Chapter 32
Chapter thirty-two
Their ‘sled’ was actually two sleds—one that carried Meredith and Schultz, the other strapped down with two boxes and a holdall.
"How on earth you both didn't break your necks, I'll never know," Rosa said when they were all inside.
Meredith kissed her cheek. "It was fun, Rosa. You should try it… It's…exhilarating." She moved towards Billy and pulled her daughter in for a hug.
Schultz gave a small chuckle. "It was a little scary."
"It was madness, we could have—" Meredith stopped talking when she noticed Imogen’s glare.
Imogen touched her mum's arm. "We wanted to spend the day with you."
"And glad of it we are, right…Rosa?" Billy said, joining them. She put herself on the other side of Imogen, out of reach for touch, but her eyes couldn't help but linger on Rosa for a moment.
If anybody noticed, they didn't say anything.
"So, who is for a hot chocolate and some lunch?" Meredith called from the kitchen. She was already unpacking one of the boxes into the fridge. "Good job we brought supplies, you're almost out."
"Well, we had to eat. Not much else to do when you're snowed in." Billy shrugged as she casually stepped away from the others and moved to the kitchen to help unpack.
Meredith smiled. "Must have been quite the experience." She reached for the kettle and filled it to the line. Lowering her voice, she asked, "Did you and Rosa get on alright? I was a little worried."
Billy quickly glanced at Rosa, who was laughing as the girls mimicked skiing slopes with their hands.
"We got on fine. Actually, it was a nice opportunity to talk and clear the air with some things."
"Oh, that's…" Meredith patted her arm. "I'm pleased. I always hoped you two would find some peace with each other."
"Yeah…" Billy opened the cupboard. "Are we all having hot chocolate?"
"I think so," Meredith answered. "So…what kind of things did you talk about?"
"Hm?" Billy mumbled, focused on the doling out of hot chocolate into mugs.
"You and Rosa…what did you talk about?"
"Oh…uh…all sorts of things." An image of Rosa, naked on the couch, flashed through her mind's eye. She pulled a pan off the rack, making a loud clang. "Can you pass me the milk from the fridge, please?"
Meredith did as she was asked.
"We mostly played cards, but we, uh...we cleared the air with stuff from…when I left…that kind of thing."
"That's wonderful. Maybe now things will be more…" She glanced across at Rosa. "She seems happier."
Billy followed her mother's gaze back to Rosa and smiled. She's beautiful. Billy swallowed those words away. "Yeah, well, Imogen is here now, so…all is good with Rosa's world."
"Don't forget to stir the milk," Meredith warned as they both turned back to the stove and the liquid just starting to bubble. "Nobody wants a sour, burnt hot chocolate and we don't have enough milk to do another one, not if we want coffee and tea in the morning." Meredith nudged Billy gently.
"Yeah, and so Janka almost went head over heels, but at the last minute, she managed to maintain her balance and sailed past us both." Robbie laughed as she told the story.
"Honestly, it was so funny. We were just cruising, and then, ‘boom’ Janka sped past us like an Olympian," Imogen jumped in, while Janka grinned and blushed, all at once.
"Sounds very dramatic," Rosa said, smiling at their enthusiasm.
"Just a little…" Imogen's smile faded until she bit her bottom lip, before asking, "So, you and Billy get on alright while you were snowed in together?"
"Uh…yes…" Rosa stuttered, glancing quickly towards Billy and Meredith, both with their backs to her as they made the drinks. "It was fine…we played cards a lot."
"Cards?" Imogen said.
Robbie winked at Imogen as she spoke to Rosa, "Wasn't strip poker was it, Mrs C.?"
Rosa's neck flushed, luckily concealed by her rollneck jumper.
"I'm not sure either of us wants to play that." She smiled. The edge of something nudged at her nerve endings—desire wrapped up in images of Billy Fisk. "Snap, mostly."
"Is that all you did for two days?" Imogen poked a little more.
Rosa considered what to say. ‘Your mother and I fucked on the sofa, in the bath, and pretty much everywhere we wanted to,’ probably wasn't the right answer, or the right time.
"Yes, pretty much. Monopoly was a bit boring in the dark. Although we did have a lot of candles, it’s still hard to focus on something as important as thrashing your mother at Monopoly."
"Okay, who's for a drink? Raise your hands," Billy said, her voice warm, as she placed two mugs down onto the coffee table.
All three girls shot up an arm, as did Schultz, but it was Rosa she gazed at.
Meredith set down a tray with the other five mugs. "Never fear, we've all got one."
Rosa smiled as she reached for one of the mugs Billy had placed down. "Thank you. This is exactly what we all need to help celebrate Imogen's birthday." She turned to Imogen. "Happy Birthday, darling girl."