Part One, Chapter 3

Mark Jr. finally gets some insight into Rosemary's background, allowing him to appreciate her more as a person.

Chapter 3:

Within the next two weeks, Rosemary managed to get accustomed to her new, temporary home. But God knows I was hoping that my house would eventually become her permanent home. I'm not kidding when I say it was love at first sight for me when I met her for the first time. Ever since then, I just couldn't keep her off my mind. Every time I woke up or went to bed, every time I took a shower, or cooked a meal, or went into town to run errands. I had no clue how to put an end to all the daydreaming, whether it be about her voluptuous body, her cheery personality and adorable voice, the nuances of her mannerisms, or the way she seemingly knew exactly how to dress in order to turn me on.

Oh man, don't even get me started on that. It seemed every time I laid eyes on Rosemary, she was wearing something attractive. Like the morning after she first arrived, I entered the kitchen to find her already preparing breakfast, all the while dressed in nothing but a sky blue sports bra and panties. Or the week after that, when she joined me at the pool in nothing but orange Brazilian-cut bikini bottoms and a sleeveless red polo shirt that could hardly stretch over her gut. I remember I had to wade in the pool for the entire afternoon just to conceal how aroused I was.

Part of me wondered if she was purposely doing that. Like, maybe she'd caught on to my crush on her without me realizing it, in that odd way most girls do. Or maybe she was like my mother: the type of chick who liked to show off what she had and couldn't care less if anyone was staring. Either way, it was all but driving me insane.

At the end of that two-week stretch, Rosemary and I busied ourselves at the dinner table one evening. We'd just wrapped up a meal of authentic Neapolitan pizza which we'd both customized with our choice of toppings, alongside cans of orangeade and a fresh, room-temperature salad as per Rosemary's request.

"Er... seeing how you were nice enough to cook dinner, I'd like to do the dishes tonight if that's okay with you," she said, wiping her mouth. "Where I'm from, everyone pitches in and helps out. I was raised that way for so long that I'm just not used to being waited on like this."

"If you say so." I shrugged. "I mean, I do try to avoid putting burdens on my guests."

"Oh it ain't a burden, I swear!" Rosemary reassured me.

I had no problem having someone else do the dishes for me. It was a nice change of pace from my usual routine, plus it would give me more time to check out my witness as she stood up and treaded towards the sink. Today's outfit of choice consisted of black capri-length leggings with the word "Classy" on the butt in copper sequins, and a short-sleeved, multicolored cardigan with pale hues that reminded me of sherbet. The latter could hardly reach the top of her pants and had the top three buttons undone, with nothing underneath except maybe a bra, though there was no evidence either way. Her trademark bandana and necklace were still the same as when we'd first met, as was the case with every single outfit she wore, barring her pajamas.

Let's just say it was pleasing to watch her walk around, constantly bending over and raising her arms as she worked. Repeatedly adjusting her top only for said adjustments to all be for naught just seconds later.

"Hot damn, I don't think I've eaten pizza this good since my days in New York. I remember I went to this really good place the day before I... oh yeah," Rosemary said out of the blue, a sigh escaping her lips immediately after.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"...I'm fine. Just talking to myself," Rosemary replied at a somewhat lower volume, a look of sadness forming on her youthful features.

"You know you can always talk to me if you have anything to get off your chest," I offered. "And I really do mean that."

"Well... I guess I might as well, so I don't have to think about it as often. I never really got the chance to vent." Rosemary sat back down after finishing the dishes. "So I know I said I was from Alabama, but I actually went up to Queens, New York for college..."

---

As she began to tell her story, I tried my damnedest to visualize the whole thing in my head. I imagined a slightly younger version of herself, but not to enough of a degree to show any outward differences. As she provided me with more details and insight, my mental image of her became more detailed. I pictured Rosemary as a college student, climbing out of a cab at the edge of a road on the outskirts of town. She was dressed similarly to her current self, but her belly protruded a bit more than usual, suggesting that she was within the first trimester of a pregnancy.

After paying her fare, she made her way across a parking lot towards the one building in the vicinity, which had a small but vocal crowd out front as they booed and hissed at anyone who entered and exited the place. As Rosemary drew ever closer to the front doors, she was abruptly stopped by a woman slightly older than her, with jet-black hair and icy blue eyes.

"Yo, what's up, Rose?" the woman spoke in a strong Queens accent. Obviously, the two had met before.

"Oh, hey Maria," Rosemary replied flatly. "Nothin' much is goin' on."

