November 2022

Rose went to an online pen pal site she knew of and placed an online ad.

I'm in a relationship, but I feel ambivalent about my boyfriend. I first met him in 1984 when we were both eighteen. We went on one date, and then he broke up with me because I wasn't 'wild' enough for him. Later that same year, while I was sick with mononucleosis, he had casual sex with a mutual friend and got her pregnant. The resulting daughter found him this year on 23andme. She was thrilled to find him, and he has seven beautiful grandchildren from her, while I have none. I love him, but this situation has created a wall between us, and I just want someone to talk to about it.

Rose had decided to place the ad after having yet another bad dream about Lynda, Rosalyn, and Rosalyn's seven children. Her own two lost children would now be thirteen and eleven, if they had lived. What would they look like? What would they be doing?

It wasn't fair!

She didn't want to actually cheat on Dimitri, but she had to stop the bad dreams somehow, and she couldn't think of any other way. Now, all that was left to do was to wait and see if the ad had any responses.

The following day, she found several.

Hi, this is Rodney in Oregon. I can sure understand why you'd be upset. While you were laid up, he was getting laid. Sounds to me like he has a lot to make up for. Write me any time. I'd love the chat.

Clive here from Australia. I love your picture. You look like a hot, sexy woman. I'm sorry about your boyfriend troubles. You can talk to me about anything. I've got some pics I could send you too, if you like.

Rose knew they were probably dick pics, but she didn't care. She wrote back to both Rodney and Clive.

A few days later, she was carrying on a Facebook dialogue with Dimitri when suddenly there were no more new messages from him. As the morning passed, her anxiety grew and grew, until finally, she couldn't stand it any more and drove over to Dimitri's apartment. She saw that his car was in the parking lot, so she parked her own car, entered the building, and rode the elevator up to the fifth floor.

When she entered Dimitri's apartment, she found him lying on his bed, holding his phone.

"I never heard back from you on Facebook, so I came to see if you were all right," she explained.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not all right. I'm trying to call an ambulance right now."

Surprised, Rose sat beside him on his bed. "What's wrong?"

"I have congestive heart failure," Dimitri explained. "Every few months, the symptoms get to be more than I can handle, and I have to go in the hospital for a few days."

"I thought that only happened to elderly people!"

Dimitri shook his head. "I've had it for a few years. See how big my legs are? It's because they're full of water. My heart doesn't pump well enough to keep it from accumulating in my legs."

The ambulance soon arrived to take him to the hospital.

Rose came by the hospital later that evening to see how he was doing. An unfamiliar young woman sat at his side.

"This is my daughter, Jessica," said Dimitri. "And this is my girlfriend, Rose."

"Nice to meet you." Rose and Jessica shook hands.

"Dad talks about you all the time," said Jessica.

"Really?"

"Mm hm." Jessica nodded. "I'm glad he isn't lonely anymore."

"We first met each other thirty-eight years ago," said Dimitri.

"That must have been right before you met Mom," said Jessica.

"I think it was about a year before," said Dimitri.

"So, how many grandkids do you have?" Jessica asked Rose.

"None," said Rose. "My older son married a woman who already had two kids and got her tubes tied, and my younger son's autistic."

"My mom has six," said Jessica. "I have three, and my sister also has three."

"I thought you only had one daughter from your first marriage," Rose said to Dimitri.

"Gina has two kids from her second marriage," he explained.

"Mom loves being a grandmother," said Jessica. "She watches my kids every day while I work."

"But doesn't she work herself?" asked Rose.

Jessica shook her head. "She doesn't have to. My stepfather takes care of her."

When Rose got home, she thought of the two babies she'd lost and cried and sobbed as she pummeled the wall with her fists.

Dimitri spent Thanksgiving with Jessica and her family and his son Adam, and Noah and his family came to town to spend it with Rose and Tyler. Rose looked forward to seeing her son again but dreaded the awkward politeness with Lacy and her children. As badly as she wanted to feel close to them, she'd never felt comfortable around them.

She'd just finished cooking the food and set it on the table when she heard the doorbell ring and knew they'd arrived. She took her apron off, hung it in its usual place, and went to let them in.

"Hi, Mom!" said Noah as they embraced.

"It's so good to see you again!" Rose replied. She gave Lacy a hug, then reached to hug Justin and Kristen, but they ignored her.

"Everything's ready," she told them.

They all came to the table and took their usual places.

"After this, we're going to the cemetery to visit Dad's grave," said Noah as everyone started eating. His father had died in 2017. "We'll take Tyler with us, if you like."

"Thanks," said Rose.

"So, tell us about this new man in your life."

"We knew each other in college," said Rose. "We went out once, and then he broke up with me. He's apologized for that over and over again. I never realized it was such a big deal to him. I'd mostly forgotten about it until I saw him again back in August."

"You must have made quite an impression on him," said Noah.

"I guess I did. He told me he felt closer to me than he'd ever felt to any woman, and we've only been together three months."

"Wow," said Noah. "Well, I'm glad you found someone."

"Me too," said Rose.