Mari & Ilna-you're the best.
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A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves. – Lao Tzu
A Great Leader (1/1)
Jasmine Little walked as quickly as she could across the large parking lot towards the front entrance of the Ala Moana Mall. She wondered, not for the first time, why her boyfriend always insisted on parking so far from the door. As she hurried along she couldn't help but notice a family getting out of their vehicle slightly ahead of her on the left.
She recognized the man right away.
Commander Steve McGarrett's reputation preceded him. Tough. Strong. A man whose bad side you wanted to avoid at all costs.
Yet there he was, helping his son out of the back seat with an open, easy smile on his face. He closed the door then leaned down slightly to hear what the boy was saying as they walked around to the other side of the truck.
He briefly moved out of her sight lines before appearing again, this time with his wife and daughter by his side as well.
Catherine Rollins was very much the kind of woman Jasmine aspired to be. She'd taken the lieutenant's self defense class two years earlier at the YWCA and it was an experience that stayed with her to this day. She could still clearly remember standing in the middle of the class thinking she had never seen a woman so confident and so in control.
Those were two traits she was working hard on in her own life.
As the family of four moved towards the mall entrance Jasmine noticed how Steve and Catherine's free hands drifted towards each other and intertwined as they walked. Each parent held the hand of one of the children, but they still maintained a connection with each other.
She remembered watching a similar interaction the day of the class and thought to herself that she hoped someday she'd have that kind of connection with her partner.
As they reached the sidewalk the family stopped momentarily to fix the little girl's ponytail and Jasmine stepped past them. As she did, the color of her dress caught the little girl's eye.
"I love your dress," Angie said as Catherine fixed her hair. "It's very pretty."
"It is," DJ agreed. "Me and my sister love tie dye."
"Thanks very much." Jasmine smiled at both children. "I just bought it last week and you two are the first to compliment it. You made my day."
"You're welcome." DJ blushed slightly.
"Have fun shopping," Angie added.
As Jasmine reached the door she smiled at a man waiting there, face buried in his phone. As he looked up he smiled back, albeit slightly grudgingly.
"You walk too slow," he said.
"Or maybe you walk too fast," she volleyed back.
The man rolled his eyes as he opened the door and headed into the mall. Jasmine caught the door as it started to close and followed him in. She sighed as she thought of how many times they'd had this same conversation. Just once she wanted to walk across a parking lot, or down a street, side by side instead of with him far out in front.
As they crossed the atrium she glanced back over her shoulder just in time to see Steve McGarrett hold the door for his wife and children.
By the time she turned back her boyfriend was ten feet ahead.
She quickened her pace to try to catch up.
Forty-five minutes later Jasmine was browsing through the women's clothing department at Macy's when she noticed Steve standing outside of the dressing room with the kids. It looked to her as if they were playing I Spy.
"Is it that dress?" Angie asked as she pointed to a nearby rack.
Steve shook his head no.
"Is it the skirt that mannequin is wearing?" DJ asked.
"That's it," Steve said.
Angie clapped her hands. "Good job, DJ."
Just then Catherine emerged from the dressing room in black and white dress that fit her perfectly. "What do you think?"
"Very pretty, Mommy," the children said in unison.
"I think you look gorgeous," Steve said.
"Thank you." She smiled softly. "So I think it's between this one and the green one. Which one do you like better?" She twirled around so they could get the full picture.
Steve thought for a minute then said, "This one. They're both nice, and you look great in anything, but I think I like this one better."
Catherine nodded. "I agree."
As they continued to talk Jasmine turned her attention back to the two blazers she'd taken off the rack. She looked back and forth between them. Both would match several things she already had in her work wardrobe. She was lost in thought when suddenly she was broken out of her reverie by a voice a few feet away.
A young sales associate who was returning several blouses to the next rack smiled and said, "Those are very pretty, aren't they? And 30% off too."
"I'm having trouble deciding." Jasmine held them up. "Which one do you like better?"
"The blue one," the associate said with no hesitation. "I think it would look great on you."
Jasmine smiled. "Blue it is."
She paid for her purchase and headed off towards the electronics department in search of her boyfriend.
Two hours later Jasmine was walking across the food court when she spotted Commander McGarrett and his family again.
She smiled to herself as she thought, 'Someone is trying to tell me something.'
She watched as Lieutenant Rollins and her daughter found a table, stowed their shopping bags away underneath, then sat down. A minute later Steve appeared with his son, carrying a tray that Jasmine noted contained food from at least three different stands.
She continued over to the table where her boyfriend was halfway through a plate of fried rice.
"What did you decide on?" he asked, never looking up from his phone.
She sat down. "Tacos."
"Oh crap." He looked up. "I should have gotten those."
"I knew you'd say that." She smiled. "I got a couple of extras."
"Thanks, babe." He held out a hand as his eyes went back to his phone.
She and Randy had been together almost three years. They started dating during their senior years at UofH. She had graduated on schedule with a degree in accounting. Randy failed to get all the credits he needed for a hospitality management degree and ended up having to go an extra semester.
Jasmine had been thrilled when she was hired by one of the top accounting firms on the island. Randy said he wanted to take some time off after college to 'chill' and 'figure things out'. He was currently working nights at a surf shack on the beach near his parents' home.
He complained constantly that she was never available during the day to surf or hang out.
"I have a job," she explained patiently every time he brought it up.
He was a sweet guy, but on days like today she realized they were two very different people. She cared about him, but she wasn't sure she saw a future for the two of them. They'd spent the entire afternoon 'together' at the mall and yet they hadn't spoken more than 100 words to each other.
She looked across the room to where Steve and Catherine were laughing and talking with their kids.
'I'll bet she never feels like she's alone even when she's sitting a few feet away from her man,' Jasmine thought. 'I'll bet she never wonders if he's listening to her or if her opinion matters to him.'
She unwrapped her taco.
'I'll bet he would never leave her to walk across a parking lot on her own.'
She took a deep breath and vowed to have a long, honest talk with Randy.
She deserved more from a relationship than what she was getting.
Randy was the perfect guy for someone, but it was becoming increasingly clear that someone wasn't her.
She had just needed someone to give her a wake up call.
She took one last look at the McGarrett-Rollins family and smiled.
Message received.
One week later she called the YWCA to check on the next self-defense class being taught by Lieutenant Rollins that had an opening. She wanted to make sure her physical skills stayed sharp. She also wanted to work on becoming stronger mentally and emotionally as she attempted to build the life she'd always dreamed of. She was certain a shot of the positive energy Catherine exuded in her classes would do the trick.
"I can't believe your timing," the woman on the other end of the phone said. "I literally just hung up with someone who had to cancel because she injured her knee playing basketball. So I have one opening in this weekend's class."
"Sounds like it was meant to be." Jasmine beamed. "I'll take it."
THE END
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