THE SHORT HUMAN LIFE OF ROSALIE HALE
"Did Edward tell you what led to this?" she asked, gesturing to her glorious immortal body.
I nodded slowly, suddenly somber. "He said it was close to what happened to me in Port Angeles, only no one was there to save you." I shuddered at the memory.
"Is that all he really told you?" she asked.
"Yes," I said, my voice blank with confusion. "Was there more?"
She looked up at me and smiled; it was a harsh, bitter-but still stunning- expression. "Yes," she said. "There was more."
Eclipse p. 154
xXx
"And Rosalie, you can be my Maid of Honor!" Vera insisted, her excitement bubbling over so much that her voice shook. The brunette clasped Rosalie's hands between the two of them in palpable excitement. Bouncing where she stood, Vera's searched her best friend's face for the answer she already knew was coming.
Rosalie smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She nodded emphatically, her eyes brimming with tears that threated to spill for the wrong reason. "Oh, I would love to Vera, of course!"
Rosalie cleared her throat softly to regain her composure.
Vera didn't notice, thankfully, and continued on and on with her ramblings- "Oh I should've made this more of a formal thing, I'm so sorry! You need a gift or something; oh, I've ruined it. I just, I'm so excited! I can't wait! We can go dress shopping together-"
"Really, Vera, it's fine. I promise."
She brought her best friend into a hug that was measured, squeezing her tightly to her in an embrace as she restructured her expression into something that couldn't possibly betray her true feelings, hiding her face for just a moment. She'd never let Vera see how much the jealousy burned inside her. That would be ugly.
Still, her thoughts were her own. It was insane, but it wasn't; the Hale family was comfortably wealthy and each of them was as stunningly beautiful as the next. Rosalie bore a striking resemblance to her parents, George and Lillian. Her twin younger brothers, Anthony and Andrew, were also prime examples of blond perfection, just as their sister, but they were only thirteen. All five of them were gorgeously golden-haired and various shades of blue-eyed. Her parents provided their family with the finest things money could buy. Rosalie had never for wanted for anything for as long as she could remember.
Except there was something she couldn't quite place, something… lacking.
Despite never wanting for material possessions, Rosalie knew there was more to life, but she didn't quite understand what that 'more' was. Her father bought her the finest dresses, her mother insisted she'd never have to work a day in her life- as long as she married well - despite the growing numbers of women joining their husbands in the workforce from the steadily dropping economy. The hit to the economy miraculously hadn't touched the Hale family, so she couldn't even blame it on some kind of impending financial doom. So then, what was it?
Here and now, as Rosalie searched her best friend's joy-filled eyes, she was at a loss for her own words to describe what she was feeling.
It was then, as Vera told her about her engagement announcement during this sunny Monday afternoon stroll, that something scratched the surface of that missing piece.
Pulling back out of the hug, she held Vera at arm's length. Rosalie searched her friend's face: the brunette was positively glowing with happiness; she was too concerned with her own good news to notice the turmoil that threatened to escape the slight creases beside Rosalie's eyes.
Her gaze ghosted over her best friend's face, really looking at her. She kept a happy smile plastered on her face as Vera began rambling about the beginnings of wedding preparations. She started to frown, her arched eyebrow twitching slightly as she remembered her mother told her to never frown- it caused early wrinkles, of course.
"You'll look so lovely as the maid of honor! I'm thinking a lilac and midnight blue color scheme, you'll be wearing lilac…" Vera's little brown curls beside her face bounced as she shook her head with a disbelieving smile, like she was trying to wake herself from the most wonderful dream.
Vera was average looking, at best. Rosalie knew this was a shallow observation, but it was true. Her brown curls escaped from their pins in a feigned elegance by her ears. Her rouge tinted cheeks were modern, as well as her pencil lined brows. No amount of powder could conceal the intense smattering of freckles that littered her cheeks and nose. Rosalie frowned; Vera was pretty enough she supposed, but Rosalie definitely wasn't envious of her looks. That wasn't it.
Then again, it was. Not exactly her looks, Rosalie knew she was beautiful, it was hardly a crime, while Vera was nothing more than average. Yet, here Vera was announcing her engagement. Someone who was perfectly ordinary receiving unconditional love from a husband that would love her until the day they died. A love that clearly hadn't relied on financial security or assets, some rare beauty or miracle. Something money couldn't buy.
"I'm so happy for you, Vera," Rosalie insisted again as she smiled earnestly. Really, she was. Her own jealousy unsettled her; she wanted to be happy for her own best friend without wallowing in self-pity.
"Remember when him and I met, oh, you said you liked this one! You're never wrong, I swear!" Vera continued, her eyes shining with pure joy. Rosalie grinned, Vera's happiness was contagious. Her fiancée couldn't offer Vera much. Benjamin was a carpenter, working off a very low salary. The house they'd picked out was very modest, just a small single family home on the outskirts of Rochester. Rosalie's frown deepened as another wave of jealousy crashed over her. She shook her head in hopes to clear her thoughts. Mustn't frown, she thought, remember what mother said.
