him she came to life, not that she would admit that to anyone, even to her close friend Corinne.
Before she went out, Rose made sure that the doors and windows were closed and she decided to pay no attention to the mishmash caused by the recent police business: clothes and books lying everywhere on the floor, fully opened wardrobes and emptied drawers. She could see that even her new knickers were on the floor in her bedroom and her toothbrush was facing the floor too. What a tangle, she thought. Then with an air of bravado that she didn’t fully possess, she considered the possibility of hiring someone to put her house back in order. Maybe she could use that company recommended by Corinne (the blitz people), Rose recalled and she felt a tiny bit better. Rose wasn’t a fickle woman and she knew that it was people’s natural instinct to give up when things got difficult however she was finding it too hard to fight her increasing desire to run away from this place for good. So many things have been happening recently and this was just a slice of her life.
As luck would have it Stefano was not there today. At the café she was told that he just left for a bit but he was still not back by the time she was finished with her meal. Despite that she experienced a vital spark of energy just from being there surrendered by people. She could never understand how some people thrived in total isolation but then she had never met one of them. It could all come to a matter of survival, the soft and gentle spoken Rose thought, and then she headed for home.
A few minutes later when Rose was unlocking her front door she heard her name called out. Of course it was Adele and Rose was surprised to realize for the first time today that Adele didn’t show up earlier when all the locomotion was taking place. She doesn’t know what she missed, cackled Rose quietly and she imagined that Adele must’ve been away. She would’ve never missed such a thing. Probably by now everyone in the street knows about it, Rose reflected sensibly and braced herself for facing more awkward questioning.
To Rose’s surprise Adele invited her for a chat over a cup of coffee and Rose was too delicate to decline. She thought for a brief moment that a sense everything was grueling was something to be expected in such circumstances but remained polite and patient. Target greeted her warmly as soon she walked into the house. Today he was definitely behaving like a gentleman, mused Rose while stroking gently his fur as he made the effort to come and brush by her legs. Then he returned to his comfy spot seemingly content. The two women just looked at each other and simultaneously uttered: ‘Cats, ’ while taking seats then surprised by the coincidence they laughed.
They usually liked each other’s company although today Rose felt a bit put on the spot and uncomfortable. She was right to feel that way and was soon overwhelmed by the way things were rapidly turning out. Adele started diplomatically by apologizing for not being around when the search took place earlier that day. Apparently she was seeing her dentist at the time. Then she carried on asking Rose if she knew what they were looking for.
‘It was an anonymous tip they received, ’ Rose said truthfully to Adele.
‘Do you know that they were looking for something stolen from Mrs. Capeletti? ’ Adele asked dispassionately with her gaze fixed on Rose. For an outgoing young lady like Rose the stern look that she was facing was almost unbearable. Rose felt herself blushing to the roots of her hair and swallowed painfully. Luckily she did not have a delicate cup in her hands as would have crushed to the floor, she managed to reflect.
‘They didn’t tell me about that, ’ Rose managed to stick to the facts and she wondered how Adele found out about it.
As if guessing her thoughts Adele replied. ‘People talk. Of course not my Angela. I haven’t been able to talk to her today, ’ she continued showing her frustration momentarily then a moment of silence fell over the two women. Each ruminating on their own thoughts.
It was Adele who spoke first. ‘It’s a real pity that you have got entangled in such a mess, Rose. I’m worried about what the body corporate committee might have to say about this. We don’t want to have the neighborhood stained by suspicions of any kind of felony’.
The careless and accusatory statement made by Adele struck Rose like a glove thrown into her face and she felt tears springing into her eyes suddenly. Rose was a kind person but when she felt attacked like this she was more than able to defend herself. Her grandma was aware of the streak of steel in her backbone when she encouraged her to come to these parts of the world. Adele was just about to find that out. Rose heaved herself quickly from the chair and left without a word, not paying any attention to an astonished Adele who could not find her speech.
