Rose? ’ he asked looking hopeful and the smile broadened when she nodded in reply. ‘This is for you, ’ he said and then she noticed that he was holding a letter and a small bunch of flowers. He immediately vanished into thin air, the instant Rose took the flowers from him and before she was able to ask any questions or to consider tipping him.
It was a fresh and stunning bouquet of baby’s breath and while taking the flowers inside the house Rose was trying to guess who might have sent them. She had never received so many flowers as in the last few months and she was still thrilled by the event. She allowed herself some more time in her favorite chair while enjoying the flowers then she examined more closely the letter that was sent with them. The white envelope simple said: ‘Miss Rose, ’ and nothing else. The handwriting, in black ink, was forceful, masculine like, with sharp corners and some case mixing. The brief content of the letter revealed the thoughtful person behind the gesture to be Stefano. He was expressing his hopes that the storm did not cause Rose too much grief.
It was a very nice gesture and she appreciated it. With renewed energy she went searching for a vase in the now fully stocked cupboard and when she could not find one she decided to improvise. A nice ceramic pitcher would be more than suitable, Rose thought, recalling the old saying about the pitcher being worth a thousand words. She could only smile wondering if there was a local slang referring to this too. She had to admit that the local slang was quite colorful and mood enhancing.
While sorting out the flowers Rose glimpsed at her garden and considered for a moment the idea of going out and getting some of her own cuttings from the flowers damaged by the last night wind and rain. But then she recalled James’s advice and with some reluctance she decided to adopt it. After all he was a local and knew the land better. She could only hope that her gardener would be able to help her suffering plants.
Rose’s thoughts returned to Stefano and she was hoping that he was fine too. Perhaps she could drop by his café later, she thought, but then they might not open today. If she was to take a wild guess many other businesses might stay close today till electricity was returned, streets were cleaned up and falling trees were dealt with. Maybe there would be no bridge game tonight! Rose’s reverie was interrupted by a phone call. It was from Letitia who wanted to check on her.
‘I’ve seen the storm on YOUTUBE, ’ she said.
‘Cyclone, ’ Rose corrected.
‘Cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons, storm aren’t they all the same? ’ Letitia said amused by Rose’s insistence on using the correct terminology. She could detect the obsessional family trait and identify with Rose.
‘Yes, but they are named cyclones in the Southern Hemisphere, ’ she educated her grandma.
‘Huh, good to know. Are you OK? ’ Letitia asked.
’Dry and well, ’ Rose reassured her.
‘Good, ’ Letitia said pausing for a moment and Rose just knew that she was preparing to introduce a new topic into discussion. Something that Letitia considered to be a delicate issue, Rose thought. She was hoping that it was nothing to do with health matters.
‘What’s up? ’ Rose encouraged.
‘Nothing much, ’ Letitia started evasively. ‘Do you remember someone? Alex? A former teacher of yours? Well he asked me about your address and I hope you don’t mind that I gave it to him, ’ she said sounding unsure. ‘Filotti, not Popescu, ’ she went on explaining.
‘Aha, ’ Rose said airy. There wasn’t much to be said but she wondered why her grandma was worried.
‘I heard, that he has been married three times so far and has a few children, ’ Letitia let out more information.
‘Nu iese fum fara foc, huh? ’ Rose replied mirthful. Which meant that there could be some truth in what people were saying about him. And Rose said no more but grandma continued.
‘I always said that he was after you, ’ grandma explained and Rose understood now her worry.
‘Are you worried that he is the Hoochie Coochie Man? ’ Rose joked with her grandmother.
‘I’m afraid that his mojo might be working on you, ’ was Letitia’s breezy reply. It was said with a light-hearted laugh and half seriously she added: ‘I’ll need to send you an amulet’.
That statement brought up a joyful laugh from both of them. They both were aware that Rose was already carrying at least 10 amulets with her wherever she went. Given to her by Letitia as regular presents, they have accumulated over the years at the bottom of her travel bags. They could not stop laughing for the next two minutes then Letitia started humming the old song of Muddy Waters
‘I got my mojo working…. . , ’and Rose joined her. It was a dear song to both of them.
