Rose look at the contents of the room with a critical eye: The room had a bookcase that covered a wall completely from floor to ceiling, 2 two-seat leather sofas, a steel and glass coffee table, a floor lamp. The sitting was comfortable, Rose decided. An extendable solid table from wood with seats for 6 was available near the kitchen area with a large mirror on the wall facing the table. No need to replace anything there either! Those books probably craved for some much-overdue dusting.
The next stop was the outdoor area; also in need of some inspiring and affordable furnishing and perhaps some sun loving vegetation. Was Rose up to it? Window shopping had always inspired her in creating a home environment that was enjoyable and fresh everyday while remaining practical and within the budget.
Four hours later Rose returned home with lots of colorful cushions, new curtains and some bath towels she could not resist buying: turquoise, thick, soft and highly absorbent cotton. Her bank account was slimmer but she was feeling happier.
Rose was very tired but proud of herself. She thought that she had a very productive day and gave herself permission to have another cup of coffee. She usually went to Stefano’s café for the 3rd cup of coffee of the day but she was too tired. After finding the right place for the curtains and cushions Rose barely managed to get into bed before falling asleep. Let’s cherish the small moments in life, like sleep, ha, ha… she said to herself. Rose was asleep before she had the coffee! There are no golden rules in life, was her understanding. Just fate.
A few hours later, the sound of the doorbell brought Rose up from a deep and restful sleep; the alarm clock showed 04:00 am. Not again, she said to herself. The third night without her continuous much needed beauty sleep.
As Rose was on her way to the door she thought about her choices in terms of tools for defense tonight. The bug spray might be still near the door. She did not have yet a portable fire alarm and she was not sure if the fixed fire alarms were still working. But she thought that she could take with her the TV remote anyway as she could use it also to hit the potential aggressor in the head. That’s it, she made her mind!
Imagine now how she felt when opening the door she found faced with her friend Corinne: she was disheveled, with uncombed hair, mascara running on her face and with unmatched clothes. She had dried tears on her face and looked sad and tired. Rose had to remind herself to remain levelheaded and try to be useful. With hugs and some strong coffee with a hint of vodka she managed to raise Corinne’s spirit and get a complete report of the events.
Initially Rose was speechless, and then she felt anger and sadness. Her good friend woke up early this morning and discovered that she was fully dressed, in her bed and feeling unwell and suspected foul play. Her clothes were damaged.
‘We need to go to the hospital, ’ Rose said to Corinne.
‘I’m feeling better, ’ Corinne started to protest weakly.
‘You need to be seen by a doctor, ’ Rose insisted. ‘You need to be checked out, ’ she continued to encourage her although Rose was herself scared of discovering the truth.
‘I don’t want to tell anyone about this, ’ Corinne said with another burst of cry. Rose said nothing just held her hand.
‘What about your husband? ’ Rose asked softly after Corinne regained again some control over her emotions.
‘Oh God, ’ was Corinne reply. After a second cup of coffee and vodka she finally agreed to let Rose take her to the hospital. The emergency room was empty at that early hour and they were seen almost immediately.
‘Do you suspect rape, Corinne? ’ the young female doctor asked gently. Corinne’s answer was a burst of tears. The doctor started to talk to them about the rape: frequency, victims, and consequences. She encouraged Corinne to have an examination and tests and to talk about it. She told them that it can happen to anyone when going out clubbing alone at night and gave them some tips on how to prevent becoming a victim.
Corinne was listening in earnest and Rose noticed that she was slowly getting back to normal. Once back in the waiting room, Corinne rang her husband and told him about the situation in a few words. He was just returning home from his visit to his parents. The kids were with him.
‘I think I need to change the locks at home, ’ Corinne said quietly to Rose as they were driving back to her house. There wasn’t much else to say.
‘Might be a good idea, ’ Rose agreed. ‘Are you going to report it to the police? ’ she asked.
‘I don’t even know who it was, ’ Corinne replied and tears started to fill her eyes again. Rose regretted asking but she knew that time tends to distort the memories and the facts and it was better for her friend to try and retrieve some memories about the recent events sooner than later.
