Deaf & Dumb

Peter Tells Rosemary His Decision

Peter stood in front of Rosemary's apartment feeling his stomach doing flip flops. He didn't know how he was going to tell Rosemary. Carolina opened the door suddenly. She saw him and smiled. "Oh, hey there," She said.
"Hey," Peter said.
"Rosemary's in there," Carolina said before walking off.
Peter stepped into the apartment. Rosemary was sitting on the couch reading a book. Peter closed the door and walked towards her. He tapped her shoulder, and she looked up expecting to see Carolina. Rosemary smiled seeing Peter. She bookmarked her page and sat the book down.
Peter sat down next to Rosemary. He had trouble looking her in the eyes. He took her hands.
"Stephen talked me into joining him on the tour," Peter confessed suddenly.
Rosemary got her hands free and asked him to repeat himself.
"My friend Stephen talked me into joining him on his tour," Peter said again.
Rosemary's brow furrowed. She asked him how long the tour would be.
"Four months," Peter said.
Rosemary nodded slowly. She pursed her lips and looked at him. She told him it was alright and he didn't have to be so guilty. She took a deep breath to keep herself from getting angry at him. He must have done it for a reason. He had to have had a reason...
"Stephen kept mentioning how much more money I'd make for you and the baby, and I just couldn't say no, not to him..." Peter said.
Rosemary nodded her head slowly trying to keep herself from getting mad at Peter. She hadn't been worried about the money. They could have lived alright without the money. The money wasn't important... She let out a sigh and closed her eyes.
Rosemary signed she wished that Peter spoke to her before rushing into a tour. Peter's brow furrowed. This was his decision right? He had a right to decide what he would do for money. He thought that this tour would be the best thing for them.
Rosemary opened her eyes. Peter's brow was still furrowed, and he was frowning ever so slightly.
"I'm doing this for you and the baby," Peter said.
Rosemary frowned as well. She asked him if he was doing it for her and their child or if he was doing it for Stephen since he couldn't seem to be able to say no to him. Peter's eyes widened. He stared at her for a few seconds. He huffed and gritted his teeth to stop his temper from getting the better of him. He let himself cool down before trying to calmly explain the situation.
"I owe a lot to Stephen, but this is him actually trying to help me. One big tour is worth a year's salary of session work. Think of how better set we would be if we started out with that much." Peter said.
Rosemary frowned. Her eyes drifted off. She turned to look Peter in the eyes. She signed that she wanted him to promise that he would stay true to her. Peter smiled at her genuine worry that he might stray from her. He shook his head slightly.
"I promise," He said before leaning his forehead on hers. "You're the only one for me."
Rosemary closed her eyes for a moment. He gave her a quick peck on the lips. He started to hum softly as near as he was to her so that she could feel the vibrations on her cheek. She smiled slightly and rested her head on his shoulder. He picked up her book and handed it to her, and she went back to reading it. Peter was singing softly words he hadn't gotten around to actually making into a song.

"Love is understanding,
Don't you know that this is true.
Love is understanding,
It's in everything we do.

In this generation,
In this lovin' time,
In this generation,
We will make the world shine.

We were born to love one another
This is something we all need.
We were born to love one another
We must be what we're goin' to be
And what we have to be is free.

In this generation,
In this lovin' time,
In this generation,
We will make the world shine.

We were born to love one another
This is something we all need.
We were born to love one another
We must be what we're goin' to be
And what we have to be is free.

Love is undertanding, we gotta be free..."

As Peter finished singing he noticed that Rosemary dozed off with the book still in her hand. He put a bookmark in the book and sat it on the table beside the couch. He laid her out on the couch and put a blanket over her. He kissed her softly on the forehead and headed out of her apartment.
Peter walked back to Shelly's house slowly. The sun was starting to set. He couldn't bring himself to walk any faster. He got home rather late.
Shelly was in the kitchen pouring herself some milk and toasting herself a bagel. She saw Peter and smiled.
"Welcome home stranger," Shelly said laughing.
"Hey Aunt Shelly," Peter said sitting down at the counter.
"You've just been everywhere but here the past couple of day," Shelly said as she finished spreading cream cheese on a bagel.
"A lot's been going on," Peter said. "I'm gonna be moving out soon, as soon as I find an affordable apartment."
"Oh, since when did you get a job?" Shelly asked.
"Rosemary and I are moving in together and a few of my friends invited me to tour with them so I'll have money then..." Peter said.
"You're moving in with Rosemary?" Shelly said nervously.
Peter nodded.
"Have you said anything to your folks?"
"No, and I don't plan to. I'm an adult now. I've got to do things for myself now," Peter said.
"Looks like you're relying on Rosemary now," Shelly commented just before she took a bite of her bagel.
"She'll be relying on me in in a few months," Peter said.
"Oh, when you go on tour?" Shelly asked taking a sip of milk.
"No, when she has her baby," Peter said.
Shelly spit her milk out. "She's having a baby?!" She exclaimed dropping her glass and bagel on the ground.
Peter looked down at the mess. "That's why I'm not telling my folks and you've got to promise me you won't tell them either," Peter said.
Shelly looked down at the mess too. "I don't know Peter. That's a whole baby to hide from your family," She said.
"That's a whole baby I'd have to explain to my family," Peter said. "My parents wouldn't be so pleased that I knocked Rosemary up."
"Are you gonna marry her?" Shelly asked.
"She doesn't want to get married," Peter said.
Shelly let out a sigh. "Kids these days," She said.
"If she was willing I would marry her," Peter said. "I'm not like Phoebe's dad."
Shelly looked at Peter. It looked like she might cry. "And thank God for that," She said.