When they were leaving, Rosaline hid an envelope on the counter instead of paying. William could tell she had passed on something bulk judging by the bulge of the big envelope.
“Care to explain?” He asked when they were out of it.
“When Uncle’s son was 8, he passed away due to leukemia as they could not find a match. We did not even know he was sick. Both of them had such a happy attitude.
Uncle Kevin’s wife had passed away a few months after giving birth. After his son passed away, he was inconsolable. We did not know what to do, so we just came here every day and talked to him and joked about being hungry and starving to keep him busy.
He slowly pulled himself back, but a part of him will always grieve for his child. We try to support him the best we could, but so far, we have not really managed to help a lot. We just contact the hospital for his health details and pass on medication when we can.” Rosaline smiled sadly.
William saw a new Rosaline today. A quick and professional Rosaline who seemed quite good at her work. A spoiled child who could melt your heart acting like a 3-year-old. A considerate soul who could naturally empathize from within.
‘She is like a box full of treasures.’ William thought.
But a part of him was now worried. He remembered her eyes and tone when she told him not to fall in love with her.
‘She is so young. She should not understand grief this well. She should be young and carefree and vibrant, not melancholic.’ But curious as he was, William knew even then that she would not reveal her heart to him.
‘It’s alright. She is worth the wait.’ He told himself as he realized that she really would duck and run rather than brave it.
It was quiet when they drove back to Tessa’s place.
“See you tomorrow,” William said as he dropped her off.
“Okay.” Rosaline smiled. “Good night.”
“Do you want to go to Apex hill with me tomorrow?” William asked out of the blue.
“Why?” Rosaline was surprised.
“I was thinking of looking for that couple. I saw their house from a place close to the waterfall, so do you want to join?”
“Well… I.. I. I think I’ll pass. You will probably go early anyway.” Rosaline joked to hide her uneasiness.
“Alright. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“Okay.” “Bye”
“Sleep well,” William said as he drove away.
Looking at the car disappearing at a distance, Rosaline was lost in thought.
Tessa’s voice from behind her snapped her back to reality, “You are thinking about him.”
“I don’t know what to think or do. I’m scared, like really scared.”
“Rosy, you can trust him.”
“I don’t know him well enough, but I do trust him, and that terrifies me.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Tess, you know me well enough to know how much of a coward I am. I don’t have the guts to try.”
“Take a leap of faith for once. Who knows, maybe he’ll fix everything in you that’s broken.”
“Isn’t that too unfair for him?”
“It’s up to him to decide that. But I think we both know he won’t find it unfair.”
“You think very highly of him.”
“He deserves it. I have wanted to set you two up for god knows how long. It’s just I had never seen him interested in any girl, I thought he was gay or may be asexual. So, I never tried.”
Sighs!
“Forget it! I’ll leave it to fate.”