Rosie walked slowly to the garage, her heart was broken but she had a job to do. There was a stream of trucks and cars already lining the street. She pulled on her cover alls and went into the shop.
"Daddy, I'm here."
"Hey sweet pea how was your day?" Her father greeted poking his head out from under the hood of someone's Ford.
"Fine." She faked a smile
"I told you, you'd get over Rafe in no time didn't I?"
Rosie looked at the floor
"Yeah you did."
The hours passed slowly every time a car pulled in Rosie was secretly hoping it was Rafe. She knew she had just made the worst decision of her life, leaving him was wrong she knew it. But then there wasn't really any other way to fix their problems.
"Well if it isn't my little girl." The voice Rosie heard was vaguely familiar almost as if she had heard it in a dream a long time ago. She looked and saw a face she could only remember from pictures but knew instantly who it was.
"Mother?"
The women in front of her was in her late forties and could pass for her late twenties. And she was absolutely beautiful.
"Yes sweet heart."
"What are you doing here?"
"I wasn't about to miss my little girls graduation now was I? What kind of mother would that make me?"
"The kind I've had my entire life, the kind that packs up and leaves without so much as a note."
"I didn't pack up and leave you Rosanna. That no good mayor Sullivan told me to leave town. Said I wasn't respectable enough to live in this little one horse town. Not my fault your old man didn't wanna leave his pettily little shop."
"Luciana?" Alexander stepped out of his office and dropped his wrench to the floor.
"Hello Alex." She greeted her ex-husband with phony adoration.
"Luciana you're not welcome on my property and I'd appreciate it if you'd leave."
"And if I don't?"
"I'll call the sheriff."
"Sheriff Kimball and I are on quite intimate terms Alex, he'd never force me to leave."
"I'm sure, to bad my brother Arthur's sheriff now."
"Whatever Alex I'm not arguing with you. I'll be around if you need me Rosie."
"Of course you'll be." Alexander sneered
Luciana kissed her daughter and trotted off.
Rafe nursed his whiskey and water, he was already pretty drunk so he'd slowed down to avoid puking. The alcohol wasn't making him feel any better, like it usually did. But then normally there was hope left in him, now there was none. He felt dead inside.
"Hey there handsome." Rafe felt a pair large boobs pressed into his back.
He turned in his seat and was facing the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She looked a bit older then him by how much he couldn't tell. But she had this long silky mahogany hair and smoky gray eyes all pulled together on a body any Hollywood starlet would kill for. The women was hott beyond compare, but she still wasn't Rosie. Rosie however had left him, it had been her choice and he wasn't about to let life pass him by.
"Hi." Rafe looked her up and down "Can I get you a drink?"
"You can get me anything you want sugar." The women sat on a stool next to him squeezing his knee.
"Ronnie, give the lady whatever she wants it's on me."
"The names Luci, lover and you are?"
"Rafe McCawley ma'am."
"Rafe McCawley, well you grew into quite the stud didn't you?"
"Excuse me?"
"I knew you when you were just a youngin' and I must say you turned out to be one hell of a heart breaker. You got a girl Rafe?"
"No ma'am, she left me this afternoon."
"Oh you poor thing. Whata ya say we go up to my room and talk about it?"
The stairway to the rooms above the bar was dank and musty and it didn't seem like anyone had been up there since Lincoln was president. Luci's room was a slight improvement it didn't smell as bad and table lamp brightened the surroundings. Rafe crawled onto the bed as Luci went into the bathroom to change. The alcohol cursing through Rafe's veins was making him do things that he knew he'd regret in the morning. At the time however he didn't care. Luci came out of the bathroom in a silk Chinese style bathrobe with her hair pulled back in a bun. Rafe's blood starting flowing faster at the sight his heart was screaming
"No don't" but his body was saying "Hell yes."
"So Rafe did your old girlfriend have a body like this?" Luci dropped her robe to the floor
Rafe gulped and stuttered slightly
"Noooo ma'am."
"Have you ever done this before?" She asked lying next to him on the bed
He thought a minute and promptly lied.
"No ma'am."
Afterward Luci lay with her head on Rafe's muscular chest, both of them breathing heavy. Rafe regretting every minute of the two hours of passion they had just shared.
"So lover what was your girls name?"
"Rosanna Gadry, she was the best thing to ever happen to me. God she was great. Do you know her too?" Rafe panted
"Course I do she's my daughter."
Suddenly Rafe felt nauseas and he had to go home, jumping out of bed and straight out the door his pants still not completely pulled up.
