More Than You Know [Mildred Pierce - Rosa Moline]

"Welcome to Sunset Café, what are you going to order?"

I had lived, both enjoying and suffering from the ups and downs of life. I knew what it was like to experience absolute happiness, I had felt it right on my fingertips... When I saw my first daughter born, when Kay walked for the first time, when I opened my first restaurant... But I had also suffered the greatest pain a woman could ever be dealt with. After years of consistently exerting myself to achieve the life I had always dreamed about, I had been stripped of everything I had accomplished, my little one had left me much too early, and the brutal betrayal of my own child extended itself through each crack created by the god awful mess.

Though all of this made me the woman that I am today. I had won, I had lost, but I fought and never gave up. So many times I was close to throwing the towel in and quitting. But deep inside, I knew that there was something else for me. And I think I finally found it.

The sweet feeling of fulfillment had me in a state of continuous joy, since we were a day away from opening the boutique. This state of contentment wasn't fed from the materialistic aspect of it, but rather from the achievement that was obtained through an accomplished goal which had been driven by hard work, passion, and love. Rosa and I had made it, and that procured an even more special level of fulfillment within me.

It was late afternoon as we checked the inventory to ensure that we had brought all of the clothing for the next day. Rosa was inspecting each one by one, and I was checking the list, making sure it was all right. "Done, everything is here" I declared, as I checked off the last item.

"You sure?" Rosa questioned, seeming quite anxious and moving around the shop, inspecting everything over again.

"We already checked three times, I think we are okay." I explained in a way for her to stop with her incessant worries. "Rosa"

"Mhm?" She wasn't really listening to me as she still scrutinized the changing room.

I sighed out loud. "Rosa!" I exclaimed once again. She was about to walk around the walls at any moment. I knew she was concerned but at this point there was nothing else to be worried about.

Finally, she turned around to look at me, stunned. I softened a bit and approached her, leaving my notepad on the nearest table. I grabbed her by her forearm, caressing her in a way to ease her nerves. "We are all set to start tomorrow. I took care of everything that was left to do, you've got nothing to worry about. We're gonna do just fine"

Her clear eyes had a tint of fear in them, and I understood her. I had been through the same situation before, so I just reassured her that everything was more than fine. After she heard my words, she let a deep breath out and nodded slowly in acknowledgment. "Alright... What else can go wrong... Right?" She muttered out loud, essentially also talking to herself as she gave an overall look to the shop.

"Nothing, trust me." I said as I placed my hands on the sides of her shoulders and gave her a smile of encouragement. Her gaze met with mine once again, and after a few seconds of looking at me, she hugged me.

I wrapped my arms around her, as I smiled in delight. "You're opening your boutique tomorrow!" I exclaimed, in a way to lift up her spirits and remind her she had achieved what she had desired for so long. I ended the embrace, to watch her lovely face.

I had a few seconds to admire her gorgeous grin. She then placed her fingers on the back of my neck, while her thumbs delicately swiped over my cheekbones. "I couldn't have made it without you. Thank you" I felt my face growing warm, her sincere words always filled me with contentment.

"I will always support you" I confessed with certainty as our eyes couldn't look at anything else but each other. I felt ticklish on my belly when she brought me in for a slow kiss. Her arms wrapped around my waist, while mine went around her delicate neck. Our bodies pressed together as our lips met in that delicious contact that had me over the moon.