“Isabel collected all the money for the Girl Scout cookies but didn’t have it when it came time to pay for them,” Rose explained to Ronnie.
“Sounds like quite a family,” the executive said dryly.
“Not to mention that her kids got into them before they were delivered,” Delores added, always ready for a chance to run the rest of her family down, even if she were guilty of the same things.
“Anyway…” She turned her attention to her former foster daughter. “So what do the doctors say?
I hope you went to a real hospital and not just down to the clinic. You know they don’t know anything down there. I fought with them for five years over Jimmy and they never did find anything wrong with him,” Delores said. Rose nodded politely thinking to herself the reason they never found anything wrong with her foster brother was there was never anything wrong with him. Jimmy was the picture of health during the time she stayed with them, yet Delores dragged him from doctor to doctor, insisting that some dreadful rare ailment affected her younger son.
“You know he’s in college now.”
“Really?” Rose had not thought he would make it through high school. “What’s he majoring in?”
“Acting. Someday he’ll get his own series just like Seinfeld. He even got an offer to play downtown,” she boasted, as if downtown Cobleskill was anything to brag about. “Yup, they’re doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Andy Gibb played the lead on Broadway, you know.”
“Now there’s someone to look up to,” Ronnie drawled, earning her a slightly raised eyebrow from the young woman. She gave Rose a slight pout but quickly returned to her normal bored expression as Delores continued to ramble on and fill the young woman in on all the trivial events that had happened in her family recently. Eventually, as Ronnie suspected it would, the conversation turned to money.
“You know the state stopped paying for Jimmy when he turned eighteen. It didn’t occur to them that I needed that extra money each month for the other kids. One in college and four other kids still in school.”
“Doesn’t Jimmy help out?” Rose queried.
“He only works weekends at Fred’s gas station. He needs that money for gas to get back and forth to school.”
“Sounds like Jimmy needs to get another job and help out,” Ronnie quipped, earning another disapproving, albeit brief, look from Rose. Delores shifted, focusing her attention on the young woman and wishing that the dark-haired woman would go away. To her delight, it was at that moment the phone rang and Ronnie excused herself for a moment. The scheming woman leaned forward in her seat.
“The State doesn’t care. The idiot social worker doesn’t care either.” She paused, sighing for effect. “It’s so hard when you’re alone, you understand that, don’t you, Rose?”
“Yes,” she replied. Delores smiled inwardly.
“You know how hard it was when you were there, all the sacrifices I had to make just to keep you and the others out of the state orphanages and group homes.” She watched, pleased, as Rose nodded., the dumpy woman thought. “You must be getting some kind of disability money, aren’t you?”
“Actually, no. I didn’t get any benefits at Money Slasher and I haven’t applied for anything.” Rose’s head drooped, a visible expression of her knowledge as to where the conversation was going and her inability to speak up and stop it.
“But you’re living here. You can’t tell me someone like her lets you live here rent free. You must be paying her something.”
“I think that’s a matter between Rose and I,” Ronnie said as she reentered the room, her tone effectively ending the subject. She did not miss the quick look of relief which passed her way from the grateful woman. She also could not miss the way Rose’s shoulders were slumped.
“Well I don’t see what the big deal is. I just asked a simple question.” Delores tried to appear hurt, but no one was buying it.
“And it was answered,” Ronnie replied firmly as she took her seat. She crossed her arms, making it clear that she was not leaving the room again. She had no doubt that if she had not returned the leech would have guilted Rose into giving her money. Ronnie would be damned if she were going to let that happen.
“I think Rose is old enough to speak for herself, don’t you?” Delores made no attempt to hide her anger. She had only one shot left. “Rose, I think you should come stay with me until you recover. I always took such good care of you when you were a child.”
There it was. The threat was on the table. Delores was making Rose choose between her and Ronnie and the overweight woman was confident the quiet child she once knew and controlled would come forth and pick her.
“I…I…” Rose felt the pressure closing in around her. It had been so automatic to do whatever Delores bid for so long. Now she actually had a choice, an option to make up her own mind. Submit to the long-standing status quo or plunge forward into the unknown with Ronnie. She lifted her head and gazed into soft blue depths, seeing only warmth and concern. “I…I don’t want to leave.” She said it to Ronnie just as much as to Delores. She watched the executive release a breath and give a small smile. On the other hand, the former foster mother looked furious.
“Rose, I want to talk to you privately, or does she make all your decisions for you?” Delores glared at Ronnie.
“Rose is her own woman,” the black-haired woman said. “I don’t control her, or manipulate her,” she insisted. Her own temper was rising rapidly and Ronnie’s thoughts centered about throwing the fat woman out on her ear and hopefully out of Rose’s life.
“Then why don’t you let her tell me that for herself?” Delores snarled, visibly upset her plans were crumbling around her. “You don’t know how hard I worked to keep a roof over her head when no one else would.”
“You took her in because of the extra money from the State. That’s all there is to it.” Ronnie stood up and began pacing. “Have you once asked her if there’s anything you could do to help her? No, you asked what happened and then went into your own little world of problems, half of which would be solved if you got off your lazy ass and got a job instead of living off of everyone else.” She deliberately avoided looking at Rose, certain she would see disapproval in her eyes. She knew she should stop, let her friend fight her own battles, but she would be damned if she was going to let Delores Bickering bully Rose into giving her one more cent.
“I don’t have to listen to this,” the large woman said angrily, rising to her feet and retrieving her pocketbook. “Rose, you’re letting this bitch control you. You’re going to turn your back on me?
On the only family you have?” She stepped up onto the main level and headed for the door.
“After everything I’ve done for you.”
Rose let a lone tear slip down her cheek. “Wait.” She looked up at Ronnie. “Please?”
“Rose,” the dark-haired woman protested, “you don’t have to do this.”
“Please, just a few minutes. I’ll be all right.” She winced inwardly at the hurt look on Ronnie’s face but knew she needed to do this.
It went completely against her better judgment but finally Ronnie nodded. “I’ll be downstairs.” She shot a murderous look at Delores before leaving the room.