Nothing is mine. Pretty short, sorry! One more after this.
Chapter Ten
Two weeks had passed since Bernardo's death. Life was slowly working its way back to normal (as normal as it could be, anyway). The girls at the shop had to work even harder to keep up with the combined absence of Teresita (who was still in school) and Maria (she and Tony had left by bus early in the morning following the rumble and had made it safely to the country; Rose made sure Maria had her address so they could keep in touch). Rose tried to act like nothing had happened. She still talked with the girls in the back room every day. Ran errands in her free time.
And Rose still walked to work every morning, passing the local high school that Teresita attended. Classes were just starting when Rose walked by...
"All right, settle down everyone," Albert said when he had finished taking attendance. "We've almost finished Jane Eyre, so today we're going to read the last chapter out loud. Miguel, would you-"
Albert was cut off when a sudden gust of wind scattered the few papers he had on his desk.
"Who left that window open?" he muttered, going to close it. He froze when he noticed the woman staring at him from across the street. She looked awfully familiar...
It can't be, Albert thought dejectedly. His heart wanted so much for it to be her, but in his mind, he knew he was only getting his hopes up, thinking some woman across the street was... was Rose. It wasn't as if he could abandon his class to go across the street and make certain! Albert sighed and shook his head, deciding his eyes were playing tricks on him, and closed the window. I lost Rose at a train station. She could have gone anywhere in the country. Why would she come back here?
Rose stood frozen in place after he closed the window and went back to teaching; she hardly dared to breathe. He's here, she thought. I don't know how, or why, but here's here. He's in New York!
She had thought she was hearing things when that voice drifted across the street from the open window of a classroom. But she stopped and turned to look all the same. And when their eyes met, Rose's heart just about stopped. There was no mistaking that face, not when she had just heard his voice as well, for the first time in months.
"Albert."
Rose practically ran to Madam Lucia's and was out of breath when she finally arrived.
"Rose!" Antonella cried, looking worried when Rose burst into the shop. "What's the matter?"
"I..." Rose didn't know what to say. Should I wait until Teresita arrives? I could ask if there's a Mr. Peterson at her school... no, that would take too long. I have to see him today!
"I'm so sorry, señora. I just remembered I have... an appointment. I can't work today, I–"
Antonella cut Rose off with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry, Rose. It's been quite slow the past few days; we can manage without you."
Rose smiled gratefully. "Thank you, señora. Thank you so much!"
Hurrying back to the high school, Rose found a bench outside the school's entrance and sat down to wait (even though she knew classes wouldn't end until sometime that afternoon; she didn't want to risk missing him).
As the hours ticked by, Rose's anxiety seemed to increase a hundredfold. What if he doesn't want to see me? I wouldn't be surprised... he could have forgotten all about me by now! Or what if I was wrong? What if it wasn't really him? I could be mistaken... Why on earth would he come back to New York anyway? What if...
Rose dropped her head into her hands and forced herself to push her worries from her mind. Come on, Rose, she told herself. One step at a time. You can fret later. You've got to make it until the end of the school day first.
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