Aunt Miyanne bore a solemn expression on her face. Her anger could penetrate even the happiest of atmospheres. Her presence seeped over happiness, like grim death. She sat on a kitchen chair, scowling.
"Is this the best you can do?" She asked coldly. "If you wanted a house like this, you could've just lived in a cartoon."
No one moved, no one spoke. The only sound in the suffocated room came from her scraping her chair against the floor. She stood. "I am going to the bathroom, I know there will be no one there wasting my time." She dragged her feet as she walked, leaving mud prints on the floor. "Now the floor looks like shit, well at least I got it to match the rest of the house." She closed the door behind her.
Neither of the DuBois spoke. "She knows she stepped into the closet, right?" Jazmine asked, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, family meeting." Tom said, the three of them rushed into the upstairs bathroom, the same place where Huey had given Jazmine a hug just minutes before. She frowned slightly, wishing Huey was still at her house.
"Tom, what if she comes up here?" Sarah asked.
"it's okay, honeybun. The door's locked." Tom replied.
"Why did you two agree for her to come here!" Jazmine asked, angry. "Don't you remember her insults? Her swearing? She's just getting started! She's always so mean to me! She calls me names, and yells at me when she's drunk! Remember when she forced us to clean up the guest room after she went on a rampage? You know why she didn't clean it? Because she said 'I don't live here, so not my problem.' I had to clean out her BRA! Do you know how disgusting that is?" Jazmine said, angrily. She looked up at her parents. "I wish everything she did was illegal, so she could get arrested for being a waste of space!" Jazmine shouted. Sometimes she was amazed how resilient her optimism could be.
Her parents looked at her, Jazmine started crying. "I hate her." She said. "I hate everything about her! I want her to go HOME!" She whimpered. Her parents knelt down to hug, and consoled Jazmine. Tom hugged her, while Sarah stroked her hair.
"Honey, we're sorry." Sarah said, holding her daughter by the arms. "We'll explain everything."
The three of them sat on the floor, Jazmine sat between them, no longer crying. "Now, Jazmine, I know you might think aunt Miyanne is mean, and rude, and you're right. Personally I think she's an witch with a capital W." Tom said, he coughed. "Pardon my language." He said, he continued.
"But the reason that she's staying over, is because of a family agreement. A long time ago, aunt Miyanne made lots of money, and found her way back to God. With this new mentality, she wanted to give back to the world. And the way she knew how to do it was to give money to her family members. Now that sounds good hearted, doesn't it?" Tom asked.
Jazmine nodded.
"But even though she was a philanthropist, aunt Miyanne always loved insulting, cursing, and generally being cruel. She rationalized that as long as she gave people money, they would forgive her. So she made a contract with the family, saying she would stay over at different family members' houses and give them money at the end of the stay." Tom explained.
"But your father, and I looked at the contract last week." Sarah said, "She'll only have to stay for one week, and then she can go. I know this might seem hard on you honey, she can be mean, but she also signed something earlier." Sarah said.
"What was it?" Jazmine asked, excited.
"She signed a contract saying that when she stays at our house, she has to stay in the 'guest house.' Sarah said. "Out in the yard,"
Jazmine's eyes widened out of curiosity. "You mean the shed?" Jazmine asked, smiling. Her parents were brilliant! That'll teach that woman.
"Then why did aunt Miyanne put all her bags in the house?" Jazmine asked.
"She must have forgotten. Let's go get her stuff." Tom said. They group hugged.
The family was outside, putting aunt Miyanne's bags into the shed. The shed was the size of their two car garage, so they hoped she would have a comfortable stay. There was plumbing, heat, and lights. The shed looked like a miniature barn.
Aunt Miyanne walked into the backyard. "What the hell are the three of you doing?" She sneered,
"We're putting your stuff into the guest house." Tom said, happily.
"That ain't no fucking guest house, it's a tool box!" She shouted
"You agreed to staying in the guest house, well, here you are." Sarah said, with a cheer,
"What? No this is bullshit."
"You signed the contract." Sarah said.
"Yeah." Jazmine said, adding to the conversation. Her internal voice laughed, and was filled with glee.
"What's wrong with you people? Moving a sick woman into a goddamn guest house. It looks just like a motha fucking nightmere!"
"Nightmere? Oh, no, no, aunt Miyanne. Think of it as a semi-duplex."
Aunt Miyanne crossed the yard, and examined the shed. She eyed it suspiciously, a bolt popped the shed. "This is bullshit."
"I like to think of it as gorgeous. An escaped into the exotic." Sarah said.
"If you go to Bora Bora, the huts are that big, and people PAY to go there!" Jazmine reasoned, cheerily. "Huey showed me the brochure."
"Bora Bora? I don't to hear about no damn eating in the mother fucking water place!" Aunt Miyanne sneered.
"You'll get privacy." Tom said. "Plus it's in your contract."
Aunt Miyanne scowled. "Fine, at least let me get my bags. I don't need your damn banana peeling fingers all over my valuables." She snatched her bag from Tom's arms, and slammed the shed door.
"Well that went well." Tom said.
Sarah leaned towards Tom, and whispered."She's like an aunt Ruckus." Tom laughed,
Jazmine laughed. "Good one, mom." Sarah, and Tom looked at each other.
"I got perfect hearing on the test at school." Jazmine explained.
"Let's go inside." Sarah said. "She's got a fridge in there, right? I'll still make her dinner."
The family walked inside the house. Aunt Miyanne looked at them through the window.
"Why the hell did I agree to this guest house bullshit? It's all that little moo-lotto girl's fault. Danm half cracker, half negro." She snarled. Miyanne looked around at the perfect little greenery in the spacious backyard. She smiled deviously. "I'll show them who they put in the damn guest house."
She laughed maniacally.