LOVE BY CHANCE
Chapter Thirteen
Rose parked her car near Jack’s apartment
complex and got out, walking the short distance to his building. It had been a
very long day. All day, they had been bombarded by reports of the disaster that
had taken place that morning on the east coast, while they rushed to put out an
extra edition of the newspaper. It was all anyone had been able to talk about,
and when she had gone out at noon for lunch, there had been flags flying at
half-mast all over the city.
Then there had been the incident with her
mother. Rose still couldn’t believe that Ruth had taken a national tragedy and
tried to use it as an excuse to manipulate her. But why should she be
surprised? When it came to Ruth trying to control her daughter, nothing was
sacred. But now it appeared that it was over; that Ruth would no longer try to
control her.
"I hope you’re happy, Rose. We won’t
meet again."
Rose wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad
over the fact that her mother had finally decided to leave her alone. As much
as she hated being controlled and manipulated, Ruth was still her mother, and
it was sad to see that bond broken.
Once again, Rose walked past the doorman, who
only nodded to her as she went by. When she reached Jack’s apartment, she
entered quickly, hoping that he was home.
Jack walked out of the kitchen when he heard
the front door open, smiling to see Rose there. She hadn’t been home when he
had called, but he had reasoned that with the events that had taken place in
America that day, she might have to work longer than usual at the newspaper.
Whatever had happened, she looked tired.
Rose relaxed gratefully in his arms, giving
him a kiss. "How was your day?" she asked him, sitting down on the
couch and pulling him down beside her.
"Long. I think it’s been a long day for
everyone."
"Tell me about it. I think the whole
nation is in mourning. I’ve never seen so many flags at half-mast before."
"I guess you were working late,
too."
Rose nodded. "Yeah. We were putting out
an extra edition of the paper, plus getting tomorrow’s ready." She leaned
her head tiredly against Jack’s shoulder. "And my mother showed up."
"What? I thought she went home last
night."
"I did, too. Apparently she couldn’t get
a flight back to Philadelphia until this morning. By then, of course, all the
planes were grounded, so she came to bother me at work."
"She never gives up, does she?"
"I think she has now. I hope so, anyway…I
think."
"What happened?"
"She came in while I was trying to work,
complaining that there was nothing to do. Then she started telling me that
things like what happened on the east coast today were why she didn’t want me
living out here."
"What?" Jack didn’t quite
understand the connection.
"Basically, she told me that if
international terrorists could wreak such havoc on the World Trade Center, they
could do something even worse to a regional newspaper, and that was why she
wanted me to move back to Philadelphia with her."
"Wouldn’t a newspaper there be in just
as much danger?"
"Yes, especially national newspapers.
But that wasn’t her point. She wants me to go back to Philadelphia and find a
rich husband so that I wouldn’t have to work—and presumably, neither would
she." Rose sighed, rubbing her temples. "The crux of the matter is
that she was still trying to manipulate me, and worse yet, she was using a
national tragedy to do so."
"Unbelievable." Jack shook his
head. "There’s always someone who tries to take advantage of situations
like this, but to use it to manipulate your own daughter…what did you say to
her?"
"I told her to find her own rich
husband, and we exchanged some unpleasant words. I told her to leave, or I
would call security. She finally left, but not before saying that we wouldn’t
meet again." She looked up at Jack, her eyes sad. "I know that she’s
manipulative, and I don’t often want to see her, but she is my mother, and it
looks like this time she’s out of my life permanently. To not see me again was
her decision."
"Rose…" Jack hugged her, holding
her close. "I don’t know what to say. Maybe someday you can try to
re-establish contact with her…"
"Maybe." Rose leaned against him,
comforted by his presence. "Maybe it’s better that she and I not see each
other again. We never do anything but fight, anyway."
Jack stroked her long red hair, not sure how
to comfort her. It had been a trying day for everyone, but most of all for
Rose.
After a few minutes, he asked her, "How
would you like me to make you dinner? I’ve already started it for myself, but I
can make more. You can just relax until it’s ready."
Rose looked up at him, half-smiling.
"Sure. I’d like to help, though. I need something to help me take my mind
off of things."
"Okay." Jack got off the couch,
helping her to her feet. He paused a moment, giving her a kiss. "It’ll get
better, Rose. Really it will."
Rose smiled sadly at him. "I hope so,
Jack. I really hope so."