I received a phone call the following day from another police officer. At least that’s the idea I got from my side of the conversation.
Rosemary was hanging just outside the doors with Melanie when I arrived the next afternoon. She ran and threw herself into my arms as soon as I stepped out of the truck. I held her in a bear hug, and then I ever so happily spun her around with a big grin on my face. You’d think we’d been apart for weeks. We kissed on the lips, then I set her down.
Melanie’s expression seemed to turn solemn, though she tried to hide it.
Rosemary began pulling my things out of the truck as I spoke with Melanie. A few minutes later, Melanie took off, and Rosemary and I entered the building chatting animatedly.
“And so I had to wait forever just to get the super to let me in the building,” I was saying.
“Yeah?”
“Then, when I inspected the apartment I needed to inspect, I find out that the building had been inspected the day before by another detective.”
“Oh no,” said Rosemary. “Does this mean it was a wasted trip?”
“Pretty much,” I said, setting some things down on the table by the door. “So, how have you been?”
“I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
“Let’s just say it’s been rather strange around here without you, but I know you’ve got to get ready for work soon, so I’ll tell you about it later or tomorrow.”
“Okay. Is everything alright in the meantime?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“Mel told me about your visitors and that you said you remembered some things.”
“I did,” Rosemary admitted. “When we get the time, I’ll ask you the so-called trick questions that’ll probably have me convinced you really are from where you say you’re from.”
“Okay,” I said with a smile. “For now, I hate to run, but I gotta go jump in the shower.”
We kissed, then when we pulled back from each other, I said, “Watch out, little lady. I am going to have so much fun with you the first chance I get.”
“You’re on, detective,” Rosemary said with a suggestive note.
Just then, there was a knock on the outer door. We turned to glance in that direction.
“Lucille!” Rosemary cried out with shock and delight. “It’s my friend Lucille.”
Rosemary ran to let her friend in. They hugged fiercely before Rosemary introduced her to me. She was a petite girl with a very friendly smile and vibrant eyes. The last few inches of her long brown hair were bright red. Her face was made up expertly, and she wore a lot of jewelry that spiced up her casual attire.
“I wanted to surprise you,” Lucille said.
“Well, that you did, girl!” said Rosemary.
“I hate to run out on you ladies, but I have to jump in the shower and get to work. Besides, I assume you two would like to catch up on things together,” I said.
“Actually,” Lucille began, “I’d like to kidnap Rosemary for a while if she’s up to going out.”
“Yeah, that’d be fine,” Rosemary told Lucille. Then to me, she said, “I’ll be back before you get in.”
“Okay,” I said, heading for the shower. Then I stopped, turned, and said, “Oh, hey girls, don’t forget to leave a message if you get held up.”
“No prob,” said Rosemary, reaching for her purse just before Lucille literally yanked her by the hand towards the door.
Rosemary returned a few hours before I did. Lucille did not come in with her.
When I arrived, Rosemary told me they had gone out to eat, to browse some shops together, then to see how Zola was adjusting at Rosa and Marilyn’s before flying back down to Florida.
“She doing okay?” I asked.
“From what I could tell. How are you doing?”
“I’m beat. Totally beat. It’s been a long day and night.”
“I fixed you a tuna sandwich if you want it,” said Rosemary.
“Oh thanks, babe, but I think I’d rather just wash up and climb into bed with you.”
“Now that’s something I’d like. I was lonely without you last night.”
“Me too. Be right back,” I said, heading into the bathroom. I returned a few minutes later to find a naked Rosemary waiting for me. She patted my side of the bed invitingly.
I shucked my clothes, and we began to make love. However, I was just too exhausted to hold out for long. “Sorry, hon,” I said, flopping onto my back, out of breath. “I just don’t have the energy to follow you in sweet relief tonight, so we’ll have to catch up on it tomorrow.”
“That’s okay,” said Rosemary, who had cum hard. “We don’t have to copycat each other all the time anyway.”
