JACK'S ROSE
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rose stepped up to cafe's door and gripped
the knob. As the glass door swung open toward her, she felt all eyes turn
towards her.
"Well, well! Speaking of the
devil!" the tall, dark-haired man sitting in the booth exclaimed. Rose
smiled.
"Rose! We were just talking about
you!" The blonde-haired woman stood and ran to Rose, embracing her.
"I'm so glad you're here!"
Rose smiled again, dropping her bags and
returning her friend's embrace. "Me, too. I had been in one place too
long. I had to move again," Rose said sarcastically as they parted. The
woman looked at her skeptically.
"Rose?"
"My boss replaced me," she said,
looking away. "I didn't have anywhere else to go."
"Oh, Rosie! That's okay! I'm glad you're
here!"
"You said that I could come whenever I
needed."
"And that you did. Susan was just saying
that it'd be nice to see you again," the man said.
"Not that Andrew was objecting,"
Susan said, poking him in the ribs. Andrew smiled.
"It's nice to see you again." He
bent and lightly kissed Rose on the cheek. Rose blushed.
"Hey! Hey! Rose, what are you doing?
Stealing my fiancé?" Susan scolded playfully, taking Andrew by the arm and
pulling him back. Rose looked to Susan, obviously surprised.
"Fiancé? So, you two have finally made
plans, then?" Rose asked happily.
"Yup! He proposed a month ago,"
Susan said, extending her left hand. Rose smiled at the simple golden ring on her
friend's finger.
"It's beautiful, Susan. I'm so happy for
you both," Rose said, hugging first Susan and then Andrew. And she was.
She was happy for them, but seeing her friend racing along in life struck a
pain in her heart. Rose was, at twenty-four, still single and unmarried.
"Perk up, Rosie," Susan whispered,
sensing her friend's hesitance. "You look kind of tired. Let's take you up
to a room." She stooped, picked up Rose's suitcase, and signaled for Rose
to follow her. Rose obeyed, pausing only to smile at Andrew. As they stepped
into the room, Rose's face lit up.
"Oh, Susan! It's wonderful!" she
exclaimed, as she looked over the room. There was a large, tan rug in the
middle of the room. A bed was pushed against the wall to their left and a dresser
was on the wall opposite that. A window on the wall facing the street let the
sunlight stream through and flood into the room. On the wall opposite that was
an empty closet. The room seemed like a room from a palace compared to the
dark, damp room she'd been staying in at the boarding house. "I love
it," Rose whispered.
"I'm glad you like it. We just had it
opened up. The girl that used to sew the actress's dresses just left,"
Susan said, setting Rose's bag down. She smiled at her friend. "Good thing
you came when you did. Would you mind taking her place?" she asked.
"Not at all. I would like that,"
Rose said, glancing over at her friend.
"Well, good then. We've got you a room
and a job. The hardest part is over." Susan wiped her hands across each
other as if she had just finished a hard job. But Rose shook her head.
"No, Susan. You're wrong," she said
quietly. Susan looked at her friend questioningly. Rose giggled. "I still
have to unpack."