‘What do you recall from last night? ’ Rose asked.
‘Leaving the office with Judy and Helen and going for a drink at the club, ’ Corinne recalled.
‘Do you know what time was? ’ Rose asked.
‘About 10:00pm. We went for a quick drink, that’s all, ’ Corinne said.
‘Have you been there before? ’Rose persisted gently.
‘Occasionally, yes, ’ she said. ‘Always out in half an hour, ’ Corinne added but by that point they arrived at Corinne’s house.
They found her husband unpacking the car and the kids running around. Greg took her in his arms and Corinne started to cry. The kids panicked. Rose offered to play with the kids so that they had some private time. Rose left for home about 2 hours later after Corinne went to bed. Her husband seemed to be in control and understanding. She was lucky to have him, Rose thought. She promised to ring later. Fate be with them!
Rose was feeling exhausted by the recent events so she went home and decided to take herself to bed. She woke up the next morning just before the 06:00am. She was hungry.
After she had her morning coffee she started to plan the day. First Rose wanted to know how her friend Corrine was doing but she could not call her so early so she had to postpone that till around 08:00am.
Till then Rose could continue the cleaning started two days ago. The kitchen cupboards the mission for today and later Rose could check with Adele about the time for that committee meeting that she wanted to organize. And then perhaps a visit to the library. Easy-breezy!
The cupboards were in better condition than Rose had imagined. Plenty of space and a lot of dust but only useful tools there. Rose thought that she was a bit of a hoarder and she blamed her genetic makeup for it. More precisely the ones coming from grandma. That’s because she did not know the father’s side of the family. But her grandmother always had lots of knick knacks around the house and the majority of it is in the kitchen.
No big discoveries there but it seemed like a reasonable kitchen with nothing in excess but quite sufficient for 2 people. At least Rose did not have to spend money in that area right now, she thought. Probably Corinne would disagree with this statement. Rose had to admit that she was always a bit reluctant when accepting advice.
Rose was finishing with the kitchen when Adele rang to inform her that the meeting was held the evening before. Of course Rose had forgotten about it. Luckily there were more reliable and responsible people involved, like Adele and Mrs. Capeletti, who was back on her feet. Well, Rose told herself, at least things get done on time around here with these two very active ladies happy to get involved. Rose didn’t mind them taking the credit for it. The plan apparently was to explore the possibility of installing security cameras around. Work in progress!
A few hours later and a phone call and Rose found out that Corinne was doing better and was planning to get out shopping today. Very reluctantly Rose accepted to accompany her to a shop from where she wanted to buy something for her new project. Apparently her other friends, Judy and Helen were not aware of what had happened and Corinne was not yet ready to share that with them.
They managed to get to the shops and Corinne looked pretty well but th
en started to cry suddenly while admiring a piece of modern lighting equipment. She allowed Rose to take her to Stefano’s café and they both tried the alcoholic drink used by Rose in emergencies: 10 ml of vodka, 100 ml of watermelon fresh juice, 4-5 small pieces of watermelon, crushed ice, mint leaves and 1 slice of orange.
Stefano looked at them and seemed worried. His eyes were asking questions but he kept the distance. He must have noticed that Rose’s companion was sad as Rose realized that the background music was more soothing and cuddling and usually is more energy conducive.
They did not talk much. Corinne was somewhat detached and emotionally brittle. Rose was afraid that her friend would burst again into tears. Rose wanted to comfort her and she was not sure what the best thing to say or to do was so she kept quiet and waited for Corinne to talk. She knows that I’m here for her, Rose told herself. They left after the second drink and Rose thought that she could see some relief in Stefano’s eyes. Was he worried that they were about to get drunk?
Rose drove Corinne home and tucked her in bed and then she went home. Corinne’s husband was able to manage the kids better than Rose. She went home and she felt lonely and something else. Rose was not sure if it was boredom or anxiety but she recalled that someone once said that life is either an adventure or nothing. What was happening