Chapter 7 Rosa
ROSA
Back at the Lake House, Rosa allowed Dominic to help her out of her coat and watched as he hung it in the hall closet.
The young people had stayed behind to have a few more drinks at the lodge.
She had no idea where either of Lisa’s parents had gone, but she had a feeling it was nowhere together.
Ria had opted to stay behind as well. Trey and Nico had promised to get her back safely.
The house was quiet without the bustle of the young people.
An empty house and just the two of us. She shivered from anticipation and nervousness.
Alone in a house with a man. It was as if she’d been transported to another time and phase of her life.
She floated out of her body and dangled near the ceiling, watching Dominic shrug out of his suit jacket.
She saw herself standing under the light with her hands clasped and ankles crossed.
Once upon a time she’d stood that way in the high school gymnasium, wishing for Javier to come to her, to ask her to dance. What a little fool she’d been.
Once, she’d been young and fanciful, even romantic. The first time Javier kissed her, she’d thought she might faint from happiness. She could remember practically dancing as she got out of his car and ran into her mama’s house.
He had not walked her to the door. Back then, she’d been too young to know this was an important clue to his character. She’d had no father. No one to demonstrate to her how a woman should be treated. Her son, though. He knew. Thanks be to God, he somehow knew.
“Rosa, can I get you anything?” Dominic asked.
She glanced up at the overhead light to get her bearings. “I’m fine, thank you. Something about this moment has me remembering another time.”
“A good time?” he asked softly, his brown eyes warm but watchful.
“No, not really. Being with you makes me remember what a fool I used to be.”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “I’m not sure how to take that.”
“You should take it as a compliment,” she said. “You have nice manners.”
He arched one thick eyebrow. “All right, then. I suppose that’ll do for now.” He undid the top button of his shirt and loosened his tie. “It’s cold in here. Shall I build you a fire?”
Build you a fire? Warmth made just for her?
“That sounds nice.” She followed Dominic into the living room.
“Did you enjoy yourself, Rosa?” Dominic asked as he crumpled newspaper and placed it in the fireplace.
“Oh yes. It was a special night.” She hugged herself as she wandered over to the couch and kicked off her shoes.
If only she could take off her dress and put on her pajamas.
However, given how much this dress had cost, she needed to wear it for at least another hour.
She sat on the couch with her legs together.
This skirt only came to her knees. She didn’t want to flash Dominic.
A glimpse of her granny underwear would surely be a deterrent to any romantic thoughts he might have about her.
Romance? Was that what she wanted? To distract herself from this line of thought, she asked him a question. “What about you? Did you have a good time?”
Before answering, he stacked small pieces of wood like a teepee around the crumpled newspaper and lit them with a lighter from the mantel.
On his haunches, he remained by the fire as the flames grew large, illuminating the sharp angle of his cheekbones.
“I can’t remember having a better evening in a very long time.
” His knee joints clicked as he uncurled to set the lighter back on the mantel.
“You, Rosa Soto, are delightful company. Once your son stopped giving me death glares, the entire evening was quite uplifting.” Dipping down to the box of logs, he picked one, then another up with his large hands and set them on the burning kindling.
He blew into the flames, causing the muscles of his back to expand under his smooth shirt.
“My son’s protective. He’s not accustomed to me being anything but his mama.”
“Understandable.” He nudged the logs with a poker, arranging them until they caught fire, casting a soft glow about the room. “Those kids and their friends obviously love one another. It’s enough to give you hope in humanity.”
“My son and his friends are exceptional young people.”
“You have every reason to be proud.”
“I spent my life making sure he grew up right.” She smiled, playing with the tennis bracelet Rafael and Lisa had given her.
“My work’s done. It’s been done for a while now.
When he was away at war, I worried every minute of the day.
When he came home and decided to join the police force, I worried some more.
Now, finally, I don’t have to be so diligent in my worrying.
I can relax and enjoy watching him and Lisa make a family. ”
He turned to look at her before sitting next to her on the couch. “What about now, Rosa? What’s your next chapter?”
She met his gaze for a split second before nerves overtook her and she focused on the flames. Outside, a sheet of snow fell from the roof.
