Always an Almost

prologue.

Jonathan and Rosemary met in County Cork, Ireland in December 1986. The first thing that made Jon notice Rose was her expression, she had been seated at the local cafe, a table for two but with only one seat occupied. Rose didn't look like she was expecting anyone to join her, so Jonathan watched her from afar. She had a notepad in front of her and was writing in it quickly, filling line after line with words, flowing out of her like water from a tap. Her facial expressions were what drove him to go and sit across from her, he sat down without asking permission and she didn't take any notice of his presence, her eyes darting along the page while her mouth stayed slightly apart but twitched at the corners as she wrote. After writing a full page since Jonathan had sat down she laughed, obviously at something she had written.

"You have a beautiful laugh" Jon said softly, not quite realizing he had said it out loud until Rose gasped and jumped back slightly in her seat.

"What are you doing here? Sneaking up on a girl like that? What nerve." Rose questioned getting slightly worked up. She closed her notepad quickly and shoved it back in her bag beside her.

"No, please don't stop writing. I'm sorry for scaring you, I was going to say hello when I sat down. But I got absorbed into watching you." Jonathan tried his hardest to apologize and not ruin Rosemary's day.  "What are you writing anyway?"

"I'm writing a novel, or  at least attempting to. I've finished writing for the moment though, I'm Rosemary, you are?" she replied, feeling less nervous towards the man in front of her. His brown hair was neatly combed on his head, but a small section of hair at the front had fallen out of its place and now hung slightly above his eyebrows. She smiled to herself at how such a small detail made him look so much better.

"I'm Jonathan, Jonathan McAuliffe." He introduced himself whilst trying not to stare. There was a very thin line between keeping eye contact during conversation, and figuring out every little colour that was hidden amongst the brown of her eyes. He shook his head to the side, shaking the thoughts out of his head. "Can I buy you a coffee?" he offered.

"I'll take a tea" she replied with a smirk.

Jonathan was a rising sports star in their town, whilst Rosemary was a gifted writer. The youthful sixteen year olds started to date soon after their first meeting. Their relationship was a rushed one, but the couple never noticed, though their parents did. Neither of their parents approved of their relationship and wanted the best for their children, but obviously a teenager knows better than their parents. So the couple eloped and moved to Melbourne, Australia to build a life for themselves away from their parents. Due to Jonathan's athletic skill, at just 19 he was drafted into the Victorian Basketball team, where he would then travel around Australia playing against each state team.

Rosemary and Jonathan had been away for a weekend in Queensland for a game when they made the decision to expand their little family, and a short eighteen months later Rosemary was with child. The pregnancy had been difficult with Rosemary having morning sickness throughout the entire nine months. Just a week before the babies due date Rosemary experienced pain in her lower abdomen and was rushed into hospital. A few hours later Rosemary and Jonathan heard the terrible news, their newborn child was born without breath. Though the child was born without life Rosemary wanted to name the young girl, and thus little Aurora was cremated the next day and scattered into the ocean in the hopes of the world experiencing the light she could've grown to become. The couple were filled with sadness but went about their lives, Rosemary began to write a series of craft books to teach others how to sew clothing and toys, Jonathan continued to play basketball and played interstate for the next eight years. It was when he was away for a game when he received a call from Rosemary, telling him that she was once again pregnant.

Eight years after Aurora's death Rosemary gave birth to fraternal twins, Colten and Lyla. With two infants under his belt Jonathan made the decision to leave his basketball team to focus on being a father. The two children grew up with each other to play with and became each others best friend, and worst enemy. At age seven Colten and Lyla began to grow apart, no longer wanting the same group of friends, instead wanting a sense of independence. Definitely not uncommon with twins. Just a year later, Rosemary brought home another sibling, a younger brother Vance. Colten was ecstatic to have a younger version of himself to play with especially since he believed that girls had germs and no longer wanted to play catch in the backyard with Lyla in the fear of catching them. Lyla had been at the park with her mother when she first heard herself being talked about as an 'almost'.

"Is Lyla your only daughter?" one of Rosemary's friends had asked while Lyla played with their daughter on a swing set.

"Well, almost" Rosemary had replied.

It was the first time Lyla had heard the word 'almost', but it definitely wasn't the last.