Chasing Mindy

Chapter One

Jasmine Capras thought that her life was perfectly on track. She was on the path. She was exactly where she needed to be. After being thrust like a baby bird out into the real world, she finally learned how to start flapping her metaphorical wings. By her self-evaluation, she was doing exceptionally well for someone who was caught sobbing her eyes out in a unisex bathroom in Malcom Hall a year ago.

But c’est la vie. She wasn’t a law student anymore, and she had already made her peace with that. There were still so many other things that she could be.

In the meantime, there she was in the middle of a workday, sitting in her favorite gilded tea salon, sipping a cup of strawberry and green tea. She was still mulling over her choice of dessert from the afternoon tea set in front of her.

The set itself was a work of art—the glass top of the small cabinet was loaded with different chocolates molded into shapes like a stiletto, a pair of lips, and a little dress. The drawers were stuffed with tiny sandwiches, petit fours, and other nibbles.

Eenie meenie miney mo, she chanted, just before her finger paused on a pair of chocolate lips. A pair that the menu had described as a symphony of creamy milk chocolate with luscious caramel. Mindy resisted the urge to cackle with glee that she managed to pick the dessert she’d originally wanted. Sure, she skipped a couple of boring-looking desserts to get to this one, but who had to know?

You, my friend, she said in an exaggerated British accent, picking up the chocolate from the glass top, shall have the honor of being my favorite dessert of the day. Be warned. I have very high hopes for you.

Then she ate the chocolate in two bites, happy that the lips had not let her down. She was just about to consider another round of eenie meenie (the sugar cookies shaped like a handbag looked delicious) when her phone started to ring.

Mindy Capras’s phone, Mindy speaking, she said in a happy, singsong voice, determined that nothing could bring her mood down. But then her sister on the other end of the line told her the reason for the phone call, and her happy mood was poof! Gone. What? All of us? When will we ever be old enough to say no to our parents, Ate? When?

I wish I knew, and I’m almost twenty-five. Mindy’s older sister Daisy groaned on the other end of the line.

Almost twenty-five, Ate? Mindy echoed. In her head, older sisters were perpetually eighteen, adults, as far as she was concerned. The younger ones would always be ten. Always. But in the cruel way that time worked, Daisy was already twenty-five, which only reminded Mindy that she was, sadly, twenty-three.

Do. Not. Start, Daisy muttered.

Mindy heard excited talking in the background and knew right away that Daisy had already picked up their twin brothers from school. I’ll see you later. I’ve got the boys with me. Mom and Dad have Iris, Ate Lily can pick you up at your office with Rose and Ivy.

Wow. Did Ate Lily actually volunteer to drive for other people? And she’s actually coming to a random, previously unscheduled dinner with the family? Mindy asked in mock surprise, placing a hand on her chest for added dramatic effect. Are pigs flying? Has Olympus fallen?

Daisy snorted on the other end of the line.

As if. Ate took the driver, since, according to her, she ‘has the majority.’ And I don’t know why she’s free, but she is coming.

Let’s alert the media.

God, you sound just like me when you’re being sarcastic. Call me when you guys are near the area. I have to update the family group chat to let everyone know the plans.

Gotcha, Ate, Mindy chirped. See ya.

See ya.

Mindy hung up just in time for her boss to come back from the bathroom, lip quirking as she sat across from Mindy.

After an internship, an old job, and one year of law school, Mindy had learned that she quite enjoyed working for strong women. Isabel Alfonso was her current boss and possibly the strongest woman she’d ever worked for. The only daughter of a powerful business tycoon, Isabel single-handedly established and ran Impressionist Cosmetics, a local makeup company that distributed their products worldwide.

She had the kind of grace and dignity that Mindy wanted when she reached Isabel’s age. Plus, she was happily dating her former executive assistant, Mindy’s predecessor Adam, a hot tree trunk of a man who, on Mindy’s first day, stared her down before he handed her a box of cookies as a first-day gift.

Something the matter? Isabel asked, taking a bite off one of the tiny sandwiches from their three-tier tea set. Mindy knew her boss well enough to know that at 3:00 p.m., she was only just having her lunch. Isabel usually had a slew of meetings in various locations, and Mindy had to be wherever Isabel needed her, thus the impromptu meeting at a restaurant.

No, my sister was just reminding me about dinner with some of my parents’ friends. Mindy quickly pulled her hair back in a high ponytail, screwing her perfect little button nose at the thought. It’s an annual congregation of people who act like they’re still in their twenties and treat their kids like they’re about ten. Daisy just called to coordinate schedules.

And Daisy is…? Isabel asked, unsure.

Not the sister who speaks French, or the one you met at the office the other day, Mindy helpfully supplied as she asked the waitress for an official receipt for their meal. This is a different sister. Unofficially the family’s Information Minister. She’s always in charge of rounding up the troops when need be.

I can’t imagine a house with nine kids. Isabel shook her head. It must be…

Loud? Chaotic?

I was going to say wonderful. I’ve always liked children. It’s their parents that I usually take issue with.

It’s a lot less poop and mess now since everyone’s above ten years old, but it’s still pretty crazy. Mindy chuckled, getting flashbacks of rooms just full to the brim with children demanding attention, throwing things, pinching each other.

And there was always that one sibling who was hiding snacks, and when their stash was found, a bloodbath was sure to follow. She actually shuddered at the memory of the Snickers incident from five years ago. It had not been pretty.

As old as she was, Mindy had heard every possible reaction to her family’s size—from sarcastic comments like Do you guys have to go around on a tour bus? to inappropriate questions like Wow, I guess your parents were really bored in the nineties? Once, she was asked how many wives her father had. She’d long learned to let the comments slide, and she knew perfectly well that her family wasn’t average-sized, thanks.

