmine rubbed her nose. She smiled because she had been teased so much growing up because she had a big nose. She hated been called big nosed. Jasmine was a beautiful young woman. She had few flaws, but she did not have a man. She often felt bad about it, too. It did not help that people, church folk in particular would ask her what was wrong with her, as if she had a disease that kept her from getting a man. It was not like she was sitting around her house praying, "Lord, don’t let men pay attention to me." In actuality, she was praying the exact opposite. "Lord, can I get a date, please." Jasmine did not understand church folk, especially the ones who said they spoke in tongues. they were constantly criticizing her and making her feel bad because she did not have a man. Apparently, their Holy Ghost was not working like it should have been because they would have discerned what and how she was feeling. She felt worse than they could have imagined about the whole situation. It got even worse when Jasmine overheard one of the mothers of the church say, "Maybe she is one of those girls who like girls." Jasmine almost had a fit when she had heard it. She told her cousin what the old lady had said. DeAndre said, "Girl, please don’t let those old ladies get to you. They say worse things about me." Jasmine had tried to shrug off the lady’s comments, but she never could. Jasmine often wondered how many other people were wondering the same thing.

***

Jasmine was driving down the highway. She was planning on moving to Sheldyville next month, so she wouldn’t have to drive back and forth from Maysfield to Sheldyville every weekend. She had recently graduated from Maysfield State University in Maysfield. She was so glad that her uncle was a professor at the college, because she did not have to go to college in a city where she did not know anyone. He uncle had been a great help to her while she was in college.

Jasmine was grateful to her uncle and aunt. They had adopted her after her parents died in 1975. Jasmine’s parents died in a car crash. They were hit by a drunk driver while they were on the freeway. Her mother died at the site of the accident. Her father died on the way to the hospital. Her aunt and uncle, DeAndre’s parents, had raised her as if she were their own child. She and DeAndre were more like sister and brother than cousins. Her parents had left a some money to help care for Jasmine, so that helped her aunt and uncle out some. Thinking about her aunt and uncle made tears form in her eyes. Jasmine wiped her eyes.

Jasmine could not believe that she had to drive to Sheldyville on Sunday. She had planned to drive down on Saturday, but she was not able to do so. She had to get up at 6:00 AM and drive down on Sunday morning. There was not much traffic, so it was an easy drive. She did wish that her cousin DeAndre was in the car with her, but she knew that he was at his house primping in the mirror trying to get dressed. That boy was worse than a woman when it came to getting dressed. He dressed better than any woman that she knew, too. He was three years younger than her, but he always acted like he was the oldest. It must have been that alpha male thing that she had heard so much about in psychology class.

Jasmine was thankful that DeAndre had agreed to let her move in with him. His mother had recently moved back to her hometown of Booneville, so DeAndre was living in a three bedroom apartment by himself. He probably enjoyed it because he did not have anyone their to bother him. Jasmine, DeAndre, and her aunt had lived in the apartment for over 12 years, before Jasmine went to live in Maysfield to go to college. Jasmine could not believe that she had lived in an apartment for most of her life. Jasmine chuckled. She and her cousin had some good times living in the Broughwood Park Apartments, perhaps, the second time around would be just as fun as the first time. Oddly enough, the apartment complex was down the street and around the corner from Parkridge. That was cool because she would not have to get up that early to go to church. She had gotten use to living very close to the church that she went to because her uncle was a pastor and he lived in the church’s parsonage, which was right close to the church before he had a house built in Maysfield. That house was not that far from the church either.

Jasmine was glad that she was moving to Sheldyville in a few weeks. She was so tired of making the two hour drive from Maysfield to Sheldyville. Her uncle was constantly fussing at her because she was putting so many miles on her car. She would just laugh at him. She was about 30 miles from the church, but she was going to be late for the service. She hoped that DeAndre would wait for her outside. He liked to make an entrance, so walking in late might be cool to him. He world probably wait on him.