At that moment,it was as if time stood still, leaving just the two of them.
Rosaline smiled lightly, she was being cautious in case he wasn't the type to return smiles.
He returned the smile,the sweetest smile she'd ever seen or thought a man could have, his bright deep green eyes lightened up and it was like they were saying "hey"
That gave Rosaline a warm fuzzy feeling inside...she'd never felt like this before.
Her smile grew wider....
"Earth to Rosy!" Noah said
Oh! Rosaline blinked.
"I'm sorry,what were you saying?"
"I was introducing my friend, Shaan Al'Din... "
"Nice to meet you, Miss Rosaline" Shaan said holding out his hand for an handshake.
Rosaline stared at his hand for a while before she accepted the gesture.
"The pleasure's mine ,Mr Al'Din "
"Shaan...Call me Shaan.Can I call you Ros?" His eyes widened a bit.
"Yeah...no problem"
" Aunt Bea told me to get y'all inside.... let's go.The meal is set" Noah said ,he held Renee's hand and led the way.
Zoe gave Rosaline the look of "what was that" she was referring to the way she and Shaan had stared at each other.
"It's nothing " Rosaline said.
Whether it was something or not....it had to be nothing.
Zoe gave her a knowing look.
They went inside and sat down at the dining table with the rest of the family.
Their breakfast was going fine, with a little bit of questions thrown at Shaan and Noah about their flight to Ohio.... And Gina's constant reminder about table manners which,they obviously ignored....seeing as Keisha didn't stop chattering away.
Table manner rules were meant to be broken and none of them were kids, of course it's not an excuse for them to talk and eat at the same time, as any one of them could choke.
Rosaline took her glass of water,she had been eating in silence and didn't raise her head, she needed a way to look at Shaan without being obvious.
Keisha was obviously enjoying herself as she was the only one asking him questions.
Focus on your husband.
Rosaline thought as she sipped the water slowly
*. *. *. *. *. *.
Shaan could feel someone's eyes on him...he knew who it was so he smiled.
When Noah had told him about her, he clearly undermined a lot of details.
Shaan closed his eyes trying to relive the moment he met her in his head.
The way the morning sun had shone on her red hair making it look almost orange like sundown. Her hair was full and a bit curly, she packed it loosely ,it made her small freckled face cuter.
He remembered how her eyes had shone to match his. And he didn't miss the blue twinkle it gave.
Her small mouth fitting perfectly for her face. Her rosy cheeks that made her features look childish.
She was like Snowhite with red hair.
The way Noah described her paled in comparison to what he actually saw...that caught him off guard.
He couldn't stomach any more food and Keisha's constant chattering was starting to annoy him.
" Thank you for the meal, Bea, it was lovely... excuse me" He eyes met Rosaline's, then he smiled. She quickly looked away.
Anaha latifat jidana (she's so cute).
He excused himself from the dining table.
"Yo, wait up man. Thanks Aunt Bea...it was delicious" Noah hurriedly said before they left.
*. *. *. *. *. *.
Keisha watched their backs, nothing intrigued her more than strong men and Shaan was intriguing.
She also excused herself,the only reason she was still seated at the table was Shaan, since he was gone....she had no business there.
Too bad she was married, she could still try to be friends, that'll be good for her.
She should invite him to be a guest on her show. Keisha smiled.
Things were finally looking up for her...in a way.
Jamari's father had frozen Jamari's bank accounts because they didn't have a child.
It wasn't her fault,she lost the baby.....Keisha thought about how all the "fun trips" she went to with her friends to please them. She was the "fun and never saying No Shasha".
She knew she wasn't supposed to drink or do anything strenuous especially when the doctor had warned her that the fetus wasn't stable.
But she chose to please the people wouldn't didn't give a sh*t about her.
Keisha placed her hand on her belly....
"I'm sorry,my darling"
She closed her eyes remembering their unformed baby's lifeless body in the doctor's hand.
She'd never seen Jamari so angry and so hurt before.....as he squeezed her hand.
But....she felt nothing,as she stared blankly at the child.
That day, she knew something had left her. She started messing up everything she'd been doing.
She wasn't planning on being at the Campbell's for the summer. But when it came,she grabbed it.
She didn't have anyone to talk to.....no friends,no family. The family part was probably her fault,she'd always felt she was better than her siblings because things worked so well for her.
Jamari had also been acting different around her....of course,he paid attention to her every need. He gave her whatever she wanted, despite his major accounts being frozen.
"I always have a backup plan for you" he had smiled and said. He sounded happy but he didn't look it.
Keisha was so in love with him,she thought of him as herself.
Cry,just cry Kiesh.
She'd tell herself in her head ,but no matter how much she tried,the tears didn't come.
"Hey babe" Jamari planted a kiss on her forehead and sat on the bed beside her .
"What're you thinking about ?"
Keisha swallowed and searched for her happy self
"I'm just thinking about how to get an endorsement from Shaan's company.....it'll be good for the show"
"Oh...but I told you,I'd cover bills for the show, why do you still need an endorsement?"
"The money is for our future and it'll be unfair to our future if we used it now.... besides those are your private funds, I need the get external support....that way it won't affect us much"
Jamari said nothing for a while, he was staring at his palm....
Why was she always like this?
He had a lot he wanted to ask and tell her, but he was going to wait till she opened up to him. Jamari exhaled.
