Chapter 39 Rosie
ROSIE
The week after my Sunday with Wesley passed in a blur, and not really for any particular reason.
It was just one of those weeks where I was busy.
I had a deadline and two new clients that I’d taken on.
Not to mention, I was going through some tax paperwork Orla had asked me to look over, mentioning something about how she could use a bookkeeper way more than a waitress.
I briefly wondered if she was asking me to do that so I would stop breaking things, but one look over, and I noticed several things done in error. And I told her to leave the rest to me.
Now, it was Friday, and I tried my best to blow off Megan and Carol. Even though I had told them—insisted, really—their presence wasn’t necessary, there they both sat, on my bed.
“This is cute. It’s understated, but we can dress it up with jewelry,” Carol informed me as she held up a cute one-piece jumper I’d never worn in public because it made me feel like a stuffed sausage.
I broke a sweat, trying to get out of it to just pee, so the thought of wearing it on a date sounded awful.
“Pass,” I told her, and she harrumphed at me.
“You’ve passed on every single outfit.”
“I’m not in the mood. Do you think I could text him and explain that I lost my will to live today?” I asked them both as I laid on my floor, making a pillow of the discarded clothes that littered the ground.
“No, you said he had to get a babysitter. You will not cancel on someone who put that much effort in. You will not. You will smile nicely—the kind where you show your teeth. You will be charming and fake it till you make it, sister. You are going,” Carol chastised, and looked over to Megan, who hadn’t put much effort into my date that time, which even I had to admit felt weird.
Carol also picked up on it and shot her daggers out of her eyes as if to say, help me out here.
Megan sighed. “If she doesn’t want to go, she doesn’t want to go.”
I nodded at her words and gave Carol my best please, let me stay home puppy-dog eyes.
“What has gotten into you both? You’re going. That’s final. Larry is coming to get Lionel in a few minutes, so there is absolutely no excuse for you to back out,” she grumbled. “Honestly, get off the floor and put this outfit on.”
I started to protest.
“Off the floor. Now,” she said as she kicked me in the ass—literally—until I got off the floor and grabbed the clothes she had picked out for me. “And you. ” She turned on Megan. “Where’s the support here?”
“If she doesn’t want to go, we could have a girls night with margaritas!”
“We have plans! She has plans! What’s with you two? Get it together and get ready. Now.”
Megan mouthed, “I tried,” to me as I took off toward the bathroom to put on what Carol had picked out. And fine, it was cute and better than anything I would have picked out.
I stepped into the emerald silk pleated skirt that hit right below my knees, the emerald crop top that showed off just the right amount of stomach with the long cream jacket, and the small, heeled boots that matched, really tying everything together.
Light makeup coated my face, and my hair hung naturally down my back. I was ready.
Coming out of the bathroom, I saw Megan and Carol arguing, but they both became tight-lipped the second they noticed me. “You look fabulous,” Carol said, and Megan nodded behind her.
“You two okay?” I eyed them both.
“Never better. Let’s get you out of here to meet…” She trailed off.
“Rick,” I reminded her.
“Rick! That’s right,” Carol said. “Meredith’s pick. He should be nice, at least.”
“Rick rhymes with…” Megan chimes in.
“Will you knock it off?” Carol fumed. Megan bristled at her words.
“Okay, seriously, what’s going on here?” I wondered, waiting for one of them to answer me, but getting nothing in return.
“Nothing, just a difference of opinion on your…accessories. I like new and shiny things, while Megan likes old and rusty pieces.”
Uh…
“Nothing wrong with old and trusty pieces.”
“I’m not wearing any jewelry.” I was missing something there, but the vibe was weird. “Maybe this is another sign saying I shouldn’t go.” Megan opened her mouth, but Carol covered it with one hand. “It’s time for us to go, right? Let Rosie make her own decisions.”
“Did you two get into the half joint?”
“That’s still here?” Megan said around Carol’s hand before she batted her away, accompanied by a menacing look.
A knock at the front door let me know I had run out of time, and now, it really was too late to cancel on someone.
Larry was there to collect Lionel, and I was already trying to mindlink with my tortoise and have him play dead so I could stay home.
I immediately felt terrible at the idea, so I shook off the weirdness between Megan and Carol, and went to let Larry in.
“Hey, Larry. Ready for Lionel?”
“Got a pocket full of blueberries for our walk.” He patted his front pocket.
It had become a bit of a thing. Once every few days, Larry took Lionel for a walk.
I know. Walking a tortoise, who would have thought?
But it worked for both of them. I didn’t have the heart to tell Larry that it was most likely because blueberries were Lionel’s favorite snack.
Usually, the two of them found themselves back in my backyard.
But recently, they had been venturing into Larry’s.
He wasn’t even mad when he started to munch on some of the flowers he had around the yard and dig into his perfectly laid-out yard.
“My cell is on me if you need anything,” I told him.
“You say that like it’s my first time,” he said. “Huh. Who would have thought that being a pet sitter to a tortoise would become one of my favorite things?” He said it with such wonder that my eyes teared up at his confession.
“There he is.” Lionel came up from behind me, clearly hearing Larry—or maybe sniffing out his favorite snack. Either way, both were happy. “Have a good night, Rosie. I can always watch him overnight if you need.”
“Oh, no, that won’t be necessary. I’ll come get him when I get home if you aren’t in the back here.”
Larry nodded at me, Lionel already a good few feet out the door. It was part of his routine now, and I watched as he bent down to give him a pat with a blueberry.
“Bye, guys,” I called out. Larry raised his hand in a wave, not bothering to look back, and I closed the door behind them.
“Time to go yourself.” Carol didn’t give me even a second before she was cranking my front door open again and pushing me out onto my front porch. “Your car is this way.”
