Garden of Love [ Chaennie ]

23. The Finale

There's beauty in not remembering. Not knowing who you are or every little thing you've done. Not remembering the fights, the struggles, the things that keep most people up late into the night. There's a beauty to it. It's the start of a clean slate. It's moldable and light. You aren't dulled by the cruelties of the world. You still have that light to you when you experience something for the first time, that is so mundane to the rest of us.

This is what Rosie thought of as she watched Jennie eat an ice cream sandwich last night. Something they had done so many times over the years together but here is this girl who remembers nothing of the past. She watches her hesitate to take a bite. She watches the moment when she realizes she's discovered something new that she loves. Well, new to the current her. Watching... that's something she's been doing a lot of lately but in a good way. She and Jennie had been building the foundation of their new relationship these past few weeks.

Rosie has been doing a lot of watching. Watching, listening, and loving. There was a lot of loving. She would be lying if she said she hadn't missed them being so sexually active after that bit of a dry spell she wasn't used to. They'd be up late into the nights after putting Ella to bed. They'd be a mix of tangled sheets and breathy whispers of adoration. Things had been good. Things had been better than good actually. They've been amazing.

They decided to extend their stay at the cabin but this time with Ella. They spent an entire week out adventuring when Jennie wasn't working. They even took a long drive back towards the old beach they used to go to. Jennie chased Ella around in the shallow waves and the two collected far too many seashells. Jennie took them for ice cream cones before heading home. Rosie loved every minute of it.

This inspired a slew of art pieces when she got back to the cabin. She was indeed painting with vibrant colors. They returned home with full hearts and full sandbuckets of those damn shells. Ella insisted on displaying each one on Jennie's shelves in her office. There were far too many to fit on the shelves but Jennie compromised with their daughter and got her an empty jar to fill with them. Her daughter's face beamed with happiness when she set the finished jar on the shelf.

The following morning, they had to return back to reality. Luna was expecting them for a press conference. They had broken ground on Kim Inc's in-house project. Jennie surprisingly had kept up with her work while they were away. That in-home office at the cabin came in handy for meetings and day-to-day tasks. The board felt confident in her decision-making skills and they saw a rise in stocks following Jennie's outburst with the paparazzi at the gallery.

"Rosie?" Jennie called out as she finished tucking her white blouse into her black pencil skirt.

"We're almost ready. Just trying to convince your daughter to put shoes on." Rosie called back with a huff.

"Oh, so she's only my daughter when she's being difficult?" Jennie chuckled as she came around the corner with her heels in hand.

"Baby please put them on. We have to go." Rosie said,

"No," Ella says sternly while crossing her arms

Jennie came into the room and crouched down next to Ella "Why don't you want to put them on?" She asked as she pushed brown locks out of her daughter's face

"I stay. I no go." Ella says

Jennie stroked their daughter's cheek before pulling her into her arms. "If you promise to be a good girl, you can stay with me today at work," Jennie says

Ella looked up into her mother's eyes before looking towards Rosie "I go with momma?" she asks as she points to Jennie

"If you behave and put your shoes on," Rosie says