Time After Time 🌹 Daniel LaRusso [1]

Chapter 31: Rosalía's New Friend

Rosalía makes her way across the street and enters the pottery shop. She walks further inside until she sees a girl on a stool making a vase. Oh, fuck, she hasn't seen me. What do I say to get her attention? "Um, excuse me?" she voices. Okay, that's good. That was polite. The girl's head snaps in her direction. "Oh, hi. Um, could you turn that off?" she speaks, pointing behind her. "Yeah," Rosalía replies, walking over as the girl thanks her. She turns off the radio and the girl mentions, "hang on, I'm almost finished."

"Oh, yeah, that's fine," Rosalía assures her, eyeing what she's doing. "Wow, you're good at this, have you been doing it long?" she comments. "Thanks! And, uh, yeah, for quite some time," the girl responds. "Oh, well, it looks fun," Rosalía replies. "It is! So what can I do for you?" the girl voices. "I was wondering if I could buy some pots," Rosalía states.

"Yeah, what size?"

Shit, I don't know, I didn't think about that. "Um..." Rosalía mumbles, glancing around and spotting a shelf. She walks over to it and picks up a pot. "Like this," she answers, holding it up. "Yeah?" the girl questions. "Yes. They're for bonsai trees, we're opening a shop across the street," Rosalía confirms, nearing the girl. She takes her hands off the vase she's working on and turns to her. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Great! Well, welcome to the neighborhood," she says, finishing up her creation. "Aw, thank you," Rosalía sweetly responds. "Yeah," the girl mutters as she dries her hands on a towel. "Yeah, I love bonsai. They're so perfect, you know?" she adds with a small chuckle. "Yeah. Girl, you got taste," Rosalía remarks, making both of them giggle. "Maybe you could come into the store when we get our trees in, and meet my partners too," she mentions. A potential customer already, I love that.

"Ah," the girl shrugs. "Well, at least I know one of you now," she states. "Mhm. I'm Rosalía Juárez, by the way," Rosalía introduces herself, offering her hand to the girl. "Oh," she chuckles, wiping her hand on her towel once more before taking Rosalía's hand. "Jessica Andrews. Hi," she responds, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you," Rosalía says and Jessica says it back. Rosalía's eyes wander behind her and land on a framed photo. "Oh, wow! You rock climb?" she excitedly asks, pointing at the picture. Jessica turns to the photo and smiles. "Yeah, yeah I do," she answers before looking at the girl in front of her again.

"That's so cool. Oof, I'm guessing that guy did you wrong," Rosalía utters, referring to the guy whose head was torn out of the picture. "Ugh, yeah, with Elizabeth Anne Rooney. The traitor..." Jessica replies, making Rosalía scrunch up her face and nod. "Mm, typical. It's his loss," she states. This makes Jessica smile widely. "Thanks... So, yeah. The, uh, the uh, the pots?" she changes the subject. "Oh, yeah. So, um, do you think you could like put a bonsai tree on the side?" Rosalía requests, touching the side of the pot. "It's like our thing, a trademark."

A car honks outside while she talks, annoying her a bit but she chooses to ignore it. "Okay, yeah. You mean like embossed?" Jessica asks. "Yeah. On the side of the pot. I'll bring you a picture," Rosalía clarifies. "That would be great," Jessica rapidly replies, seemingly in a rush. "Okay, good," the other girl remarks. Jessica takes the pot and claims, "okay, listen. I got to, uh- uh, deal with this guy." She starts walking, making Rosalía walk with her.

"Oh, okay, yeah. Of course. Oh, and if you ever want to talk shit about that dude and Miss Rooney, I'm right across the street," Rosalía jokes, laughing. Jessica laughs along with her and replies, "totally. You seem cool." Rosalía slows her pace and looks at the girl. "Thanks, I think you're cool too. We should hang out," she suggests. "Oh, sure, when?" Jessica asks with a small chuckle. Rosalía thinks for a moment. "Mmm... what about tonight? Is that okay?"

"Yeah. About 7:00?" Jessica says. "Yeah, 7:00 is good. Hey, is it okay if my boyfriend comes too? He's one of my business partners," Rosalía asks. She wants Daniel to meet her new friend but doesn't want to bring him along if Jessica's not okay with it. "Yeah, that's okay. Uh, I just live right upstairs, so go around the side, okay?" Jessica voices. "Got it," Rosalía confirms.