We fell asleep together until sometime late in the night when Rosemary awoke with a nightmare.
“Wh-what is it, babe?” I asked groggily, leaning up on my elbow.
Rosemary moaned in fear.
“Hey,” I cooed through the darkness, reaching out to put a comforting hand on her back. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
Rosemary slept fitfully throughout the remainder of the night and into the next morning. I would periodically glance at her with concern from my seat at the computer until she arose.
“Hey sweetie,” I said. “Didn’t sleep well?”
Rosemary shook her head glumly and headed for the bathroom. When she came out, she fixed herself a cup of coffee. After she took a few sips, I said, “Come here, Angel Eyes.”
Rosemary came towards me for a hug and kiss.
“Tell me about it, sweetie. You know you can talk to me.”
“Yes, I know,” said Rosemary. She hesitated a moment longer, then said, “You said you were with me at Valleyhead, right?”
I nodded.
“All the time?”
I nodded again.
“The whole time I was there, you were taped to the wall, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Rosemary took another sip of coffee. “Then you were there for the jump. You were there when I so stupidly jumped out the window and broke my arm, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I was,” I said softly.
“Describe it to me.”
I took a deep breath. “Well,” I began, “you were in a room with just one other roommate. She wasn’t in the room at the time.”
Rosemary started slightly as she watched me speak.
“It was a small room with brown paneled walls and a white tiled ceiling. There was only one window in the room.”
“You can stop now,” Rosemary said. “You don’t need to convince me anymore.”
My eyes watered slightly.
“My God, Katie. It must’ve been as terrifying for you as it was for me.”
“It sure was.” Tears were now threatening to spill over my eyelids. “The only way we knew you were alive was by the sound of your screams when you hit the ground below, and even then we didn’t know if you’d live.”
Tears burst from Rosemary’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, Katie. I’m so sorry I didn’t think of what I was putting you through. I just panicked and lost my mind there. I was oblivious to anything else at that moment.”
“It’s okay,” I said, taking Rosemary into my arms. “We understood. We knew that abuse could drive one to take such desperate measures, and we felt terrible over the fact that we couldn’t do anything to help you, but you’re okay now. Now you’re in a stable, loving environment, even if it is a big old dumpy gym.”
Rosemary smiled slightly.
“No one’s ever going to hurt you again. You’re safe now. I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.”
Rosemary looked at me with intense love shining through her watery eyes. “Oh, Katie, you’re just too good to me.” She hugged me tightly. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve to be so blessed with you after I was so cursed for so many years.”
“Well,” I said, “you said life is very compensating, so maybe I’m the compensation for some of the not-so-nice people you’ve known because while I can never undo the past, I can at least love you in the present and the future.”
“Whatever blessed me with you, I’m just glad to have you in my life.”
“Me too,” I said with a smile which prompted a smile from Rosemary in return.
We kissed and made love before I went off to run some errands, leaving Rosemary behind to take care of incense orders.
We talked quite a bit about the past over the next few days as well as the present and our future together.
After Rosemary’s day in court, the talk went that not only had Asaro not shown up, but there was no record on file pertaining to the case whatsoever.
“Are you sure you didn’t have anything to do with it?” Rosemary asked me.
“No, I didn’t.”
“You didn’t?”
“Nope. Must’ve been your spells at work.”
“Well, good. That’s one less thing to have to deal with and to…” Rosemary’s hands suddenly flew towards her temples.
My brows furrowed in worry. “You okay, sweets?”
Rosemary, still clasping her temples, shook her head. “Something’s not right. I never got headaches like these before, and it’s like they’re not even regular headaches. The pain is behind my eyes, and it’s a real sharp, cramp-like pain.”
“Well, maybe it’s time to see a doctor.”
Although reluctantly, Rosemary agreed, and an appointment was scheduled for the following week.
