Just Rosalie

A Mother's Sixth Sense

"ROSALIE, IT'S BEEN a while."
Rosalie took a few seconds to recognize the voice, but when she lifted her head up from staring at the palms of her hands, Jennivine's smile seemed just for her.
She found herself at a coffee shop near the restaurant sipping on a black coffee and recollecting her thoughts. But she could use a distraction from her mind, and a conversation with Jennivine seemed to be the perfect fit.
As Jennivine sat down, she felt all her feelings resurfacing at once-feelings she'd felt for Rosalie and Blair, and her deceased wife. It was the anniversary of Matilda Sawyer's death, and Jennivine wasn't sure what to do with herself. Two years without the love of her life seemed to be the shortest pull of the straws to her, and as much as she'd indulged in feelings for two beautiful women, her heart still ached for the only woman she'd been in love with.
"Yeah. How have you been, Jen?"
Jennivine forced a smile and leaned back in her seat. She'd felt mentally exhausted all day, and had just come from her wife's grave. As much as she wanted Rosalie's attention in the past, she was finally at that point where she only wanted a friend.
"Not too great, but I'll live. What about you?"
Rosalie frowned. Her life was a mess, but it seemed as though Jennivine had a heavier burden to carry. Taking a sip of her overly hot coffee, she lifted her hand up and wiggled her ring finger. Jennivine immediately noticed the lack of an engagement ring and placed the palm of her hand over her mouth.
"I'm surprised that you're not happy."
Jennivine furrowed her brows and touched the pendant of her necklace-her wedding ring. She'd taken it off of her finger, but kept it close to her heart.
"Why would I be?"
Rosalie shook her head and leaned forward, her arms resting on the surface of the table. She didn't know why everyone thought that she was oblivious to all the flirting and over-compensated smiles. There might have been times when realization didn't hit her right away, but she wasn't vacuous.
"How's Blair? She hasn't texted in a while."
Jennivine looked at Rosalie with quizzical eyes. So, she did know. She knew that Jennivine was attracted to her, but yet she spoke of it as though it was irrelevant. Rosalie had always been a good person, but was being quite insensitive.
"We broke up. We both want different things in life." Apparently, that was you.
"She used to text a lot. I thought I'd have to change my number."
Rosalie chuckled. But to Jennivine it wasn't funny. It seemed as though Rosalie knew that both Blair and Jennivine had feelings for her, yet she treated it as a mere joke. Rosalie didn't answer Blair's text messages, for the most part. Jennivine knew that, for sure. Was Rosalie a narcissist? She certainly was acting like one.
"You're not what I thought you'd be."
Jennivine said flatly as she stood from the table. Rosalie wondered what she meant, but didn't care if she was misunderstood.
"Yeah. That's because you look at me and think wow, she's beautiful without ever considering what I have to offer on the inside. I'm just a big breasted, hot, dumb girl to everyone."
Rosalie muttered and felt like slamming her face onto the table. She'd never expressed her feelings so randomly to anyone, but her growing frustration was to blame. All her life, no one considered her true worth. It was always about her beauty, never her brains. She'd used her looks to her advantage many times, but that didn't mean she didn't feel objectified.
Jennivine knew that Rosalie was right, to a certain extent. She sat back down and studied Rosalie for a few long seconds. Maybe, she did only know Rosalie for her outer worth, but that was because she never got a chance to know her on any other level.
"You seem oblivious to it, for the most part. And you intentionally flirt back."
"I don't flirt. That's just how I am. I'm outgoing and fun and nice. I don't treat people like shit. You think a bunch of other girls don't feel the same way you feel for me? It's infatuation. It's not real. You're attracted to me, but do you even like me? You think you do, but do you really? You see a defensive side of me, and you're like oh, I didn't expect that from her. You don't like me, you like my looks. So you're as shallow as they come."
And with that speech, Jennivine knew that whatever she'd felt for Rosalie had immediately faded. Not because of what Rosalie said was true, but because she accused Jennivine of things that she shouldn't have. And that was the line.
"You make assumptions. You don't even know me."
Rosalie quirked a brow and shook her head with a chuckle. She knew that what she was saying wasn't off one bit.
"Exactly, you don't know me either. So why are you attracted to me other than my exterior?"
Jennivine opened her mouth to say something but her train of thought was lost. Because, as if it was timed, she realized that it was true. She did only like Rosalie for her exterior. No matter if it was her body, smile, or laugh. Was she really that shallow? The revelation made Jennivine gulp. She was as shallow as they came.
"I... uh..."
"It's fine, Jen. It was a nice talk."
Rosalie got up and headed out the cafe without turning back. She drove to a hotel and checked into a room. Her head was aching, including her heart.
When she noticed an incoming call from her mother, she immediately declined. Kaitlyn Watson could always tell when her daughter was distressed. It was probably a motherly sense. And Rosalie had been declining her calls for a few days. She didn't want to burden her mother with the slippery slope that her life was sliding down. Kaitlyn had ventured into Hawaii by then, and was probably relaxing on the beach with a water coconut in her hand. Rosalie never liked to ruin her mother's happiness. Her mother had sacrificed enough for her in the past.