“I know where my car is.” I rolled my eyes at her.
“Well, a little pep in your step never hurt anyone.” She ushered me outside and if she could have driven me to my date, she would have.
Luckily, we were just meeting at the pizza tavern in town.
They had one of those wood-burning stoves that were so good, and it was the first place I’d been excited to eat at.
Like everywhere else, it didn’t take me long to get to my destination. No pep talk needed this time—just resolve to see it through.
“Rosie?” a voice asked from behind me the second I stepped out of my car.
I whirled around to see a man a little taller than I was, with curly brown hair the color of liquid chocolate that was tousled to the left.
His eyes were framed by thick dark glasses, and he wore a black sweater vest on top of a beige button-up over khaki pants.
My first impression was that he had stepped out of a Gap ad.
“Rick?” I presumed.
“That’s me. It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand for a shake, and I gladly accepted, thankful he wasn’t into hugging right away. “Shall we?” He nodded toward the door, but moved ahead of me quickly to grab the door.
“Thank you,” I said as I passed him on the way in.
“Of course.”
There was a sign that said, please seat yourself. I saw that it was pretty slow for a Friday night, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. We wouldn’t have to shout over anyone to have a conversation.
“Is a booth okay with you?” He checked with me.
“Yes, that would be great.”
He lightly placed his hand on the small of my back and led us over to a booth in the back with a touch more privacy than the others we passed on our way. I felt a warmth where his hand was. It was pleasant. It didn’t make me itchy, and it didn’t make me want to run, screaming all the way home.
He moved to take off my jacket, proving he had manners, and hung both of our coats on the seat behind him, spread out enough so they wouldn’t wrinkle. I made a few points in his favor for his demeanor and thoughtfulness so far.
“So this is new for me. I’ve really never been set up before,” Rick said as we settled into our seats.
“Really? Meredith told me that you have a son. Does your situation have anything to do with that?”
“Yes and no. I met Samson’s mom in college. She was my first serious relationship, and when she got pregnant, I figured we were in love, so marriage was the next logical step. She thought so too. For a while, anyway.”
“What do you mean by that?”
My question was interrupted by our server, who came over and placed two menus in front of us.
“Hi, my name is Syd. I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I start you guys off with something to drink?”
“I’ll just have a glass of house white,” I told her as she scribbled it down on a notepad, while Rick asked her what they had on tap.
And she stumbled over a few options, then apologized over herself.
“I’m sorry, it’s like, my second shift. I don’t have them all memorized yet, and I totally should. ”
“Hey, it’s not a big deal. Why don’t you just bring me anything that isn’t an IPA, and on tap.” He gave her an easy smile, showing that he really didn’t mind one bit about her not knowing the beers. And there’s another point to add to him. Nice to the waitstaff. That’s one of my non-negotiables.
“Not an IPA guy?”
“I think IPA tastes like I’m inhaling a bread factory. Don’t tell anyone.” He moved his finger over his mouth in a shh motion.
“Your secret is safe with me,” I promised.
“Back to your question before. We weren’t right for each other, and Samson’s mother is very career-driven. She has him one weekend a month, and that’s if she can work it into her schedule.”
“That has to be hard.” I sympathized.
“Nah, not really. There was never a choice once I found out I was going to be a dad. If anything, I feel bad for Samson. He’s at the age where he’s starting to realize she isn’t around.
I’m a father 100 percent of the time. I made that commitment, and I’m not sure I have room for anything else right now.
I just…want to be honest about that. I told Meredith this, but…
she kind of scares me.” He said the last part softly, like he was worried she was going to hear him, and his honesty was another point in his favor.
“Thank you for being honest with me. If I’m being honest with you, I don’t have one single clue what I’m doing here either. My life feels…complicated right now.”
Syd came back over to set our drinks in front of us, the air around us easing a little bit because I felt like the pressure was off. All I wanted to do was enjoy a drink, a good pizza, and maybe a good conversation with someone who might have been perfect for me in another time.
“Have you two had enough time with the menu?”
“To be honest, we haven’t even looked. Why don’t you just bring us two of your most popular pizzas. As long as that’s okay with you, Rosie?”
“That sounds great.”
“Will do. Should be out soon.” She flounced away from us, and Rick took a sip of his beer and made a sour face.
“She brought you an IPA, didn’t she?”
“It’s totally fine. She’s new.” He gagged on his second sip. I placed my wine in front of him and took a sip of his beer.
“And she even drinks beer.”
“I’m a lady like that.” He laughed at me, and we fell into an easy conversation about our jobs, his in marketing.
He didn’t love it, but it paid the bills and provided good benefits for him and his son, should they ever need them.
I told him that I was lucky enough to work for myself, but I was still on others’ deadlines, and it could be quite the maddening experience.
I told him about Lionel and showed him pictures over our pizza, which ended up being a margarita and a meatlovers.
The night flowed by easily. I was a little disappointed to see it end, but the pizzeria was closing, it was already nearly 11 p.m., and I had a tortoise to collect for bedtime.
Rick walked me to my car, and being the gentleman he was, he stayed until I was tucked safely away behind a locked door.
I went to turn my key over, and there was nothing.
Rick frowned from the other side of my window. I opened the door again since I couldn’t roll my window down. “No issues before this?”
“None.”
“If you wanted to spend more time with me, you could have just asked,” he teased, and I knew he was being friendly. The date was nice, but there wasn’t that spark. It had felt like spending the evening with an old friend.
He brought his car over to mine and hooked jumper cables between the two. Even still, nothing happened when I tried to turn it over.
“I hate to break it to you, but it might be your starter? I’ll give you a lift home. That way, you can deal with this at a normal hour tomorrow. Sound okay?”
I worked over the options in my head before I nodded at his offer. It really was my best option.