Just Rosalie

The Amusement Park

The amusement park was buzzing with liveliness. The people contributed mostly to the noise and the rides contributed as the rest. But, then, there was the music that would irritate anyone's eardrums. Blair disliked crowds and noise, but Jennivine loved it. They went on too many rides to count and ate so many candy apples that she realized Jennivine had a bad case of sweet tooth.
"Jenny, can we take a break? I might throw up if I go on another ride."
"Yeah, sure, babe."
Jennivine took a bite into her candy apple as they took a seat on one of the many tables. She, then, noticed Henry biting into cotton candy at the table opposite theirs. He was with his friend Michelle.
She smiled at him as he noticed her, and waved her over. Blair noticed and nudged her in the shoulder for them to go over.
"Hey, you guys enjoying the rides?"
She waved as they stood next to the table.
"Taking a break. Michelle nearly threw up on the last one."
Jennivine and Blair sat on the bench opposite Michelle and Henry's side.
"Jenny's got me on all the rides faster than I can count my ten fingers. I'm seriously going to have a hangover at work tomorrow."
"Amusement hangover? That's a strange one." Michelle chuckled as she took a sip of her soda. "Where do you work anyway?"
Blair smiled and placed her arms on the table in front of her. She was tired. No, she was exhausted.
"I work with Barnes and Barnes."
"Oh... they sell some of the most expensive shit in the country. So, are you the manager... manager's assistant?"
"Something like that."
Jennivine placed the palm of her hand on Blair's thigh and smiled.
"She's too humble."
Michelle took a prolonged sip of her soda and placed her arm around Henry's shoulder.
"They've got a secret. And we have to find out what it is. Is this secret, a big secret, a bad secret, or a secret which you should just tell me so that I'll stop bothering you?"
Blair quirked a brow and laughed. She certainly didn't have a secret.
"My grandparents developed the department store back in the late fifties. It passed down to my mother. And I help out."
"Whoa. So you'll own it one day? Damn. Lucky."
"Well, I've got a few options open. My dad wants me to take over his business, and my mom's the same. I don't want to do both. And it's hard to choose."
"Such a difficult decision, huh? I'm guessing you're an only child."
"Sadly, yes."
"So what's it that your dad does?"
"He runs a chain of supermarkets..."
"Well, fuck me. You're loaded."
Blair puffed out her cheeks. She definitely wasn't loaded, her parents were. She'd never prided herself on her family's wealth.
"Henry. I didn't know if you wanted mustard and ketchup, so I got you the packets." Rosalie looked up at Jennivine and Blair. She smiled and sat down in between Henry and Michelle. "Hey, fancy running into you guys here."
Rosalie said as she handed Michelle and Henry a corndog each. Jennivine hadn't seen Rosalie since the argument that she had with Lee. And Rosalie didn't answer any of Blair's phone calls, or messages. But they couldn't bring that up. It would've just made things awkward.
"Yeah." Jennivine pressed her lips together and Blair just sat silent. "So how have you been...?"
"Since she left Lee?"
Henry said with a chuckle. He'd found it amusing that Rosalie hadn't spoken to his mother in a few days, and he'd been getting more calls because of it. Mostly, so that Lee could ask if he heard from Rosalie. He took a bite into his corndog. His cotton candy laid half-eaten on the table.
"Oh. Uh. So, what do you guys plan to do now? I'm probably going to head on the Tornado Blast in a few."
Jennivine strayed away from the topic since it brought a frown to Rosalie's face.
"I'm done with rides for the night. I haven't felt so dizzy since I was five and hit my head into a concrete wall."
Henry, Michelle and Blair chuckled. Rosalie hadn't planned to spend her night at an amusement park, but Henry insisted. And though she'd been having issues with Lee, she still enjoyed spending time with him.
"We'll let you rest, old lady. We were planning to head there soon too. So, we can go together."
Michelle said before she took the last bite of her corndog.
"You'll wait for us here, right?"
Henry looked at Rosalie and she nodded. She'd grown fond of Henry in her life, and even if she decided to completely end her relationship with Lee, she knew she'd keep in contact with him.
"Yeah. Of course, kid."
Rosalie wiggled her eyebrows as she squeezed mustard onto her corndog.
"Jenny, I think I'll pass too. I'm not feeling too good."
Jennivine gave Blair a concerned look over and shrugged. She knew that Blair probably didn't want to leave Rosalie alone, and she agreed.
"Okay. I'll go with the kids. You two behave." You better.
The three headed off and Rosalie huffed out a breath. She'd been in a foul mood lately, and anything and everything annoyed her.
"Teenagers, right?"
Blair smiled and inhaled a deep breath. She'd found herself thinking constantly about Rosalie again, but mostly because she was worried. She wished that Rosalie had at least responded to her messages.
