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3 - Roses for Rose

Kai talked about her date almost all the previous night and all today. She was excited herself. She wanted the man though, and Kai wanted the car. At least they were on the same page. Kai had insisted on a yellow sundress. Though it was pretty, it was too revealing. The dress was well above the knees and when she put on her push-up bra, the cleavage! It left her shoulders bare, with nothing but two little spaghetti straps to hold the whole thing on. It was tighter than it had been when she had bought it years ago, as she’d gained weight. It was tight and she felt like she was on display for the whole world. Her stomach wasn’t flat anymore, and when she looked at the small mound she felt like she was staring into the mirror and a beached whale was looking back.

“Kai, I know you said it looks good on me, but I’m so uncomfortable. This dress makes me feel fat.” He was attaching Greek sandals to her feet and making sure the laces wrapped up her calves correctly this time, while her mother fussed over her hair. She had never had help getting ready for a date before and beached whale or not, the attention was making her even more flustered and excited.

“Mom,” Kai said, standing up to put his hands on her shoulder, “You do look amazing. If Henry wanted someone like that, he’d have asked her, right?”

Her mother leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Men don’t chase after one woman for a measly date after not seeing anyone for over a year, just because, baby.” Evelyn Cheshire was an open woman, who dated more than her daughter. The shoes and makeup they were putting on her now belonged to her mother. Not her. She had been horrified when her mom suggested she put on six-inch heeled boots that reached her knees. They were soft white leather, and not only would she have likely killed herself, especially after a few drinks, but she would have felt like she was trying way too hard to catch him. She already felt like that, honestly.

An hour later, after much fussing and arguing between Kai and his grandmother about how to apply the makeup, and how much, they both stood back and looked her over. Both smiled widely. She looked up at them with a frown, “I feel utterly ridiculous.”

Kai grabbed her hands and stood her in front of her full-length mirror. “Mom, you don’t look ridiculous. You look amazing.” Rose jumped as the doorbell rang. It was 5:15. She should have known Henry wouldn’t be late.

“Come down in a minute, ‘kay?” Kai leaped at the door and ran downstairs.

“I know you’re not good at this kind of thing but try not to embarrass yourself. Four drinks throughout the night, not all at once mind you. You don’t drink enough to be able to handle much more than that.” Evelyn stood, watching her from behind in the mirror.

Rose sighed, “Thanks for the pep talk, mom.” Pressing the skirt down, she took a few deep breaths and opened the door. No point in waiting. As she started down the stairs, she was slightly horrified to see Kai had kept him near the door, in full view of the stairs. They were smiling and talking. Seeing a guy she was interested in being nice to her son was heartwarming.

As Henry’s eyes made their way to her where she was descending, both dimples appeared. The smile reached his eyes, as he ran a hand through his thick black hair. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans, a blue flannel over a black t-shirt, the long sleeves rolled up to his elbow. He held a bundle of yellow roses cradled in his arms, he went to the bottom stair and held his hand up to her. The whole thing seemed so cliché, but Rose couldn’t help the way her heart beat faster looking down at him, placing her hand in his.

“Rose,” her name a sigh on his lips, “you look absolutely stunning.”

“I feel very exposed.” She whispered back, her eyes dancing away from his face as she blushed.

His head tilted to the side, “We have a little time, you can go change if you’re feeling uncomfortable… though I’m secretly hoping you don’t.” His ears tinged red, and she laughed.

“No,” she shook her head, “Kai and my mom would kill me. It took nearly two hours for them to get me ready.” Laughing, his eyes sparkled at her, “If I ran back upstairs to change, they’d never talk to me again.”

Henry’s smile split in two, showing his straight white teeth. “These are for you.” He handed her the roses as she stepped off the stairs.

“Thank you, they’re beautiful.” She tucked her arm into his, “Why don’t you come with me to the kitchen while I put them in a vase?” Leaning against the island in the middle of the room, his eyes followed her around. If he kept looking at her like that all night, her blush would never leave her cheeks. Bending over, she grabbed a vase from under the sink. The rose stems were too long so she grabbed a pair of scissors to cut the bottoms and fluffed the petals. “Did you somehow know that yellow roses are my favorite?”

“Roses felt appropriate.” He smiled. “And I didn’t want to scare you with red. The florist suggested yellow. Said they stand for friendship and loyalty rather than passion and lust. Considering our conversation yesterday…” his voice trailed off, his eyes taking in the room at large. “I just thought you would like them. Jace isn’t really the kind of guy that would think of getting flowers for a first date. So, I figured it had probably been a while.”

“Try 15 years.” Rose smiled, putting her nose in the center of the beautiful bouquet, and inhaling deeply. “And never something so beautiful. Funny, even though my name is Rose, I’ve never gotten roses.” She carried the vase into the dining room, “I’m so excited!” Her mom walked in, and when she saw the flowers immediately lit up with excitement.

“So, do I get to meet the guy that brought my daughter a dozen roses?” Evelyn reached out, touching the soft petals. “They’re so pretty.”

Henry half followed her into the dining room, “Of course, Henry, this is my mother, Evelyn. Mom, this is my date, Henry Mason.”

“Oh my, you are gorgeous. Where on earth did you meet my daughter?”

“Other than almost killing her yesterday? A friend of ours thought we’d be a good match.” Henry smiled. Rose looked from him to her mom, she hadn’t explained about their near-death experience, or that it wouldn’t have been his fault, considering she was the one on the wrong side of the road.

“He’s kidding about almost killing me, mom. After my tire blew, I ended up on the wrong side of the road while he was on it. Lucky for me, he knows how to drive.” She laughed, still messing with the flowers.

“Well, I had to save my car." He laughed as she slapped him.

“Remember mom, we’ve got guests coming late for the honeymoon suite, so either you or Kai need to make sure you stay up until they get here. Please. If I get home first, I’ll relieve whomever it is. Okay, guys?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Got it, mom.” Kai was suddenly pushing them out the door. “You guys have fun. Don’t worry, ma, I got this. Oh, if you’re going to be out super late, text me so I don’t worry, ‘kay?”

Rose laughed, “Wait, who's the parent here?” Kai made a show of sweeping her out the door, more because of the comment she made than anything else.

They were almost to the car when Kai called out, “Hey, Henry.”

“What is it kiddo?” He called over his shoulder as he opened the door for Rose.

She couldn’t help but laugh as her son stood in the doorway with his arms crossed. “Remember, that’s my mom.” Rose laughed harder as Henry's head whipped up to look at Kai.

“I’ll take good care of her, I promise.” He gave Kai a marine salute before climbing into the driver’s seat and turning around in the driveway. “Your kid is something else, I tell you what.” He was smiling from ear to ear still.

“Yeah, I kinda like having him around.” She played with her skirt, “Why are we going so slow?”

“If I'da realized you were going to look so good, I wouldn’t have brought the convertible. I’m worried about messing up your hair.” He looked over at her as she laughed again. “I love hearing you laugh. It’s so… petite. Just like you.” He chuckled.

Sticking her tongue out at him, she teased back, “Yeah? And yours is just as boorish as you.”

He smirked, stepping on the gas enough that the wind tossed her hair. She complained, not really caring all that much. Just having fun razing him. They’d been together a whole 15 minutes, and she was already having a great time. Overall, Henry had a wholesome family humor to him, which the few guys she dated in the past had lacked. He seemed to like that she gave him back what he dished out, something Carlyle had hated it. And though he had that rough, manliness about him, which she had been really attracted to with Jace, there was a sweetness to him too. Jace would never have brought her flowers or helped her down the stairs.

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