Giddy, I skipped over to where Father was seated at his desk, hard at work calculating sums on a long, white sheet of paper. "Good afternoon, Father" I chirped. He looked up with surprise.
" Oh, good afternoon, darling" he seemed pleased to see me. "What brings you here?" "I was just returning from a film with Vera, and we happened to pass by the bank. I should be heading home, now though. I just came by to say hello"
"Okay, Rose. Be careful on the streets." I turned to leave. As I headed for the door, a vaguely familiar face greeted me.
"How do you do today?", a handsome boy greeted me. His hair was a very light blonde, and he had piercing pale blue eyes.
Really good-looking, I thought.
"I'm fine, thank you." I replied to him, politely.
Who was this man? I had definitely seen him before, but I didn't remember where and when.
"Allow me to introduce myself." the man said.
Alright, now I would find out who he is.
"I'm Royce King, the Second, but you may call me Royce. My father owns this bank, and I was just observing, because I plan on taking over his job one day."
Of course! He was the bank owner's son! That's where I have seen him before. The King family was a very rich, popular family here in Rochester. They were often the subject of conversation.
"I'm Rosalie Hale." I said simply. "My father is an employee here." I gestured toward his desk. "Oh, of course. John is very good at his job. My father likes him."
The boss liked Father? That was a good thing.
" You look very nice today, Rosalie" he complimented me.
Oh, now I understood. He wasn't just getting to know his father's employees' family; he was attracted to me. Well, of course he was. I knew I was beautiful. Ever since I was twelve, men couldn't bare not to look at me. My beauty pulled them like a magnetic force. But I never bothered to look twice at any of those men. They adored my beauty, and I remained aloof. Being reminded of this, I told Royce, "I should be leaving now, Royce. My great-aunt is visiting and I should be there when she arrives." I lied through my teeth, using Vera's excuse. I shouldn't be wasting time on Royce. One day I would have a husband that was just right for me…
"Farewell, then Rosalie", he said. I walked around him, through the door, and all the way home without another word.
When I walked through the door of my house, Mother was there to greet me. "Hello, Rose!" she said cheerfully "How was the film?"
"It was very nice, Mother. I enjoyed it."
Enjoyed it? Ha! I hadn't even been paying attention to what was occuring on the big screen.
When Father came home from work, I was studying my face in the mirror up in my bedroom, scanning it closely for a blemish, a frown line, anything that would ruin my perfectness. Father's excited words interrupted my examination. "Mary, Guess what happened when Rose came to visit me at work today?" I barely payed attention to what he was saying. I blocked out the conversation and continued concentrating on looking for imperfections.
The next day, I went to Vera's house for lunch. Her husband, William along with Henry ate with us. I couldn't enjoy the meal in their presence. I wanted a husband and child more than anything in the world. Vera had so much, it seemed. Everyday, she was surrounded in love from her new family. Why couldn't the same be true for me? My heart ached thinking about it. I lost my appetite. I only continued eating as to not be rude to Vera and William. Oh, Henry was so cute. It was mortifying.