Rafe stumbled into his house and went straight for Danny's room. He felt horrible and he just needed to get this off his chest, and if anyone could listen without bias, it was his best friend and loyal buddy Danny.
"Rafe?" Danny sat up and shielded his eyes from the light Rafe had turned on.
"Danny…I messed up. Big time." Rafe stumbled in and sat on the edge of Danny's bed.
"Have you been drinkin'?" Danny eyed Rafe cautiously.
"I slept with her mother!" Rafe sighed disgusted with himself.
"Whose mother?" Danny was a little confused.
"HER mother, now Danny, this woman did not look like she was anybody's mother. No sir." Rafe lamented.
"Ok…whose mother? Her? Her who?" Danny tried to coax Rafe into talking.
"Rosie's." Rafe replied in a small voice.
"Rosie's mother?" Danny tried to get his facts straight, "Rosie has a mother?"
"Of course she has a mother, everyone has a mother." Rafe replied with a sarcastic tone, "I just wish Rosie showed me a picture before I ran off and, well…her mother.
"Wait…her mom?" Danny was having trouble believing it, "ROSIES MOTHER?? The one that got kicked out of town?"
"No Danny her other mother…" Rafe snapped while Danny laughed.
"Rafe, you do realize, she's like pushing 50, at the very least she's in her mid-forties…" Danny said between bouts of laughter, "She's old…"
"Danny, I came here for support." Rafe scowled.
"I'm supportin' you Rafe, you're gonna need all the support you can get when Rosie finds out that you cheated on her with her mama…"
"I didn't cheat, we're on a break!"
"You took a break with her mother, of all people. That's like me goin' to that sanitarium in Memphis every time Beth pisses me off and getting a piece from her mother."
"Ok, number one, Beth's mom doesn't look like Rosie's mom, and second I didn't know!"
"Does she know that you know Rosie?"
"Yeah."
"Rafe, you're screwed." Danny replied simply, "I'll stick up for you…but man, you messed up. Big time. Now go to bed so you can get sober for school tomorrow morning."
Rosie almost always went to bed before 11:00 when she spent the night at home. So her father was alarmed when he passed her room and noticed her sitting in the rocking chair staring out the window.
"Sweet Pea what's the matter?"
"Hmmm?" Her attention was drawn from the twinkling street lights "Nothing daddy."
"Oh come on now your old man can tell when something's wrong. Let's talk about it."
"I miss Rafe and mom coming back and graduation it's just all to much."
"Rosanna you are a tuff girl if anyone can handle it it's you."
"That's just the point I don't want to handle it. I wanna be a normal teenager. I want my boyfriend back, I want a mother that wasn't kicked out of town, I wanna enjoy things that don't involve grease and gears. Dad, Rafe and I officially split up after school today."
"I see."
"I miss him so much and I know you don't wanna hear this but I love him."
"We'll talk bout this in the morning, get some sleep tomorrows your last day."
He pulled the comforter up around her shoulders and kissed her cheek as he had so many times when she was younger.
"What am I gonna do Danny?" Rafe said for the millionth time since they left the house
"Pray to god Rosie doesn't find out." Danny answered for lack of better advice
Beth had been walking undetected behind them and asked
"Pray Rosie doesn't find out what?"
The spooked boys jumped a mile when they landed Danny looked at Rafe for permission to tell his fiancé.
"It couldn't hurt, maybe she'll have better advice."
Rafe nodded in agreement and Danny proceeded to explain the situation to Beth.
"Now keep in mind Rafe and Rosie are on hiatus right now."
A puzzled expression creased Beth's delicate features
"Since when?"
"Yesterday after school she said something about our relationship being only bout sex." Rafe mumbled staring at his shoes intently.
"Oh." Beth responded putting a sympathetic hand on Rafe's shoulder
"Well here comes the good part," Danny rushed on "last night Huddy's most valued costumer here got drunk and had sex with Rosie's mother."
Beth's reaction was much the same as Danny's had been
"Rosie's mother? I didn't even realize she had one."
"That's because you didn't pal around with us before your father made Mrs. Gadry leave Shelby." Danny scooped up her hand
"My father made her leave? How come I've never heard about this?"
"Alotta people don't know bout it. Hell I'm pretty sure Rosie didn't know about it. Did she know Rafe?"
"No she thought her mom just packed up one day and left her, guess that was easier to explain to a six year old then "Your mama was the local whore so we ran her outta Shelby."." Rafe answered somberly
"There's better kept secrets in this town then your mother." Danny whispered to Beth and she didn't know whether to be relieved that someone had a worse mother then her or pity Rosie. After the initial shock died down she looked Rafe in the eye and told him the only thing she could think of. The one thing that may get Danny out of that particular situation had he found the desire to screw her mother.
