The Best Girl - Ch. 1.3

My phone rang just as I was leaving work one day. I was happy to see David's name on the caller ID, so of course I answered it. He was back in town after having been gone for the weekend and wanted to meet for dinner. After I hung up with him I called a taxi, then, of course, I changed out of my ratty work clothes and into my normal wear. It had been a while since I had seen David and I was pretty excited to meet with him again.

Rosetta and David sat down in the diner and ordered their meal. They talked about anything and everything. David even started opening up about himself. He told Rosetta that he moved (with his brother, sister-in-law and their two babies, also his parents) here when he was still a teen, a very late teen, but still a teenager. Rosetta found out from him that a guy named Logan was his brother, and Velina was actually his sister-in-law. Soon after he moved here he had celebrated young adult birthday and moved out of his parents house. Then pursued his dream of being a magician.

"So, why did you get such a.. small house?" Rosetta asked.

"Eh, I.. let's not talk about that right now." David knew she wanted to say 'run down' but was being nice. He changed the subject. "Hey, you ever fished in the graveyard? I know you told me before you like to fish. I'll take you there one day, it's fun. Awesome fish there too."

Rosetta laughed. "No I haven't, sounds like fun though. Pick a day."

We sat and talked for hours, just the two of us. Both of us got a steak, fries, a salad, soda and all that was followed by dessert too. It was a wonderful strawberry shortcake that we split between us. It may seem like a lot of food, but over the period of time we were there, it really wasn't overfilling.

David is such amazing company. His quirkiness always keeps me on my toes about what he's going to say or suggest next., or even what he's going to wear. Nearly everything he jokes about makes me laugh. I don't even have to fake interest in what he's saying. When we stepped outside, I was actually surprised to see that it was dark. Time really flies when you're having a good time I guess.

When I got home I noticed that the mail had come. Usually I'm a stickler for paying them right away, because if I don't, I'll sure forget them later. I hate dealing with late fees or bill collectors hounding me, so, even though it was near midnight, I paid them right then.

Rosetta had seen someone moving into the house right in front of her own on a Tuesday morning, but she respectfully gave until the weekend before going over to welcome the new neighbor. She felt a little odd welcoming someone when she still considered herself new, but she had nothing better to do anyway. That and she was hoping to find a new friend, especially one that lived so close to her.

The lady's name was Sonia. Rosetta had found out she moved from Lucky Palms. She wanted to get away from the heat of the desert, and this small country town seemed to be the perfect place to do that.

Sonia and Rosetta stood in her living room talking about where each of them had come from, and why they left. They spoke of what they might be looking for in the new place and when they thought they would find it. Sonia was looking to settle down and start a family, where as Rosetta was mostly into work and study, but looking for friends as well. Rosetta did admit that she was lonely at times, for a boyfriend of sorts though, and should probably start looking for someone she could be interested in.

"Good luck juggling all that!" Sonia joked.

Rosetta chuckled with her. "Yea, it does sound like a lot when I say it out loud. It hasn't been too tough so far."

"That's because you haven't added a 'guy' into that mix yet. Wait until you start trying out for relationships."

"I guess you have a point there," Rosetta conceded, then she laughed. "I guess I'll have to find time and a guy who doesn't mind not having me available 24/7."

"What are the guys like around here anyway?"

Rosetta told Sonia almost everything she knew about people in town and the goings on in Hidden Springs. She did warn her that some people are more overwhelming than others, or a little nuttier than others but everyone was friendly and happy to help wherever they could. She also said that a lot of people around here tended to be 'huggers', as in they almost always gave you a hug when you departed company.

Sonia is a great woman, she and I talked so easily and became fast friends. We talked of everything new and old. A big topic of ours were the dreams of what we really want. We split an entire carton of ice cream between the two of us while we chatted. We shared our hopes and fantasies, Sonia told me she wanted to have five children in her life time. That would be pretty impressive. I never really thought about children, how many I would want or anything. We got in a slight disagreement about whether discipline was good for children or not. It was nothing serious of course, but pretty soon we were having it out with a pillow fight, laughing with every flying feather.

After a while we decided to go out on the town. I had been at her house since about 7 am, and it was early afternoon by the time we left. Neither of us had a car, so we took a taxi.

Since the ice cream had worn off, Sonia and Rosetta went to an early dinner, they both had the same thing - chicken and a salad. During their dinner chat, Sonia had mentioned that she needed some more clothes. Rosetta was quick to tell her about the salon around the corner from the diner and happy to volunteer to be the judge of any outfit that Sonia picked. Sonia laughed, and agreed to go get a makeover. The two of them had a laughing good time trying on fun and ridiculous clothes, in addition to normal wear. They both left with a couple of new shirts and pants. Rosetta had also gotten a new formal dress.

David met me after work again. It was a really nice surprise. It's always so nice to see him, I know I'll have a great time whenever David comes around. We hang out quite a bit actually, but it really is hard to get to know him. He doesn't really talk about himself that much, just like when we met. I don't know. I would love to know more about him, but he seems to be trying to put his past behind him, so I wont bug him about it.

David told me about his day, which is actually another thing he never does, and I was happy to hear about it. He had gone to practice that morning and was helping out other performers, he told me that one of the Acrobats he works close to had gotten injured and would be off the stage for a bit. That was when he told me that there was a show tonight at a karaoke bar, the acrobat that was injured had gotten a replacement for the show she was supposed to have put on. David wanted to know if I could go with him to watch the performance. Naturally I was happy to, I'd been trying to catch a show all week, that and it was in his company. He drove us to the bar, thankfully he didn't ride around in a limo like his sister-in-law, I would have been embarassed. He drives a nice blue truck. He even opened the door for me, how sweet.

When David and Rosetta got to Mike's Karaoke bar, it was already pretty crowded. They took a spot in the back and waited for the show to begin. There were three performers in total, one singer, one magician and an acrobat, in that order. The acrobat was best, and he was the one that had replaced David's friend. He did stunts that impressed even David. Rosetta was surprised at how a man his size was able to bend his body as he did, folded up into a pretzel or keep balance so well.

The acrobat stood on a ball and balanced himself while he rolled all over the stage. He juggled flaming batons, which made Rosetta kind of anxious. She leaned forward as she watched and expected him to drop them or burn his eyebrows or something. He also had a large hoop up on stage but never used it during the performance.

At the end of the show David turned to Rosetta. "Well? Did you like it?"

"Oh yes, it was very cool. I enjoyed it a lot. That guy made me nervous with the fire, but yeah it was great!" Rosetta looked at David and saw his smile. It was so genuine, so clear and open that she realized she was getting a peek into his life. Into what he enjoyed the most. It was also in that moment that she became conscious of the fact that she was very close to falling for him.




To be continued on the 21st...