A Part of the Family
Christmas Morning - Cedar Oaks
Rose awoke to the sound of birds chirping just outside her open window, the pale green curtains fluttering gently in the breeze. From her current vantage point she could see part of the lake, where she had spent most of her summer ensuring that young Lily - the Cavanaugh's youngest daughter - did not wade into the deep end. She heard a commotion outside her door and it took her a moment to remember what day it was, she hadn't yet gotten used to Californian winters. Had it really already been eight months since that horrible night? Time had gone by a lot sooner than she had expected it to, it helped to have had Lily to take care of, the little girl hardly gave her a moment's peace. Everyone had been really kind to her, trying their best to make her feel like a part of the family, but-- Rose's quiet reverie was interrupted when her door burst open and Lily came running into her room, bursting with excitement.
"Time to get up and go downstairs Rose, come on, please!" Lily cried, dragging Rose out of bed.
"Slow down, why don't you go down so long and I'll be there as soon as I'm dressed?" Rose said laughing.
Lily did not need to be asked twice, she ran out of the room without another word. Rose heard a muffled "Careful Miss Lily!" as Lily nearly collided with Cynthia in the hallway.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That evening after the presents had been opened and Lily was off somewhere playing with her new toys, Rose decided to go for a walk along the road overlooking the cliff, the place where she always went when she wanted to be on her own for a while. Whenever she was on top of the cliff and looked down at the surf crashing against the rocks beneath her, she felt closer to Jack in a way.
"Rose wait up!" Jason called, hastening to catch up with her.
Rose sighed inwardly, it's not that she didn't enjoy Jason's company, but she wanted to be alone at the moment. She stopped and turned around, "I'm not waiting forever, you know", she told Jason.
Once he caught up with her they walked on in silence for a while, away from the house towards the cliff and along the cliff-side path towards the beach. They stopped at the cliff's edge staring out towards the far side of the bay. The bright moon was reflected in the rippling surface of the bay, warming the sea's gray tones. At the bottom along the beach, the dark profile of the sand dunes played games with the dark clouds blowing in from the west. For a moment Rose thought she could identify the outline of the coastline beyond, then almost imperceptibly the slow-moving cloud obliterated and transformed the images before her very eyes.
"Life's like that", she said softly. " You think you can see it all before you, understanding and knowing what it is, then suddenly it's all changed. Nothing like what you imagined it was". Suddenly everything got too much, and the tears that had been threatening to come for so long - today worse than ever - came.
Jason tried to comfort Rose, stroking her hair soothingly "there, there, dear Rose, everything will be just fine" he said, distracted by the scent of her hair. Rose calmed down a bit and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"It's so peaceful here", Rose whispered, "almost like another planet. It's hard to imagine life's cruelty under this very same sky".
Jason Cavanaugh was slow to answer. None of the words that filled his head could suffice to express how he felt for this woman, at least, not without frightening her off. She looked up, recognizing his inner dilemma. "I'm sorry if I've upset you, I didn't - Rose didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying for just then Jason bent down and kissed her.
Christmas Morning - Cedar Oaks
Rose awoke to the sound of birds chirping just outside her open window, the pale green curtains fluttering gently in the breeze. From her current vantage point she could see part of the lake, where she had spent most of her summer ensuring that young Lily - the Cavanaugh's youngest daughter - did not wade into the deep end. She heard a commotion outside her door and it took her a moment to remember what day it was, she hadn't yet gotten used to Californian winters. Had it really already been eight months since that horrible night? Time had gone by a lot sooner than she had expected it to, it helped to have had Lily to take care of, the little girl hardly gave her a moment's peace. Everyone had been really kind to her, trying their best to make her feel like a part of the family, but-- Rose's quiet reverie was interrupted when her door burst open and Lily came running into her room, bursting with excitement.
"Time to get up and go downstairs Rose, come on, please!" Lily cried, dragging Rose out of bed.
"Slow down, why don't you go down so long and I'll be there as soon as I'm dressed?" Rose said laughing.
Lily did not need to be asked twice, she ran out of the room without another word. Rose heard a muffled "Careful Miss Lily!" as Lily nearly collided with Cynthia in the hallway.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That evening after the presents had been opened and Lily was off somewhere playing with her new toys, Rose decided to go for a walk along the road overlooking the cliff, the place where she always went when she wanted to be on her own for a while. Whenever she was on top of the cliff and looked down at the surf crashing against the rocks beneath her, she felt closer to Jack in a way.
"Rose wait up!" Jason called, hastening to catch up with her.
Rose sighed inwardly, it's not that she didn't enjoy Jason's company, but she wanted to be alone at the moment. She stopped and turned around, "I'm not waiting forever, you know", she told Jason.
Once he caught up with her they walked on in silence for a while, away from the house towards the cliff and along the cliff-side path towards the beach. They stopped at the cliff's edge staring out towards the far side of the bay. The bright moon was reflected in the rippling surface of the bay, warming the sea's gray tones. At the bottom along the beach, the dark profile of the sand dunes played games with the dark clouds blowing in from the west. For a moment Rose thought she could identify the outline of the coastline beyond, then almost imperceptibly the slow-moving cloud obliterated and transformed the images before her very eyes.
"Life's like that", she said softly. " You think you can see it all before you, understanding and knowing what it is, then suddenly it's all changed. Nothing like what you imagined it was". Suddenly everything got too much, and the tears that had been threatening to come for so long - today worse than ever - came.
Jason tried to comfort Rose, stroking her hair soothingly "there, there, dear Rose, everything will be just fine" he said, distracted by the scent of her hair. Rose calmed down a bit and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"It's so peaceful here", Rose whispered, "almost like another planet. It's hard to imagine life's cruelty under this very same sky".
Jason Cavanaugh was slow to answer. None of the words that filled his head could suffice to express how he felt for this woman, at least, not without frightening her off. She looked up, recognizing his inner dilemma. "I'm sorry if I've upset you, I didn't - Rose didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying for just then Jason bent down and kissed her.