Smooth Sailing ☆ Jane The Virgin 》Rafael Solano

THREE

Rosalinda walked through the hotel, looking wide-eyed at all the preparations going on at the hotel. Rafael caught sight of her while going to meet up with Roman Zazo, someone else that Rosalinda had problems with.

"Rosie! What are you doing here?" Without thinking, Rafael had wrapped his arms around her giving her a quick hug. When they separated, an awkward laugh escaped both of them. And unknowingly, an intense wave of emotion buzzed through both of them.

"I live here, remember? So what's with all the party decorations?"

"My fathers coming into town, it's the first time he'll see the renovations. Truthfully, I'm kind of nervous."

Rosie's hand grabbed his, giving it a quick squeeze before quickly letting go. "Don't let your father get to you, you know how he is."

"I know, and thank you for being so supportive. It's nice to be around you again."

"Well, I'm a caring person. And I know what it's like to have a father you can't please. Sometimes all you need is someone to listen and let you rant." Once again she was drawn to his eyes. She had to remind herself that she couldn't have lingering feelings for him. It had been five years since their engagement ended, and after everything that happened they couldn't possibly ever get back together. But every time she looked into his eyes it was like she was nineteen again, full of hope and light.

They had met during her sophomore year of college, their fathers were schmoozing it up and they had been left to their own devices. Rafael was twenty-three at the time, and admittedly a bit of a player. They'd throw banter back and forth, Rosalinda was very competitive and refused to let him win at any game they'd play - even if she was very sore at the end of the day from pushing herself too hard.

They fell in love just being themselves. Not from trying to one-up someone, or to prove a point. But because they clicked so well.

"I have to go, I've got to see how the construction is going. I'll see you later Raf." She smiled at him one last time before walking away.

"Yeah...see you later..." Rafael trailed off, staring at her walking away. He couldn't help but think of when they were together, and how he had screwed up so badly with letting her go.

He wondered where they would be now if they had really gotten married. Would they be happy? Would they have had kids? The man he was before couldn't have made her happy, or have been a good father. But the man he is now could have. But unfortunately, Rafael is not married to Rosalinda - and probably never would be.

~

Rosalinda arrived at the construction site. The building was up, but now all they had to do was put everything in. It was really important to her that they'd be able to accommodate as many types of animals as possible. So many beached and injured marine animals die because of inadequate services. Maybe someday she would be able to open it up to other kinds of animals, but she wasn't certified for that. Maybe someday.

It was meant to be a sanctuary along with rehabilitation center for marine life. She has the best candidates she could find flying down once it's fully operational to work in the research department. After all, one day in the field is an entire week in the lab.

The building was located by the beach, away from as many buildings as possible. A deck was attached to the main floor, moving out across the beach to sections in the water for rehabilitating large marine mammals. Rosalinda had planned for as many precautions as possible to limit outside interaction between the animals and people who won't work there. If the animals have as little human interaction as possible and lots of animal interaction it's better for them once they leave to go back into the wild.

Once it was completely finished, it would be four stories high - and she would have been able to accomplish her dream. They only had a few months left on construction and then the only problem she would have to face is finding the proper home.