"Well clearly somethin's up if you'se makin' your way over to this part of town," Maria continued, before glancing at the sign above the door and widening her eyes. "Whoa, whoa, wait! Hold up! You're gettin' an abortion?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not proud of it either, but it's something I have to do," Rosemary continued, starting to walk away, only to have Maria step in front of her.

"No it ain't!" Maria snapped. "Goddamn it, I can't believe ya' lefties are so willin' to do s**t like this! It's like it's one a'your favorite pastimes or somethin'!"

"You think people like doing this?!" Rosemary raised her voice as well. "I don't even think the people who get paid to give abortions enjoy doing it all that much!"

"Well okay, but what about your faith?! I thought ya' said you was Christian!" Maria continued.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I blindly follow the Bible word for word," Rosemary replied. "And even though I acknowledge God's existence, I don't give a f**k what he has to say in this case. I'm not letting him or anyone else govern my body!"

At that point in the discussion, Maria started to panic on the inside, seeing how her friend was easily winning the argument with her consistent comebacks. After briefly thinking things over, she quickly put on a wicked smirk and hurried after her again.

"Okay, l-look Rose. I totally see where you're comin' from, but still at the same time, I just... I don't feel too comfortable lettin' my friend go through with this." Maria feigned worry. "Hey, I know! Why don't I just take that kid off your hands and give it to someone I know who can't have any children of her own? You won't have to think twice about it ever again, I guarantee it."

"Well... uh..." Rosemary uttered. "If you say so."

"That's the spirit. All ya' gotta do is carry it for the rest of the nine months, and then give it to me," Maria explained. "I'll even be there to help you push it out if you want me to. It'll be totally worth your while... and my while too."

"Uh, what was that last part?" Rosemary perked an eyebrow.

"I said I'd be there for the delivery. That's a promise," Maria replied, barely able to mask the sinister smile on her face as the two shook hands.

A few years passed, during which Rosemary gave birth to her daughter, before naming her "Primrose" and willingly handing her to Maria, all the while wrapping up the rest of her education. It was an ordinary, bright, sunny day as she casually strolled through the city in search of something interesting to buy or eat. However, she was taken aback at the sound of some ominous voices coming from the nearest alleyway. Cautiously entering the grimy corridor, she turned a corner and was shocked at the spectacle before her. There, she found Maria standing by a little girl of about four years, guiding her along with a mischievous grin as she held up a pistol in both hands. It appeared as though she was teaching this child how to work a handgun, testing it out on live practice targets in the form of several fellow crooks.

The girl had blond hair and a rosy complexion much like Rosemary, though the former was far less choppy. She also had dark freckles across her nose, which had likely come from the unknown father. It was at that moment when Rosemary's eyes widened in panic. It was a common habit for mothers to immediately recognize their own children, and this was exactly what had happened here. To think she'd been deceived by someone who'd been a close acquaintance to her for several years, and was now forced to watch as her own child was being forced to join some crime lord's troop.

"'Ey!" Maria abruptly called out, snapping Rosemary out of her thoughts and prompting her to scamper off. "Don't let her get away, boys! Kill her if ya' have to!"

All Rosemary could do was run as fast as she could towards the nearest police station, intentionally taking a longer route than needed so she could more easily lose the goons that were on her tail.

---

By the time she'd finished explaining everything to me, the two of us had migrated into the living room and were sitting next to each other on the couch. Rosemary's face was reddish-pink and incredibly shiny due to drying tears, her voice wavering uncontrollably as she wrapped up her backstory. All I could think to do was place an arm around her as she heaved and sniffled, blowing her nose into her eighth tissue that evening.

"Honestly Junior... words just can't describe how traumatized I was when I found out... th-that my friend was a... mob boss," Rosemary moaned. "And seeing what she did to my child, I... I just... ugh! If I'd known she'd do that, I would've totally gotten the abortion!"

"I'm truly sorry to hear all that," I replied, rubbing her back a little. "And honestly, I really wish people would stop only shaming women for unwanted pregnancies. It takes two to make a baby, y'know."

"True, but honestly even though I may not look it, I actually feel very relieved to have finally spoken about my feelings after keeping them pent up for so long." Rosemary mustered up a small grin. "Maybe now I can go to sleep tonight without any nightmares."

"Hopefully so," I replied. "Say, uh, I kind of enjoyed just having a talk like this. We should probably do this more often, though it doesn't have to be about sad events from our pasts."

"Good idea," Rosemary replied, yawning and stretching as she stood up, before pulling her cardigan down. "Welp, better hit the hay. See you tomorrow, Junior."

"You too," I replied, smiling as I watched her walk away.