A/N- the story starts in third person, then goes to first person, but you don't find out whose POV it is. Then it goes back to third person again. All will become clear.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Jasmine,
Happy birthday to you!"
Jasmine Spinelli smiled. It was her sixth birthday, and her mommy had bought her a princess outfit complete with a tiara, and a princess doll. To top it all off, she had a princess birthday cake too.
She closed her eyes tightly and wondered what to wish for. She could wish that she was a real princess. She could wish that the kids in her class didn't laugh at her and call her horrible names and push her over in the playground all the time. She could wish her mommy had enough money to take her on vacation.
But instead, she wished for the one thing she wanted more than anything else in the world.
I wish I had a daddy, thought Jasmine, before blowing out all six candles.
Jasmine couldn't get to sleep that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, wondering if wishes came true. She'd wished the same wish on her last birthday, and the birthday before that, and still she didn't have a daddy.
But she had to have a daddy. Everyone had a daddy.
There was only one thing for it.
She was going to go downstairs and ask her mommy.
Jasmine climbed out of her bed and went downstairs, where she found Elli lying on the couch, watching TV. It was dark outside and it was way past her bedtime.
"Jas! What are you doing up?" Jasmine's mommy asked.
Jasmine took a deep breath. "Do I have a daddy?"
Her mommy sighed, sadly. "Daddies are a waste of space, Jasmine. You don't want one, believe me. They're just idiots that let you down."
"But you still haven't told me if I have a daddy!"
"Go to your room, Jasmine. I don't wanna talk about this."
"But"-
"Go to your room!"
Jasmine sighed; it was no use. She didn't have a daddy and that was that.
The next day was a terrible day for Jasmine. Every day at school was a terrible day for her anyway, seeing as she had no friends and everyone picked on her. But it was even more terrible now she knew that wishes didn't come true and she didn't have a daddy.
Her spirits were instantly lifted, however, at home that night, when her mommy found a stray dog on the lawn.
"Aw mommy! Can we keep him?" Jasmine asked.
"He has a collar, sweetheart. So he probably belongs to someone."
"Please?"
"Sorry Jasmine, he's not ours."
"But he's lost, and he looks really sad!"
Suddenly, it started to rain. The dog howled and Jasmine did her puppy dog eyes. Her mommy's expression softened.
"Well, we can bring it in from the cold and call it's owners, but it's not ours, so we can't keep it," Jasmine's mommy decided, scooping the little white dog up in her arms. It gave her a grateful lick.
Jasmine, her mommy and the dog went inside the house.
"What's his name, mommy?" Jasmine asked.
"Larry," Jasmine's mommy said, reading the dog collar. She found a phone number on the other side. "Let's find your owner," she said, and she picked up the phone.
Well, this is brilliant. First I lose the love of my life and now my dog's gone missing too. That dog was the only one on my side. My only friend in the world. Now he's gone and I have no one to listen to my complaints about life and how unfair and pointless it is. It seems like everyone's against me.
Suddenly, the phone rings. I answer it. "Hello?"
"Um… hi," A female voice says. It sounds vaguely familiar. Maybe it's someone from high school. Or maybe it's that woman who tries selling me new blinds almost every night.
"My name's Elli, and I think I've found your dog," the voice carries on.
Any normal person who'd lost their dog and then just had someone ring up and say they found it would have smiled a smile that went from ear to ear. But I just felt relieved. I couldn't bring myself to smile. I hadn't smiled for nearly seven years, and I don't think I'd ever smile again.
"You found Larry?"
"Yeah."
She gives me an address and I put the phone down and get in the car. I drive to the house where she told me to go. It's quite a small house, and it's near my elementary school, Third Street School.
I shake all thoughts of Third Street out of my head. Thinking of Third Street reminds me of her. And thinking of her hurts too much.
I get out of my car and knock on the front door, and a woman answers it. She's a medium height, curvy figure, long black hair, brown eyes. She's beautiful. And she reminds me of someone…
"Hi, you must be Larry's owner," she says. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name?"
And then it hits me. It's her.
Elli is short for Spinelli. Spinelli, the only woman I've ever loved, who disappeared without a trace nearly seven years ago, leaving me heartbroken.
"I think you know my name," I whisper, looking deep into her eyes.
Her jaw drops. "Oh God. It's you, isn't it?"
I nod.
We stare at each other in awkward silence, until a small, dark-haired girl comes to the door. The first thing I notice about her is that she's holding Larry in her arms. And the second thing I notice about her is that she looks just like me.
"What's going on?" She asks, as Larry leaps out of her arms and runs over to me like the idiot he is, tail wagging so frantically it could drop off at any second.
I give Larry a quick head pat, and then I look directly at Spinelli. A look that says 'I think you have some explaining to do'.
