Mid-Life Changes - 5.11

Authors note: "Don't be hatin'." :)

The next two days and nights of the new couples life included nothing but each other. There was no work and no gigs. Just staying at home enjoying the company. David was completely ecstatic to be married to the woman of his dreams, and couldn't really keep his mind off of anything else. Nor could he keep his hands off of her.

Rosetta was in the kitchen whipping up one of her famous Key Lime pies for an afternoon delight when David came in with a stack of envelopes. He sat at the table and filled out 'Thank You' cards to send to everyone who had attended their wedding. Many people had also sent them gifts, it seemed most of the gifts came from people that were invited but were unable to attend. He finished those up before the pie was done, he saw that Rosetta was keeping an eye on it in the oven. Sneaking up behind her, he tickled her sides. She squirmed and giggled under his fingertips while, at the same time, trying to push him away.

Laughing she said, "You're going to make me ruin our dessert!"

David gave her a look, "Well, seeing as how you're my dessert, I don't see how I could possibly ruin it."

She smiled at him and giggled again before turning to pull the pie out.

"Okay, I guess we can have some pie first."

It wasn't long though before the pie was half gone, and the newlyweds were jumping in the bed for some fun.

 That evening, Rosetta suggested they get out of the house for a while, so they could get some fresh air. David agreed that it was a good idea. The two of them went walking down the dirt roads around the house. At one point they found a small jogging trail they had never been down before. They decided to follow it and see where it led. Before long they ended up at a small cove. The water looked cool and inviting. Rosetta didn't hesitate, she glanced at David and smiled before pulling off her clothes and getting in.

"You've got to be kidding. That water must be freezing! There is absolutely no way I'm coming in there with you." David protested. "I don't even have my swimming trunks."

She was deep enough for the water to be up on her chest when she turned to look at him. "Seriously? Since when has that stopped you? The waters fine, it's perfect. Come on." She watched him for just a moment before asking, "Or are you chicken?"

He let out a big sigh before giving in and saying he would join. He still figured the water was cold, so being who he is, he put on his jacket before getting in it.

They swam for only a few minutes before, unfortunately for both of them, David's eagle eyes spotted a small shark in the water.

"Okay, I think that's about enough swimming now. From what I hear, sharks love Key Lime pie, and since I'm full on that I probably would taste like it to them!"

Rosetta giggled. "Oh please. Okay though, you're right. I'm not big on the idea of swimming with sharks."

They both waddled their way out of the cove and sat on the ground to dry off a bit before going back home. It was getting late and they had some leftover wedding cake at the house waiting for them.

When they stood up to go, David kissed her and caressed her cheek. "Thanks for the midnight swim. It was actually fun." He kissed her again, then held her hand as they walked home.

Over the next few weeks, each of them started working again but had many hours to spend in each others company. They indulged on the wedding cake they still had, though that was disappearing fast. Rosetta made dinner once or twice, but mostly they ordered in or had leftovers. The diet wasn't good at all. She was pretty sure both of them had gained a few pounds since the day they were wed.

Between meals was always a bit of woohoo. That's where they expended most of the calories they took in. They were the stereotypical newlyweds. Hands all over each other, and all extra time spent in the bedroom. David seemed perfectly at peace with their new lifestyle together. Sometimes they took a break from the bed and played games together, like Dominoes or Chess. Rosetta enjoyed those times as much as the time they spent in the bedroom.

Rosetta often felt a bit stir crazy, and needed to get out of the house for a bit. Normally that's when they went out to eat or just out for a swim again. They hadn't seen any sharks in the water over those weeks so they were both a little more comfortable in the cove. It was actually quickly becoming a favorite place to be.

Four weeks after the wedding was Rosetta's birthday. David had invited Sonia, Velina and her two girls for a celebration. Layla was unable to make it but Olivia came with her mother. Sonia was more than happy to be there, as usual, and another woman came in with Velina, but Rosetta didn't know her. David and Sonia talked and laughed in the living room while they waited for the guests to come in and for Rosetta to finish up and serve the salad.

"Well aren't we the old lady now." Sonia said while they were all eating. "When are you going to bless this family with some kids for me to dote on, huh? I want to see some babies!"

Rosetta glared at her friend. "I'm so not old!" She avoided the second question she had been asked. She hadn't even given that any thought. She took another bite, trying to go over in her mind all the time she and David shared pleasures, and tried to remember if they protected themselves. She was pretty sure they had each time, but there were so many times to think of.

Sonia brought her out of her thoughts, "Well, I'm not that far behind you don't worry. Go, blow out your candles, I brought you a cake."

Everyone gathered around cheering and making noises while Rosetta smiled and made a silent wish. She leaned over and blew out the candles all in one breath. Even though she had denied it, she couldn't help but feel like her life was slipping away from her. Time was going by to fast. She hadn't enjoyed everything she had wanted to yet.