Rosalie had fallen asleep for what felt like a few minutes, but was actually sixteen hours. When she awoke, her phone had about sixty missed calls, from her mother and Pennelope. They must have been worried by then. But Rosalie still couldn't bring herself to contact them to even let them know that she was okay. She'd fallen into shutdown mode, where her conscience vanished.
After ordering room service, and having a late breakfast, she took a shower, and got dressed in the same outfit. She'd go shopping at a local boutique to pick up a few items, since she needed some time away from everyone.
Rosalie knew that she could've been elsewhere. She could have been on a plane to Japan, if she wanted, or to Venice, where she'd spend time with her grandparents. When she heard a rap on her room door, she almost jumped out of her seat when she heard her mother's voice. Was she hearing correctly?
Opening the door, Kaitlyn immediately pulled her daughter into her arms, making Rosalie squirm away. She wasn't in the mood for affection.
"Mum, what are you doing here?"
Kaitlyn pushed her way into the room and threw her luggage onto the floor. She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head disapprovingly as she looked at her daughter.
"You can't be my daughter, because my daughter has a phone, one which she answers."
Rosalie groaned as she closed the door and plopped herself onto the bed. She should've known better than to leave her tracker on.
"You should be in Hawaii eating pineapples. Why are you here?"
Kaitlyn took off her blazer and slipped her feet out of her heels. Any mother would've done what she did. How could she be in Hawaii when her sixth sense knew her that daughter needed her? Rosalie would always deny that she'd need her mother-she'd always been in denial.
"As much as I dislike Syracuse, what mother would I be if I didn't come? You've been ignoring my calls for what feels like forever. Must I remind you that I'm too old to have to worry about my beautiful daughter?"
Rosalie scoffed. She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest, but a smile found its way onto her lips.
"I could've been having kinky sex, and in bondage for these past few days. Have you thought of that?"
Kaitlyn chuckled and pushed open the window. She always preferred the soothingness of the wind, instead of the AC.
"Your girlfriend's going to break her back someday trying to chase a white tiger like you."
Rosalie quirked her brow. She wondered when her mother started thinking of her as a white tiger, of all things.
"We broke up."
Kaitlyn immediately placed her hands up in the air and shimmied in a celebratory dance. She'd waited patiently for the day when Rosalie would end that relationship.
"Finally! Now, what do you think about Suriname? Or maybe, we'll head to Hollywood. There will be some horny beach babes out there."
Rosalie shook her head.
"I just need some time to process."
Kaitlyn walked over to her daughter and sat down next to her.
"What happened? Do I have to slip the hag a new one? I never liked her to begin with."
Rosalie ran her fingers through her hair and inhaled a deep breath. She wanted to think about something that didn't involve her current life, and she knew just what to do to distract her mind.
"Let's go dancing. There's probably a club somewhere close by."
"Now, you're talking. But you are going to change, right?"
Rosalie puffed out her cheeks and looked down at her top. She didn't look that bad. Kaitlyn grabbed a skimpy dress from her suitcase and threw it at her daughter. Rosalie yelped as the fabric lashed against her face.
"What are you doing with this?"
Kaitlyn waved her hand off and grabbed something for her to change into as well.
"None of your business. Now put it on, and let's get some ladies."
"Mum, you're not still experimenting with coeds, right?"
Kaitlyn shot her daughter a glare. She'd fooled around with quite a few college girls over the years, maybe more than she'd admit to, but her daughter's judgmental stare was unnecessary.
"So, you can date dinosaurs, and I can't bed cute cubs? I find that extremely offensive, my dear daughter."
"She's only forty three! And I've always been into older women. I don't know your justification."
Kaitlyn smirked. She'd taken a fondness of exploring the world and its endless possibilities. Being equally attracted to men and women had given her an exciting perspective on life.
"I love the taste of pus..."
Rosalie placed the tips of her index fingers inside of her ears and recited a nursery rhyme. She surely didn't want to hear her mother's speech about how much the female genitalia enticed her.
"Sometimes I wish that you could be straight."
Rosalie yelled as Kaitlyn wiggled her tongue in between her index and middle fingers just to tease her daughter.
"Said no one ever. Come on, kid. You rather me to be a stuck up old hag who's never had an orgasm in her life?"
"I'd rather you keep your fascinations to yourself, thank you very much."
Kaitlyn had spent most of her youth taking care of her children and her ex-husband. She'd finally reached a point in her life where she focused on her needs and wants, for once. And although Rosalie was put off by certain things in Kaitlyn's life, she was the one who encouraged her mother to do so-to take care of herself.
"We're both going to get laid tonight, that's all I'm saying, kid."
Rosalie went into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. She didn't want to indulge in anyone's lips or body that night. But it seemed as though her mother was in the mood to get laid. Hopefully, Kaitlyn would book her own hotel room to take her conquest back to.