A CALIFORNIA ROSE
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jack and Rose walked out of the restaurant,
talking and laughing. They didn’t notice Cal standing right in front of the
door until Jack ran into him.
“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” Cal
snapped at Jack. As he spoke, he slipped the ring into Jack’s jacket pocket.
“Why don’t you?” Jack would have said more,
but Rose tugged on his hand, wanting to avoid a confrontation.
Cal waited a moment, then followed them.
“Just a minute!”
Rose turned to glare at him. “What?”
“Your new boyfriend is a pickpocket. I had
the ring a moment ago, but after he bumped into me, it was gone.”
Rose looked startled, but quickly covered her
expression. “You probably dropped it in the gutter, Cal.”
He looked at her. “You’d know all about the
gutter, wouldn’t you, Rose?”
Jack turned on him. “I think you’ve said
enough.”
A moment later, Cal was lying in the parking
lot, blood running from his nose. He ran his hand over his face, looking at the
blood on his fingers, as he got to his feet.
Rose tugged at Jack’s arm. “Let’s get out of
here.”
He pushed her out of the way as Cal took a
swing at him. Jack hit him back, and the fight was on. Rose screamed at them to
stop as a crowd gathered. A police car came up the street and pulled into the
parking lot.
Two cops emerged. Pushing their way through
the crowd, they broke up the fight. Yanking the combatants apart, they
restrained them.
“What is going on here?”
The crowd had started to disperse. Cal
answered first, speaking around a split lip.
“He stole my fiancee’s engagement ring.”
Jack responded. “No, I didn’t. You probably
lost it. And she’s not your fiancee anymore.”
Rose cut in. “Cal, this is absurd. What are
you talking about?”
“He’s a thief, Rose, and you know it.”
“Cal--”
Jack interrupted the argument. “I did not
take that ring. You can check my pockets if you don’t believe me.” He shrugged
off his jacket, handing it to one of the cops.
The cop looked through the pockets, pulling out
the ring.
Rose was stunned. So was Jack. He stared at
the ring in disbelief for a moment.
“This is horseshit! He put it in my pocket!
Don’t you believe it, Rose! Don’t!”
But he could see by the expression on her
face that she did believe it. He cursed himself, wishing he had never told her
about his past. One of the cops snapped a pair of handcuffs on him, and dragged
him in the direction of the car. Jack shouted to Rose.
“Rose! You know I didn’t do this, Rose! You
know me!”
Rose stared after him in stunned disbelief,
her mind racing. Why had he done it? Had he been waiting for an opportunity to
steal from her? It wasn’t the ring that she cared about; it was the feeling of
betrayal. She had given him her love, shared her deepest secret with him, and
he had repaid her by stealing from her. Or rather, from Cal, but it amounted to
the same thing.
Then another thought entered her mind. What
if he was telling the truth? What if Cal had framed him? Why had he offered to
let them check his pockets if he knew the ring was there?
She shook her head. Maybe he had hoped that
they wouldn’t check; that his offering to let them check would convince them
that he was innocent.
Rose dug into her purse, pulling out her car
keys. Numbly, she walked over to the SUV, her mind still whirling. Why had he
waited until now to steal from her? He had had plenty of opportunities before.
Maybe he had thought it was okay to steal from Cal, but not from her. The
thought gave her little comfort.
What if he was telling the truth? Rose
considered this for a minute, then shook her head. All the evidence was there;
he was guilty. There was no reason why Cal would have framed him; it was Rose
he was upset with, not Jack.
Rose unlocked the door, berating herself.
You’re such an idiot, she thought. How could you have been so stupid? You get
engaged to a man who abuses you, then you fall in love with one who would steal
you blind. Had any other woman ever been so stupid?
As she opened the door, Cal walked up to her.
She looked at him blankly, wondering what he was doing there.
He stared at her for a minute, then slapped
her across the face. Rose stumbled back, her hand flying to her stinging cheek.
No amount of physical pain could compare to the blow her heart had been given.
Cal grabbed her arm and yanked her away from
the vehicle. Rose pulled her arm free, suddenly remembering her vow to leave
him. He pushed her against the side of the SUV.
“Look, Rose. I understand that you’re young
and naive. You made a mistake. I’m willing to forgive you.” He held the ring
out to her. “Just put this back on, and we’ll forget any of this ever
happened.”
Rose stared at him. Did he really believe
what he was saying? The utter absurdity of everything hit her, and she felt
hysterical laughter rising up inside her.
Cal looked at her strangely, startled by her
sudden hilarity. “What could possibly be funny?”
Rose pulled away from him, trying to stifle
her hysterical laughter. “You. You want to forgive me? I’m the
one who should be forgiving you.” Her laughter ended as quickly as it had
begun, replaced by anger. “You’ve controlled my life, you’ve beaten me, you’ve
even raped me--and you want to forgive me? I hate you. Take your
ring. I don’t care what you do with it--but I’m not wearing it again. I never
want to see you again.”
She climbed into the vehicle. Noticing the
drawing Jack had made of her lying on the seat, she tossed it into the back.
Cal watched her, noticing how her hands shook
as she tossed the picture away. He had seen the drawing earlier when he was
looking for her.
“It isn’t over, Rose.”
“Oh, yes, it is.” She tried to put the key in
the ignition, but her shaking hands wouldn’t allow it. Angrily, she tossed the
keys in her purse, knowing that it wasn’t safe for her to drive when she was so
upset.
She started to climb out of the vehicle,
intending to go inside the restaurant until she had calmed down a little.
Rose was startled when the SUV seemed to
shift under her feet, throwing her to the ground. With difficulty, she got to
her feet, wondering what was going on, until she realized that the whole world
was shaking along with her.