Just two mornings after her birthday, it felt like the world came crashing down on her. She got sat on the edge of the bed just to find that her back was hurting, and her knees too.

I am old. I'm too old. There were still some things I wanted to do before I got this age. Now what? You know. I'm not going to let this happen. No way. I can stop aging right? You're only as old as you feel. A sore back, that makes me feel old.

I'm so not in a good mood today.

Rosetta climbed out of the bed as quietly as she could, since David was still sleeping. She got up and went to the bathroom and showered, she brushed her teeth and checked for wrinkles in the mirror for a while before throwing on her clothes.

These old clothes. So out dated. So old. That's what I need. A new outfit. I'll have to see what I have in my dresser to tide me over until I can buy some new stuff. Maybe a change of my style will change the way I feel about myself.

She stepped into the bathroom and went straight to her chest of drawers. When she tried to open the middle drawer it stuck, she leaned back pulling hard on the handle. It burst forth right after that, flinging her to the ground. She smacked down hard on her tailbone and let out a grunt.

Great. Now on top of sore knees and a sore back - my ass hurts. Just great. Could this day get any better?

Rosetta found a shirt she used to wear when she was in her early 20's and some pants to go with it. She was glad that she still fit in the outfit she used to love. She found a pair of her old boots in the bottom drawer and pulled them on.

Rosetta left the room in her new outfit after doing her hair. She heard David in the kitchen so joined him. He had made some pancakes or both of them to have for breakfast while she was getting ready. She walked through the archway just as he was turning around.

David's eyes widened at the sight of his wife. "What in the world?"

Smiling, Rosetta asked if he liked it. "I used to wear it all the time. Before I moved here anyway. It was one of my favorite outfits. What do you think? Does it make me look younger?"

David sighed. "You don't need those... clothes... You don't need to look younger. What are you talking about?"

"Oh please. I just want to try and get back what I feel like I'm losing. I'm also going out tonight. I want some fun." She paused. "Are you going to come?"

David took her hands, an odd look crossed his face - like he wanted to say something, but wouldn't. "No. I actually have to practice my act so I'll stay home." He hesitated just a breath before saying, "You know, I love you Rose. You. For who you are. I hope you're not trying to change that."

"I love you too. I'm starved." She dropped his hands and walked past him, "Let's eat some of these yummy pancakes you made."

David watched her go, realizing that he wasn't going to win this, their first, argument. She didn't consider it an argument because he hadn't spoken up his feelings, but if he had she would have been upset and he didn't want to upset her. They ate breakfast in silence and when they were done David cleaned up while Rosetta did the garden.

That afternoon, Rosetta left to go out on the town.

Rosetta left the house and went out to Mikes Master Karaoke. As luck would have it there was a show going on, so she added herself to the cheering crowd. It happened to be the best performer in town on the stage at the moment so it wasn't hard to get into the mood. She watched as he tossed around knives, and balanced on his head. She applauded when he did flaring flips or dazzling stunts. She nearly fainted though when he tried twirling flaming batons, but caught his hair on fire. Fire was one of her worst fears, right up there with being buried alive.

After the show, in early evening, Rosetta left Mike's and decided to go to get a massage at the spa. Massages always made someone feel better, especially a person fighting a sore back. She bought one of the packages that included a bath soak, a wrap, deep tissue massage, manicure and a pedicure. She was gong to be there a while.

Back at home, David had practiced his magic act and decided to sit on the porch and wait for Rosetta to come back home. The sun set while he was out there, so he turned the porch lights on in order to see. Every few paragraphs he would glance down the road checking for her. He was disappointed in every car that failed to be the one carrying his wife.

When Rosetta's Spa treatment was finally done, she felt amazing. She knew this feeling was going to last a while too, those ladies did a fabulous job at helping her feel more relaxed. She left the building and ran into Nicholas. He seemed happy to see her.

Nicholas looked her up and down briefly, "Wow, You look great Rosebud. A spa really does you something good. Good to see you out and about."

Rosetta felt her heart flutter and her breath quicken by the tiniest bit. He still had that affect on her, but she was better at controlling it, and ignoring it. She really didn't want to go down that road again, that was a thing of the past. "You too Nicky. You're out awful late. Meeting a woman here?"

"As a matter of fact... no. Unless you want to count yourself in that 'woman' category." He winked and smiled at her.
The two of them talked for a little bit. Rosetta even found herself laughing at his corny jokes. Hanging out with him reminded her of the way things were before she fell for David. She really did love David, greatly, but she was starting to feel like she missed something. Something she still had time to do if she started now.

