in private, I imagine.”
James blinked. He always looked tired at the end of the day,
and he always needed to shave, but he looked more tired and bristly than
normal, with his tie pulled loose and faint shadows under his eyes.
She wondered if he’d slept at all in the last two nights.
“Of course not. You know everything, and you always eat with
us. The girls would get worried if you stayed in the kitchen.”
His tone was brusque, but he always sounded that way when he
was off-guard, so she didn’t take it as bad temper. She just smiled and carried
the napkins and drinks into the family room, feeling a little nervous for no
reason at all.
The girls were setting up a picnic blanket on the floor in
front of the couch, and the cheese pizza had been placed square in the middle.
They grabbed Rose’s table accoutrements and laid out place settings for the
four of them.
James came in with the other pizza, having taken off his
suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves to his light blue dress shirt. He gave a
half-smile at the seating arrangements and lowered himself to sit on the floor
without comment.
Rose gave herself a quick, urgent lecture. Just because the
meal felt very intimate and domestic didn’t mean it was. They weren’t a family,
and they would never be.
She worked for them and nothing more.
She’d learned her lesson several years ago after the fiasco
with Richard. She wasn’t going to start imagining something that wasn’t there,
since it just led to heartache.
“Thank you for pizza, Daddy!” Julie exclaimed, after taking
her first bite.
“You’re welcome.”
“Is something big happening?” Jill asked, older and
therefore a little more aware of undercurrents. She looked from her father to
Rose as she waited for an answer.
“Well,” James begin, looking a little relieved at the clear
introduction to what he had to say. “There’s something a little bit big. I
wanted to let you both know that I’m not engaged to Genevieve anymore. We have
broken up.”
The girls both stared at him, Julie with her mouth partly
open.
Then Jill asked, “Is it because she was mean to us?”
“Partly. But it’s more than that. Just because you have a
fight, doesn’t mean you break up. But we realized that we weren’t happy
together, so we wanted to end it before we got married.”
Rose wondered if Genevieve had realized the same thing, or
if James was just generalizing for the girls. She could fully believe that
Genevieve would fall into a full-fledged snit for a while, but James was a
great catch—attractive and affluent with a great house and a luxurious
lifestyle. If Rose had read the other woman correctly, she wouldn’t want to let
all of that go if she didn’t have to.
Her thoughts were distracted when Jill nodded soberly. “You
shouldn’t get married if you’re not happy.”
“That’s right,” James said, reaching over to stroke the
girl’s hair back from her face. “I think it was the right decision for all of
us.”
Julie had just stared, chewing on her bite of pizza slowly.
Eventually, James asked her, “What do you think about that, Julie?”
“I’m glad,” the girl admitted, ducking her head as if she
felt guilty. “I didn’t like her.”
“You didn’t?”
Julie shook her head, peeking up at her father. “Is that
okay?”
“Yes, of course, that’s okay. Sometimes it takes a while for
us to warm up to people who we don’t like at first, but in this case there’s no
reason for you to get to know her better, since we won’t be spending any more
time together. But I hope you’ll tell me next time if you don’t like someone
who is around. I want you to tell me anything, even if you’re afraid I don’t
want to hear it. Okay?”
Rose was touched by his earnest words and by the girl’s
serious response, nodding and muttering, “Okay, Daddy.”
“What about Rosie?” Jill asked, turning to look at Rose with
wide eyes.
“What about her?” James asked.
“Did you
James blinked. He always looked tired at the end of the day,
and he always needed to shave, but he looked more tired and bristly than
normal, with his tie pulled loose and faint shadows under his eyes.
She wondered if he’d slept at all in the last two nights.
“Of course not. You know everything, and you always eat with
us. The girls would get worried if you stayed in the kitchen.”
His tone was brusque, but he always sounded that way when he
was off-guard, so she didn’t take it as bad temper. She just smiled and carried
the napkins and drinks into the family room, feeling a little nervous for no
reason at all.
The girls were setting up a picnic blanket on the floor in
front of the couch, and the cheese pizza had been placed square in the middle.
They grabbed Rose’s table accoutrements and laid out place settings for the
four of them.
James came in with the other pizza, having taken off his
suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves to his light blue dress shirt. He gave a
half-smile at the seating arrangements and lowered himself to sit on the floor
without comment.
Rose gave herself a quick, urgent lecture. Just because the
meal felt very intimate and domestic didn’t mean it was. They weren’t a family,
and they would never be.
She worked for them and nothing more.
She’d learned her lesson several years ago after the fiasco
with Richard. She wasn’t going to start imagining something that wasn’t there,
since it just led to heartache.
“Thank you for pizza, Daddy!” Julie exclaimed, after taking
her first bite.
“You’re welcome.”
“Is something big happening?” Jill asked, older and
therefore a little more aware of undercurrents. She looked from her father to
Rose as she waited for an answer.
“Well,” James begin, looking a little relieved at the clear
introduction to what he had to say. “There’s something a little bit big. I
wanted to let you both know that I’m not engaged to Genevieve anymore. We have
broken up.”
The girls both stared at him, Julie with her mouth partly
open.
Then Jill asked, “Is it because she was mean to us?”
“Partly. But it’s more than that. Just because you have a
fight, doesn’t mean you break up. But we realized that we weren’t happy
together, so we wanted to end it before we got married.”
Rose wondered if Genevieve had realized the same thing, or
if James was just generalizing for the girls. She could fully believe that
Genevieve would fall into a full-fledged snit for a while, but James was a
great catch—attractive and affluent with a great house and a luxurious
lifestyle. If Rose had read the other woman correctly, she wouldn’t want to let
all of that go if she didn’t have to.
Her thoughts were distracted when Jill nodded soberly. “You
shouldn’t get married if you’re not happy.”
“That’s right,” James said, reaching over to stroke the
girl’s hair back from her face. “I think it was the right decision for all of
us.”
Julie had just stared, chewing on her bite of pizza slowly.
Eventually, James asked her, “What do you think about that, Julie?”
“I’m glad,” the girl admitted, ducking her head as if she
felt guilty. “I didn’t like her.”
“You didn’t?”
Julie shook her head, peeking up at her father. “Is that
okay?”
“Yes, of course, that’s okay. Sometimes it takes a while for
us to warm up to people who we don’t like at first, but in this case there’s no
reason for you to get to know her better, since we won’t be spending any more
time together. But I hope you’ll tell me next time if you don’t like someone
who is around. I want you to tell me anything, even if you’re afraid I don’t
want to hear it. Okay?”
Rose was touched by his earnest words and by the girl’s
serious response, nodding and muttering, “Okay, Daddy.”
“What about Rosie?” Jill asked, turning to look at Rose with
wide eyes.
“What about her?” James asked.
“Did you
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