Always true to her word, Rose was not prepared to put up with mean people. There was nothing left to discuss about, Rose concluded, when she consciously made the decision to leave Adele’s house. It wasn’t an impulsive commitment. It was based on the facts that Adele provided. It seemed that Adele was an adept of guilty until proven innocent and, in such a case, there wasn’t much left to be said.
Outside Adele’s house Rose felt sick to her stomach with worry and wobbled the few meters left to her front door. What if the committee had similar strong views as Adele? What does that mean? Can they insist on expelling her from her own house and neighborhood? Was that a possibility that she needs to take in account?
Still unsteady on her feet, as soon she was in her house, she dropped her shoes at the door and went straight for her ibric. She needed a fortifier and the best one that she knew was her coffee. As her thoughts were still speeding up she added some soothing music. Rose was determined to win over this unfortunate misunderstanding in one way or other, just that it was not yet clear to her how to do it. And she was not planning to vegetate around the house tonight.
She needed more than ever a distraction. Time to go to bridge, she thought and two hours later she managed to arrive at the club house. It was pretty early and not many people were around but Rose was more than happy to talk to anyone. It was better than allowing herself to ruminate on the same issue. It was only at the end of the game that she noticed Corinne’s absence. Already busy with the new job, she reflected and made a mental note to give her a call the next day.
When Rose arrived home was almost 09:00pm and it was getting dark outside so imagine her surprise when a car turned up in her drive way just as she was getting out of her car.
‘Not again, ’ she mumbled to herself.
This was becoming ridiculous. Another anonymous tip? She chuckled. Luckily she hadn’t cleaned the place yet. Then Rose recognized the male driver, it was James. After a brief greeting they entered Rose’s house. They were on their way to the sitting room when James started to notice the vandalism. He blinked with surprise and had an incredulous look on his face that said not again.
‘Maybe it was a terrible idea to disturb you tonight, ’ he started. ‘I see that you had another break in. Did you report it to the police? ’ Then he turned to look at Rose and followed with another question: ‘Were you at bridge tonight? ’
Rose picked up some papers from one of the armchairs in the living room and dropped them on the floor while letting herself sink in the chair. Still without a word she encouraged James to follow suit as the other seats were full too. Then she looked at James with a fatigued stare and admitted feeling defeated.
‘Have you heard of the expression worn out to the bones? I think I know now what it means, ’ she said sustaining his gaze.
His demeanor suddenly changed and in the next minute he was trying to comfort her. He took her hand and hugged her and encouraged her to talk about the current problems. He wanted to help and he was confident that he could fix things for her but for that to happen he needed to know what the problem was, he said. As it was obvious now that she was not keen to start talking, he offered advice:
‘You need to have your locks fixed for good and we need to see what your video camera has been recording, ’ he jumped to a problem solving approach.
Rose laughed and rose to make a cup of coffee for the two o
f them. He seemed perplexed initially by Rose’s reaction then he showed some relief. Whatever works, he thought, and followed Rose to the kitchen trying to be helpful.
‘Take a seat James, ’ she encouraged him, now feeling more in control of her emotions.
While preparing the coffee she made her mind about telling him the truth regarding the most recent upheaval in her life. It was good to have a sympathetic listener, she decided and she trusted him. Who would have said that eleven months ago? Rose reminded herself with a sigh. She returned to him with a smile and two hot cups of coffee and over the next few minutes she told him about the police search and Adele’s threats. She had never said anything to him about her role in finding Mrs. Capeletti’s artifacts and decided to leave it like that. It would just complicate the matters more, she believed. In the middle of her story Rose noticed that James was a very good listener. He never interrupted although it was obvious that some of it caught him off guard.
‘So you see that’s why I’m not in a rush to send word to the law, ’ Rose finished her long speech that almost exhausted her. She paused and took another sip from her favorite coffee. She was starting to feel better again and understood now why people