"Prove your love Rafe."
"Beth I think I've done that a few times already." Rafe answered as a male his lack of sensitivity was understandable. "That's why she left me."
"Rafe love and sex are two completely separate things. Take me and Danny for example we've been together 5 years. That's along time in line of childhood romances. And yet we've still never….. I don't know about him but I couldn't be happier in our relationship. I don't know for sure cause she hasn't told me yet but I would imagine Rosie's feelin' like that's all you want her for these days. When she finds out you slept with another women the day you two broke up it'll prove her point."
"I know, god I'm a fool."
"Yes, yes you are." Danny joked patting his friend on the back "Come on guys we'll be late for class."
"Don't worry Rafe I'll talk to her in gym, I won't tell her what happened if you don't want me to. But I can find out what's she's feelin'."
"Thanks Beth, yeah I'd rather tell her, but you can talk to her for me please."
"Absolutely."
For the last day of school there seemed to be a lot of drama happening and as usual it was centered around our four friends here. Beth walked out of the locker room and found Rosie sitting Indian style on the floor with her back against the bleachers.
"Hey Rosie." Beth said chipper.
Rosie looked up at her rather sullenly and tried to force a smile
"Hi Beth."
"How you doin'?"
"I'm pretty sure you already know."
"I heard about you and Rafe. I'm sorry."
"You don't have nothing to be sorry for. I shoulda realized a long time ago we weren't meant to be. I think the whole world knew before I did."
"Rosie do you love Rafe?"
"With all my heart."
"Does he make you feel special?"
"Course, when I'm with him I just feel so right you know. Not like that odd girl that the town looks down on."
"Then why did you leave him?"
"It seems that all he wants me for lately is my body. It's been weeks since he's been gentle and tender with me. Ya know the butterfly kisses, tight squeezes not a constant gropin'. Now it's all about how much action he can get. I just can't deal with that right now."
"If he could show you he still cares for you the way he always did would you take him back?"
Rosie caught a glimpse of the boys p.e. class walk past the window and she got site of Rafe. His cheeks were pink and his light brown hair was sticking together from sweat and still he was the best looking guy in school. Suffice to say Rosie's heart hit the floor.
"Beth I want him back so badly I can taste it. I just need to know he feels the same way about me, for me."
"Daddy, I'm here."
"Hey sweet pea how was your day?" Her father greeted poking his head out from under the hood of someone's Ford.
"Fine." She faked a smile
"I told you, you'd get over Rafe in no time didn't I?"
Rosie looked at the floor
"Yeah you did."
The hours passed slowly every time a car pulled in Rosie was secretly hoping it was Rafe. She knew she had just made the worst decision of her life, leaving him was wrong she knew it. But then there wasn't really any other way to fix their problems.
"Well if it isn't my little girl." The voice Rosie heard was vaguely familiar almost as if she had heard it in a dream a long time ago. She looked and saw a face she could only remember from pictures but knew instantly who it was.
"Mother?"
The women in front of her was in her late forties and could pass for her late twenties. And she was absolutely beautiful.
"Yes sweet heart."
"What are you doing here?"
"I wasn't about to miss my little girls graduation now was I? What kind of mother would that make me?"
"The kind I've had my entire life, the kind that packs up and leaves without so much as a note."
"I didn't pack up and leave you Rosanna. That no good mayor Sullivan told me to leave town. Said I wasn't respectable enough to live in this little one horse town. Not my fault your old man didn't wanna leave his pettily little shop."
"Luciana?" Alexander stepped out of his office and dropped his wrench to the floor.
"Hello Alex." She greeted her ex-husband with phony adoration.
"Luciana you're not welcome on my property and I'd appreciate it if you'd leave."
"And if I don't?"
"I'll call the sheriff."
"Sheriff Kimball and I are on quite intimate terms Alex, he'd never force me to leave."
"I'm sure, to bad my brother Arthur's sheriff now."
"Whatever Alex I'm not arguing with you. I'll be around if you need me Rosie."
"Of course you'll be." Alexander sneered
Luciana kissed her daughter and trotted off.
Rafe nursed his whiskey and water, he was already pretty drunk so he'd slowed down to avoid puking. The alcohol wasn't making him feel any better, like it usually did. But then normally there was hope left in him, now there was none. He felt dead inside.
"Hey there handsome." Rafe felt a pair large boobs pressed into his back.