Three months after the artificial insemination, I noticed that my human self noticed changes within Rosemary. She seemed to lack her usual energy. Sometimes she was ravenously hungry, other times she had next to nil for an appetite. I could see that I had come to suspect Rosemary might be pregnant, though Rosemary didn’t mention it. Maybe that was because she didn’t think it was possible in the first place.
“Sweetie?” I asked her one afternoon.
“Yeah?” She glanced up from the mystery novel she was reading.
“When was your last period?”
She shrugged. “Don’t know. I don’t really keep track.”
She turned back towards her book. A faint, knowing smile crossed my lips.
Bad News
It was a hot and humid day. I had the day off, and neither of us felt like doing much of anything except lounging around. Rosemary, however, kept things lively and entertaining like she usually did.
I was so absorbed in my book that I never noticed that Rosemary had shut herself in the closet in the first place until the pounding began, along with the cries for help.
I tossed my book aside, jumped up from the couch, and quickly ran down to the storage closet where the banging and cries were coming from. “Hang on, hang on!” I shouted. Concern made my long legs carry me to the other end of the room in seconds. I tugged at the door, but it wouldn’t open. Rosemary continued to cry out in panic. “Relax, sweetheart. I’ll get the door open.” After a few more tugs, I managed to pry it open.
A hyperventilating Rosemary spilled forth from the closet.
“What in the world happened?” I asked with furrowed brows. “How did you get stuck in there?”
“I went… I went…,” Rosemary said, gathering in fresh breaths of air, “in there to see if the plastic butterfly I got from the cereal box this morning really does glow.”
I stared at her incredulously for a moment, then I burst out laughing.
“The air was so stale in there I thought I’d suffocate.”
“It’s a good thing I was here to rescue you then.”
“A very good thing,” agreed Rosemary as we headed back towards the “living room.”
Shaking my head, I said, “You get into the strangest predicaments.”
The next series of shrieks to erupt came from the bathroom a few hours later. Again, I threw down my book and ran towards the peals of panic. I banged on the door. The door opened immediately.
“What’s going on?” I asked quickly.
From what I could make out from my vantage point, Rosemary had accidentally sprayed herself in the eye with perfume. I had her rinse the eye, then I came out of the bathroom shaking my head, although I could see that I was amused at the same time. “You and your catastrophes, girl!” I called back. “Maybe you need to sit in one spot longer than five minutes since you’re so accident-prone. You might be safer that way.”
Rosemary’s final surprise came about an hour later after she’d been sitting at the table drawing. “Looks authentic to me,” she said after a while, pulling back to look at something she’d drawn on an envelope.
“Yeah?” I said, placing my book down beside me. “You decorating envelopes?”
“Oh, I’m decorating them, alright. With stamps.”
I gasped in shock when Rosemary handed me the envelope. “You drew on a stamp?”
Rosemary nodded proudly. “We were out, so I thought I’d just draw one on.”
I gave a slight chuckle and said, “This is wonderful work, Rosemary, but you can’t just mail these out like this.”
“Why not? It’ll go through.”
“Maybe so, but this is a major felony offense here. You can’t be doing things like this, okay? You need to behave. You’re not alone anymore. The consequences of your actions reflect on me just like mine reflect on you.”
“Okay,” said Rosemary.
“You get where I’m coming from?” I asked with a smile.
Rosemary nodded.
I bent over to kiss her. “Is this the only one?” I asked when I stood back upright.
“Yes. You can confiscate it now, officer.”
I laughed. “Yes, I think I better do that.”
Later on that day, Melanie stopped by for a visit. I was quick to tell her about our adventurous day and to show her Rosemary’s mischievous talent. She laughed heartily.
Later, Rosemary decided to go for a walk. “I’m going by the mailbox. Want me to mail these bills out you got on the desk here?”
“If they possess real stamps, I do.”
Melanie and I laughed.
