Chapter Thirty-Two – Oliver #2
“I really don’t know where she is,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter.
There’s no way she’ll talk to anyone right now.
She almost lost it in here thanks to these two lovebirds.
” She nodded in George and Susan’s direction.
“The best thing to do tonight is to respect her need for space. Let her lick her wounds and clear her head, then tomorrow…”
She glanced at Shaun, and something unsaid passed between them, and he nodded.
“Tomorrow, we’ll help you.” She all but choked the words out, glaring at me. “Not because I want to, but because I hate this for Rose. I’ve been telling her to talk to you the entire time, so if I didn’t make her do it now, what kind of friend would I be?”
“Wait.” George said. “He’s in love with Rose? Have they been seeing each other?”
Susan took his arm, patting his hand lovingly. “I’ll explain it to you later.”
“It’s complicated,” I said, taking the contract back from Shaun. “Thank you, Isa. Even if she doesn’t care for me… Well, at the very least, she needs this.” I waved the envelope.
“Nobody ever tells me anything,” George grumbled.
Isa snorted. “If she didn’t care for you, she wouldn’t have driven off at the sight of your car.
She just can’t face you right now. In fact, her problem is that she cares too damn much.
” She pulled the keys to Ramona out of her pocket again and looked at me sternly.
“Let’s go get a drink somewhere and figure this out.
Because, Your Grace , if you fuck this up and hurt her more, I will make Rose’s interference in your life look like child’s play. ”
With that, she turned around, storming off the way she came.
I swallowed. “She’s… She’s not joking, is she?”
Shaun shook his head. “They’ve probably got a notebook from high school buried somewhere in their bedrooms. I’d be afraid if I were you.”
I was afraid.
Of so much more than he knew.
“If you’re going to get a drink, we’re coming,” George grumbled. “It’s been a right night, and we need to celebrate our engagement. Come on, Susan.”
“Only if you’re paying,” she trilled.
“I just keep getting roped into things tonight.” His voice was rough, but there was a tiny smile on his face.
“Don’t be so grumpy,” Susan continued. “Let’s help these kids sort it out. Our Rose deserves happiness. And it sounds like we can get married at the allotments and say our vows over Rose’s plot after all!”
I tucked the envelope under my arm and looked at Shaun. “You might have to fill me in on what’s happened here tonight.”
“I’ll jump in your car,” he replied with a sigh. “It might take a while.”
“Did you find her?”
I shook my head as Mum put a steaming cup of coffee on the table in front of me. “No, but we have a plan.”
“Are you sure they’re actually going to help you? Isadora did help her plan her getaway.” She paused, sitting opposite me. “Then again, I’d have done the same, you blithering bloody idiot. I knew you were emotionally constipated, but I didn’t realise just how stupid you were.”
“Yes, yes, so you keep saying.” I pulled the mug towards me, wrapping my hands around it. “I messed up. I should have told her I wasn’t selling the land. I know that.”
“At least you’re self-aware.” She sipped her tea. “What’s your plan, then? Is there anything I can do?”
I rubbed my sore head. George was a terrible influence when whiskey was involved, and since he’d agreed to help me, I was obligated to celebrate his engagement to Susan.
Or so he said.
He was a terribly difficult man to argue with.
I was beginning to think that particular trait was in the water here.
“No, I think we’ve got it. Isadora has access to her work calendar, and she said Rose cleared it at some point last night. She’s pretty sure she’ll be at the allotment all day. That was Susan’s plan, so she’s going to let us know when she’s there so we can corner her.”
Mum stared at me for a moment, then raised her eyebrow. “Have you ever cornered a cat, son?”
“Why would I corner a cat?”
“Why would you corner Rose? She’s definitely going to scratch.”
I shrugged. I deserved it. “It’s the only way she’ll talk to me. I’m pretty sure she never wants to see me again after what she thinks I’ve done, and she’s too stubborn to actually sit down and listen to me. It’s the only choice we have.”
It’d been hard enough to get her to the cottage the other night, and she hadn’t been half as angry at me as she was right now.
“You could just tell her you’re not selling it and be done with it.”
“That’s not—” I stopped, sighing. “It’s about time we were truthful with each other, don’t you think?”
Both of her eyebrows shot up this time. “Are you going to tell her you love her?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out what was in there: a strip of plasters.
“Are those for when she socks you in the face and tells you to piss off?”
“Exactly that,” I replied. “It’s a fifty-fifty chance. George is betting on me getting a beating. I owe him twenty quid if she hits me even once, no matter how she does it.”
“Do you think she won’t?”
“Oh, no, she’s absolutely going to throw something at me to escape me, but the man just got engaged and I couldn’t bring myself to burst his bubble.” I shrugged, tucking the plasters away. “These are just in case.”
“I don’t know. She’s not that violent.”
“Mother, she threw a dildo at me not long ago.”
“I’d throw one at you, too,” she replied, unbothered. “Did she hit you in the head?”
“No, my shoulder.”
“Shame. Maybe it would have knocked some sense into you if she’d got you in the noggin.”
I leant forwards and offered her the top of my head. “Go ahead.”
She didn’t move for a second, and then I felt a sharp ‘thwack’ as her hand connected with the back of my head.
“I can’t believe I birthed such an idiot,” she replied, giving me a shove right after. “I told you not to piss off my daughter-in-law, and there you are, doing it every five minutes.”
“What do you want me to do, write lines?”
“Yes. Five hundred of them should suffice until you get the message.” She sniffed, then smiled, squeezing my arm.
“Hey, don’t look so scared, son. It’ll be fine.
You can’t blame her for thinking what she does—you’ve been adamant about selling this entire time, so when she hears the word ‘contract,’ she’s bound to think that’s what it’s about. ”
“I don’t blame her. I just wish she didn’t disappear when she saw me. I could have explained it to her.”
“Well, yes. It wasn’t the most mature move on her part, but so what?
Humans are emotional creatures by nature, and we rarely react ‘appropriately’ or ‘the right way’ at the time.
I’m sure she’s woken up feeling a bit silly this morning, but that’s also part of the process.
” Mum sat back in her chair, smiling softly at me.
“If that’s what she needed to do, then so be it.
For someone who loves and cares as passionately as she does, it only makes sense that her negative emotions are just as powerful.
She feels everything so deeply. If she needed to be selfish for one night, as long as she’s safe, then it doesn’t matter where she goes. ”
“And she was safe,” I replied, dropping my chin. “She text Isa at midnight saying she was fine, but that was it.”
“There you are, then. Rose was only taking care of herself—if we all did that when we needed it, maybe self-care wouldn’t be seen as such a selfish thing.”
“I know. I understand. I just…” I sighed again, meeting Mum’s understanding gaze. “Selfishly, I wanted her to listen to me.”
“And those feelings of yours are just as valid as hers,” she replied. “And they’re not selfish, either. You simply wanted different things at the same time. Perhaps, now, she’s ready to hear you out reasonably.”
“Mother, Rose is not reasonable.”
“Yes, but that’s part of her charm, isn’t it?” She grinned, finishing her tea. “Let me know when you find her, won’t you? I need to come and see how badly you screw this up.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” I replied dryly. “You could try and be more supportive of your son as he faces getting his heart broken.”
“You’d need a heart for that, sweetie.”
“Mother!”