A FIRE IN THE WIND
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Allison opened the door hastily and gave Rose
a bright smile. "Come in," Allison told her.
Rose smiled, but hesitated to come inside.
"Ali, I don't know about this. Aren't your parents home?"
Allison shrugged. "Lawn party. You know,
you're not the only one who can master the art of 'faking sick.' Come in,
Rosie!"
Rose sighed and came into the front hall of
Ali's house.
Ali shut the door and started to lead Rose
into the parlor. "I'm sorry that I made you come all the way here. I know
you must have been very paranoid about running into a familiar face."
Rose giggled childishly. "Actually, I
did. Literally."
"Really? Who?" Allison asked,
concerned.
"Victoria."
Allison coughed loudly from shock.
"What?"
Rose laughed. "It's a long story."
Rose and Allison entered the parlor and took
seats across from one another. Rose eyed Allison, asking why she wanted her here.
"Rose," Allison started off slowly. "We've been friends since
the first day of school. I mean, what can I say? We've gotten in and out of a
hell of a lot together, but nothing as exciting has happened than these past
three weeks."
Rose shook her head. "Ali, what are you
talking about? These last three weeks must have been like hell for you."
"No, Rose," Allison replied.
"They weren't. You helped me realize a lot of this past month, and I'm
just so grateful that I could be a part of everything and I wanted to give you
something."
Rose frowned. "No, Ali, no. I couldn't
accept anything, not after all you've done for Jack and me."
"I insist," Allison said, digging
into her purse and handing Rose a sealed envelope.
Curiously, Rose opened it. Her hands began to
shake and her face turned pale.
"Oh, Ali. I can't accept this!"
Rose stated, barely making out the words.
"Of course you can!" Allison
laughed. "And you will, Rose, or else I would feel awful. Two tickets to
Santa Monica. It stops in Chicago and Denver."
"No, Ali, no," Rose said, giving
the tickets back to her friend.
Allison gave them back to Rose. "Please,
Rosie. Take them. I know it's what you want. If I pay for the tickets, I
believe that you and Jack will have enough money to get settled. I know you're
really stubborn and independent, but please let me take care of just this one
thing. It's the least I can do."
Rose reached over and hugged her friend.
"Thank you, Ali. Thank you for everything."
"You'd better believe that I'm coming to
visit!" Allison replied firmly. "As soon as Jack and you get settled,
I'm there! And to think, maybe some day when I'm watching a moving picture, I
can point up at the screen and shout, 'Hey! Look! That's my friend, Rose
Dawson, the actress.'"
Rose laughed along with Ali. "Maybe you
will, Ali."
There was a moment of silence, and then
Allison laughed inappropriately.
"What is it?" Rose asked,
perplexed.
"I was just thinking of the first time
we met!" Allison shot out in a flash. "Remember? It was the first day
of school. Everyone was scared to death. I still remember, we were
having--"
"French with Madame Marie," Rose
added, teasing Allison.
Allison gave Rose an irritated glance.
"And her English wasn't spoken that well. In the middle of her lesson, she
tripped on the leg of her chair and started to curse in French. The class was
silent; they were far too scared of the consequences of laughing. But then, the
tension broke, and two little six-year-olds started to laugh wildly. Of course,
there was a strict punishment for two, but something wonderful happened, too.
They began to talk to each other and they realized that they had a lot in
common. They've been kindred spirits to this day."
Rose smiled. "Ali, is there ever going
to be a time when you're not going to tell that story?"
"There will never be," Allison
remarked firmly, "but today I've reminded you of that story to prove a
point."
There were a few seconds of silence, and then
Allison smiled smugly. "You always were different, Rose. You were never
like everyone else. And this is where you are; everyone else is off married or
engaged to some worthless wealthy nobody who isn't going to make them happy.
You've found your reason for life. Maybe if everyone else laughed in class, they
might be where you are today, Rose. They just might be."
"What about you, Ali?" Rose asked,
concerned about her friend. "You laughed out in class, too."
Ali laughed. "I'll find my Jack Dawson
someday, Rose. I just have to look."
Rose gave her friend one last hug.
"Thank you, Ali," she said, preparing to leave.
Allison smiled and led Rose out to the front
hallway.
"Listen, I'll come with you two to the
train station on Friday. We'll say our good-byes there," Allison remarked.
Rose nodded and headed back outside into the
warm May air, saying a final good-bye to the neighborhood of her childhood.