For the rest of their stroll, Rosalie was quiet, but Vera paid no mind. The latter continued to babble in her excitement over the wedding preparations. By the time that the two reached the end of the walking path through the park, the midday sun was high. Rosalie could feel a small trickle of sweat roll down the back of her neck. She uncomfortably shifted her posture, bringing her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Her perfectly pinned hat did not do much in actually protecting her eyes from the bright sunny day. Besides, her mother would be needing her at home by now.
"Vera, I'm very sorry, but I think I should head home now. Mother will be needing me before father gets home." Her friend smiled back and searched Rosalie's features for some other unspoken explanation. Rosalie went for another hug, effectively hiding her face.
"Alright, Rose." Vera sighed, "I'll see you tomorrow though?" She was hopeful, breaking the hug and holding Rosalie's hand, swinging it playfully.
"Absolutely," Rosalie nodded; she genuinely looked forward to their daily strolls. Ones they normally used for gossip about their neighbors. Rochester was a big city, but the Hale family knew everything about everyone, and Vera loved to listen.
When Rosalie arrived home, she went straight to her bedroom. Sitting by her vanity mirror, her shoulders slumped in exhaustion before they automatically corrected themselves into the proper posture she had learned from years of cotillion. Inhaling deeply though her nose and closing her eyes, she reached into her blonde curls to begin pulling the pins out. She removed them from her hat and set it on the vanity in front of her. When she went to pull the pins from the knot at the nape of her neck, there was a quiet knock at her door.
"May I come in?" It was her mother.
"Of course," Rosalie said, turning on her vanity stool to face her door as it opened behind her. She straightened the skirt of her floral dress and perched her lace-gloved hands daintily in her lap.
"How was your outing with Vera?" Her mother's heart-shaped face held a faint blush, and her light eyes didn't quite meet Rosalie's. They shifted anxiously- was her mother hiding something?
"Very nice," she pretended not to notice, instead waiting for her mother to be honest. Lillian Hale couldn't keep a secret for the life of her. "She's getting married," she said lightly, "she asked me to be her Maid of Honor." Her mother didn't seem at all surprised. Neither Vera or Rosalie had any sisters, but the two of them might as well have been. Vera was considered a member of the Hale family by Lillian for all intents and purposes.
"Oh that's wonderful!" her mother still didn't quite meet Rosalie's eyes. Lillian shifted uncomfortably, before quickly changing the subject. "Actually, darling, I was meaning to ask you for a quick favor if you don't mind."
Rosalie raised her eyebrows in interest. Her mother was relatively soft-spoken, but always direct. "Mmm?" She tucked a stray strand of hair that had fallen back behind her ear.
"Well, I forgot to send your father's lunch with him this morning. Would you mind taking it over to the bank? I'm just swamped with housework; the sitting room is a dusty mess, I have at least two loads of laundry that must get done today, and my goodness, the kitchen…" She trailed off, distracted.
"Of course, mother," Rosalie smiled, warmly. Her mother, positively scatter-brained. She turned to pin her hat back to her head quickly.
"Oh, not that one, dear!" Her mother's tone peaked suspiciously, her hands wringing together in front of her. Rosalie paused, looking at her mother in the mirror. Her mother came to stand behind her and gently removed her hat, placing it on the vanity. She fidgeted for a moment before she reached for her daughters hair and gently removed the pins one by one. Her long golden ringlets fell down her back, much longer than the typical style. Her mother smiled as she reached for the silver plated hairbrush and began to brush her daughter's hair to that it fell behind her in soft, cloud-like waves.
"I'm so glad you didn't take interest in bobbing your hair. It really would've taken ages to grow back out, and longer hair suits your face- especially when you wear it down like this."
She was acting odd, but Rosalie listened. Her mother set the brush down and Rosalie looked in the mirror. She was, of course, satisfied with what she saw- she always was.
Her mother turned to go to the closet, before removing the new one in the garment bag. The one with the white lace.
"Honey, could you please change out of that dirty dress and wear this one? I know your father would love to see you wearing it," a quiet laugh escaped her mother and she covered her mouth, "he picked it out all by himself, and he's awfully proud of that."
"Of course," Rosalie repeated, taking the bag from her mother. Taking a quick inspection of her dress she was currently wearing, she frowned. It was curious that there was not a single speck of dirt on the dress she was already wearing- not hardly dirty. Her mother left quietly, allowing her to get changed. Once she left, Rosalie shut the door quietly, leaning against the wooden doorframe. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the white lace and chiffon dress lying on her bed. What a nice dress for such a silly occasion. After all, there was no one special at the bank.