[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
She should go home. She knew, in her heart of hearts, that she should be at home with her husband and her daughter. The two people she loved most in the world. But she wasn’t going home, at least not right now. She wasn’t ready, and when Rosalie Callahan Dorough was not ready to do something, she refused to do it. Even if her heart was telling her otherwise.

Rosa lay on the bed and stared at the stars she could see through the skylight of the darkened room in the apartment she’d rented seven months ago. She’d been camped out five miles away from where the man she loved and their daughter were, and now, on Christmas Eve, she desperately wanted to be with them.

“Remember why you’re doing this, Rosa,” she told herself. “You’re not doing this for you, you’re doing this for the man you love, the man who loves you,” she whispered as she felt tears threatening to spill again.

She’d been crying for the past seven months whenever she thought of what she’d left behind, but she refused to go back. Her best friend had called and told her that she’d told Howie to back down from involving the police, but he was still searching for her. Of course, he would be, Rosa thought. He was in love with her, and he would worry about her until she went back to their home.

She lay a hand on her belly and sighed. If she hadn’t known that he would be unhappy with what she’d tell him, she would never have left. But things happened, and some things were more difficult to fix than others. However, no matter how much she needed to be home, she wouldn’t go back. Not until she’d taken care of what she had to fix.

***

They sat around the now lit evergreen with mugs of eggnog and watched Howie. He knew they were watching him and refused to acknowledge it. Instead, he stared at the tree, hoping that if he wished hard enough it would turn into something fascinating.

“My mom and Polly were ready to fly out here, you know,” he began. “I told them not to bother, that I would be perfectly fine.” He looked up at his friends now. “I guess I was wrong.”

AJ leaned forward and met Howie’s gaze. “We want to help you, so stop pushing us away. Rosalie leaving was bad, but suffering on your own and neglecting your kid? That’s even worse. Don’t shut us out, D. You can’t get through this alone.”

Blinking back the tears he felt pricking the back of his eyes, he smiled. “I love you guys. All of you,” he added, smiling at Kristin and Leighanne. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He paused. “Okay, I know what I’d do. I’d go absolutely insane.” He tried to grin, but ended up burying his face in his hands. “She asked me if Rosa was coming home for Christmas.” His voice was muffled, but they understood him.

“What did you tell her?” Kevin asked.

Howie lifted his face. “That Rosa was on the other side of the world and couldn’t make it home in less than three hours.”

Brian sighed. “You lied to your kid, Howie. That’s not the best way to go about it, you know. She’s gonna end up hurting worse when she finds out that you don’t know where Rosalie is or when, if ever, she’ll be home.”

“Lecturing him isn’t going to work,” Leighanne told her husband before turning to Howie. “You want to protect Ella, and I can understand that. A four year old is not going to understand why her mother left for no reason because children at that age are full of questions. They have to know why things happen the way they do, and, Howie, it would have killed you to be unable to explain why.”

“So you’re telling him it’s okay to lie to his kid?” Brian wondered.

Kristin shook her head now. “Ella is too young to understand, and I agree with that, Leigh. However, if Rosa doesn’t come home ever, there will come a time when Ella is going to ask, and you’re going to have to answer her.”

Howie looked at her. “So what am I supposed to say? ‘Sorry, honey. Your mom left for no reason, and she’s probably not coming back’? Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to work.”

“Look, I think for the time being, you don’t have to worry about what to tell Ella,” Kevin began. “I think you should just focus on spending time with her and filling in the gap that Rosa left in Ella’s life. If and when it’s absolutely clear that Rosa’s not coming back, then you can start coming up with ways to break it to your daughter.”

Nick nodded. “I agree with that.”

Brian lifted a brow. “Pal, you agree with everything. It’s why you’re still single.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, if I’m single because I agree with everything, then why is AJ single? I mean, he goes out of his way to be disagreeable,” Nick retorted.

“AJ’s not human,” Brian explained, jokingly. “Women know he’s not real, so they stay away from him.”

“Hey!”

At AJ’s protest, the room was full of laughter, and Howie was glad the tension he’d been feeling for months felt as though it were lifted. This, he knew, was what this time of the year was about. Even if he didn’t have his wife, he still had his daughter and his closest friends. What more could he possibly want?

Refusing to answer the question, he ignored it and joined in on making fun of AJ’s growing baldness and crazy lifestyle.