Delilah spent the next few days making sure to do everything she could to keep her kids safe. She talked to the lawyer about it, and he recommended she file a restraining order if she felt threatened. She did, and she made sure each school knew not to allow her ex-husband to pick up her kids. She had full custody of her kids, and he hadn't ever paid child support! She had all the legal rights to keep him away from her kids. She never pushed him for child support in the past, but if he kept messing with her, she would collect all the back child support he owed for all three kids over the last 10 years!
She knew he could never afford it. He lived off his girlfriends and his parents. He would only do cash-paying jobs so he could still collect disability payments from the government. He would mow lawns or do housework for cash to pay for his beer and drugs. She didn't want that kind of negative influence around her kids. Jasmine could understand what was going on, but Amber and Christopher were still young and impressionable.
Jasmine was her mom's advocate during the court procedures. She told the judge honestly what she remembered growing up and what her dad was trying to do now. The judge sided with Delilah and ordered William to pay his back child support and to go to rehab before he could see his kids. He would need to submit a clean drug test to the court before he was allowed visitation rights. She also granted a restraining order for Delilah so William could not harass her at home or work.
William gave up getting Delilah back and decided it was too much work to see his kids. He didn't want to go to rehab and get clean. He didn't want to get a job and pay his back child support. He went back to Louisiana to party and live with his girlfriend. Eventually, he moved to Arkansas and married an older nurse. She supported him and found him an easy job at a lumber mill. He only had to push a button. He still didn't pay child support since he was in a different state. He worked until his cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis made him bedridden. His wife was a CNA and took care of him until he died. That was later in the future of her past life.
In Jasmine's past life, her father had apologized to her before he died. He still tried to lie and say it was because her mom had cheated on him. She said, "Dad, I was old enough to remember what happened. You were the one who was always partying and cheating on Mom while Mom was waitressing." He looked guilty of being caught in his lie and tried to change the subject. Jasmine ultimately forgave him because he kind of tried to apologize and it was his dying wish to be forgiven. She wasn't perfect and wouldn't hold it against a dying man.
Delilah hadn't used child support in Jasmine's past life to shield herself from William. Jasmine was impressed that her mom was able to use the legal system to her advantage this time. It should save her years of heartache and headaches. It would have been best for everyone if William was not around. She gave him the chance to correct his mistakes and pay his child support. If he didn't want to take advantage of it for his kids, that was his fault. This way she was not a bad parent.
Jasmine tried to explain it to her younger siblings so they would understand. She said their mom was trying to protect them and their dad didn't want to stop drinking. Christopher remembered how his dad acted when he was drunk and agreed that his dad should stop drinking. They finally understood why their mom didn't like them to be around their dad. Amber was sad, but Jasmine hugged them and told them everything was going to be ok.
They loved their mom and wanted her to be happy. The kids all did their chores and homework. They did everything they could think of to keep their mom happy. She loved her kids and seeing them behaving made her happy. That was one less thing she had to worry about. Now she just needed to finalize the divorce with James!
Jasmine wanted to help her mom make more money so she could relax and not have to work so much. She set up a meeting with the franchise owners to pitch her non-dairy ice cream recipe. She told her mom, "Hey Mom, I made an appointment with the franchise owners for Wednesday afternoon. Are you available?" Delilah had almost forgotten about the non-dairy ice cream since she had so many other things to deal with. She said, "Sure, I can go with you. Just let me know where and what time."
Jasmine told her mom the time and place and Delilah took her to the meeting. It was during lunch break at school when Delilah picked up her daughter. Jasmine had scheduled it that way because the franchise owners only offered normal business hours and she wanted her siblings to be taken care of while they went to the meeting. Her siblings were still in school, so it was a good time to go. Delilah had told Bob she had to take a long lunch to deal with something for her daughter. He agreed because he knew she would still get her work finished in time.
Jasmine had her mom swing by the ice cream store before the meeting to pick up some cups of non-dairy ice cream for the owners to try. She took some of each flavor she had made and perfected it with all the ingredients she tried. She also had her patent pending for the recipe. They met the franchise owners and gave the presentation with the cups of non-dairy ice cream for them to try. The owners were very impressed that a 15-year-old came up with the idea and recipe. They agreed to buy the licensing rights to produce the non-dairy ice cream in their stores. They paid $10,000 upfront and allowed Jasmine to keep 5% of the profits from the sales.
Delilah was amazed at her daughter's business mind. She praised her and said, "Wow! Good job! You are so smart!" Jasmine smiled and said, "Thanks, I got it from my momma!" They laughed and hugged. Her mom asked her, "What are you going to do with the money?" Jasmine said, "We should invest some of it in stocks and use the rest to pay off some debts. Her mom was impressed again with how mature her daughter was. She agreed to let her manage her money how she wanted. Jasmine had her uncle buy the stocks so that James couldn't try and take her money during the divorce. She was still technically a minor and he was still legally her stepdad. She would have to help her mom in any way she could.
Jasmine went back to school and her mom went back to work. Jasmine saw Thomas after school and told him about her good news. He was excited for her. He said, "That's awesome! I'm so proud of you!" She smiled and hugged him. She told him, "I also sent in our demo tapes to some producers. I'm still waiting to hear back." She knew the major producing studios at that time were in New York, California, and Tennessee. She sent copies of their demo tapes to all the major studios. She was looking for any way to make money for her mom that she could. The stocks would pay off in the long run, but her mom needed money now!
If Jasmine could get a record deal and make a big sign-on bonus, she would use the money to help her mom quit her job and enjoy her life. She could hire her mom to be her manager or financial adviser and they could travel together. Her mom loved to travel! Maybe they could start a family band! Christopher was still a little young, but Amber would be ok with it. Jasmine was thinking about what to do with Christopher. He could go live with their Grandpa Frank or with her uncle, but she knew her mom would miss him too much. She would just wait and see what happens later.
For now, she would just try to enjoy her life and help the people around her as much as she could. She told Thomas, "We should get your friends together so we can record more songs. The more genres we have the better chance of someone liking our music." He agreed and thought it sounded fun. The only downside was his full schedule with Orchestra and Football. He said, "Maybe this weekend." Jasmine said, "OK, I'll ask my mom later."
She went to pick up her brother from school and Thomas went to football practice. They walked and talked to the football field. Jasmine waved at a few of the other players she knew and hugged Thomas goodbye. The other guys were jealous and started to tease Thomas. He just blushed and went to practice.