‘But I’m quite far away, ’ Rose said to reassure her. She knew that Alex was not her grandma’s favorite but Letitia was not able to hate anyone. Rose could have added that she wasn’t in a hurry to marry but she knew that would upset Letitia. For her generation, to be a female and still single at 25 meant a failure to launch, something terribly wrong and Rose wondered if to some extent Letitia blamed herself for it. And then Rose knew that Letitia wanted more grandchildren.
‘I hear that he travels a lot, ’ grandma admitted to having more information. Rose was correct to assume that Letitia spent some time looking into it. Huh, so she wasn’t the only one nosy in their family, Rose concluded.
‘Grandma, I recall you saying that our fate is a gift. Have you stopped believing in that? ’ Rose asked her.
‘Oh, the fate needs a bit of help sometimes, ’ Letitia replied still in good spirit. They finished talking after promising to give her a call back in a couple of days.
Alex, short for Alexander Filotti, was a former English teacher from her university days in Napoca. He was about 10 years older and a brilliant teacher. Also quite handsome. He was not the sociable type and although admired by his female students he kept mostly to himself. However he was helpful when approached and easy to talk to. He was also fluent in Italian and French and had interests in mythology and archaeology. In the summer vacation he would travel to faraway places and volunteer his time and knowledge to archeological places in North Africa, Greece, Mexico.
Rose started attending his presentations with her flat mate Mubeena and Rose soon understood his passion for digging things up. It was history that he was unearthing and it was fascinating. It was real, palpable, and rewarding hard work.
Alex was particularly interested in the advanced photographic techniques they were using to ensure a proper heritage conservation and was traveling from Ireland to Crete and Mexico experiencing excavation firsthand at different digs. He was also known to attend the annual working conferences for archeologists.
Rose recalled his passionate presentation on the discoveries regarding the interaction between ancient Greek and Thracian civilizations. He was one of her English teachers but she learned more from him about the archaeology. And that’s not what upset her grandma.
Here she was having fond memories rooted in her past while also seemingly enjoying a run of good fortune in the present. Rose would like to believe that something good was written in the stars for her. Maybe it was the lucky charm given by grandma or the relaxed attitude about life that Rose had developed or simple the less ambitious persona that she always was. Maybe ignorance is always bliss, Rose thought and decided to move out of her daydreaming.
Well, it was too soon after the recent weather commotion and Rose found herself stuck in the house with no many choices: she could watch TV and find out more about the ravages done by the storm, and she imagined they were plenty or she could read a book or clean up another drawer or a whole room. Ah, not very appealing any of them right now so Rose went for the easier one.
Sorting up a drawer was something that Rose was able to do automatically these days. As a child she used to spend a lot of time watching with fascination her grandma bringing the house to a spic and span. Letitia did not have a mojo for that and Sabrina, the TV witch, did not share her tri
cks with grandma, for sure. It was the inner feminine need for a tidy environment that drove Letitia’s monthly house overhaul.
At that time, for Rose, this forbidden activity must have felt like digging up at an archeological site. As she grew older tidying up around the house was initially entrusted onto her and later delegated. When the choice was out of it her enthusiasm grew in the opposite direction. However without the possibility to opt out of it or to delegate it to another sibling, her being the youngest, she had come to perfect it to an automatism and speed that was worthy of something. Today Rose approached the 3rd room in the house with two plastic bags in her hands ready to sort out things and fight out any trace of hoarding. Her plan was to have a bag contain the rubbish and one for the things that could be saved and donated.
As she was aware that her enthusiasm gauge level was recording a minus Rose decided to label her housework as research into the background of her uncle. That would implicitly include her family. Initially, the work was tedious and slow, at the speed of a snail, but then something happened. It was BINGO again when she discovered a secret compartment at the back of the second drawer on a black leatherette 5 drawer tallboy in her uncle’s bedroom. As her hand brushed along the wall cleaning the dust, the cloth got caught into something. On