to Josephine’s bonaparte plants, ’ said Adele.
‘Josephine de Beauharnais, ’ Rose said.
‘Apparently she had some Australian plants as favorites, ’ Adele explained.
‘Which one? ’ Rose asked.
‘Banksia, ’ the gardener replied.
‘Do you have the book? ’ Rose asked curiously.
‘Library, ’ he laconically informed her. The gardener was a tall, well built, muscular man known as hardworking and not very sociable. Nobody complained about that as he was paid for his work. Rose wondered if there was a tendency to save energy by compromising on small talk in people who did manual work.
At that moment Rose started to consider a visit to the library as a good idea for the day. She could search for Josephine’s book and she could borrow some books on bridge to expand her skills in that area, she thought. About an hour later her gardener brought her a bunch of fresh flowers:
‘I saved some of the damaged ones, ’ he said handing Rose the flowers. They were a mixture of sizes, colors and textures but were nevertheless beautiful. ‘I think I finished for today but I want to show you a spot that was badly damaged by the recent outpouring and needs to be replaced, ’ he said.
It was a small area covered till yesterday by the lovely English lavender. Rose knew that they were sensitive to too much water.
‘The recent wind and the water, ’ he said. Too much for them in that spot that was directly exposed to both, she realized. ‘Same again? ’ he asked. He knew that Rose liked the lavender.
‘Probably, but let me think about it for a day, ’ Rose said scratching her head. She didn’t like to rush her decisions about her garden.
‘We can plant as soon you make your mind about it. The storm is gone for good, ’ he added.
‘This one, ’ Rose said. He laughed and replied. ‘They come and go when they want. ’
And then he left taking with him the debris. One hour later Rose was ready to go out and she was applying her lipstick when the doorbell rang. Rose finished her makeup and checked herself in the mirror with a critical eye. She was satisfied with the image looking back at her.
As she opened the door she immediately recognized the handsome stranger smiling at her. It was Alex. Rose had not seen him for more than three years now but he had not changed much: same, athletic, handsome and healthy looking male.
‘I came with the storm, ’ he apologized.
‘Mysterious, maybe, but I doubt that powerful enough? ’ Rose said smiling. His return smile was more powerful than she remembered and made her feel butterflies in her stomach. He brought with him a bottle of champagne and flowers. They were purple lilacs.
‘Liliac? ’ Rose said totally surprised.
‘Do you still like them? ’ he asked. Rose looked at him quizzically. ‘You used to have some in your vase all the time when you were at Uni, ’ Alex reminded her. That was true and Rose had forgotten that he visited her very often at the time.
‘Now I just feel that you brought a piece of Romania here, ’ she said. ‘I have not seen any around, ’ Rose continued allowing herself to show a bit of excitement. The truth was that Rose grew up with these flowers and they would always bring back to her very pleasant childhood memories. He did not need to know that but she had a suspicion that he guessed that much. He smiled again, somehow triumphantly and hugged her affectionately. They did not kiss but touched their heads. Rose disentangled herself from his embrace and attended to the flowers, while at the same time she was offering him a coffee. He appeared to be surprised in a pleasant way that Rose was making a Turkish coffee.
‘I have never seen you making that before, ’ Alex said.
‘Something to remind me of home, I guess, ’ Rose said with some nostalgia.
‘I like it, ’ he reassured her. ‘I am on my way to Perth. An international conference in archeology, ’ he explained. ‘I thought I should drop by to say hello, ’ he added looking at her. His eyes were scrutinizing her face, body and the surroundings. ‘How are you? ’ Alex wanted to know.
‘How do I look like? ’ Rose smartly replied trying to hide her emotions. She could not tell him how happy she was that he decided to visit. Who knows what meaning he would give if she disclosed such feelings?
‘Hey, I’m not asking as your teacher, ’ he said. ’I was a bit worried when your grandma told me you were here, ’ he admitted.
‘Too far away from civilization? ’ Rose said with a snigger. ‘Look who’s talking, ’ she added. He smiled sheepishly again but kept quiet.
