Accidental Love (29 page)

The older woman laughed at Rose's impatience and tugged on the thin red ribbon. "You're as bad as I am…oh." She opened the long velvet box. "Rose, they're beautiful."

"Do you like them?"

"Yes, very much." Ronnie pulled the pen out and held it up to the light, the smile never leaving her face. "That's a very pretty design. All those blues and greens swirling around. I like that gold band there too."

"You really like it? You're not just saying that to make me feel good, are you?"

"No Hon, I'm not just saying that. I really do like it." She leaned over and gave Rose a hug. "It really is a thoughtful gift," she said, leaning back.

"You said you could never find a pen around here."

"I never can," Ronnie agreed. "I guarantee I won't lose this one."

"I didn't know if you liked mechanical pencils. Probably not since you can't bite them, huh?"

"Rose, mechanical pencils are fine. Really, they are. I only use the wooden ones because that's what we have in the supply office at work. I never had any reason to buy a pencil like this." She turned the metal at the tip, watching the lead grow from the end. "I'll promise you this, I won't chew the end of this one."

"You'd better not," Rose playfully teased, her fears eased by the smile on Ronnie's face. Her tone grew serious. "I'm really happy you like it. I've never bought anyone something like that before."

"You know I would have been happy no matter what you got, even if it was just a card." She looked down at the set and smiled. "These really are beautiful." She reached over for another hug, much to Rose's joy.

"This is the best Christmas I've ever had," she whispered into Ronnie's ear. "Thank you so much."

The dark-haired woman smiled and hugged even harder. "You're welcome. Thank you for making my Christmas so special." She reluctantly ended the embrace, her hand still gripping the pen case.

She looked over at the clock. "Wow, I didn't realize it was so late. It took that long just to open presents?"

"There were a lot of presents to open," Rose replied with a smile. "I have no idea what to do with all those computer programs." She gestured at the pile on the table.

"You're going to learn from them." Ronnie set the pen case down and picked up one of the software boxes. "This one teaches you how to type. It's self-paced and shows you how to format business letters and memos." She set the box on Rose's lap and picked up another one. "This teaches the fundamentals of bookkeeping and accounting. There are programs to do all the actual calculations but if you're going to be in the business world you really should know the basics." She put the programs back on the table. "I'll install them for you tomorrow and show you how to bring them up so you can work on them. Once you're comfortable, I'll show you how to log into the corporate network and you can go onto the Internet."

"That sounds like fun. I've been on the Internet before. They had it at the library. I found a great site once that had all sorts of information about how to take care of cats."

"Anything you're interested in is out there on the Internet. When I first got used to being on a computer, I spent hours surfing the Net looking at different things. My bookmark file must have been a mile long."

"Bookmark file?" Rose shook her head. "I don't know if I can get all this computer stuff."

Ronnie laughed. "Oh, Rose. Trust me. A few weeks and you and the computer will be best friends. I'll have to drag you away from it."

"I don't know about that."

"I do. It's very addictive."

"Ronnie? I understand how the typing and the other programs are supposed to help me, but what is the Rescuer of the Maiden supposed to teach me?" She pointed at the brightly colored box with knights battling on the cover.

"Uh…well…" The executive's face colored slightly and she gave a sheepish smile. "That one teaches you how to be the great knight who rescues the fair maiden from the evil king's dungeon. I thought you might like a game to relax and take a break with."

"A knight rescuing a maiden, hmm?" Rose glanced at the cover again, noting that the maiden was fair-haired, like she was. She looked over at her own personal knight in shining armor. "I'm sure I'll enjoy it." Ronnie smiled back and stood up.

"Right now I think we had better hit the kitchen and get dinner started or we're not going to be eating until late tonight." Rose watched as the wheelchair was brought over.

"Oh, okay." She allowed herself to be lifted into the chair but before Ronnie could pull back she wrapped her arms around the executive's neck and squeezed, burying her face into the dark tresses. "Thank you. You're the best friend I’ve ever had and today is one of the happiest days I've ever known."