It was after Melanie left and Rosemary had returned from her walk and was in the shower that the bad news came. I knew the call was from the eye doctor Rosemary had seen because I recognized the name I addressed the caller by as being that particular doctor.
I listened for a few moments, dismay steadily taking over my features. “So, there’s nothing that can be done?”
I sat down hard in the chair by the desk. It was as if the energy had been sapped right out of me.
“Nothing at all? There’s no cure?”
I leaned on the armrest and rubbed the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger.
“What’s this thing called again?”
I pulled my hand away. It was trembling.
“How long will it take?”
My eyes watered over.
“Seven to eight months? Oh God, this is just terrible… Well, she’s definitely not going to be happy about it, that’s for sure… Are you sure there are no treatments available?”
I glanced towards the closed bathroom door.
“So, all she can do is just go with the flow?”
I ran a hand through my hair.
“Do you think there’ll ever be any treatments or procedures to correct this?”
I hung up just as Rosemary came out of the bathroom. She wore the same dress she had on the day we were reunited. Her damp hair clung to her arms and back. One look at me told her something was up.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
I rose from my chair. It seemed to take a tremendous effort to do so. “Well,” I said reluctantly, “let’s have a seat on the couch, and I’ll tell you about it.”
Eyeing me with curiosity, Rosemary took a seat next to me on the couch.
I gently took her hands in mine and said, “That was the eye doctor.”
“And?”
I sighed heavily. “And the news is not good.”
“I have to wear glasses?” Rosemary asked.
I shook my head dubiously. “I wish it were that simple, Angel Eyes.”
“Then what is it?”
I hesitated, trying to remain calm.
“Just come out with it, Katie,” Rosemary said, alarm now evident in her voice.
I took a deep breath and got right to the point. “It’s macular degeneration disease. You’re going blind, sweetie.”
Rosemary simply stared at me, stunned by the news while the tears that had been threatening to spill forth from my eyes finally did. I wiped them away.
Rosemary began to tremble. She shook her head violently from side to side. “N-no. No, no, no. NO!”
She burst into tears, and I attempted to pull her close to me, yet she pushed me away. “Rosemary, please don’t push me away like this,” I said beseechingly.
“No, this can’t be true,” Rosemary said, again shaking her head adamantly. “There’s got to be some mistake.”
“I wish there was, sweetie. Please just listen to me and trust me when I tell you that life can still go on and…”
“It can?” Rosemary said incredulously. “How, Katie? What kind of a life could I possibly have?”
“The same life you have now, only without your eyesight.”
Rosemary’s eyes narrowed, and she said, “You make it sound like it’s no big loss.”
“I’m not trying to make it sound that way, babe. I know it’s a big loss. I’m only trying to point out that your life doesn’t have to end with your eyesight.” My eyes pleaded for her understanding. “I know it’s going to take time to adapt, but you’re not even going to be completely blind. The doctor says you’ll be able to see bright light, and maybe traces of color, though no detail.”
“Gee, lucky me.”
I tried to gather Rosemary in my arms once again to comfort her, but she was inconsolable.
“There’s got to be some kind of surgical procedure I can have done.”
I shook my head. “If it was the lens, then yes, but because it’s the retina that’s affected, nothing can be done. I’m sorry, babe.”
Panic rose in Rosemary’s voice once again. “I can’t live my life like that, Katie! I won’t live my life like that. Too much of what I do depends on my eyesight.”
“Oh, come on, sweetie. You can learn other things, and you can learn to improvise. Instead of reading as you normally do, you’ll read using Braille. You can still use the computer. You don’t need to see to type. The only thing you won’t be able to improvise on is images. Meanwhile, you can still think, you can hear, you can feel, you can taste, and you can smell your wonderful incense.”
“No fucking way!” Rosemary screamed, tossing a throw pillow at me.
I caught the pillow and set it down gently. “Would you rather be dead?”
