JACK'S ROSE
Chapter Thirteen
Rose frowned as she made her way back down
the stairs. The parlor was so drab. The furniture, she had to admit, was nice,
but there was nothing else in the room except the furniture. No rug to cover
the hard wooden floor, no curtains to block the drafts from the old windows,
nothing on the mantle to add any color. She lowered herself onto the plush sofa
as Julia scurried into the room, carrying a bowl full of fluffy popped corn,
another bowl of cranberries, and two needles and a spool of thread. Julia
plopped down on the sofa beside Rose, handing her a needle.
Lilly and Cora had gone with Henry to pick
out that year's Christmas tree.
"Lilly was anxious to get the
tree!" Rose said, accepting one end of the long thread Julia had cut off.
"Oh, she's been like that since she was
old enough to toddle along beside Henry when he went out. Getting the Christmas
tree has been one of their favorite things for years now. My job has always
been to prepare the decorations." She smiled here. "But now I have
someone to help me."
"I'm looking forward to this
Christmas," Rose said, her eyes once more wandering to the bare floor.
"I never really liked Christmas as a child."
"Well, from what little you've told me
about your family, I wouldn't have either. But you're here now."
"That I am." Now, Rose smiled.
"And I'm glad of it." There was a short pause as both women struggled
to thread their needles. "But what about you? In May, when we first went
to the store, Ralph said that you used to come in with your aunt and
uncle."
"Oh, yes..." Julia slipped a
cranberry over her needle. "My parents, when I was born, were not fit to
be parents. They were still traveling and such, and my aunt and uncle refused
to let them raise me with no place to truly call home or a sense of security,
so they took me. But by the time my parents had settled down, I was happy and content
here, and engaged to Henry as well, so I refused to go back. So, I hadn't
talked to my parents in years until the beginning of March, when word reach me
that my parents had died, and, having no other heirs, left the estate and money
to me. So, we sold what little land we had on our little Kentucky farm and
rushed to Philadelphia. You'd said that you were from Philadelphia, didn't
you?"
"Yes."
"Mmm. Well, they both fell ill that
winter. Father died first, and, Mother, probably because she felt she had no
more reason to live, died soon after." She smiled sadly. "But at
least they died together. Anyway, they had some money put away; five hundred I
think. We sold their estate as well and now all that money rests safely in a
bank there. We have two hundred with us now, and that, in case you've wondered
at all, is what we're living off of."
"That was a nice little amount of pocket
change." Rose smiled. "What are you going to do with it all?"
Rose asked, pricking herself with the needle. She laid the needle down and
stuck the tip of her finger in her mouth.
"Send Lilly and Cora to the girls'
school when they turn thirteen, then put that toward college for them, and, if
there's any left, traveling."
"Ah." Rose removed her finger from
her mouth. "Cora?"
"Well, yes. You don't plan on leaving or
taking her, do you?" Julia asked, eyeing Rose.
Yes. She did.
But, thankfully, before she had a chance to
respond, Henry and the girls returned, hauling a beautiful cedar, and they all
set about decorating the tree.
*****
Rose made her way down the road, trudging
through the thick snow, careful not to slip on any hidden ice patches, toward
the store. The golden glow of the windows of the general store were like a
beacon to a ship, but she wasn't sure which she looked forward to
more...getting out of the cold and into the warmth and comfort of the store, or
seeing William again. She frowned bitterly at the fact that a smile crossed her
face whenever she thought of meeting him again. But that frown did not last and
soon gave way to the smile.
She hurried up the store's steps and burst
into the store, shaking herself and causing a small pile of snow to form where
she was standing. William laughed.
"I see you're doing better, but I'd bet
that Henry and Julia don't know you're out in weather like this, 'cause they'd
never let you out if they did." He smiled at her.
"You're right, oh, ingenious one,"
she teased back, laughing.
"Well, come on. Take that coat off. I'm
not letting you out of here until the snow at least slows a little bit,"
he said, coming from behind the counter and taking her jacket from her.
"What'd you sneak out for?" William asked as he hung the jacket on
one of the hooks by the door.
"To get them their Christmas
presents," Rose said, rubbing her arms, trying to ward off the cold.
"And what's that?"
"A rug and curtains for the parlor. Do
you have any?" she inquired, reaching out for a small, intricately carved
box laying on the counter. William quickly snatched the box away and shoved it
in his apron pocket.
"Nosy little thing, aren't we?"
"Well, what is it?"
"Nothing for you to concern your pretty
little head over." He blushed at his own words, and nervously licked his
lips, then led her to the back of the store. "Here's what we have as far
as curtains and rugs," he said, indicating a rug that was haphazardly
draped over a saddle stand and four curtains that were folded on the counter
beside it.
"Oh, they're beautiful! It's
perfect," Rose said, running her hand over the light-hued rug. The rug
truly was beautiful. It was a light, creamy color with mint colored vines sewn
around the edge, leaving the middle empty. The curtains were the same color as
the vines on the rug with whitish vines flowing together all over them. She
smiled. "It'll brighten up the room, and it matches the carvings on the
staircase. How much are they?"
"She had brought one hundred dollars
with her—a fifth of the money Molly had given her, and while she seriously
doubted that it was going to take all of the hundred dollars, she had rather
brought too much than too little.
"The rug is twenty and the curtains are
five each. So, forty together." He eyed her suspiciously. "Do you
have forty dollars just laying around?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Rose
smiled smugly and handed him two twenty-dollar bills. "But I need you to
hold them until Christmas Eve morning. They're going to the Ciclys' that
morning, but we don't exactly...get along." She chose her words carefully.
"So, I'm staying home that morning."
"Ah ha. And how are you going to pay me
back for rising early that morning when I would rather be warm in my bed?"
"A good meal that night. I'm inviting
you now for Christmas dinner and celebration."
"Well, I suppose, milady. Is there
anything else you would be requiring at this time?" he asked sarcastically,
directing a gallant bow to Rose as she walked by him, laughing.
"Yes, actually. Don't tell them that I
bought these when they come in the store this week."
"Of course." He flashed her a silly
smile and she laughed.
"You're such a nut, Will."
"I know." William laughed as he
stored the money she had given to him in the large cash register.
"Well, it's paused snowing for a brief
time. I'm going to go ahead and get going," Rose said, pulling her coat
down from the rack and shrugging back into it.
"You'd better hurry," he said,
opening the door and stepping out onto the porch. "It looks like it’s
gonna pick up again."
"I made it before, even if does."
She smiled. "Bye, Will. And thank you."
"Bye, Rose. And you're welcome."
Rose started across the porch, but William
reached out, acting before thinking, and pulled her back, kissing her cheek.
She gazed back at him, startled at first,
then smiled and blushed.
Then, she leaned forward and kissed his
cheek, and with that, Rose rushed off. William turned back in the store, gently
touching the spot where her lips had touched his cheek.
It was then that something truly started that
would span the rest of their lives.