"Go to your room, Jasmine," Spinelli says, and the girl runs upstairs.
Elli couldn't believe it. After nearly seven years, here he was. TJ Detweiler was on her doorstep.
And Elli was in hot water now.
"Do you want me to make you a coffee?" Elli asked nervously.
TJ just stared at her. "All I want is an explanation."
They both sat down on the couch, Elli at one end, looking nervous, TJ at the other, looking angry.
There was another empty, awkward silence. Then TJ said, "Well?"
Elli gulped. "Jasmine's yours, TJ."
TJ's jaw dropped. Not only had he found Spinelli after all this time, but he was the father of her kid as well.
"Why didn't you tell me?" TJ asked, and Elli was surprised at how gentle his tone was. He was looking pretty angry before.
Elli sighed, avoiding TJ's gaze. "TJ, we were fifteen. I wasn't ready. You weren't ready. I didn't wanna tell you because I thought if I did, then you wouldn't love me anymore."
"Right…" TJ said, feeling anger bubble up inside of him. "SO YOU THINK IT'S OK JUST TO DISAPPEAR WITHOUT A TRACE AND NOT EVEN TELL ME THAT YOU'RE PREGNANT WITH MY KID?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS TO GET THE COURAGE TO TELL YOU HOW I REALLY FELT? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS WHEN YOU DISAPPEARED? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THAT THE LAST SIX AND A HALF YEARS HAVE BEEN THE WORST OF MY LIFE, BECAUSE I HAD NO IDEA WHERE YOU WERE, WHAT I'D DONE WRONG AND IF WHETHER I WAS EVER GOING TO SEE YOU AGAIN? ALL BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT THAT I WOULDN'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE?! YOU HAVE NO IDEA, ASHLEY SPINELLI, HOW MUCH I ALWAYS HAVE LOVED YOU, HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU AT THIS VERY MOMENT AND HOW I MUCH I WILL LOVE YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME!! SO I WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! I WOULD HAVE HELPED YOU OUT! WE WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT PARENTS! OK, MAYBE WE WERE FIFTEEN, MAYBE WE WEREN'T READY FOR A KID, BUT…" TJ's voice trailed off. He and Elli were both in tears "…the last thing I wanted was to lose you."
"I'm so sorry I ever doubted you," Elli whispered, as the tears fell down her cheeks. "It's not just that, though… my parents, if they'd found out I was pregnant, they would have made me get an abortion, and I didn't want that. I might not have been ready to be a mom, but I didn't want to kill our little baby. I had no choice. I had to run away. I'm sorry- I didn't know you'd be so upset. I thought you'd move on. You deserve better than me anyway."
"There's no one better for me than you," TJ whispered. "I'm sorry."
And then they were kissing, and they both felt the sparks flying everywhere, it was the best feeling in the world.
"You know- I never realised how much I missed you until last night… when Jasmine started asking me if she had a daddy." Elli said, smiling. "She's always wanted a daddy, you know. She'll be so happy when I tell her."
Elli called for Jasmine to come back downstairs, and TJ smiled when she did. She was so beautiful. He couldn't wait to give her a big hug.
"Mommy, who's that man?"
Elli's face split into a huge grin. "That, Jasmine, is your daddy."
Jasmine's face split into a huge grin, and her brown eyes sparkled in a way Elli had never seen them sparkle before. "DADDY!!" She yelled, running over to TJ, who scooped her up into a huge hug.
"Mommy, my birthday wish was that I had a daddy, and now he's here mommy, he's here, he's here, he's here!" Jasmine exclaimed, then her face fell, as if she remembered something.
"Can we keep him?" Jasmine asked, exactly the same way she'd asked if they could keep Larry.
"Well, sweetheart, I'd love it if your daddy stayed with us, but it's up to him," Elli said.
Jasmine gave TJ puppy eyes, and TJ laughed at how adorable his daughter was, and how lucky he was.
"Don't worry, Jas," TJ said. "I let your mommy go once, I'm not letting that happen again."
TJ carefully put Jasmine down and got down on one knee.
"Spin, I don't have a ring… but will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
Elli was crying, tears of happiness. She'd cried more tonight than she had in her life. "Of course I will!" She said, and TJ picked her up and spun her round, and Larry licked Jasmine's face, which made her giggle.
"Now daddy's here and you're getting married, does that mean we're a family?" Jasmine asked. "Me and my mommy and my daddy and Larry?"
"Yep! And we will be forever!" TJ said, smiling.
"And you're going to be the prettiest bridesmaid in the world!" Elli cried, and Jasmine jumped for joy. "I'm being a bridesmaid!! I'm being a bridesmaid!! Yay, we're going to live happily ever after!"
That night, Jasmine went to sleep with a smile on her face. Because wishes really did come true.