Chapter 21
Rosalie was surprised when she left her classroom to find Eric waiting for her with a wrapped present in his hands. His grin was so infectious that she found herself smiling back at him before she even knew what made him so happy. She barely got close to him before he grabbed her bag from her and shoved the present into her hands.
“What’s this?” The gift wrapping had books and characters from fairy tales all over it, and that immediately told her it was from Barnes and Noble. That made her heart race. It was her favorite store, so she was pretty sure that whatever was inside, she would instantly love.
“Open it.” He refused to say anything to tip her off, but it was easy to see that he was bursting at the seams for her to do it. Keeping the secret was killing him. She tore into the paper and froze. It was a wedding planner. A book to help her step by step organize her ideas and come up with what she wanted for her day to be as special as possible. She looked up at him, shocked. She didn’t know what to say. “You can plan whatever you want and spare no expense. My parents are on board with our wedding, and so is my sister. She couldn’t be happier for us. You can have the day that you deserve, the day that you’ve dreamed of since you were a little girl. I want to give you more than you deserve, and this is just the start.” Tears filled Rosalie’s eyes.
“You mean your family likes me?” Eric bit his lip. No. Of course it wouldn’t be that simple. Not after the way that his mother had looked at her at breakfast that day when Eric had proposed to her for the first time.
“Well, my father is on my side as long as I’m happy, which I am. My sister likes you, but I know you two haven’t really gotten to know each other that well. I was hoping that you girls would end up getting to know each other better.” Rosalie waited for him to mention his mother. He didn’t. She took his hand and squeezed gently.
“And your mom?” Eric looked down at the ground before straightening his shoulders and squeezing back.
“She just walked out of the room when I made the announcement. I told her that the wedding would take place with or without her, so it didn’t matter whether or not she was on board. I haven’t spoken to her since, so I think it’s safe to say she won’t be there.” He was doing his best to hide it, but she knew that it was hurting him, deep down inside. His mother was still his mother, and no matter how different they were, he loved her. She wished that there was something that she could do for him.
“I’m so sorry. Do you want to put it off as long as possible in case she comes around?” There was a little hope in her voice, and she hated herself for it. She knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Eric, but she was afraid of how that would go. If he wanted to put the wedding off for a little while, she was ok with it.
“No. I know that I want to be your husband, and I don’t want to put it off. I don’t want you to change your mind.” He playfully tugged her ponytail to make her smile. She blushed. “I’ve got to get going, I have a class in twenty minutes, but I wanted to tell you that before you got home.” He leaned forward and kissed her quickly, and she had to say that she liked it. She watched him disappear down the hallway, solidifying her thoughts as she walked in the opposite direction. Rosalie had a plan. Granted, she didn’t know how it would work out, but she was going to do everything she could to make Eric happy.
Vanessa answered her door with hair tousled, mascara running down the side of her cheek, and a yawn wide enough to swallow an apple whole. Rosalie was ready for her. Before she’d even considered the possibility of getting her friend out of bed, she’d dropped her books off in her room, grabbed her purse, and bought a large latte at the little coffee shop down in the commons. The scent of the vanilla chai latte hit Vanessa’s nose, and Rosalie laughed when she saw life come into her friend’s face.
“Good morning, sunshine. I have a favor to ask you, and I promise to pay you with coffee and gossip.” Vanessa grinned and was instantly awake. She disappeared into the depths of her room and came back seven minutes later, dressed, with fresh makeup on, and her hair in a ponytail. The coffee cup was still in her hand, and Rosalie wondered for a second if she’d managed to do everything without putting it down.
“Ok, where are we going, and what happened?” Rosalie grinned at her friend and gave her a sweeping bow that said, ‘after you’. Vanessa took her coat and keys and headed out the door. “I’m out of my room and I still have no gossip. What’s going on?” Rosalie laughed.
“It’s kind of a super secret thing, so I’m waiting till we get in the car.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so? Let’s go!” Vanessa put on a burst of speed that Rosalie found hard to keep up with, but she managed. The second the door of the car was shut behind her, Vanessa pounced. “I’m not starting this car until you start yappin!” Rosalie took a deep breath as she put her seat belt on.
