Page 43 of Bottle Rocket
“Well, what do we have here, Leo?” Mirabella asked.
“Mom, this is Rosie Holiday. She used to work at the restaurant. Do you remember her?”
Mirabella smiled gently—an expression Rosie had never seen from her—and said, “Of course I do. Your grandmother was the only prep cook I trusted.”
That was the perfect thing to say to put Rosie at ease. She’d loved her grandma, and anyone who recognized how special that woman had been was fine in Rosie’s book.
“Nice to see you again, Mrs. Shawcross-Whittaker,” Rosie said, shaking her hand.
“Oh, goodness. Call me Mira.”Yeah, that was never gonna happen.“But you didn’t answer my question, son.” Mirabella turned to Leo. “Did I spy a bit of hand holding?”
Rosie flushed. She should never have let Leo take her hand.
“Mom, don’t embarrass me.” Leo sounded so much like his surly teenaged self that Rosie almost laughed.
Almost. But she didn’t because she was too freaked out.
Mirabella turned her formidable gaze on Rosie. “You do know he draws porn for a living, right?”
“I don’t make porn!” Leo said, causing the man selling cabbage nearby to glance at them in surprise.
“Excuse me, darling. You do know that he draws himself having sex for a living, right? It’s very good stuff I’ve heard. I can’t bring myself to look at it too closely.” Mirabella flipped her hair over her shoulder and stared placidly at Rosie.
“I know what he does for a living, yes.”
“And what do you do?”
“I’m a kindergarten teacher.”
A heavy pause followed Rosie’s words before Mirabella laughed so hard she snorted. “Oh, that’s rich. A kindergarten teacher and an erotic artist. I love it. Come here, lovely. Tell me more about yourself.”
Mirabella took Rosie’s hand and tucked it in her elbow, leading Rosie through booth after booth and asking questions about her job, siblings, marital history, and home.
“Mom, you can stop with the third degree,” Leo said, tagging along behind them.
“No, I cannot.” She gently squeezed Rosie’s arm. “I’ve never seen Leo hold anyone’s hand. I saw him kiss that Dean boy once in the restaurant’s parking lot, but holding hands is different.”
Rosie thought it might be different too, which was why this whole thing terrified her.
“We’re friends,” Rosie said, her voice stilted. “That’s all.”
“Hmm. Okay.” Mirabella seemed to see through her. “You must come to our Fourth of July dinner party. It’ll be divine.”
Leo jumped in. “We have plans.”
Thank God.Rosie thought a dinner party at chez Whittaker sounded about as fun as getting her teeth pulled.
“Are you lying to me?” Mirabella asked her son.
“No. We’re going to a barbecue at our friend Robin’s house.”
That was news to Rosie. Exciting news. She knew what happened at Lady Robin’s.
Orgies. Orgies happened there.
“Well, fine. If you don’t want to spend time with your family, then so be it,” Mirabella sniped. Leo winked at Rosie behind his mom’s back as she continued, “Let’s shop. Have you ever made jam, Rosie?”
“No. I’m not really a cook.”
