Rosie
Tom didn’t end up killing her. Nor did she ask him for a divorce. Not yet anyway. She had blacked out and when she came to, the house was dark. In a panic, she ran to Jimmy’s room to find him playing with his truck on the floor.
‘I’m all better, Mamma.’ He smiled as she pulled him into a thankful hug.
‘I’m so glad, my precious boy.’ She kissed the top of his head and winced from the pain around her neck. It hurt to breathe. ‘Where is your pa?’ There seemed to be no sign of Tom.
‘I don’t know,’ Jimmy said, his voice quivering. ‘I didn’t mean to make him mad and yell, Mamma.’
‘Of course not, baby boy.’ She stroked his hair. ‘Pa shouldn’t have gotten so cross.’ And then not because she believed it, but because she thought Jimmy needed to hear it, she added, ‘And he’s sorry for hurting you, Jimmy.’ Her heart winced as she said the words. She hated lying to her son. Hated that she had to defend Tom.
Tom didn’t come home that night, to her relief. She was ashamed to admit that the thought had crossed her mind that he was lying somewhere in a gutter dying and she could not care less. When he did come home, he offered no explanation for his absence, nor did Rosie ask.
The base of her neck bore the evidence of his brutality, bruises black and purple, and she didn’t bother to hide them; she wanted the reminder thrown in his face every time he saw her.
On Thursday, the morning of Dulcie’s funeral, Rosie dressed and readied Jimmy. She had arranged to leave him with the Di Norros. She had lied to Rubina, telling her that Tom needed to work. She hadn’t a clue if that was the truth. The last couple of mornings, he’d gone before she’d awoken and returned after she’d gone to bed.
They still hadn’t spoken a word.
‘Why can’t I come to say goodbye to Dulcie, Mamma?’ Jimmy asked as they walked towards the Di Norros’ deli.
‘Because some goodbyes are sad, Jimmy. Dulcie wouldn’t want you to be sad.’ She had tried to explain Dulcie’s passing in a way that wouldn’t upset or scare her son, but what was death if it wasn’t upsetting or scary?
‘Like when we said goodbye to Gran?’
‘Yes. Remember how sad Gran was when we left? Well, Dulcie is leaving us for heaven.’
Jimmy seemed to accept this as reason enough, and by the time she was walking back to meet Floss, Jimmy was already happily playing with Rubina’s son, Paulo.
Seeing Floss in top-to-toe black was strange. Even her makeup was muted. Rosie was just grateful that after a few unseasonably warm spring days the weather had cooled considerably and she was able to wear a dress that covered her still-dark bruises.
She was somewhat surprised that there was no sign of Jack as they filed into St John’s Anglican Church on Darlinghurst Road. Floss and Rosie flanked Mary, who looked like a lost little girl in her funeral attire. Even though Dulcie hadn’t been particularly religious, Mary insisted that she needed to wear black to her grandmother’s funeral. A few times during the service Mary splayed her hand over her stomach, reminding Rosie that she was carrying Jack’s child. Each time, Rosie craned her neck, looking for any sign of him. She spotted him on the third occasion, sitting in the second-last pew. Why wasn’t he by Mary’s side? She scowled at him, and it seemed that even from the distance he could clearly read her face.
‘The wake is at Jack’s diner,’ Mary informed them at the conclusion of the burial service.
‘We’ll meet you there, darl,’ Floss told her as a couple of the girls who had worked for Dulcie arrived to offer their condolences. There was no sign of Jack again and Rosie assumed he’d gone back to the diner. Roberta had borrowed her brother’s car to drive them around that day, but needed to return it by the evening, so she dropped them on Darlinghurst Road, en route.
‘I should check in with the Di Norros, see if Jimmy is ready to go home. If he is, I won’t come to the wake.’
‘Okay, darl, but are you sure you’re not avoiding Jack? I mean, it’s one thing to want to be committed to your marriage, but Jack wants to be your friend. He worries about you, darl. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s asked me about you.’
‘I think Jack has bigger things to worry about than our friendship. Perhaps he should think about owning up to his responsibilities.’
‘Darl, what are you talking about?’ Floss looked flabbergasted and it occurred to Rosie that perhaps she didn’t know about Mary’s pregnancy.
‘Never mind.’
‘Are you talking about Mary?’
‘Yes, she told you?’
‘Yes, darl. Jack is getting his doctor friend to help out.’
‘Help out how?’ Rosie asked suspiciously.
‘You know, to get rid of it.’
‘That son of a …’ She couldn’t believe it. Is this how Jack Reid dealt with his mistakes, by making them go away?
‘Oh, don’t get all Catholic on me. Mary doesn’t want the child and Jack is doing her a favour.’
She looked at Floss in shock. ‘Is that how you see it?’ She couldn’t believe how blasé Floss was about it.
‘Rosie, if you were pregnant and the father of the child wasn’t willing to support you, what would you do? Actually, don’t answer that, I know what you would do.’
Rosie was about to give Floss a piece of her mind when Rubina walked outside the deli. ‘Rosie, the boys play so nice today. We have Jimmy stay to sleep?’
Before she could tell Rubina she had arrived to take him home, Jimmy came running towards her. ‘I want to stay, Mamma, please let me stay.’
‘Jimmy …’ she began as Floss sighed audibly next to her.
