Page 11 of Beneath Her Hands
“Sure, but I won’t promise you’ll like the answer,” Rosalind chuckled slightly.
“Are you planning to stay?”
“I don’t think I understand the question,” Rosalind furrowed her brows.
“Once your parents are taken care of, I mean.”
Rosalind’s eyes widened slightly.
“Don’t look so shocked. Everyone knows you’re here to help your folks; I’m just curious if you plan to stay any longer than that,” Leslie looked pointedly at Rosalind.
“If I’m being completely honest, I don’t know,” Rosalind answered. “The thought of settling down sounds nice on paper, but I’m already feeling claustrophobic.”
“Well, take Jane with you,” Leslie said and laid her head back on the pillow, closing her eyes.
Rosalind’s mouth dropped open, she closed it and opened it again, trying to come up with some way to respond to that.
“Jane’s always wanted to travel, to see the world, but this reason or that one has always kept her here,” Leslie said without opening her eyes. “I hate to admit it, but for a few years I was one of those reasons. I have no desire to leave this place, even for vacation, but Jane does, and she deserves it. She’s always sacrificed herself for everyone else. Her parents, her siblings, me.”
Rosalind thought she heard Leslie’s voice crack, but it could just be that she needed rest.
“Don’t even try to deny that you’re attracted to her,” Leslie said with a huff.
“I don’t even know where to begin with that,” Rosalind finally said. “Besides, I think she’s still pretty hung up on you.”
“No, not me,” Leslie said, her voice dropping off. “She liked the idea of being in a relationship, she liked having someone to take care of in her mind. But we didn’t work; she needs to take care of herself for once.” Leslie took a deep breath before she continued, “Do you know she’s the oldest of eight?”
“Eight?” Rosalind was shocked. Growing up she had always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling, but eight seemed astronomical.
“Yeah,” Leslie chuckled. “Eight. She’s always had to take care of someone, whether it was a younger sibling, niece or nephew, now her parents, and she’s never even thought about what makes her happy, just everyone around her.”
Rosalind felt a twitch of sympathy for Jane. It must have been difficult for her to grow up like that.
“Her parents tried to make sure she had a ‘normal’ childhood, they did the best they could, but that was just how the cards fell for her, and now she doesn’t know any better. Turns out, having a care-taker only annoyed me, but I didn’t know how to express that, and she didn’t know how to tone it down.”
“Wow, it almost feels like you’re warning me away from her,” Rosalind said with a sardonic grin.
“Not at all,” Leslie laughed. “She has so much to offer, but it’s really up to her to be ready for it. She needs to learn that she’s important, too.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I’ve barely known her for a day,” Rosalind said, feeling somewhat exasperated.
“I know,” Leslie whispered. “It’s just a thought. We made a terrible couple, but I would like to see her happy.” Her voice dropped off to something barely audible.
Rosalind watched Leslie for a couple more minutes, making certain that she was asleep before returning to her office. Jane would be coming in to work in a couple of hours, and Rosalind really could use some sleep, but she doubted even more whether she would actually be able to close her eyes now. Visions of traveling the world with Jane filled her mind, and she was forced to admit that they seemed nice. She shook her head. Fantasies, that’s all they were, she barely knew Jane. For all she knew, Janewould be a terrible travel companion. As wishy-washy as she’d been these last twenty-four hours would attest to that.
Rosalind checked in on the other patients. The girl that they had worked on together seemed to be doing well, though she had not yet woken up. That was a little unnerving, but probably fine. Everyone else was stable and thriving. Finally, Rosalind went back to the on-call room and tried to get at least a couple hours sleep. She managed to doze, but not much more than that.
She happened to be dozing when a soft knock came at the door and someone pushed into the darkness.
“Rosalind, are you asleep?” Jane’s soft voice filled the room.
“I’m awake,” she answered.
Jane flicked the lights on, and Rosalind squinted against the harsh fluorescent. “I want to talk to you.”
Rosalind’s heart started pounding in her chest, but she sat up and looked at Jane, her bright green eyes felt electric.
“I wanted to apologize,” Jane said. Rosalind furrowed her brow. “I acted very rash yesterday when I, um…”
