How to break a heart

Chapter eleven

Rachel is stuck in her thoughts. She sits at the kitchen table and just stares ahead of her. She's wearing jeans and a simple black button shirt. Her hair is made up in a rough bun, and she's not wearing any make-up.
Rose walks into the kitchen and takes a seat in front of her. Rachel looks at her daughter and smiles.

"So, how was last night?" Rose asks. Rachel giggles awkwardly and nods her head slowly. "Don't tell me you shared a little kiss and said your final goodbyes. You don't talk to someone for five hours."

"Five hours?" She asks. Rachel inhales and nods impressed. "That's a first."

"Mom," Rose giggles and grabs her mother's hand. Rachel bites her lip and uses her other hand to cover her face.

"I'm so stupid," she whispers and tries to swallow the lump down her throat. "How could I let that man get close to me again? How could I allow this to happen? He's married, Rose, and I'm going home. Everything will go back to normal. He will sleep behind his wife every night without her ever knowing about our encounter, and I'm going to bed alone, soaking in my loneliness."

"Mom..." Rose goes out of her seat around to hug her mother. "I'm sorry this had to happen."

"I wish I could keep him, Rose. I wish I could take him home and look after him, clean up after his mess, yell at him when we fight, and... I hope from the depth of my heart that she is good to him," Rachel cries on her daughter's shoulder. "I hope she takes care of him."

"I'm sure she does," Rose whispers with tears in her eyes and starts crying as well. "That's what men do, mom. They have their ride with you and then... they end up leaving with the other woman. We get left behind. That how you break a heart."

"Oh sweetheart," Rachel cups her daughter's cheeks and looks at her face. "I promise things will get better. When you move on with the right man, Mark will be a distant memory. You will always be scared of crossing paths with someone like him, but don't close your heart. If you want, you can come stay by me for a while."

"Mom, was dad your first?" She asks softly. Rachel raises an eyebrow and shakes her head slowly. "Because Mark would've been mine. I've been waiting and waiting for the right guy and now... I have no idea how it feels or what it's like."

"Your dad was my fifth," Rachel tells her and looks down awkwardly. "My first was... Nathaniel Brookes. I would've married that man if he didn't screw up. I had rebounds after him, and each morning, they all left. Your father, however, met me in a coffee. He couldn't stop staring at me until he got up and took a seat in front of me. We just came along like you wouldn't believe. I never told him about Nathaniel or anyone I've been with. We hung out, and he ended up being the one who stayed. Of all the guys that left, he stayed."

"You were going to marry someone else?" Rose asks, shocked. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Because I love my life, Rose. I love that I have you and the life I had with your dad," Rachel replies and sighs. "I would've waited for marriage too, but... when you're young and in love, it's easy for someone to get into your little head."

"I see," she nods slowly and inhales. "Mom, how does it feel?"

"How does it feel?" She asks and giggles awkwardly. "The first time, it's very soar. You feel like stopping it and just never try it again. It's quite embarrassing. In general, it actually depends on who you do it with, hun. I mean, usually just feeling them finding their pleasure with you, the movement of your bodies, and feeling them. It's a nice feeling. But when a man focuses on pleasuring you and not just themselves, honey, it feels like you can explode. You want more, but at the same time, are limited."

"You've had orgasms?" She asks, horrified.

"Plenty," Rachel giggles and hugs her daughter. "You'll find out oneday. I promise. And when you do, enjoy it. Don't be scared or ashamed of your body. Don't worry about what he will think. Men love confidence in the bedroom. Your body is beautiful just the way it is."

"Maybe that's why Mark cheated," she mutters and looks worried at her mother. "Natascha gave him what I was too scared to give him."

"That is not an excuse to cheat, Rose," Rachel says with a serious look in her eyes. "Nathaniel cheated on me even when I gave it to him. Sex is not an excuse to cheat. Nothing you did could change his mind. Not a fancy dinner, a sexy body, or a baby. She served herself on a plate, and he ate. He made the choice for lust. You made the choice for life. When two people have different ambitions and desires in life, it can become challenging."

"I'm going to miss these talks," Rose whispers and rests her head on her mother's shoulder. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too," Rachel smiles and kisses her head.

It's quite late. Rachel carries her luggage down to the kitchen. Rose gets her keys and pushes them into her pocket. As she grabs the bag from her mom, he front door goes open. They both look up at Garth, who came in after Shirley.

"Do you need any help?" Shirley asks.

"No, we're good," Rachel smiles at her and stands up straight. She drops her bag on the floor and smiles at Garth.

"You can't leave without saying goodbye," Garth says to her. She nods her head slowly and looks at Shirley.

"I know you will look after my daughter and spend the night with her when she needs someone," Rachel says to her and touches her cheek. "Take care, Shirley."

"I will," Shirley smiles and hugs her. "Keep having fun, okay? You're awesome."

Rachel laughs and gives her a little spank. Shirley pulls away with a giggle and looks at Rose. Garth runs his hand over his mouth and turns to his daughter.

"Can I take your mom to the airport?" He asks. Rose raises an eyebrow and looks at her mother, who nods with a little smile.

"She has one hour, dad," Rose warns him. "Don't make her late."

"I won't," he chuckles and picks up her luggage and carries it out. Rachel wraps her arms around her daughter, leaving the house. He puts her bags in his car and opens the door for her. Nervously, Rachel turns to her daughter and hugs her tightly.

"Phone me when you get home," Rose says to her mother. Rachel nods and gives her a kiss before getting in the car. Garth closes the door and turns to Rose. "You are the only cheater I approve of, but this isn't fair towards Eileen and mom."

"I know," Garth nods and rubs his hands together. "I uhmmm... Eileen and I are getting divorced. We've been talking about it for months, and it's just been confirmed this morning. We're breaking up."

"What?" Rose gasps. He nods his head slowly and looks at Rachel, who's in the car waiting for him. He sighs and looks at his daughter again. "You are so concerned about things not being fair between your mother and Eileen, but that's not who we should've considered. We should've thought about you. I'm so sorry for hurting you, Rose. I know you will make better choices than we did. That's why children judge their parents. So that they can learn from the mistakes their parents made."

"Dad," Rose shakes her head slowly. "I make mistakes too, but my biggest mistake was waisting so much of my time on Mark. I'm sure you feel the same way with... waisting so much time without mom. I was just trying to look out for you two."

"It's not your job to look out for us," Garth says and inhales deeply. "And about last night... we uhm... we spend some time together and... gosh, it feels like I don't know her at all, and that's what I love most about her. She is loose, unashamed, and so much more daring than what she was when we were married. She's outspoken, perhaps a little annoying, but that's what makes her so perfect."

"What you're trying to say is that you want her back," Rose giggles and nods her head. He smiles at his daughter, looking in the car at Rachel, then at his daughter again. Rose folds her arms around his waist and hugs him. "I'm okay with that, dad."