Roses ➳ Shawn Mendes [2] ✓

Chapter 11

Signe sat down on the soft grass with her mother, it was a beautiful summer day and the idea of spending it on High Park of Toronto had been Jolene's idea. The ginger wouldn't have dared to say no, considering she didn't know how long her mother would live for, besides it was a great idea of how to spend time together. They stood there, observing other people walking past them following with their lives, watching the kids playing Tag around the green fields, their laughs filling the air creating pleasant harmonies to the ears.

"I see you're not letting your hair grow anymore." Her mother commented as she observed the kids with a warm smile.

"I like it as it is, plus I have no patience for long hair anymore." The ginger admitted. She lied down on the grass, her green eyes focused on the small white clouds spread all over the blue sky. 

"I like it too." Jolene replied as she tried to lay down beside her, yet that simple task revealed to be a little more complicated than it should be. Signe was aware her mother was suffering, feeling pain, the smiles she flashed at people was a mask to pretend everything was fine when it wasn't. "I still remember when you hated short hair. You'd always do a tantrum whenever I took you to the hairdresser. It's interesting how things change."

"True." Signe agreed. Months ago she was still dating the love of her life, having fun with him and their friends, enjoying her life, clueless about what the future had reserved for them. The more she thought about her life the more depressed she would get. She couldn't complain, she had things a lot of kids didn't have and probably still don't have, she lived a happy life and now it was crumbling before her eyes and she couldn't do anything but watch.

"I can't complain. I had a good life." Her mother confessed with a sigh of content. Signe stirred towards her words, they were exactly what someone who was dying would say and unfortunately that was the case. "I had a lot of friends. I wish I could see them again one last time, but I don't think that's a great idea. I had a lot of boyfriends, I definitely can't complain."

"Mom!" The girl chuckled briefly at the thought of a young Jolene dating a bunch of different guys.

"It's true!" Jolene laughed as well. The ginger tried to memorize her laugh as much as she could, that was one of the things she would miss deeply. "I remember dating this guy named Ryan. He was actually my first boyfriend. He sucked."

"Oh my God mom!"

"What? It's true, first boyfriends always suck." Her mother kept going, laughing. Signe joined again, allowing herself to enjoy that moment.

"You're right." The girl agreed. Jeremy who was her first boyfriend totally sucked. Yes, she was warned. Yes, she made a mistake, but honestly, it was more than time to accept that and move past it. "Couldn't have understood that in a better way."

"What happened to you honey, it wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't his fault either."

"How come? Sweetie, he almost killed you!" Her mother exclaimed with horror.

"Something happened to him when he was younger. I don't know what, he never told me. But he did seem pretty sensitive when I asked him why he had no pictures of his family in the house." Signe explained to her mother, her mind bringing back the events she had tried to forget.

"That's a very serious accusation Signe." Her mother said, her expression thoughtful. "But yes, I think it explains his behavior. Anyways, like I was saying, first boyfriends suck."

"They do."

"I also remember dating this guy named Mike, he was really sweet and handsome, however, I dumped as soon as I found out he was racist and a homophobe." Jolene told her as she made a face. She went on, telling her daughter about the guys she dated and still remember. There was a lot of funny stories regarding each relationship. There was this one guy she dated whose name she didn't remember who was afraid of spiders, his fear being so much he would yell like a little girl whenever he saw one. "I swear that guy was weird. His voice was so manly and then his screams sounded like he was a little girl. First time I heard him I almost peed myself from laughing so hard."