Isabel sighed deeply, as if the three tiny sandwiches and half pot of passion fruit tea had been enough to fill her up. Mindy knew that Isabel still had a long day ahead of her; this meeting was actually supposed to be her lunch break. I have to get to BGC for the meeting with this new company that the board is thinking of buying. What’s their name again?

Total Intelligence Training Services, Mindy quickly supplied. TITS.

Tits, Isabel repeated flatly before she rolled her eyes. I swear, if Regina is playing a prank on me on this…then fine.

See, this was why Mindy loved working for Isabel. Despite her busy schedule and her crazy workload, Isabel always found time for little things—going on dates with Adam and his daughter, spending time with her CEO and best friend Regina. Mindy was an integral part of keeping that time, and some days they completely and utterly failed, but Isabel always made sure that her personal life was the priority.

A thought hit Mindy suddenly, one that she really should have remembered, since she was Isabel’s executive assistant cum secretary and all.

You’re meeting Adam’s family tonight! she exclaimed suddenly with a clap of her hands, and the look of surprise on Isabel’s face made Mindy immediately wonder if that had been the most appropriate thing to say. It probably wasn’t.

How did you…?

You asked me to make a reservation at Nu for tonight, and the only people who eat at Nu are families who want to celebrate. You’ve told me before that buffets are the worst places for meetings because everyone has to keep getting up to get food. So, it’s a celebration, but you don’t really feel comfortable enough to stay in a room with someone for very long. And Adam, of course, called me to remind you.

Isabel’s face immediately relaxed, and her shoulders dropped at the mention of her boyfriend’s name. It usually did the trick whenever she was nervous about things outside of work, which was almost never.

Of course he did, Isabel concluded, squeezing Mindy’s arm to let her know she was satisfied with her work.

In the six months she’d been working for her, Mindy had recognized that her boss was never verbal with her praise but showed it with teeny-tiny gestures that Mindy had to learn to catch. I don’t usually lose focus like this. I’ve just been thinking about my life. A lot. And then I have to lose you for a week, so I keep thinking about all the other things on the to-do list…

Just say it, boss. You’re going to miss me when I’m gone. Mindy’s face split into a huge grin.

Isabel laughed. God, why do my assistants always have to be so annoying? Yes, yes, I will miss you when you’re gone. One week in Paris is too long for a vacation.

Mindy’s smile was becoming huge, in fact, that her cheeks were starting to burn. Pride swelled in her chest as she lavished the little jolts of excitement that ran up and down her spine. It was the exact same reaction she had anytime someone so much as mentioned her upcoming trip to Paris.

One of her favorite things about being single, unmarried, and still earning a full salary was that she had nobody to splurge on but herself. Mindy was a big believer in self-splurging while she still could. She’d been saving up for this trip since she was eighteen, and after the humiliation and mental anguish she’d suffered at the hands of the country’s top law school, Mindy realized that there was no better time to go than now.

She’d been to Paris a couple of times before, with her family. The Caprases liked to make vacations easier on themselves by booking packaged tours—it was a nightmare trying to sort out travel arrangements for eleven people, so pre-packaged flights, hotels, and being shuffled along destinations were the way to go for them.

But after being deprived the pleasure of sitting café-side to people watch, following a random street corner into a bar or walking into a random museum and see what was inside, Mindy was determined to see Paris her way. No tour guides, no timetables, no long bus rides or pee breaks at unfamiliar gas stations. Just Mindy and the city.

Her parents had asked where else she would be visiting on her European jaunt. She did have a Schengen visa after all, and what a waste it would be if she didn’t go anywhere else. But no! Mindy was headed to Paris and nowhere else. It was impractical, impulsive, and it was utterly and totally perfect for her.

I know, Mindy sighed. I feel bad. But only a little bit. You knew this when you hired me, that I was going to go. Just think that after this week, I won’t be entitled to vacation leaves for the rest of the year.

I do like the sound of that, Isabel agreed, finally standing up. So, I will see you at the office?

Yes. Don’t text me during your dinner unless it’s an emergency. Or unless Adam takes his shirt off for some reason.

Is my boyfriend aware that you’re objectifying him? Isabel’s eyebrow arched curiously.

She and Adam had an understanding about how to take care of her boss, and while Isabel pretended to hate it, she never complained.

It’s proper compensation because I’m the one in charge of you now, Mindy pointed out. He happened to agree.

They separated at the mall’s entrance, after Isabel’s driver picked her up to take her to her meeting in BGC. Mindy wasn’t alone for very long, as a white van pulled up in front of her, and she could see dark figures moving behind the tinted windows. She could only wonder what sort of mood her siblings were in and felt herself bracing for impact.

It was a self-preservation thing. Mindy had learned over the years that their family van, when holding a particular number of siblings, meant certain mayhem and shenanigans were about to take place. Especially since she’d already been standing there for a minute and nobody had opened the door yet.

As if the occupants read her mind, the van door opened with a loud bang. Mindy was so ready that she didn’t even blink when it happened. Three blank faces turned to her like a scene from a horror movie.

Hi, a low voice deadpanned.

Hi, came another voice, one octave higher.

Hi, came the top note, a little off key but still within range. All three voices took a deep breath and then loudly finished in harmony.

Hiiiiiie!

Hiiiie, Mindy greeted her siblings, her body now totally relaxed as she loaded herself into her usual seat in the second row. Every sibling had their usual spots, depending on who was there and who was not. Her oldest sister Lily, from her rightful place up front, turned in her seat and smiled at her.

All the Capras siblings had generally similar features that made them nearly impossible to tell apart: the exact same hazel-brown eyes they inherited from their father, down to the shape, with fluttering eyelashes to match, the signature Medina button noses, thin lips, and really big hair.

The configuration, styling, and intensity of these features varied per sibling, but still.