"Listen,babe. I told you my father froze my account but those are just the accounts he gave me.....those accounts are the actual future funds. I've not spent a cent of my inheritance. So let me handle the cost for the show okay?"
He waited for her to respond. She nodded a yes.
"Is there anything you need, I promised you ,you could get anything you want if you didn't argue with your siblings. So let's have it...chips,ice cream.....is there a new bag on the web you like?"
"No"
Jamari stood up almost immediately
"Nonsense!-" He said. "-A Lannister always pays his debt. I willl have you know that I'm one of the most famous wife pleasers in the Seven Kingdoms...in Tyrion Lannister's voice" Jamari said....then smiled when he saw a smile spread across her face.
"Okay there is this shoe.....it's for couples"
"You're much more interesting when you're buying stuffs" He winked ,then bit his lower lip.
Keisha laughed and smiled " I love you ,Jamjam"
" Always and forever" He said and she smiled again.
*. *. *. *. *. *.
The day went by, everywhere was quiet.
Rosaline looked out her room window,they should all be back anytime soon.....she hoped.
Noah and Shaan had gone out after they excused themselves from the dining table in the morning. Zoe and Richard decided to go on a couple's date leaving David with her.
Renee was having a conference call with the sponsors of her gym.... something about them wanting her to be the face of a protein shake or gym set product.
Uncle Nate had taken their father to meet up with some friends,for some reason Rosaline wasn't concerned about Gina and their mother that went shopping together!. It was probably to see who had the best taste when it came to fashion.
No one had seen the break light of Kenneth and Jessie since they left the night before.
" Family drama is not really my thing" Kenneth had told their father before he left.
Rudy and Jordan went to the hospital to check their baby's heartbeat because Rudy couldn't hear it.
Rosaline wanted to tell him,he wasn't going to be able to hear the baby's heartbeat just because he put his head on the stomach....but she thought against it.
Why bother....he was a new father, a little bit of fear wouldn't kill him.
Rosaline sighed...she was bored and David was asleep.
She thought of going on a stroll...but she couldn't leave the baby inside.
She wrapped David in a shawl and wore a shirt gown she took from her mom's box earlier in the afternoon when she was preparing to go out with Gina.
She went downstairs...Nolan was sitting on the sofa in the sitting room. The lights were turned off.
Talk about creepy....I can't believe I used to like this guy.
Rosaline didn't want to attract his attention,that was not even on the list of the things she needed. She was quiet but David helped her with a little bit of volume,just enough to say "hey,I'm holding a baby"
Sh*t....let's make a run for it.
Nolan stood up and turned on the light
"Rosa?" His voice sounded rough
She stopped in her tracks.....
Wonderful.
*. *. *. *. *. *.
Beatrice glanced at Gina who was sitting across the table. They decided to spend their evening at a cafe before heading home.
She still hasn't thrown her gown in the trash....
Beatrice scoffed.
"What was that for?" Gina asked
"Nothing" Beatrice looked away
"Hmm"
Silence....
To break the silence that was eating her up on the inside, Beatrice decided to talk first.
"Why don't you like me?" According to the Lord's teaching you must love your neighbor as yourself and also love your enemies. Gina wasn't her enemy but she was close to being one.
" What?"
"I'm not asking because I want to be friends with you ,I just wanted to know your reason"
" I don't hate you"
" Then what?"
"Nothing....I don't think much of you. I just find you overbearing"
"Oh....I see"
So much for wanting to change things.
The waiter came to ask what their order was.
" That won't be necessary for me" Beatrice carried her shopping bags and excused herself.
Gina bit her lower lip and closed her eyes.
" Oh, Lord. What is my problem?"
Why couldn't she say anything nice to her?
It was not like she hated Beatrice,she just couldn't stand her.
Her family was not wealthy and probably unhealthy unlike hers but Beatrice still held her head high.
It was like she was unstoppable..... Beatrice fought for her family,anytime and anywhere.... whether they were right or wrong.
That was something Gina knew she couldn't do.
Beatrice was everything she wanted to be as a mother and she was failing woefully in her attempt to be like Beatrice and she didn't want to show that she was weak.
At least Beatrice children were getting divorces or dropping one relationship after another. Hers were not doing anything, even if they were ,they never told her.
"Aren't you coming?. I don't know how to drive your car, and I didn't bring my wallet with me" Beatrice pouted.
Gina burst out laughing.....
And she doesn't take things to heart like I do.
"I like you, Beatrice. I'm just jealous of you. My family prefers your cooking,your dress sense is so simple and probably not worth millions but you look better than I do....most times.-" Gina held Beatrice hands in hers "- I sometimes wonder how you manage it all, you don't have as much as I do and you're still your happy self, I know somepeople say they're not okay underneath their smile, but I believe a people only have the strength to smile, even if it's fake, because they have hope and faith that things will be better.....my children don't talk to me ,Bea, they never did and they still don't. It's like they grew up without me knowing....I feel useless at times.
I can't cook,I'm always cranky,I'm getting old ,my own kids go to you for everything, school problems,girl or boy problems,life issues-"
"Nolan doesn't " Beatrice said
"Don't rub it in my face,it doesn't make me feel any better. And I'm scared they actually hate me deep down inside of them"
"Oh , sweetheart " Beatrice hugged her.