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Yeah, single. Rose had “thoroughly investigated” that too.
He lived alone. No girlfriend at present. And didn’t date either. But he was evasive when the conversation steered towards his family. Rose thought perhaps he wasn’t on good terms with his parents or something. A lot of people were like that.
Her mom, of course, noticed the subtle changes in her. “So, do you like working for Joe, Rose?” asked her mom at the breakfast table with a knowing tone.
At the mention of her boss, Rose’s face promptly colored. “He’s a nice man, Mom. He never gives me a rough time.”
“Mom said Joe is hot,” quipped her youngest, the notorious tattletale.
“Cassidy!” Rose shocked. “Where did you hear that?”
Cassidy pouted innocently. She waved her spoon dripping with milk from her cereal bowl. “When you talked to Aunt Linda, remember? You said your boss is a hot guy. You did, Mommy, you did!”
Good lord. This is embarrassing. Rose massaged her temple. “Sweetie, please stop that. Don’t repeat what Mommy said to other people. It’s not polite.” There was no doubt Cassidy paid attention when she talked to her best friend Linda in San Francisco. Her youngest was playing with her dolls when they chatted. Linda had called her asking how Rose was settling in in Cleveland and she couldn’t resist telling Linda about Joe. About how handsome and how sweet he was. How the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees when Joe stood too close to her. She knew it was silly, but she hadn’t experienced these feelings in years. For the first time in many long years, she felt alive.
Emma, her oldest, also quipped, “Is Joe going to be our new dad?”
Rose startled. Her seven-year old daughter was starved for fatherly affection. After Emma was born and Rose’s career took off, Brent started to change. He was pretty much absent from their daughters’ lives during their marriage, and because of that Emma seemed to adore any man close to Rose as a replacement father figure: Linda’s husband, Rose’s assistant at work, and lately, the school homeroom teacher because Emma kept having problems in class and Rose had to sit through many parent-teacher meetings.
“Don’t be silly, Emma. Joe is only my boss,” she stammered.
Emma also pouted. “But you like him, don’t you Mommy?”
“He’s just my boss, sweetie. Now eat your breakfast or you’re going to be late.”
“But Joe gave me present for my birthday. Doesn’t he like me, Mommy?”
The question caught her off guard. A week ago when Rose attempted to pilfer information about his family from him, Joe cleverly deflected it and made Rose tell him about her daughters instead. Somewhere along the line, she told him about Emma’s birthday. Since her daughter didn’t have many friends yet, the party they were having was a simple family affair.
The next day, Joe showed up to work with presents for both Emma and Cassidy. Rose was floored. She hadn’t expected that Joe would
care about her daughters, especially when she practically had just started working for him. Brent always forgot his own kids’ birthdays, let alone buy them presents and be there at the party. He never showed up for school programs or events, or Emma’s kindergarten graduation. He got worse at end of their marriage, as if he wanted to punish her through the children. Therefore, she couldn’t fault Emma for yearning for a replacement father figure.
Rose forced a smile into her face. “I’m sure Joe likes you very much, Emma. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get you those presents, would he?”
Emma’s face brightened. “Did you give him my thank you card, Mommy?”
“I sure did. Joe loved your drawing. He put it on his refrigerator door,” Rose lied.
“What about my card, Mommy?” asked Cassidy.
“He also put it next to your sister’s. He loved them both.”
Sensing an opening, Rose’s dad, who usually kept mum about his daughter’s personal affair also chimed in. “Why don’t you invite Joe for dinner, Rose? We’ve heard so many things about him. Your mother and I would love to meet him.”
Rose startled. “No. I can’t do that. We’re not that close, yet. Besides, he’s busy and his schedule is very erratic.”
“A man has to rest and eats sometimes! Invite him over and let him meet the girls,” her dad pressed.
“That’s a great idea, Rose,” her mom chimed in. “I’ll cook a lamb roast and make that cheesecake your father has been asking for.”
“Maybe. If he’s not busy, I’ll ask.” Rose glanced at her wristwatch. “Look at the time. I’m going to be late if I delay any longer. I see you girls, later. Mom. Dad.” Rose collected her purse and shoes and trotted to the front door. “Be good at school, Cassidy!”
“She’s an angel. Don’t you worry,” said her mom.
“Okay, bye.” Rose closed the door behind her and exhaled a deep breath. As she briskly walked to the bus stop, she couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it would be if she could really date Joe.
She knew that Joe was out of her reach. But a girl could dream, couldn’t she?
