A Dying Legacy

Chapter 14

Rosalita's suite was exquisite. A polar opposite of the Alpha's in design, showing that the personal space of each pack member was unique and their own. The suite opened up into a personal lounge area. In Rosalita's case, it looked more like a personal dump area with a purse hanging off a wall sconce, a few pairs of shoes kicked off by the doorway and a few jackets tossed across the back of the couch.

Rosalita never gave it a second thought before, but with Cat suddenly in her humble abode, she quickly scrambled to pick up her scattered belongings.

"Don't worry about cleaning up for me. Seriously."

Rosalita tucked a stray panty behind a couch cushion and gave me a smile as if she didn't just find it stuck to the bottom of her scattered boots.

Underneath the slight clutter, the room was pretty. The walls were a shimmery champagne color with a stucco texture that ran up and across the ceiling. The sofa and chairs were a subtle blush fabric with a light maple coffee table and shelves to match and compliment the walls.

And, in this room of soft, subtle, and complimenting colors, the most beautiful piece that stood out was a blanket. On display, as soon as you walk into the foyer, it hung untouched, away from the rest of the mess. Its colors of blue, purple, white, and black didn't go with anything in the room, but that only made the intricate detail in the fabric stand out that much more.

"Like it?" Rosalita noticed my stare and gave me a small jump with her sudden question at my shoulder.

"I love it. How long have you had this?" I wondered, noticing where the soft fabric had worn out here and there.

"I've had it since I was a baby, but it's been in my family since my bisabuela." (Great grandmother)

Rosalita sat down on the couch as she gazed upon the blanket, unable to stop the sadness that she felt sometimes. Just seeing the expression on her face confused me. "Do you not like your bisabuela's blanket?" I sat in the now clean spot next to her.

Rosalita shook her head, "Quite the opposite. It's just - " She swallowed the knot in her throat. "- my bisabuela and her sisters were all pregnant at the same time, and so they decided to start this tradition. Together, they made a dozen falsa blankets to use as baby blankets for their babies and future babies. The tradition they started was the passing down of the baby blanket from their niña to nieta, and now her bisnietas- me." (Child, grandchild, great-grandchild)

Growing up in America, what accent Rosalita did have faded over the years. As she smiled, thinking of her bisabuela and familia, it slowly creeped back into every word she spoke. Her voice was beautiful, and in that moment, I wished I was fluent in Spanish, just so I could bring it out every day as I spoke to her.

When she stopped talking about them, her smile drooped again, and I couldn't help myself as I worried. "But, now it makes you sad?"

She shrugged. "I love my blanket, and that I have something of my bisabuela since I never got to meet her," she sighed before continuing, "when my abuela grew out of the blanket, it was packed up and protected until it was time to give to her own niña. That's how the cycle repeated until it was mine; and once I was older, my mama followed in the tradition and packed it up again. I didn't see it until I moved out of my parent's home. A. 'house warming' gift of sorts. It wasn't like I'd ever have a child to give it to, so why wait.

Oh god. Suddenly, I wanted to cry for Rosalita. She loved it for what it represented in her family, but its reminder of what she couldn't have also brought her sadness. "Rosalita- " I laid my hand on her shoulder.

"Ummmm- " cough "- I didn't mean to still be here once it got awkward." Rosalita and I set up straight, staring wide-eyed at Olivia, still standing in the doorway with her laundry hamper I crawled out of. Rosalita whipped her head away from us, wiping her brimming tears away with her sleeve; as if we hadn't already seen. I patted and squeezed her knee, then turned back to Olivia again. "What do you want me to do with this?" She pulled out the stained sheet from her basket.