Page 209 of Seven Oars
The hypothetical scenario caught Paloma off guard.“It’s not the same with us. Ren and I have been together a long time. We’re, like, two parts of a whole.”
So, Paloma did understand the concept.
A faint tension around her mouth betrayed her unease.
“If I had to wait for Ren that long without a word, I’d assume he died.”
“Finn’s not dead,” Rosamma said flatly. She would know if he were. Across the emptiness of the Universe, she would feel it.
Paloma threw up her hands.“Fine, he’s not dead. Two fucking years! He isn’t coming back. You’re wasting your life in this room.”
“I’m living my life the way I like it,” Rosamma countered.“I would still translate ancient texts, with or without Fincros. I’d still help Gro with her mushrooms. Go on walks.” She gestured around her.“I’m just me.”
A new knock on the door broke the tension in the room.
It was Ren.
“Did I interrupt?” he asked with a bright smile.
Paloma’s expression turned sullen.“Did you follow me?”
“A little.”
Rosamma laughed and gave Ren a warm hug.“How can you follow someone a little? You either did or you didn’t.”
“Let’s just say I came to lend my weight to whatever argument you’re having.”
“We’re not arguing,” Rosamma said quickly.
“Whose side are you on?” Paloma asked at the same time.
Ren sighed, his good humor fading.“Let’s go home, Paloma. It’s late. Rose must be tired.”
His brotherly concern was touching and familiar. He slipped so easily into their old pattern: she, sickly and weak, in need of protection. He, always the protector, deciding what she needed and when she needed it.
Paloma followed his lead.“Yeah, it’s late. Think about what I said. Please, Rosamma.” She pressed her hands under her chin like a prayer.“You’re so pretty and gentle. You have so much to give. You can meet someone decent if only you leave your self-imposed isolation.”
Rosamma smiled.“The men here are nice, but they aren’t Fincros.”
“That is rather the point.”
Rosamma gazed at Ren’s girlfriend, filled with equal parts love and exasperation.“I will wait for him forever.”
Paloma stomped her foot.“He groomed you! That… bipedal ogre!”
She ran out, slamming the door behind her.
Silence fell over Rosamma’s small room.
“I’m sorry, Rose,” Ren said.
“That’s alright.”
“No, it isn’t. She’s having a difficult time with your choice of a man.”
Rosamma’s lips curled in irony.“I’ve gathered that much.”
“She feels responsible for what happened to you.”