“Ok, I need you to take me to Eric’s house, please, and I’ll tell you why.” Vanessa had opened her mouth to protest again, but shut it with a snap when Rosalie finished her sentence. “Eric proposed to me.” Vanessa’s head whipped around and she stared at Rosalie with her mouth wide open. “Red light.” Rosalie pointed ahead of them, not meeting Vanessa’s gaze. She was already nervous about what she was going to do, and she couldn’t let herself feel more cowed and embarrassed than she already was. Vanessa jerked her head around again, slamming on the breaks. “His mom isn’t on board, because she doesn’t like me. His dad I guess is fine with it so long as Eric is happy, and his sister likes me as far as he knows. She doesn’t know me that well, but from what she knows, she likes. What I need your help with, is trying to convince his mom to be in the wedding. I know she hates me, but I want him to be happy, and I know she’ll regret not being there later on in life when she comes to her senses, so I just have to try.” Vanessa was silent. Rosalie let out the breath that she’d been holding. She’d been afraid that her friend was going to try to talk her out of it, or make her feel stupid for what she was planning on doing, but when she snuck a peek over to Vanessa’s face, her friend’s eyes were wet. “Are you ok?” Vanessa cleared her throat before she answered.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” There was a little bit of harshness to her voice, and Rosalie decided not to press the issue farther. If Vanessa wanted to talk about it, then she would. “I just think it’s really great of you to do that. No one else that I know would try to make someone else happy as hard as you do. I just hope one day, I can be half as wonderful as you.” That made Rosalie tear up. She wanted to hug Vanessa for her kind words, but she knew it wasn’t safe while they were driving. She’d wait till they got to Eric’s house.
“Thanks. That really makes me feel more confident in myself. Would you wait for me while I go in?”
“Of course! If the bitch still says no, you tell me and I’ll take care of it.” There was no doubt in Rosalie’s mind that her friend would stomp in there and bully Eric’s mom into being in the wedding. They pulled up, and Rosalie took a deep breath before getting out and walking up to the door. When she rang the bell, a butler answered, looking down his nose at her when she asked if the lady of the house was home. He stepped back without a word, holding the door open. She assumed that that meant to follow him. She did, and he led her through the house into a little room covered in hanging flowers. Eric’s mom was sitting on a little chaise lounge, reading a fashion magazine. The butler had mysteriously disappeared, leaving her on her own. Rosalie’s heart started to pound with nervousness as she walked in and cleared her throat. She never even looked up.
“Ah, Daniel. I would like some more coffee.” She held out a cup, fully expecting it to be taken from her hand.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” The woman looked up, shocked, then disgust was written on her face, plain as day.
“How did you get in here? If you’re looking for my son, he’s at school. Go cast your net in another pool of rich men.” She went back to her magazine, but she put her cup down. Rosalie didn’t like being dismissed like that, and she’d come here to help Eric. Even if he didn’t know it. She cleared her throat again. Not for attention, because she was going to get her attention, but to make sure that her nerves were out of her throat.
“Your butler let me in. Now you’re going to listen to me.” Her voice had a hardness in it that she’d never heard come out of her mouth before. “Eric may have told you that he would marry me with or without you, but if you’re not there, it’s going to hurt him. You’re his mother and he loves you, no matter what you might think. I’ve come here to convince you to be in the wedding.” Shock registered on her face, and she stared at Rosalie like she was an avenging angel come down from the very gates of Heaven.
“Why would you want me in the wedding? You must know that I don’t think you’re good enough to be in this family.” His mother had composed herself, and the scathing comeback was the first thing that came into her mind. It stung, but Rosalie shook it off. She could hurt later, when no one was watching.
“I personally wish that you wouldn’t come because I think you’ll ruin the whole day with your attitude. But that doesn’t matter. Eric loves you and he wants you to be there, even if he won’t come out and say it. I love him and I want him happy. If that means having you there with him, then I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get you there, and even be on a truce to stay the hell away from you all night because I know that you don’t like me one little bit.” She practically spat the words out at the woman, watching as her emotions moved across her face like clouds over the sky. She swallowed hard and looked at the ground.
“It takes a lot of guts to come here and to talk to me at all, much less like that. I can’t say that I like you, or ever will, but I can understand loving someone and wanting them to be happy.” Rosalie doubted that, but she kept her mouth shut. “If you promise to stay away from me except for the family pictures that are always taken, I will go.”