Rosemary glanced at me. “You know, as a matter of fact, I would. Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea.” She looked upwards. “Perhaps I should go up there, no safety cable, and just let go once I get to the top. What do you think, Katie? Think I’d do more than break my arm from that high up? It’s more than twenty feet. Way more.”
My eyes narrowed at the words I was hearing. I knew only too well what Rosemary was capable of. “Then I’ll make sure you’re not left alone for one minute.”
Rosemary looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Relax, Katie. I may not look forward to living, but you don’t have to take me that literally.”
“Why not? Look what happened after that bitch at Valleyhead said you weren’t serious when she caught you getting ready to jump from that other room before you actually did. The one that was bigger with the bathroom connected to it.”
Rosemary continued to stare at me.
“Well, you certainly proved her wrong later on, didn’t you?” I continued, full of emotion. “I was there, Rosemary. I know everything that happened.”
Rosemary shifted from anger to desperation. As the desperation overtook her, she wept in my arms while I rocked her gently back and forth.
“The thought of never seeing your beautiful face again makes me depressed beyond words.”
“This face?” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Rosemary, this face isn’t going to stay this way forever. It’s going to age soon enough, so you won’t be missing much.”
“Instead, you’ll get to see me age.”
“But you’re so beautiful that no amount of age could detract from that.” I kissed her tenderly. “You’ll always be my beautiful Angel Eyes.”
Rosemary sniffled. “How are we going to make love?”
I laughed. “Same way we always do. Besides, we do it in the dark most of the time anyway.”
“How long will it be before I’m blind?”
“About seven to eight months. Between now and then, your vision will gradually fade.”
“There’s got to be a way out of this,” Rosemary said, determination resurfacing once again. “I’ve got to put a spell on it somehow.”
“You can try,” I said softly, “though I wouldn’t count on any significant changes, sweetie. I know you cured most of your asthma and allergy problems, but blindness is a whole different thing.”
Suddenly, Rosemary gasped, eyes wide with fright.
“What is it, babe?”
“Oh, my God, the baby.”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“What about it? We better hope to hell no miracle took place and that I’m not pregnant!”
I smiled, taking hold of Rosemary’s hands once again. “Sweetie, if a miracle happens of whatever kind, then don’t you think it was meant to be?”
“No, not this. There’s no way I can or will try to raise a kid without sight.”
“Why not?”
Rosemary’s frustration grew. “Katie, you ask the dumbest questions at times!”
“One doesn’t always need to see their kids, Rosemary. They don’t see them when they’re in school, they don’t see them when they’re…”
“But they need to see them when they’re alone with them and are about to get into something that could hurt them.”
“So, we make sure there’s nothing around they can hurt themselves with until they’re old enough to know better.”
“It wouldn’t be that easy.”
“Most things aren’t, but what’s done is done, and if part of what’s done is a baby, then so be it.”
Rosemary shook her head. “I couldn’t see to play games with the child, I couldn’t see any drawings it may do. Think about it. If it was in a school play, all I could do was sit and listen. If it was a girl and she wanted to show her mom the beautiful prom dress she made, well, obviously she’d be out of luck, wouldn’t she? The child would come to resent me in time.”
“No, it wouldn’t. Not if we both loved it enough. Besides, the child would have at least one sighted parent.”
“Still, God couldn’t possibly create a baby under these circumstances. It wouldn’t be right or fair.”
“He didn’t create a baby, we did. So, let’s just deal with what we created.”
“No chance,” Rosemary insisted. “If I find out I’m pregnant, I’m getting an abortion. It has to be that rather than adoption. If we adopt it out, I’ll always worry it’s being abused somewhere, but with an abortion, I wouldn’t have to worry about that.”
“There’ll be no abortion, Rosemary.”
“Yes, there will be!”
I shook my head firmly. “You’re not going to kill our child.”
“It’s not murder at this stage. Use your common sense. It’d be no different than killing plant cells. It has zero awareness whatsoever.”
