Roses in her hands

Mid June

Ya know, I think that for a while, the first couple generations of birth-tattoo babies and their parents or grandparents are inevitably gonna clash. But I think-I hope-that they'll begin to see eye to eye, and then we can go back to the usual, age-old misunderstanding that the elderly and the youthful are always gonna have.

-Jack Daniels, Columnist for The World

Rue and her brother live just a few houses up from me, now. We both live on Wallace street, along Libby lane. Thankfully, she and Lee had been placed with an aunt and uncle who had two kids of their own. They'd moved here several years before Rue did.

They let me drive Rue and Lee to school along with Dion every day. Dion and Lee get along pretty well, and with Jake, they make a trio of friends. Well, Sofia Black also hangs out with them. Turns out that she really is Dion's soulmate.

Rue's bruises have faded, her burns have been treated and her delicate frame no longer feels so breakable. Her bandages were removed, and now all she has is a scar on her right bicep, left forearm and one just above her left breast. She's self-conscious about them, but I think they just make her all the more beautiful. She's still healing; mentally and emotionally. There have been a few instances where something in her snapped and she had a flashback.

She broke down crying and hyperventilating, curling into a ball and rocking herself back and forth until I cuddled her to my chest. It broke my heart each time to see her that way. But she's so much stronger, now. After nine months of helping her through her traumas and fears, she's begun to show her radiant self, her beautiful personality. The one that was once half hidden by the stress and pain her home life caused her.

Today, I'm going to get her something special and hopefully I'll be rewarded with one of those beautiful smiles of hers. Humming to myself I get out my phone to text her.

Hey, darlin, I'm going to run to the store real quick, but you should come over now so I can kiss you before I leave.

Okay. I'll be over in a few minutes. Love you. <3

Love you too. <3

I go outside and wait for her in front of the door, and it's not long before I hear the slight jingle of her wallet chain, the one that has a key chain and a small silver bell attached to it. As soon as I see her round the fence line, I push off of the front door and meet her halfway, bending down to kiss her.

"Hey, love," I take her right hand in my left and she tucks herself into my side as we walk to the front door.

"Hi," she replies. "Ya want me ta wait in your room until ya get back?"

"You can hang out with mom if you want," I say. "You don't have to stay in my room."

"Okay."

She stops me at the door to give me another kiss and a tight hug. Well, one that's as tight as possible without pulling at her bandages. Not much longer before she can take them off permanently.

"Love you," I kiss her forehead. "I'll be back soon."

"Love you, too," she replies. "I'll be waiting."

I get into my truck and start it up, waving at her before backing out of the driveway and I wait until she's inside before driving off.

I'm at Walmart and I'm just kind of strolling around, looking for whatever might make my girl happy. I find some four by four inch magnetic canvases that I know she'll have fun painting, and a few six by six regular ones, too. I wander around some more, and before I know it, I'm looking at the flower section. All of the bouquets are beautiful. There's sunflowers, daisies, lilies, tulips and a few carnations and flowers whose names I don't know. But there's one small bouquet that catches my eye. It's perfect. It's expensive, but she's worth every cent. I decide that I'm done shopping, now, so I take my items to self-checkout to pay for them.

I pull into my driveway and I see Rue's face peek out from Mom's upstairs bedroom window, an image that warms my heart, especially when I notice that radiant smile of hers. I love it when she smiles. I get out of my truck, careful not to show any of her gifts yet. Rue holds the front door open for me, probably having downstairs to greet me, but I usher her to go to my room ahead of me. She gives me a questioning look but walks to my room anyway.

I follow her, hands behind my back so there's no chance of her seeing what I got her before I want her to. She climbs onto my messy, blanket strewn bed and sits criss-cross, looking at me with curiosity.

"Close your eyes, darlin'," I tell her. "And no peekin'."

"Alright," she says and her lashes hide her blue topaz eyes from me. I set the bag of canvases down on my nightstand and then take the flowers into my hands, standing right in front of her.

"Alright, you can open your eyes, now," I tell her and I'm rewarded with a surprised gasp once she sees the flowers.

She takes them from me and admires the soft velvety red petals. She holds two intertwined, fully bloomed red roses in the midst of white ones in her hands. She looks at me and tears fall down her face. I sit down next to her and just watch her, waiting to see if she says anything.

"Damon," her voice is a hoarse whisper. "Do ya know what two entwined red roses mean?"

"Yes, ma'am," I reply. "I do."

Okay, so maybe I studied the language of flowers for a little bit.

"So...Ya mean-You're really...?" her stuttering tells me she's having trouble accepting reality.

"Yes, ma'am," I take her face into my hands and gently turn her face towards mine. "I'm askin' you to be my wife. Not now, or in six months. After high school, maybe when we're in college or workin' in our chosen careers. I don't need some silly, outdated standard to tell me when the right time to propose is. All I need is to listen to my heart. And darlin', it's tellin' me that that time is right now.

"You don't need to give me your answer right now," I tell her. "I'll wait for you for as long as it takes."

"I don't need ta think about it," she gave me a hiccuping laugh, still crying. "Damon, lad, my answer is 'Aye.' I'll marry ya."

"Damn am I glad to hear that."

She laughs and I smile and laugh with her.

Birth-tattoos; fate or natural selection?

More importantly, who gives a damn?