"So, have you eaten something yet? Or you were just waiting for us to arrive first?" Ava asked while caressing Jasmine's brunette hair.
Jasmine laughed, "Oh my dear cuties, you always knew what's popping in your grandma's head."
"Uh huh, that's because we are ultimate!" Aria beamed with her fist in the air.
Ava shook her head on agreement and slumped on Jasmine's shoulder. "Ah, I really miss dad. When is he returning back from LA?"
"A month time." Jasmine answered.
"Why a month time?" Aria pouted her lips.
Jasmine bumped her nose and chuckled before wrapping her arms around her granddaughters shoulders, "Well, so many reasons my dear. One of his branches in LA seeks his attention. Maybe or maybe not it won't be up to a month before he returns."
"I miss dad." Ava sighed.
"Yeah, just like I miss aunt Mabelle too." Aria added.
Jasmine scrunched her brows, "Who is Mabelle?" She asked as her mind reflects towards some people she knew bearing that same name.
Ava and Aria both glared at themselves. They contemplated if they should tell jasmine about her or just pretend like it was a slip of tongue.
"Ava? Aria?" Jasmine called quizzically when they kept quiet for a long while.
Killing the fear, Ava hesitated, "Aunt Mabelle is the woman whom lend us her home for shelter last night and also fed us."
Jasmine raised her brows in astonishment. Though she can't really figure the Mabelle they're talking about but whoever it was, really deserve a thankyou reward.
"Grandma, Aunt Mabelle is a very nice woman. She is so beautiful and young." Aria complimented in satisfaction.
"And she is a really good cook. You should taste her soup. Damn I forgot about the bad weather all because of that soup." Ava sighed with eyes closed in praise.
Jasmine smiled and crossed her arms, "Are you for real? You guys are in the house of a stranger?"
"Come on grandma, it's not that bad." Aria shrugged. "This morning before we left her place, she made chicken broth and noodles for us. Grandma, she is so nice."
"Uh huh, and we promise to visit some other time." Ava added.
"So is she married? Does she live alone? Did you meet any child with her?" Jasmine asked. The way Ava and Aria talked so we'll about the woman made her wonder and become curious to know who it was.
"Ummm-on a contrary, we didn't see anyone with her and she never shared her personal matters with us either. Her apartment is a two to three bedroom bungalow and the way things are, I could guess that she is lonely." Ava explained.
Jasmine muttered something silently with a frown on her face. She sat up and inquire, "What's her occupation? I mean, didn't you notice anything related to her career or something-- you know anything to guess her profession."
Ava and Aria wasn't in the right state of mind to suspect their grandmother's curiosity. They paused and thought.
Ava remembered her eyes flicked on the tailoring machine which was at the passageway while she was having breakfast in the dinning room. "A fashionista."
"A fashionista?" Jasmine probed. Still finding it hard to characterize the Mabelle she knew many years ago and the one Ava and Aria was talking about.
The Mabelle she knew, though never talked about her career but she once said she was a civil servant in some petty company. Well, it's quite clear and easy to know that this Mabelle is very different from the one she knew.
Ava stood up and stretched her arms in the air as she yawned. "Oh boy, I have to take a nap now." She made her way towards the stairs. "Later grandma."
Aria followed her behind, "I need to rest too. I promised Aunt Mabelle to come visit her before dusk. So I gat to rest now, grandma."
After they had went into their bedrooms, jasmine took the TV remote control from the table and switched the channel.
.....