“I have awareness, Rosemary. Now, you can have your way with almost anything else, but not this. I can understand resorting to abortion in cases of rape or incest, but not in this case.”
“We can not raise a child! What do you not understand about that?” Rosemary sighed with frustration, then said, “I’ll compromise with you as far as having the child, but it has to go once it’s born. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t,” I said. “If I suddenly went blind, how would you like it if I said I couldn’t have a wife because of it and started looking for ways to either have you killed or given away to someone else?”
“Oh, why are we even arguing about this shit anyway!” Rosemary cried, weary with frustration, fear, and sorrow. “We’re not having a kid anyway. You know the odds. Besides, there’s a huge risk of me having a miscarriage anyway. You heard what they said.”
“Yes, I heard,” I said with a sigh. “So, tomorrow we’ll pick up a home pregnancy test and see if we’re arguing over nothing or not.”
Rosemary sniffed loudly, then said, “You think I am, don’t you?”
“I’d be surprised if you weren’t. You’re sick, you’re tired, you haven’t had a period in God knows how long,” I said, rising from my seat.
“Maybe it’s the eye thing going on that’s doing it.”
“I doubt it, but we’ll find out.”
“I meant it, Katie. If there’s one on the way, it goes.”
“And I meant it, too. If there is, it was meant to be, and we should take responsibility for what we started.”
“Is this meant to be?” Rosemary asked, pointing towards her eyes.
I sighed yet again. “I wish I had all the answers for you, babe, and maybe someday I will. For now, all we can do is take whatever life sends our way.”
“Easy for you to say. I mean, I don’t understand what happened here, Katie. I was actually doing pretty good there for a while. Now I’m going blind with the possibility of a kid to deal with on top of it all.”
I sat back down next to Rosemary, took her hands in mine, and focused my brown eyes on her green ones. “But there’s something you have now that you didn’t have before, and that’s someone who loves you very, very much.”
Rosemary shook her head slowly. “You’re obsessed.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yes, you truly love me, but you’re obsessed with me, too.”
I appeared thoughtful a moment, then said, “Well, perhaps I am, but either way, you’ll never have to go through any crisis in life alone.”
Rosemary shook her head sadly, tears once again streaming down her cheeks. “I want more than anything to be with you for the rest of my life, but I can’t. Not if you insist on keeping the kid if there is one. If you love me and you want me to be happy, then you’ll let me go.”
I blinked, surprised and hurt by what I was hearing. I was also a bit angered as well. “Hey, we made a promise to love each other no matter what till death do us part, and neither of us is anywhere near dead. I took my vows seriously, and you said you did, too. Now, a lot of people may believe the right thing to do is to let someone go who wants to go, but I believe it’s right to stick together and to hang onto the one you love. This means I will not let you go. Besides, don’t you think having a baby goes hand in hand with loving someone? That it’s so much a part of two people loving each other and being together?”
Rosemary shrugged. “I was never really sure it was what I wanted. All I know is that you wanted it, and I loved you enough to want you to be happy, and so I had the procedure done. I didn’t know I was going to go blind. But I do now, Katie, and so it has to be either me or the child if you’re going to insist on having it be born.”
My eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare go giving me ultimatums like that.”
“I’m sorry, Katie.”
I rose to my feet. “I’m very sorry this is happening to you, but you are not going to kill our kid, give it away, or throw me away because of it.” My voice rose as I continued. “You made your life with me, and I made mine with you. Don’t even think for a minute I’m going to let you just throw that away, child or not, blind or not. I’m not some old garment you can just toss aside at will, and neither is the child. We don’t throw in the towel just because we’re having a tough time!”
“This is a little more than a tough time,” Rosemary said, rising to her feet and slowly shuffling over to the bed.
“No, wait.”
“What?” Rosemary asked, turning to face me.
I snatched my keys from the desk. “Let’s go to the drugstore right now and get the test. The sooner you know if there is no baby, the sooner you can be all relieved about it, and the sooner you know if there is, the sooner you can start dealing with it.”