Ronnie returned the embrace, smiling into the golden hair. "You're welcome. And thank you for making it so special for me."

**************

As they reached the threshold of the kitchen, Rose looked up. "Hey, look at that."

"What?"

"The mistletoe. You've left it up there all this time and I didn't notice."

"Hmm, guess I have." Ronnie's heart began beating faster. They were directly below the green leaves. "Um, would it be okay if…"

"Well, we're both under the mistletoe and it is Christmas." Rose swallowed, nervousness creeping in although she wasn't sure why.
After all, it's just Ronnie.
"Yes." She turned her face up to meet the dark head coming down. Their lips touched once…twice before Ronnie pulled back.

"I um…I guess we'd better get dinner started." She guided them into the kitchen, knowing full well why her heart was pounding like a rocker's drum. Rose's lips were soft, so very soft she had almost lost herself in them, stopping just before her tongue could work its way out. Knowing she couldn't afford another kiss like that one, Ronnie made a mental note to let the young woman wheel herself out of the kitchen.

"Yes," Rose agreed, turning her head forward and hoping the blush she felt rising to her cheeks wasn't noticeable to Ronnie. It was soft and sweet and she felt guilty about the way it made her feel. No one had kissed her in a long time and certainly not with as much gentleness and tenderness. She felt warm inside, as if she had swallowed a strong drink. She dimly realized Ronnie was speaking to her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked if you wanted to make some sugar cookies."

"Oh. Do you like sugar cookies?"

"Well, they're okay and they are the traditional holiday cookie." Ronnie opened the refrigerator and smiled. "Of course we do have a roll of chocolate chip cookies here too." Her tone made it clear which type she preferred.

"Sounds good to me." She wheeled her way over to the lower cabinet and retrieved a cookie sheet, careful not to let the wheelchair scratch up against Ronnie's woodwork. The counters were too high for her to easily help with the preparations but Rose did what she could. Ronnie turned on the radio in the corner and soon festive holiday music filled the air, making the perfect setting to prepare dinner. Neither knew the other was thinking about the mistletoe and the kiss.

Rose was confused. Her feelings went beyond friendly affection, but how much beyond, she was not sure. As she watched Ronnie cut the cookie dough, she was struck again by just how beautiful her friend was.
Certainly, no one had ever meant as much to her and Rose could not imagine her life without Ronnie in it. The kiss was warm and loving and something she wanted to experience again.

Ronnie had her own internal dilemma. Her mind and body screamed for her to taste the softness one more time, to show Rose just how much she meant to her, to take her beautiful golden haired companion into her arms and never let go. It was torture, plain and simple, and the cool air when she stepped out to go to her sister's house did nothing to lower the temperature of her fevered soul.

*********************

Rose had just folded up the last pair of panties and put them in the lower drawer of the dresser when Ronnie returned. She entered the room and flopped down on the bed, her long arms folded up behind her head. "It didn't go well?" Rose queried, noting the somber expression.

"Oh, the kids loved the presents. So did Susan."

"What happened?" She wheeled herself over to the side of the bed and put her hand on Ronnie's forearm. "Did Tommy show up or something?"

"No, I guess he's up in the mountains with his buddies. Everything was fine, it's just that…" Ronnie turned her gaze away from Rose and glanced at the ceiling. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't the oldest. It's too much responsibility."

"What happened?"

Ronnie gave a sigh and looked back at her companion. "Mother called from whatever port her cruise stopped at. She's not happy with the way I handled the whole thing about Tommy embezzling from the company."

"How does she know about that? I thought you weren't going to tell her."

"There are no secrets in this family, Rose," she said sadly. "The thing is she isn't questioning whether or not he did it but how I handled it. She said I should have kept a lid on it until I was completely sure, and then I should have talked to him before removing him from his office."

Rose's hand began moving up and down Ronnie's arm in a comforting motion. "Did Susan at least stick up for you?"