"Yeah. Well, it's nice having Jenny around, but I think I'm a little too old to be binging on rides."
"Aren't you two like the same age?"
Rosalie chuckled. She'd found their relationship to be adorable, though she knew that they both had a mutual attraction to her. Everyone thought that she was oblivious to the looks of endearment that she'd get from almost every queer woman in the world, and she'd never let anyone know that she actually found it gratifying.
"Some people are more energetic than others. I've always found it taxing to be around so many people for so long."
Blair felt like heading home and soaking in a nice bath for a few hours. Her muscles were sore and her stomach was still doing flips from all of the adrenaline.
"I don't appreciate it much either. But Henry's happiness is worth it, so I put up with it."
Rosalie sighed and leaned back. Her head was pounding. And she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Staying at Pennelope's wasn't all that it was cut out to be. She came to realize, that her supposed best friend also had a thing for her, which made her wonder-did anyone like her in a non-romantic way?
"He's Lee's kid, right?"
"Correct. He's a good kid."
Blair found it admirable that even though Rosalie had issues with Lee, she still found time to spend with Henry. She was definitely a catch.
"Like a little brother, huh?"
That made Rosalie think for a moment. She thought about her brother and how she'd lost him at a young age. Maybe, Henry was filling that void inside of her heart.
"Maybe. And he's probably the closest thing I'll have of a kid."
Blair looked at Rosalie amused. Rosalie was trying to move the topic away from brotherhood. She didn't want her mind to delve too much into the thought.
"You're still young. You can have kids of your own. If you have a daughter, you can name her Rose, maybe?"
Rosalie bit down on the insides of her cheeks. She wanted to laugh, but her conscience wouldn't allow her.
"Don't think that's in the cards for me, honestly. Dirty diapers and loud screeches aren't what I look forward to in life."
"You can always adopt a kid who's past the diaper days, but I can't say that they'll ever be an age where you won't get the loud screeching."
Rosalie chuckled. She'd found it settling to think about motherhood. Maybe, she still had an open window for the choice. Adoption seemed to fit best, especially since there were so many kids that needed a good home.
"You've always been funny."
"Yeah? I try." Blair tapped the tips of her fingers against the surface of the table and lowered her gaze. "You know, that day at the restaurant, I didn't know that you're..."
"It's okay. No harm done."
"Just wanted you to know that I meant no disrespect."
Rosalie smiled and nodded. It wasn't as though she didn't know Blair's intention. She'd never been that oblivious.
"Thank you. I see that things worked out for the best though. You and Jennivine are quite the pair."
"Yeah. She's great. I'm not sure where we're heading, but it's been a smooth sail so far."
"That's great. Hopefully, there will be wedding bells in the future."
Blair smiled but feared the idea of getting married. She'd never be able to, not when her fears got in the way. Did Jennivine really like Blair? Blair wasn't too sure. Jennivine always seemed more interested in Rosalie.
Jennivine, Michelle and Henry sat back down at the table. They seemed a bit hyped, probably because the ride was speeder than a racecar flying past the finish line.
Michelle sighed as she looked at a text from her sister. Her sister had recently moved back home from Ohio with her wife, which reminded Michelle that she needed to tell Rosalie about what had been on her mind for a while.
"You know the saying. People are in our life for a reason, a season, and if you're lucky, a lifetime." Michelle said as she looked at Rosalie. She'd known that Rosalie was Kaitlyn Watson's daughter-everyone at the table did. But what everyone else didn't know was that Rosalie's first love was Michelle's sister-in-law. And her sister, Margaret, had made a joke about it during a dinner, not knowing that Michelle actually knew who Rosalie was, and where she lived.
"I've heard that somewhere before."
Rosalie knew exactly who she'd heard it from. Zoe was an optimist, and had often recited inspirational sayings in casual conversations. Why was she thinking of Zoe? She didn't quite appreciate it. Rosalie was already dealing with possible heartbreak. She didn't need her previous one to add to the list of things that bothered her.
"My sister-in-law's quite the inspirational speaker. She and my sister have been staying with us for a few months now."
Henry nudged Michelle's side. He'd known about Zoe as well, but didn't think it was the right time to bring the topic up.
Blair checked the time and a yawn escaped her lips. She was ready to head home.
"Jenny, time to hit the hay? I'm extremely exhausted."
"Yeah. Me too. It was nice bumping into you guys."
Blair and Jennivine stood and focused their eyes on Rosalie. As much as they'd wanted to doubt it, their feelings were still the same for her.
"I think it's time we do the same guys."
Rosalie placed the palm of her hand over her mouth and leaned backward to stretch her neck.