Sure, the ring was pretty to look at, but why did I need it? She sighed in frustration and looked at father in disbelief. Maybe if she explained things properly, it would have made sense in the first place. She explained it like a story, but the plot and ending were missing.
"After generations, there had finally been the birth of a female girl in that family. And now that she is of age and because of other factors, such as their company being sued by a client which may cause them bankruptcy, she needs to marry their heir to honor our side of the deal. Their heir and our heir. They have a son that is of age to get married and now they need the great-great-" she waved a hand, signifying it was many ‘greats’ – “daughter from our side so the deal made can be done.”
I shrugged. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because, Ivory, that man was, in fact, your father's great grandfather," she said. "And according to the promise, you are the first girl born in this house in over 5 generations."
Present Time
"Why didn't we do this before?" asked Rose as we walked into ‘Betty’, which was a small cafe we found during our time in the university.
"I didn't know. Both our schedules were pretty full.”
"And it's not now?" asked Rose. Even though she acted like she enjoyed spending time with me knitting, I saw a glint in her eyes I hadn't in a long time. It made me feel nearly normal back here.
"Well, now that he’s back officially, I’m sure he can meet with people and go to meetings. I won’t have to on his behalf.” But then seeing him hang out with a group of old ladies didn’t seem likely.
I sat down in a corner booth, taking off my hat and seeing Rose’s skeptical gaze. “It’s so no one rattles to the witch,” I explained, shaking my head, witch being my mother. She would surely screech if she knew I was out having fun.
I should have also commented on her choice of clothes, yellow and orange, maybe a few darker shades would have made her stick out less. And this was Rosemarie. I doubt she owned any black clothes Well, she probably owned a little black dress, because it was the little black dress, for irony.
“She’s still alive?”
I smiled, shaking my head. It wasn’t a surprise Rose hated her. In fact, I can list how many people liked her on one hand with half the fingers I needed.
"How did you get here?" asked Rose, sipping her flat white as I saw her eyes scan outside to see our car.
“I walked.” I wrinkled my nose at the potent smell of coffee and drew my chocolate chiller milkshake closer to me. It was freezing, making my fingers go pale. I wasn’t a fan of coffee. In fact, it made me drowsier, the sugar and the warmth putting me to bed, so how I fell in love with a coffee shop, who knows.
Maybe it was because their chocolate milkshakes were too good to resist.
I sipped my chocolate chiller and wrapped my arms around my mid-section trying to keep warm. It was raining softly outside and the sun had disappeared under the thick blanket of clouds. So much for a warm day, I thought, staring out the window behind her.
"Front door?" Rose asked with a sarcastic expression on her face and I giggled.
"I jumped the fence into my neighbor’s and then used their back fence door," I said shrugging. Rose groaned, shaking her head with her mouth slightly open.
"Why?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. I really didn’t. I just missed doing things that I wasn’t allowed to do, and jumping fences was what I did back in the day. Oh right, I also didn’t want to walk through the main gate, in case someone I knew walked in and I had to go upstairs, change into a stupid dress and sit knitting.
“Your dad really shouldn’t have let you play sports," she said, shaking her head. Rosemarie was allergic to sports. In fact, while I played she would sit there photographing the boys on the team. Meanwhile I loved sports. I loved pouring my anger and frustration on everything - mainly mother - on the poor ball during the games.
“How are you going to get back?" she asked. I shrugged as I took another large sip of cold chocolate that was starting to jam my straw, which was really annoying.
"The same way?"
"Really, Iv, what if your neighbors see you?" she asked.
I waved a hand, shaking my head. “They won’t. They were on a holiday to Fiji or something." What I’d do to be on a holiday right now.
I would probably take the front door, not that I would admit it to her face, but I think I pulled a muscle jumping the fence in the first place. Maybe I was too old for that now.
The rain had seemed to stop and I stood up giving up on trying to get the chocolate chip piece out of my drink. I hated it when they got stuck in the straw.
"We should get back," I sighed. I didn't want to leave this place. I had a good time, and I hadn’t felt this free in a long time.
Making sure both my hat and glasses were secure, I walked toward the door, with Rose following beside me and tucking my arm through hers.