‘Let the boy stay; what harm could it do?’
Boxed into a corner, she relented, but promised to pick him up first thing and told Rubina to make sure to call at the Hawkins’s place if they needed to reach her. She figured that if she didn’t have Jimmy, she would stay and make sure Mary was not alone the night she’d buried her grandmother.
Floss ignored her on the walk to the diner. She couldn’t ever recall Floss being the tiniest bit cross with her. She thought of walking straight home, but knew that Mary would want her there, so for that reason, she went.
Jack had closed the diner early to host the wake, and everyone was saying just how amazing it was of him to have done so. Rosie had to bite her tongue, grit her teeth, smile and nod her head. She only saw Jack speak to Mary once, but on more than one occasion Jack caught her glowering at him, and perhaps what was even more infuriating was that each time he smiled back at her, until it seemed he’d had enough.
‘So, what is it?’ Jack cornered her. ‘I have obviously done something to upset you. You’ve deliberately stayed away from the diner since Jimmy’s birthday, and the couple of times I’ve seen you, you’ve been throwing me filthy looks.’
‘How could you, Jack?’
He cocked a brow. ‘You’re going to need to be a little more specific, doll.’
‘You give the impression of being all nice and normal by throwing this wake, and driving Mary to the hospital and calling Floss to come back early, but then you do something like arrange for Mary to …’ she lowered her voice, ‘you know.’
‘I see, you have an issue with Mary deciding she doesn’t want her baby.’
‘I have more of an issue with you not owning your side of the responsibility and choosing the easy way out. Is that what you did when your last girlfriend fell pregnant? You had her get rid of it?’
A look of complete bafflement crossed his face. ‘Hold up, let me get this straight—you think that I’m the father of Mary’s baby?’
‘Of course, who else could it be?’
‘Who else?’ Jack gave a short laugh. ‘How about the guy who’s managing the club she’s working at? The guy with criminal links. The guy who is renowned for this kind of stuff.’
‘But … I saw you that night … you were leaving Mrs Hawkins’s place and you kissed Mary …’
‘What night?’
‘The night of Jimmy’s birthday. I was going over to deliver cake.’
‘Ah, yes,’ he nodded, the memory dawning on him, ‘I know a couple of guys in the vice. From time to time they threaten to make some noise for Dulcie, but I always manage to get it sorted. I went over that night to deliver the good news.’
‘But you and Mary …’
‘We’re not an item. Not even close. I only love one woman.’
‘Oh.’ Rosie felt a right fool. ‘And all this time I thought you were a—’
‘Cad?’
‘I was going to say scoundrel.’ She smiled apologetically and Jack laughed. The room was suddenly too warm and she tugged at her collar. She realised a little too late that she was exposing her bruises, and before she could hide them again, Jack’s gaze dipped to her neck.
‘Rosie, is that what I think it is?’
‘Before you ask any more questions, I need to tell you that I have decided to ask Tom for a divorce.’
‘Damn right you should be asking him. He’s been hurting you.’
‘It was the first time he laid a finger on me. But that’s not why. He hurt Jimmy.’
‘What? Where’s Jimmy? Is he okay?’ Jack’s voice was murderous.
‘Jimmy is fine. He’s with the Di Norros.’
‘When did this happen?’
‘Monday. After Mary and I returned from the hospital.’
‘You’re doing the right thing, Rosie.’ Jack reached out and took her hand. The touch of his skin made her tremble. ‘If you need my help with anything, anything at all—you let me know.’
‘I … I’m not sure where I will go.’
‘We’ll figure it out, Rosie. I have friends that I can call on to help. You and Jimmy will not be homeless. I promise you that.’
‘Thank you, you’re a true friend.’
Jack gave her a rueful smile. ‘You deserve to be happy, Rosie. You deserve to be with a man who will worship you, not hurt you.’
Someone called his name from the other side of the room and he excused himself. But as he walked away, it hit her. From the first time they met, she’d had feelings for Jack. But she was sure that like Mary, he thought of her as a friend and she would be well to focus on how she was going to leave Tom. Where she was going to go. The uncertainty was daunting, but there was no way she was going to stay and risk him hurting Jimmy, or worse.
When the crowd thinned and it was only Mary, Floss, Roberta and Jack left, Rosie pulled Floss aside to apologise and to explain what had happened on Monday.
Floss’s eyes nearly fell out of her sockets. ‘Darl, why didn’t you tell me sooner?’
‘We were helping Mary plan the funeral. I didn’t want to burden you. And besides, I’ve already decided to leave him.’
‘I meant what I said the last time, darl. I’ll help you—whatever you need, I’m here.’
‘That’s what Jack said too.’ Rosie nodded.
‘You told Jack?’ Floss seemed overly excited at this revelation. ‘What did he say?’
‘That he would help out in any way he could. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s still talking to me after I accused him of being the father of Mary’s baby.’
‘You what?!’ Floss asked incredulously.
‘Yes, but we straightened it out. It’s not Mary he’s sweet on, but someone else,’ Rosie said wistfully. Whoever she was, she’d better be good enough for him.
‘Oh, you silly girl!’ Floss was suddenly looking crossly at her. ‘Are you that blind?’
‘What are you talking about?’ Rosie looked at Floss as if she was losing her mind.
‘It’s you. Jack is in love with you.’