"She didn't say a word. Not a peep. You know, sometimes I wonder why I don't just say screw them all and quit. I could move to Chicago or Boston and start my own company."

"Then why don't you?"

There was a long silence before Ronnie answered. When she did, it was with quiet resignation.

"Because they need me." Shaking her head, she gave a resigned sigh and reached for the remote.

"Come on, all those Christmas shows will be starting soon. HBO is rerunning that Rich Little version of A Christmas Carol."

"I've never seen it."

"Oh, it's pretty funny. He does all the characters as impersonations of famous celebrities. I saw it when I was a kid. Come on." Ronnie found the right station and set the remote aside before rising and helping Rose get into bed. Midnight would find them as it always did, the longer one curled up against the side of the smaller one, both sleeping contentedly.

**********************

Rose stared at the screen, concentration causing her brow to furrow. She pressed the mouse button and moved the red seven under the black eight. She was taking a short break from the typing program, having worked on it steadily for almost three hours. She was pleased with her progress after only three weeks of practice. Her speed was improving rapidly while the number of mistakes declined. A flat board resting across the arms of the wheelchair served as a makeshift desktop, the full leg casts making it impossible for Rose to get under the desk far enough to use the keyboard tray.

Maria entered the room with a sandwich and cup of coffee. "You need to take a break." She waited for Rose to put the mouse and keyboard back on the desk, then handed her the sandwich, setting the cup on the night stand within easy reach. "I swear you're as bad as she is sometimes. I've left some evenings with her on that thing and come back in the morning to find her still sitting in front of it." The middle aged woman shook her head. "When she was in high school she was the same way."

"What was she like? When she was younger?" Rose gripped the wheels and turned her chair, silently asking Maria to sit and join her. The housekeeper relaxed into the soft leather of Ronnie's chair and laced her fingers together.

"So you want to know what she was like?" A friendly smile worked its way across her face.

"Ronnie's her own person, always has been. She's always known what she wanted to be and where she was going."

"No, that's not I meant." Rose shook her head, trying to think of how to phrase her request. "Tell me about her. Something she did, something that happened to her, something about
her
."

"I'm not sure I should. You know it's the cardinal rule of housekeepers to keep what they see and hear private."

"Well you don't have to tell me her deep dark secrets, Maria," Rose chided. "Ronnie told me herself she was a hell raiser. I'm sure you must have a tale or two you remember. I'm sure she wasn't the example of a perfect child."

"Perfect? Hah!" the older woman laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners in a motherly way.

"Veronica was many things growing up but perfect wasn't one of them. That child had me running around more than her brother and sister put together."

"Oh, really? Do tell." Rose's eyes widened with expectation as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Wait, let me get something to drink." Maria left and returned a minute later with a tall glass of soda and a coaster. She settled back into the chair and took a sip before continuing. "I remember a time when she was thirteen and her parents were out of town. Some friends wanted her to go to the mall with them. Now normally it would have been fine, but she had skipped school a few days before and her father grounded her while they were gone."

"What did she do?"

"What any kid her age would do, she snuck out. She went into her room and climbed out the window. I knew where she went, but there was no way I could go after her with Susan and Tommy in tow. He wasn't more than five or six at the time and a handful all by himself."

"So what happened?" Rose was listening intently, imagining a thirteen year old Ronnie slipping out to spend time with friends at the mall.

"She and a couple of friends of hers decided they wanted to try cigarettes. Well of course no store in the mall was going to sell three teenage girls a pack of cigarettes. Ronnie was tall for her age but still…. Anyway, they decided that if they couldn't buy them that they'd shoplift them."

"Oooh, did they get caught?"

"Not in the store. The silly girls were walking down Consaul Road smoking and wearing their school jackets. A policeman saw and picked them up."

"I bet you were furious."

"At first I was, but then I found out she took all the blame even though the cigarettes were found in one of the other girls' pockets."

"You mean she took the blame for someone else?"