Saving Rose

Chapter Eleven

"What would you like for lunch Elizabeth?" She was our only kid today, and Sydney was off.

She paused, looking around the kitchen, "pigs in a blanket."

"With mac and cheese?"

"Of course," she exclaimed, going back to the table to color her Disney princess picture.

Luke had taken me to a lake with a short, but gorgeous hike. It was breathtaking, and it definitely got my mind off of Ryan, and all the other kids in the hospital. Last night I made a dish of enchiladas, and brought it over to Ryan's parents. They were having a rough time, which is to be expected, but they were ever gracious for all that I had done for Ryan. Even just being in the daycare made me think of him and wonder how he was doing, wonder if he had found a challenge yet in chess. I couldn't help but smile as I thought about him playing chess up there, and still winning.

"Is it ready yet?" Elizabeth came skipping back into the kitchen, interrupting my thoughts.

"Almo-" I was cut off by the timer on the oven, "well the oven seems to think it is, so let's have a look." I opened the oven door to find perfectly browned pigs in a blanket.

I put one on her plate, along with mac and cheese, and we took a seat at the table.

"Any fun plans over the weekend?" Today was Friday, and tomorrow I would be packing up my apartment so that Rose and I could move into our new home.

She paused, looking at her food, then her face lit up. "I'm going to the beach! I can build sandcastles all day long."

"I love the beach. You're going to have so much fun. Tell me all about it on Monday when you come back."

When I was a kid, my best friends parents would take me to the beach about once a month. They would pick me up when it was getting bad at the house, and Sarah would go to her boyfriend's house, or she would come with us. It always made me forget about what was going on at home. Occasionally, they would rent a beach house, or a hotel room right on the beach and I would stay out there all night. I had forgotten how much I loved the beach.

A few minutes after we finished lunch, I was doing the dishes. I heard the bell over the door ring. We weren't expecting Elizabeth's mom for a bit, as she should have still been at work.

I grabbed a towel to dry off my hands, and headed into the other room to see who was there.

"Jacob?" I asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, looking down at the floor. "Sydney told me that you were packing tomorrow. I would be more than happy to help."

"You want to help? Are you sure?" I was shocked, we had never been on the right foot with each other, but this was a nice change.

"I'm pretty good at packing," he adjusted his tie, "plus, Sydney said I should help." He mumbled the last part, and I couldn't help but let out a laugh. Of course, I should have known that was why he was offering.

"I would love your help. All the hands that we can get."

"If you want to stop by my apartment tonight after work, I should be home. You can pick up some of the boxes that I have. Then I can bring the rest over tomorrow."

"That sounds great," I told him. There was an awkward silence, we both looked at each other, unsure of what else to say. "Well, thank you for stopping by."

"You're welcome." He was most definitely a lawyer, short, brief answers. He turned around and headed for the door.

I was hoping that his girlfriend wouldn't be there tonight when I went to pick up the boxes. Ever since the whole thing at the restaurant, I was a little hesitant to see her.