Jacob and Sons

Chapter 1

1

Rose Patricks, lying in her cushioned double bed in the upstairs apartment block in Barnbrick town, noticed once again that her alarm was beeping at an alarming rate. She had, it seemed, slept in an hour longer than usual. This was perhaps a good occurrence as now she would not be too early for her secretarial work placement in 'Haven's Editorial Company' in Waterford City.

The bus to work would take one hour and three minutes exactly, during which time Rose would, on occasion, watch her fellow passengers and for each, draw a story in her mind. Thankfully, Rose thought, nobody had yet noticed her precarious starring habits or they would, most likely, be slightly frightened. Nevertheless, she always found the activity to be highly entertaining.

As soon as she pressed the alarm's off button, Rose went into the kitchen. Her neighbour downstairs, it seemed, was also having a similar idea of breakfast as she could hear a teapot boiling over and curses that following. Avoiding that situation for once, Rose made her tea by placing a tea bag in her mug and emptying the contents of her kettle's newly boiled water inside.

Exciting the minuscule dining room, Rose went to her bedroom and after an unnecessarily long search found her pocket mirror from the pocket of her jeans last worn yesterday, which were now strung on the wooden flooring. She studied herself closely, carefully poking and prodding that extra bit of skin that had now found itself on Rose's cheekbone, adding a healthier round shape to her otherwise notorious thin face. 

Taking care of her everyday activities, Rose finished up with the swishing flush of a toilet and briskly strode back into her bedroom, finding a suitable outfit for the long day ahead. She had found that in recent months, she herself had taken to wearing long, below-knee length skirts every other day. She often chuckled at the fact that either she was very fashion forward or quite lacking in the department. Nevertheless, it was comfy and suited its purpose well.

Rose reached for her handbag at her doorway, hanging on the line with her winter coat and a pair of boats for that odd time of snowy weather, and peered inside, checking its contents. Her mobile and purse were the only two things inside but slowly, she added her pocket mirror.

Locking the door behind her, giving it an extra pull for reassurance, Rose set off on her day with a quick-stepped walk to the nearby bus stop. The bench was small and broken down, due to all those years of wear and tear and those few times of vandalism. Half of one of the benches boards was already missing, creating an uncomfortable sitting experience for anyone who even dared.

Five minutes later, the hourly bus drifted into a halt before her and the doors opened dramatically as if on cue. Rose stepped in and took her usual seat, two rows from the back, beside the window.

The bus stopped a total of five times on the way to Waterford quay. On one of those occasions a young man got on and deliberately took the seat along side of her. It was as though, it seemed, that he wanted to talk with her but didn't actually do so until a half an hour had passed by. He introduced himself as Nile Ryan, a suit tailor who just so happened to also work in Waterford.

The conversation did not flow easily and at times, even Rose herself strained to come with another topic. After each of them had given a brief yet detailed enough account of their life, there had been nothing else to talk about.

"It's down by the Church," Nile said, explaining the location of the store at which he worked. "You should stop by sometime."

"I will," Rose said. 

Nile nodded and poked about at the carrier bag that he had brought with him. He was attractive in a way, Rose noticed, his eyes wide and innocent and shapely lips. He himself wore a suit and Rose wondered if she should ask about it, whether he had perhaps made it himself but decided against it when she realized that he may think of her as stupid for asking.