“A reasonable rent?”
“Something I can afford. My savings can only carry me just so far. Because if I don’t find a job soon, I may have to accept my brother’s offer and high tail it to Belt Buckle, Tennessee.”
Roz realized Mick looked perturbed. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “What did I say?”
“What didn’t you say? You said you were looking for a cheap place to live.”
“Yeah, so?”
“You said you were relying on your savings to get you by.”
“So?”
“And when your money runs out, you threaten to pack up and leave to become a waitress in some backwater town.”
Roz still didn’t get it. “I still don’t see what I said wrong.”
Mick studied her eyes. “You do understand that you’re my lady? You do understand that, right?”
Roz smiled. “Yes,” she said. “Yes.”
Mick didn’t like revealing so much of himself to anybody, including her, but he was getting upset. “Finding a cheap place to stay is a negative,” he said.
Roz was puzzled. “A negative?”
“Relying on your savings to get by? Double negative.”
Roz smiled.
“Moving to Bible Belt, Tennessee---”
“Belt Buckle, Mick!”
“Whatever. Moving there, leaving me and moving there, is out of the question.”
Roz stared at him. She knew, when she agreed to move to Philly, that it would come to this. “What are you saying?” she asked him.
“You’re my lady. You’re Mick Sinatra’s lady. That has to mean something to you.”
Roz frowned. “It does!”
“Then act like it does. Because Mick Sinatra’s lady doesn’t look for the cheap place. She thinks bigger than that. Mick Sinatra’s lady doesn’t rely on her savings to get by because he takes care of her. He buys her a house. He buys her a car. He takes care of whatever she needs taken care of. Nothing but the best, Rosalind. Understand?”
Roz exhaled, and then she nodded. She understood. But first that tragic situation with Barry, and then this decision to pack up and move to Philly. It was a lot to deal with at one time. “It takes some getting used to, Mick,” she admitted. “I’ve never been in a relationship like this in my life. I’ve always had to take care of everything. I’ve always made all of the decisions for myself. The idea that somebody else will have a say in that process isn’t something that I can just sign off on and wash my hands of. It’s going to take time.”
Mick reached out and took her hand. “I like your toughness, Rosalind. I do not care for weak women and there is nothing weak about you. I like your integrity, I like your moral authority, I love your ability to be true to yourself. But you’re not in this life alone anymore.” Mick swallowed hard, as an even deeper realization struck him. “I’m not in this life alone anymore,” he added, with even more feeling. “We both will need to remember that.”
Roz placed her second hand on top of their clasped hands. “I’ll do my level best,” she said with a smile. Then she thought about something she had meant to bring up long ago. “And thank you,” she said to him. “I think now is the perfect time to thank you.”
Mick had no clue what she was thanking him for. “For what?” he asked.
“For handling my ex. For giving Carmelo a taste of his own medicine.”
Mick didn’t expect her to know anything about that. He would tell her in time. But not until their own relationship was sealed and he was certain that his “antics” would not run her away. “How did you find out about that?” he asked her.
“Betsy saw him. She said his beautiful face was all bruised and cut and he was walking with a limp. He wouldn’t tell her why. He, in fact, avoided her at all costs. So she asked around. His friends said he told them that he had accidentally shot himself and fell through glass, but they didn’t believe it. His friends believe some angry husband got a hold of him for disrespecting his wife. But when I heard about it, I figured it wasn’t an angry husband, but an angry boyfriend more like.”
Mick smiled. And nodded his head. “More like,” he said.
“How did you even know who he was? I mentioned him in passing one time, but that was months ago. How could that have stayed with you?”
“Because of the effect his actions still had on you. You may have mentioned what he did to you in passing. But what he did hadn’t passed.”
Roz nodded. “No. It was a sad chapter in my life. Before I got involved with you, it kind of was a big part of my life. But lately, after having you in my life, I haven’t given that joker a second thought.”