Rosemary hesitated a moment, then followed me to the door.
We returned about ten minutes later.
“Okay, the test takes about fifteen minutes, so just drink up till you feel you have to pee, and let’s get it done and over with, okay?”
Rosemary nodded glumly, nerves so taut that it wasn’t until nearly an hour later that the test could be conducted. Once it was done, Rosemary plopped herself down on the bed, emotionally exhausted, to await the results.
Sorrow filled my eyes as I watched her. I strode over to her and sat beside her on the bed.
“I’m sorry I’m not all excited like we expected we both would be,” Rosemary said softly.
“It’s okay. You’ll come around in time.”
“Will you be the one to check the test when the time’s up? I can’t deal with anything else right now. All I want to do is sleep.”
I nodded before I rose to sit at the computer and wait. When it was time, I headed to the bathroom to check the results of the test. When I emerged from the bathroom, it was hard to tell by my expression what the results were.
“Did you check it?” Rosemary asked shakily.
“Yes, I checked it.”
“Is there a baby?”
“Yes, there’s a baby,” I said with a nod.
Rosemary immediately began to pray aloud for a miscarriage.
“Oh, come now, Rosemary. You know praying is a waste of time for you. You said so yourself.”
Rosemary continued to pray despite my words, hands clasped together.
“You’re wasting your time, so you may as well stop. You said it yourself about how God has our plans mapped out for us before we’re even born and that there’s no use in praying for changes in the inevitable. He’s made up his mind.”
Although softer, Rosemary’s pleas went on.
My fists clenched, though I continued on. “Do you want a daughter or a son?”
“Please, please, God…”
“A girl may be more expensive, but boys are more trouble. At least that’s what they say anyway. What do you think?”
I slid into bed next to Rosemary. Her eyes suddenly snapped open, and she fell silent. She gazed at me a moment, then burst into tears before falling asleep in my arms. I cried myself to sleep too, though I knew my heart was just as full of joy as it was of sorrow.
Changes
Rosemary slowly came awake the next morning. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, then glanced around the room until her eyes came to rest upon Melanie sitting on the couch with the TV going softly.
“Hey,” said Rosemary.
Melanie turned to her, threw the afghan off her legs, and rose to greet Rosemary. “Good morning,” she said.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to protect my best friend’s wife and child.”
Rosemary stilled and looked sharply at Melanie. “Oh, so now she’s got you babysitting me, is that it?”
“That’s it.”
“In uniform too, so I can really feel like a prisoner.”
Melanie smiled. “I’m heading to work as soon as she gets back. That’s why I’m in uniform.”
“And just where is she?”
“Out on an assignment somewhere. She got a lead on a case she’s been on.”
Rosemary rose and began to walk across the room.
“Where are you going?”
She stilled, then turned back to face Melanie.
“To the bathroom. Is that okay, officer?”
“Just don’t do anything stupid. I’m sure your other half meant it when she said you’d be dreadfully sorry if you lost the child and she found out you had anything to do with it.”
Rosemary stiffened. “Oh, yeah? Is that what she said?”
Melanie remained silent.
“Well, that bitch is going to be the one to be dreadfully sorry when she gets back, trust me,” Rosemary said through bared teeth as she continued on to the bathroom.
Melanie was by the door when Rosemary emerged.
“Get away from me!” screamed Rosemary, throwing a punch at Melanie which she blocked.
“That way,” Melanie said sternly.
Rosemary headed towards the kitchen area with Melanie close behind. Once there, Melanie opened the refrigerator and pulled out some orange juice which she then poured into a cup and handed to Rosemary. “Drink,” she ordered.
Rosemary took the glass and drank it.
Then Melanie refilled the glass with water and said, “Kay says you take a multivitamin, so take it now.”