After a while, she told Nicholas goodbye and left for home. She knew David probably wasn't happy with her, but maybe he would understand. When she got back in the house she realized that she wouldn't have to explain anything, since he was already in bed. Rosetta decided that she would lay on the couch this night, because she didn't want to wake him up.

The next morning, David got a real shock when he left the bathroom after his shower. His wife didn't look happy.

"What's up hon, what'd I do?" David asked, pretty worried.

"David. I can't do this. I just can't. I'm leaving."

He stood shocked. When he started to say something, she raised her hands up. "It's not that I don't love you. I just need some time. I mean I feel so smothered, or something. I need to be on my own again to find myself."

"But, you.. you can't do that here?" David wasn't sure what to say. He really was thrown off his guard.

"No!" She flung her arms out. The tone of her voice made David flinch."No, I can't. I just have to go. I've already packed some things. I'm leaving now."

She turned to storm out the door but paused in the frame. "I'm sorry honey, I am. Please don't forget that I still love you. I just need space." With that she left, leaving him behind, alone and very confused.

David watched his love walk out of the room they shared. They'd been together for quite a while now, and he had never seen any signs of her not wanting to be with him. Lately she had been a little strange but, he didn't expect this. He was thoroughly bewildered.

He spent the next few hours just reflecting on their relationship and wondering what went wrong. He wondered how much truth there was in her sticking to the fact that she still loved him. He knew without a doubt that he still adored her. He wasn't going to give up, not so easily. He couldn't. He wasn't even sure how she did what she just did so smoothly and straight faced.

Rosetta went to the house that David had lived when they met. It was small and far away, just perfect for self reflection. She briefly wondered if that's why he had chosen it originally. She started unpacking when she realized she was starving. Knowing there wasn't any food in the fridge yet she called to order a pizza.

After chowing down four slices, she went back to putting her things away. Silently she thanked whoever it was that lived here after David for leaving their furniture. All the clothes she brought fit into the dresser. She hung a set of the pictures she and David had taken, and put some flowers up that he had given her just a few days prior. She stared at the decor for a few minutes wondering if she had done the right thing. She almost regretted it already.

Over the next few weeks, Rosetta got a new job at the Corporate Tower. She had reached the top of her Science career quite a while ago so she figured a change of pace there would be good for her too, and the business track sounded interesting. She met some new friends and hung out with them often. When she was out in town she couldn't help but look around to see if David was about. She never saw him. She even checked every performance act that was in town, every week, but he was never on the schedule.

It broke her heart to find that he had stopped practicing, and it was all her fault.

It didn't take much longer for her to discover something about herself that brought along a change she wasn't expecting.

Nearly every day Rosetta woke and showered very early. She would drive all the way across town to stand in front of his house, the one they used to share, and wonder. She never saw him come out. Every time she wished he would, just so she could get a glimpse of him. Or maybe she hoped he would notice her. She was needing him, but she didn't think he would accept her again. When her feet got tired she walked to the pond just next to the house and would sit on the bench. She'd be there most of the day weeping and chastising herself for her actions.

I don't know what I was thinking. I'm crazy. I've given up the only great thing I've found in this forsaken town. Good spirits help me find my way back. I can't believe I'm alone. Especially now.

Should I tell him?

I just can't. I fear he doesn't love me anymore. Hell I don't even think I would take myself back after what I did. He had no idea what I was thinking. I didn't share my feelings - I just walked out. I don't know how I did that. I can't believe it. How could I tell him? What would he say?

More weeks passed by in a blink. Rosetta cried every day. Now that she was pregnant, emotions ran higher than usual and it seemed all to easy to start bawling at any moment. Especially when those moments included memories of her love with David. A love that hadn't waned.

Most her days, now that she was on maternity leave, she'd spend crying, cooking and eating. She rarely left the house. Every night she would read a little of her book on pregnancy, how to handle it and what to expect. She always cried when the book suggested to have your partner give massages if there was back pain, or to talk to the baby so the infant would recognize their voice too. She wanted nothing more in the world than to hear David's voice.

 As she entered the third trimester of her pregnancy Rosetta stared at herself in the mirror. Her emotions had, for the most part, stabilized, and she was able to look at herself without breaking down into tears from her guilt. She had finally come to the decision to do what was right. There was no way she'd be able to live her life without her husband. No way. She needed him and wanted him more than anything. She knew she had to beg him to forgive her, and she was ready to do that. She was ready to do anything for him to hold her again, and tell her that he still loved her.

She had decided the night before, that if the phone call didn't go well, and he refused her, then she would give the baby up for adoption. She wouldn't be able to do it on her own. She hoped more than anything it wouldn't come to that. She loved the life inside her as much as she loved David. She just didn't think she could deal with a daily reminder of her betrayal.

Rosetta sighed and pulled out her phone. She dialed David's well known number and closed her eyes.

To be continued on the 25th...