Page 50 of Roses for Rosie

“I would die for you Rosie. I’ll kill myself if you don’t take me back…” Too dramatic.

And then a brilliant idea occurs to me. I pull out my laptop and open the Google Doc I started for my next book, the one inspired by my feelings about Rosie. I read through it, changing a word here and there, but mostly admiring the truth and honesty present on the screen. When I get to the end of the document, I start typing in earnest, adding to the draft I started earlier and molding it into the argument I need it to be to win Rosie back.

I’m so immersed in my work that I’m surprised when the pilot announces that we will be descending soon. I look over the Google Doc, confident that my plan will work. Telling romantic stories is what I do best. My stories have won me awards and tons of fans. I just hope it’s enough to win Rosie back as well.

Nooks and Books comes into view as I cruise down Main Street through Jamesville. I see Rosie’s car parked in the lot and am glad that I get to stage our reconciliation here and not at her house in front of her father. I’m not afraid of her father, but I’m not his biggest fan either. This will be so much easier if it’s just me and her.

I park the car and pick up the bouquet of roses from the passenger seat. Flowers never hurt when you are apologizing, even if you didn’t do anything wrong.

I push the front door of the bookstore open and hear the familiar bell chime overhead. A quick glance around the shop reveals not only Rosie, but also Vivian and two other women who look vaguely familiar from the book signing event. The friendly patter of conversation dies when they see me. Four sets of eyes shoot daggers in my direction.

This must be the book club Rosie told me so much about. I struggle for a second to remember the names of the two women Rosie is proud to call her best friends. Joanne and Susie, that’s it. I nod to each of them and offer a polite smile. They don’t crack.

Rosie must have told them everything. They think I’m a snake, that I hurt their Rosie, that I got Scarlett pregnant and then pursued Rosie anyway. No wonder they are looking at me like I’m an old piece of gum stuck to the bottom of their shoe.

Rosie’s dad might be an easier audience than these loyal women, I think. Oh well, it can’t be helped. I will just have to forge ahead and do my best to win Rosie over despite the animosity rolling through the room. They outnumber me, but I have the truth on my side. I also have a pretty brilliant piece of fiction as a prop.

“Rosie,” I start, walking toward her and handing her the bouquet. She takes the roses from me but then drops them on the floor at her feet without even looking at them.

“What do you want, Adam?”

“I want to explain. I want to apologize.”

“There is nothing you can say to make what you did all right.”

“But I didn’t do what Scarlett said, I swear.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t, but you might regret it forever if you don’t even give me a chance to tell you what really happened.”

She pauses, thinking. At least she hasn’t kicked me out yet. I still have a chance. “Can I read you something I’ve been working on? I need a reader’s opinion.”

All four of them look intrigued at the change in topic. They are avid readers and I know they can’t resist a private reading of an unpublished manuscript. This is a chance most of my fans would stand in line all day for.

They exchange glances and nod. “We’re listening,” Rosie says.

I start reading the story about me and Rosie. It begins with our first phone call and her propositioning me with a pole dance and continues through our first meeting when I asked her to sleep with me. The story twists and turns through the book reading at Nooks and Books and her father showing up. I lay bare the rage I felt at seeing her father treat her so badly that night and the protective instincts which made it imperative that I take care of her.

I wasn’t expecting to read the scene in the hotel room the next morning to an audience, but I keep reading noticing the raised eyebrows. The story gets more emotional after that, describing how much I missed Rosie when I had to leave and how I was so desperate to see her that I bought her a plane ticket and flew her down to Florida.

The revelations of taking her snorkeling and introducing her as my girlfriend come next, making it clear that my infatuation with her was more than physical. I spin a tale of falling in love, of finding myself, and of hopes for the future.

This is the part of the story that would usually end in the happily ever after, but this story has a twist, an evil villain who comes between the lovers, spinning a web of lies and sowing doubt about their true intentions.

“This is the part I need your help with,” I say to Rosie, getting down on one knee in front of her. I turn back to the Google Doc and read the last few sentences of the story.

“My heart and my soul belong to you. No other woman has ever or will ever touch me the way you do. You are the yin to my yang, the sunrise to my sunset, the glue that holds me together,” Alex says to Roya. “Will you forgive me for this misunderstanding? Will you let me spend every day making it up to you? Will you allow me to stand by your side for the rest of your life? Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

“What do you think, Rosie?” I ask. “What does she say? How does the story end?”

Chapter 25

Rosie

Adam must think even less of me than I assumed he did when Scarlett came in here and told me about his lies. Then, I thought he saw me as naïve and unsophisticated, a woman who would be so grateful for his meager attentions that she would be willing to put up with being taken advantage of. Now it’s clear that he thinks I can be won over with a few flowers and some trite prose about a fairy tale couple.

He's going to have to try harder than that. I don’t need him and his betrayals. I have a lead on a new apartment, I have my job, I have my friends. I also have a giant gaping Adam sized hole in my heart, but we don’t talk about that.

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