Rosemary took a pill from a bottle and washed it down with water. Then she took the few swigs of water that were left in the glass and whipped it at Melanie.
Anger flashed in Melanie’s ebony eyes. “Now, did you really have to do that? What did I ever do to you to deserve that?”
“Makes me feel like you and she are conspiring against me and treating me like a child who needs a babysitter,” Rosemary said without hesitation before turning to head toward the other end of the room, closer to us.
“Then stop acting like one. And nobody’s conspiring against you.” Melanie followed Rosemary. “Hey, I feel really bad for you, but think of Kay too, will you? She’s got to deal with this as well.”
“Does she? I thought I was the one going blind.”
“Come on, Rosemary. You’re smart enough to know that this affects her as well even if she isn’t losing her sight, too.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know how it is,” Rosemary said with a sigh, firing up the computer.
“You better get dressed soon,” Melanie said. “Kay will be back to take you to an appointment she made for you with an obstetrician.”
Rosemary ignored Melanie, though she did get dressed a short while later.
When Melanie saw me arrive, she went to open the outer door for me. We spoke for a few minutes between the two sets of doors as Rosemary eyed us suspiciously.
When I entered the building, she wasted no time letting me have it. “So, you think I’m going to be dreadfully sorry, huh?”
I sighed wearily. “Rosemary, let’s not start today, okay?”
She rose from her seat and walked right up to me. “Don’t you ever let me hear you say such a thing either to me or to someone else again!” she screamed.
I remained silent, keeping my gaze locked on hers.
“Damn you!” Rosemary screamed as she threw a punch at me.
I caught her by the wrist. My long fingers overlapped around her slender wrist by an entire digit. Continuing to hold her gaze, I released my hold on her after a moment and said, “I’m very sorry I said what I said. Now, can we go to your appointment?”
Rosemary sniffled. Then reluctantly, she nodded.
“In a civilized manner?”
Rosemary nodded again, then threw her arms around me. I wrapped my own arms around her as she cried upon my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she wept tearfully.
“I know you are, babe. And I’m sorry, too.”
Rosemary pulled back and gazed up at me. “Promise you’ll never leave me?”
“I promise.”
We kissed.
“I love you, Katie.”
“I love you, too,” I said, wiping a stray tear from my eye.
Rosemary returned crying, though I noted that I didn’t seem concerned. I wondered how things could possibly get any worse than they already were, though it wouldn’t be long before I’d learn what had Rosemary in tears once again.
“Sweetie, I know you’re overwhelmed, but babies are a good thing,” I said gently.
“Yeah, one at a time and for those who aren’t going blind. But not only am I going blind, we’ve got two of them coming!” she cried.
“That only makes us doubly blessed,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, blessed my ass! I’m going in the Jacuzzi.”
“Okay,” I said with a chuckle. “You do that.”
Later on, while Rosemary was napping, I spoke to Melanie in hushed tones on the phone as I leaned on the desk on my elbows. “The doctor says to let her sleep whenever she wants to.” I smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure she’ll like that part of it. Up to now, I had discouraged any daytime sleeping, knowing it’d just throw her schedule off.”
I threaded my long fingers through the spiral phone cord.
“I’m studying online how to deliver in case she has them here. The doctor secretly told me that there’s a good chance I may not be able to get her to the hospital fast enough when the time comes, because she’s small and in very good shape, though I’m not going to tell her this and get her even more worked up than she already is.”
I leaned against the back of the chair.
“The doctor says she’ll come around in time, and I feel certain that she will, too. Think about it, Mel. If you suddenly learned you were going blind and carrying twins, you’d be a bit overwhelmed yourself… Yes, it’s a lot to take on at once, but we’ll get through it.”
I grinned widely. “Yeah, a wife and two kids in less than a year. Not bad. Not bad at all… Don’t worry. You’ll catch up. Whether or not you have kids, Mel, you’ll still get your lady. You’ll see.”
ns216.73.216.51da2