He turned in his seat and was facing the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She looked a bit older then him by how much he couldn't tell. But she had this long silky mahogany hair and smoky gray eyes all pulled together on a body any Hollywood starlet would kill for. The women was hott beyond compare, but she still wasn't Rosie. Rosie however had left him, it had been her choice and he wasn't about to let life pass him by.
"Hi." Rafe looked her up and down "Can I get you a drink?"
"You can get me anything you want sugar." The women sat on a stool next to him squeezing his knee.
"Ronnie, give the lady whatever she wants it's on me."
"The names Luci, lover and you are?"
"Rafe McCawley ma'am."
"Rafe McCawley, well you grew into quite the stud didn't you?"
"Excuse me?"
"I knew you when you were just a youngin' and I must say you turned out to be one hell of a heart breaker. You got a girl Rafe?"
"No ma'am, she left me this afternoon."
"Oh you poor thing. Whata ya say we go up to my room and talk about it?"
The stairway to the rooms above the bar was dank and musty and it didn't seem like anyone had been up there since Lincoln was president. Luci's room was a slight improvement it didn't smell as bad and table lamp brightened the surroundings. Rafe crawled onto the bed as Luci went into the bathroom to change. The alcohol cursing through Rafe's veins was making him do things that he knew he'd regret in the morning. At the time however he didn't care. Luci came out of the bathroom in a silk Chinese style bathrobe with her hair pulled back in a bun. Rafe's blood starting flowing faster at the sight his heart was screaming
"No don't" but his body was saying "Hell yes."
"So Rafe did your old girlfriend have a body like this?" Luci dropped her robe to the floor
Rafe gulped and stuttered slightly
"Noooo ma'am."
"Have you ever done this before?" She asked lying next to him on the bed
He thought a minute and promptly lied.
"No ma'am."
Afterward Luci lay with her head on Rafe's muscular chest, both of them breathing heavy. Rafe regretting every minute of the two hours of passion they had just shared.
"So lover what was your girls name?"
"Rosanna Gadry, she was the best thing to ever happen to me. God she was great. Do you know her too?" Rafe panted
"Course I do she's my daughter."
Suddenly Rafe felt nauseas and he had to go home, jumping out of bed and straight out the door his pants still not completely pulled up.
Rafe stumbled into his house and went straight for Danny's room. He felt horrible and he just needed to get this off his chest, and if anyone could listen without bias, it was his best friend and loyal buddy Danny.
"Rafe?" Danny sat up and shielded his eyes from the light Rafe had turned on.
"Danny…I messed up. Big time." Rafe stumbled in and sat on the edge of Danny's bed.
"Have you been drinkin'?" Danny eyed Rafe cautiously.
"I slept with her mother!" Rafe sighed disgusted with himself.
"Whose mother?" Danny was a little confused.
"HER mother, now Danny, this woman did not look like she was anybody's mother. No sir." Rafe lamented.
"Ok…whose mother? Her? Her who?" Danny tried to coax Rafe into talking.
"Rosie's." Rafe replied in a small voice.
"Rosie's mother?" Danny tried to get his facts straight, "Rosie has a mother?"
"Of course she has a mother, everyone has a mother." Rafe replied with a sarcastic tone, "I just wish Rosie showed me a picture before I ran off and, well…her mother.
"Wait…her mom?" Danny was having trouble believing it, "ROSIES MOTHER?? The one that got kicked out of town?"
"No Danny her other mother…" Rafe snapped while Danny laughed.
"Rafe, you do realize, she's like pushing 50, at the very least she's in her mid-forties…" Danny said between bouts of laughter, "She's old…"
"Danny, I came here for support." Rafe scowled.
"I'm supportin' you Rafe, you're gonna need all the support you can get when Rosie finds out that you cheated on her with her mama…"
"I didn't cheat, we're on a break!"
"You took a break with her mother, of all people. That's like me goin' to that sanitarium in Memphis every time Beth pisses me off and getting a piece from her mother."
"Ok, number one, Beth's mom doesn't look like Rosie's mom, and second I didn't know!"
"Does she know that you know Rosie?"
"Yeah."
"Rafe, you're screwed." Danny replied simply, "I'll stick up for you…but man, you messed up. Big time. Now go to bed so you can get sober for school tomorrow morning."
Rosie almost always went to bed before 11:00 when she spent the night at home. So her father was alarmed when he passed her room and noticed her sitting in the rocking chair staring out the window.
"Sweet Pea what's the matter?"
"Hmmm?" Her attention was drawn from the twinkling street lights "Nothing daddy."
"Oh come on now your old man can tell when something's wrong. Let's talk about it."
"I miss Rafe and mom coming back and graduation it's just all to much."
