Page 2 of Roses for Rosie

It’s the people. I love all our customers, but I especially adore the ones who are here tonight. This is book club night. We gather to catch up, snack on hors d’oeuvres, talk about our families, complain about husbands and boyfriends, and occasionally discuss the book we all just read. These women are my tribe. They are my people. They are the best friends I have ever had. If they want to tease me about the wet dream I just had in front of them, I don’t mind. I love them enough to be vulnerable with them.

“I’m with you, Rosie. That man is a fine piece of ass,” Susie says.

“You can’t even see his ass in the picture,” Vivian objects.

“I can imagine it, thank you very much. And what I imagine is tight and perfect. If he was here, I would walk right up to him and give it a little squeeze.”

“You would not.”

“Then after I gave it a squeeze, I just might pull him in for a little kiss. Just a little one.”

“Who are you kidding? If you got him alone, your tongue would be dancing with his tonsils before he could say hello. We all know about your Playgirl subscription. Your panties wouldn’t even make it into the same county as that man.”

“Damn straight. I’m not ashamed to admit it either. It’s not every day a man like that comes along. Too bad I’m married. I love George and everything, but I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through you lucky single ladies.”

“As if,” I reply. “It’s not like any of us are ever going to get within a mile of Adam Smythe. He’s rich and famous and, as we already established, clearly a sex god. Whyt would he ever come to Jamesville?”

“You never know….”

“I do know. Nothing ever happens here. That’s one of the reasons I love it. I know what to expect and I recognize everyone. No surprises,” I correct.

“But let’s just say, what if? What if Adam Smythe did come to town? I bet he would be all over you, Rosie.”

“Me,” I laugh. “Yeah, right.”

I guess I’m OK looking, but my thighs have always been just a shade bigger than I’d like them to be, my boobs a bit smaller, my hair straighter and my eyes a touch too close together. I’m ordinary. Nothing special really. Nothing a man like Adam Smythe would be interested in, that’s for sure.

He has his pick of rich glamorous women throwing themselves at him every day. I’ve seen it on the news and in the magazines. There is no way a guy like him would ever in a million years be interested in a small-town girl like me.

“No really. You’re pretty and single. You’re spunky and fun. You know how to plan a great party and you’re clearly interested,” Susie laughs at her reference to my recent fantasy.

“You’re nuts. Even if he was interested, and there is no way he is, my father would have a cow,” I retort. I live with my father, not because I necessarily want to, but because he needs someone to take care of him and I’m the only person he hasn’t driven away yet. He drinks too much and gets violent when he’s drunk.

Without me though, he would probably forget to eat and starve to death or fail to pay his bills and have the heat shut off. He doesn’t like for me to have friends – especially not friends who are men. It’s a small life, but I can’t leave him. He’s my dad and he needs me.

“I’m just going to have to keep reading his books, alone in the bath, with my favorite toy.” I wiggle my eyebrows and another round of laugher cascades through the room.

I love that my job here at the bookstore is to plan special events. Even my father can’t complain when I need to spend an evening here. It’s work, after all, and my job is the one which pays the bills. I don’t know what I would do without these women who lift me up and support me. I couldn’t stand to live here anymore without my book club buddies. I thank Vivian every day for handing me the perfect job. The books feed my mind, the people fill my soul, and the fun events break up the monotony of caring for my father day after day.

If I have to go without a real romance, that’s OK. I have everything I need right here in this room.

“When he calls you tomorrow and asks you to hook up with him, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Susie laughs.

“I’ll be sure to tell him you said hello,” I deadpan.

Chapter 2

Adam

“Jamesville? That hole in the wall? Are you kidding me?” I ask, incredulously.

“Yes, Adam. Jamesville. It’s not far from you and they have a very active reader community at the local bookstore. Just a minute.” I hear papers rustling in the background as my agent pauses. “Nooks and Books, that’s the name.”

“I am not going to Jamesville.”

“Let’s not make this difficult. We have talked about the importance of these book clubs before.”

“And it’s part of my contract, I know, I know. I just….Jamesville?”

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