‘Why don’t you come with me to Perth, ’ Alex said provocatively. ‘Other places to explore, ’ he added.
‘Was this an invitation? ’ Rose replied with a steady look at him. His eyes smiled back at her.
‘I’m offering to buy you the ticket, ’ he added. ‘I can do with some company, ’ he continued.
‘Can I attend the conference too? ’ Rose tried to clarify.
‘It can be arranged, ’ he reassured her.
‘When? ’ Rose asked trying to decide.
‘In two days, ’ was his reply.
‘Deal, ’ Rose heard herself saying. No need to spend a lot of time deciding. She definitely wanted to find out more about this part of the world. Especially after having a glimpse at the outback while on the Gold Coast earlier this year with James. She was pretty sure that the lawyers would not be against the travel as she was still on Australian soil but she would have to inform them.
They finished their coffee and then they went out. Alex wanted to visit the museum of archaeology so Rose tagged along. The visit ended up by being a minor disaster: first, the air conditioner had been directly affected by the storm and was not yet repaired. Second, there was a big crowed out with lots of children and a lot of noise. And then the lights got cut off while they were approaching the most interesting section for Rose: the coins and jewelry artifacts. The museum closed for the day after that.
They saved the day by visiting the casino. Rose would have never considered going there alone but she could not turn down such an opportunity to satisfy her curiosity. She knew where it was located as she regularly drove by on her way to city shops. The casino was located in a grand heritage building that was imposing and rich in history. The interior had quite a dazzling effect on Rose. Sparkling with light, crystal, glass and chrome, the large rooms spoke of opulence and promised fun and a wonderful time.
Alex seemed familiar with the place. After valet parking his rented car Alex took Rose to have a drink and some food at a buffet. Of course they had a glass of champagne and some lobster. They left around midnight after a second meal at the buffet and after winning some money at the Roulette. To be clearer about that, it was Alex who played and won some at the Roulette. Watching him concentrating on the betting, Rose realized that she did not know much about him. She felt relieved when he decided to stop playing as she was worried that he would lose all his money there. It was a pleasant surprise to see him winning and more so to see him being able to stop betting while he was still winning. It showed some self-discipline, Rose thought.
Rose got back home sometime after midnight after declining Alex’s kind invitation to spend the night in his hotel room that happened to be above the casino. She wondered if he was planning to get back to the roulette later in the night. Alex drove Rose home and very gallantly helped her open the door. Rose was pleasantly surprised by his visit and he was still the charming man she knew years ago but she was not prepared to let him in her bed. Or at least not at this stage. He appeared to realize that and remained friendly and in pursuit.
They arranged for meeting again the next afternoon and Rose entered her house. After a quick shower she was ready for bed in her new luxurious cotton lawn camisole. Rose had been sleeping in the nude when the weather was very hot but she just acquired a new camisole made from a special type of Cotton and she wanted to try it out. It was conveyed to her that the cotton lawn experience is similar to silk
only less expensive so she was curious. It had been her understanding that for good quality sleep the fabric people choose is more important than the style or fit, with the natural fabrics like cotton and silk being the healthiest choices. Flannel and fleece are other options that usually involve a combination of natural and synthetic fibers.
As a result of that knowledge and her limited budget she usually went for simple cotton but while recently on a shopping expedition she came across this remarkable piece of chemise made from cotton lawn that she could not get out of her mind and she had to buy it.
So she was checking out her new sleepwear in the mirror when a sudden noise started outside, in the street. It seemed to come from the front of her complex and she wondered what it was. Instinctively she looked at her bedside watch that showed 1:30 am. Then she recognized the noise as that made by a fire alarm. It was definitely very close, coming more likely from one of the neighboring houses. Rose wondered what she was supposed to do then she decided to get out of the house. As she was walking towards the front door she was automatically putting on a white wrap to cover the flimsy night gear. She was trying to present as decently dressed as possible in an emergency situation like this.
By the time Rose joined the crowed made by her neighbors outside, two fire trucks were driving to the curb. Adele was active again and checking on every soul. After everyone