"Rosanna you are a tuff girl if anyone can handle it it's you."
"That's just the point I don't want to handle it. I wanna be a normal teenager. I want my boyfriend back, I want a mother that wasn't kicked out of town, I wanna enjoy things that don't involve grease and gears. Dad, Rafe and I officially split up after school today."
"I see."
"I miss him so much and I know you don't wanna hear this but I love him."
"We'll talk bout this in the morning, get some sleep tomorrows your last day."
He pulled the comforter up around her shoulders and kissed her cheek as he had so many times when she was younger.
"What am I gonna do Danny?" Rafe said for the millionth time since they left the house
"Pray to god Rosie doesn't find out." Danny answered for lack of better advice
Beth had been walking undetected behind them and asked
"Pray Rosie doesn't find out what?"
The spooked boys jumped a mile when they landed Danny looked at Rafe for permission to tell his fiancé.
"It couldn't hurt, maybe she'll have better advice."
Rafe nodded in agreement and Danny proceeded to explain the situation to Beth.
"Now keep in mind Rafe and Rosie are on hiatus right now."
A puzzled expression creased Beth's delicate features
"Since when?"
"Yesterday after school she said something about our relationship being only bout sex." Rafe mumbled staring at his shoes intently.
"Oh." Beth responded putting a sympathetic hand on Rafe's shoulder
"Well here comes the good part," Danny rushed on "last night Huddy's most valued costumer here got drunk and had sex with Rosie's mother."
Beth's reaction was much the same as Danny's had been
"Rosie's mother? I didn't even realize she had one."
"That's because you didn't pal around with us before your father made Mrs. Gadry leave Shelby." Danny scooped up her hand
"My father made her leave? How come I've never heard about this?"
"Alotta people don't know bout it. Hell I'm pretty sure Rosie didn't know about it. Did she know Rafe?"
"No she thought her mom just packed up one day and left her, guess that was easier to explain to a six year old then "Your mama was the local whore so we ran her outta Shelby."." Rafe answered somberly
"There's better kept secrets in this town then your mother." Danny whispered to Beth and she didn't know whether to be relieved that someone had a worse mother then her or pity Rosie. After the initial shock died down she looked Rafe in the eye and told him the only thing she could think of. The one thing that may get Danny out of that particular situation had he found the desire to screw her mother.
"Prove your love Rafe."
"Beth I think I've done that a few times already." Rafe answered as a male his lack of sensitivity was understandable. "That's why she left me."
"Rafe love and sex are two completely separate things. Take me and Danny for example we've been together 5 years. That's along time in line of childhood romances. And yet we've still never….. I don't know about him but I couldn't be happier in our relationship. I don't know for sure cause she hasn't told me yet but I would imagine Rosie's feelin' like that's all you want her for these days. When she finds out you slept with another women the day you two broke up it'll prove her point."
"I know, god I'm a fool."
"Yes, yes you are." Danny joked patting his friend on the back "Come on guys we'll be late for class."
"Don't worry Rafe I'll talk to her in gym, I won't tell her what happened if you don't want me to. But I can find out what's she's feelin'."
"Thanks Beth, yeah I'd rather tell her, but you can talk to her for me please."
"Absolutely."
For the last day of school there seemed to be a lot of drama happening and as usual it was centered around our four friends here. Beth walked out of the locker room and found Rosie sitting Indian style on the floor with her back against the bleachers.
"Hey Rosie." Beth said chipper.
Rosie looked up at her rather sullenly and tried to force a smile
"Hi Beth."
"How you doin'?"
"I'm pretty sure you already know."
"I heard about you and Rafe. I'm sorry."
"You don't have nothing to be sorry for. I shoulda realized a long time ago we weren't meant to be. I think the whole world knew before I did."
"Rosie do you love Rafe?"
"With all my heart."
"Does he make you feel special?"
"Course, when I'm with him I just feel so right you know. Not like that odd girl that the town looks down on."
"Then why did you leave him?"
"It seems that all he wants me for lately is my body. It's been weeks since he's been gentle and tender with me. Ya know the butterfly kisses, tight squeezes not a constant gropin'. Now it's all about how much action he can get. I just can't deal with that right now."
"If he could show you he still cares for you the way he always did would you take him back?"
Rosie caught a glimpse of the boys p.e. class walk past the window and she got site of Rafe. His cheeks were pink and his light brown hair was sticking together from sweat and still he was the best looking guy in school. Suffice to say Rosie's heart hit the floor.
"Beth I want him back so badly I can taste it. I just need to know he feels the same way about me, for me."