Complete Me (Book Three of The Kirkland Family)

Complete Me: Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The next morning, their routines proceeded in much the usual manner. Cole ran his miles around town, Rose drank her tea, and together they showered. Then Rose went to work and Cole took the kittens for the day. They met for lunch, Mona took over the store while Rose frowned at her piano and the repairman, and Cole passed over kitten duty so he could tend to errands and his business.

The box, the ring, and journals remained on the coffee table, just how they were left the night before.

Later that day, Cole and Rose cooked dinner, tended to the babies, who were nearly ready to wean, and watched a movie while curled up on the sofa.

The contents of Mr. Shaw's scavenger hunt were ignored. Mostly. Cole glanced at them, and at Rose, several times throughout the evening. She didn't mention any of it at all that day. No more questions. No more musings. Nothing. Not even a peek at his mother's journal. And that bothered Cole. To give up so easily? It wasn't like her. Yes, she was a bit fidgety, but that was because she hadn't been able to play her piano that day. While Cole prepared dinner, she sat at the table, humming and scribbling music notes in the blank journal Mr. Shaw left her, only to growl cutely and throw the entire book in the trash. Cole stopped chopping carrots to retrieve it, flick off a carrot peel and set it in front of her. She blinked at him a moment, smiled a secretive smile, and began humming under her breath again. By the time their meal was ready, she covered half a dozen pages.

The next morning repeated, with a small variance. Rose was able to play her piano, and the new music doubled in length. Cole could hear the under-melody of her grandmother's song, a rhythm that she said was her mother's lullaby, and something...new. Something he felt deep in his soul when he heard it. Something all her. All Rose. There was sorrow and grief, rejection and loneliness, exploration and euphoria — all entwined — and an impression of something that could only be described as completion.

Cole met Mona on the back stairs during her lunch break, and the young woman had tears in her eyes. "I can't," she sniffed. "I can't listen any more. It makes me want to eat a whole chocolate cake, confess all my sins to strangers on the street, and have babies! I'm too young to feel like this! Cole, make her stop! I...I can't...I gotta call She-Ra and tell her I love her!" Mona dashed into her apartment, sobbing, and Cole was torn between checking on her or Rose.

He chose his butterfly. Carefully stepping down to the music room, Cole turned the corner to hear Rose play a final note and sit there, allowing the music to fade. Her beautiful green eyes were wide as she stared at her fingers.

If she knew he stood there, she showed no hint of it. But she whispered, "I finished. Cole...I finished it."

He had no words to tell her. The awed expression on her face said more than he ever could. Unfortunately, the bell over the front door jingled, announcing customers, and Rose was heedless. Cole moved to her, kissed her cheek and went to mind the store while she wrapped her head around her accomplishment. Thankfully, the lady only browsed the bakewares and left shortly after, not finding what she wanted. To prevent any more intrusions, Cole locked the door and flipped the sign to Closed.

"Rose?" he called, going back to her. She frowned at her sheet music, pencil primed on a staff, making notations.

"Hmm?"

"Get mad if you want, but I closed the store for a little while," he said, sitting down beside her.

She hesitated, her eyes saying she should be upset, but she couldn't remember why. Then smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

That confused him as much as the spurned puzzle box upstairs. "Mona is having an emotional breakdown," he added.

"Did she and Zack split already?" she asked, marking another note.