“The temperature’s rising,” he said. “Cloud cover means more snow.”
Temperature’s rising. Seasons change. New chapters.
“I’d like to travel,” she said. “Do you know I’d never seen snow before now?”
“What else would you like to see?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Every May at the school where I worked, we celebrated the diversity of our students. There were kids from all over—immigrant families or second-generation Americans. The fourth-grade children were asked to make collages about their families and to share about their heritages. Teachers hung them around the lunchroom. At the end of the month, the children walked in a parade down the hallways dressed in native costumes or carrying banners to celebrate all the countries represented. Parents were invited, and it was a big celebration. I would watch with the other lunch ladies as the children strolled into the cafeteria. I wondered what it would be like to visit those places. I didn’t think I ever would, of course.
The best I could hope for was to hear the stories from my son… if I was lucky enough to get him home.”
“But things have changed for you. Lisa and Rafael are generous,” Dominic said. “They’ll send you wherever you want to go. Isn’t that right?”
“They’ve been so good to me already. I don’t know.”
He smiled. “You’re proud. You’ve worked all your life to support yourself and your son.”
“Correct.” She smoothed the skirt of her dress, shy to meet his penetrating gaze. “What about you? Do you have a new chapter?”
“I’d like there to be, yes. I’ve been to a lot of places because of work, but there are many more I’d like to explore. I’d like to have someone by my side. A woman, for instance.”
“A woman?”
“Yes. A woman. A special someone, so to speak.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m going to have a scotch. Would you care for anything?”
“Some water, please?”
He rose from the couch and disappeared. As she continued to stare into the fire, she heard liquid pour into a glass, then the beverage cooler door opening and closing. He returned with their drinks and handed her a green glass bottle of the fancy water, then returned to his former position.
“When Susanna was sick, she asked me to promise her I’d try to find someone to love, to grow old with.”
“Did you promise her?” she asked.
“I did.” His eyes glittered as he brought the glass to his mouth and took a drink.
“It’s the only time I ever lied to her. I told her I would because it gave her peace.
She was in so much pain. I sensed she couldn’t let go until I said the words to her.
Even at the end, she was thinking about me.
At the time, I didn’t think I would ever fulfill that promise. ”
“And now?”
“Lately, I realize she’s right. I’m young.
Acting like I died with her is no way to live.
She loved me enough to want my happiness above her own.
I owe it to her memory to live. To love again.
” He took another sip of his cocktail. “That said, finding someone isn’t just as simple as the desire to do so.
I’ve gone out on a few coffee dates with women I met online, but no one’s been even close to right. What about you, Rosa? Do you date?”
She shook her head. “I’ve never had any interest in remarrying. I don’t want to be hurt like I was when my husband left. I didn’t want Rafael hurt, either.”
“You’re young. And beautiful. Maybe it’s time to try?”
Heat flooded her cheeks. She was still capable of blushing. Who would have guessed? “I haven’t felt beautiful for a long time.”
“Maybe you haven’t been looking through the right lenses.” He tapped near his right eye. “Since my cataract surgery, my eyes see quite well. You’re beautiful.”
She laughed. “Cataract surgery? Is this what people our age talk about on…on dates?”
His repaired eyes twinkled at her. “So, this is a date.”
“I guess so. It’s been thirty-four years since I’ve had one.”
His brown eyes turned serious. “Not one man in all these years?”
“I’m Catholic. The divorce was already sin enough.”
“I see.” He nodded, then smiled, obviously seeing another side to her. Would he like what he learned? Was she too old-fashioned for this modern world?
“You’re an amazing woman, Rosa.”
“I’m a very ordinary woman. Rosa the Lunch Lady. Mama Soto.”
“Just Rosa, to me,” he said. “Beautiful Rosa.”
“I like the sound of that,” she said as she examined her hands.
“If I were to, say, come out to Cliffside Bay for a visit, would you let me take you to dinner?”
Her head snapped up to look at him. “Why me? With your looks and wealth, you could have a date with anyone.”
He reached across the couch with his long arm and put his hand over hers. “You make me feel awake. Alive. Curious. You make me want to dance.”
“Dance?”