Chapter 21 - ROSALIE MEETS MARIBEL
Rosalie was twenty when she chose to meet Maribel.
Her choice.
Neutral café.
I did not attend.
Stellan did not.
She told us afterward.
First question:
“Did you want me?”
Maribel said:
“Yes.”
“Did you want me specifically?”
Pause.
“Eventually.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid of losing something connected to my father, and I convinced myself being your mother would solve both problems.”
Rosalie nodded.
“Did you think my mom didn’t matter?”
“I made myself act like she mattered less.”
Good answer.
“Did you forge her signature?”
“No.”
“Did you know?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Two days before the party.”
“Then why not tell her?”
“I was a coward.”
Rosalie drank her coffee.
No comforting.
Then:
“Do you still want kids?”
“I don’t know.”
“Good.”
Maribel laughed unexpectedly.
“Good?”
“Seems healthier than stealing me.”
Dark humor.
The meeting lasted forty-five minutes.
At end Maribel asked:
“Can I hug you?”
Rosalie said:
“No.”
Maribel answered:
“Okay.”
That mattered.
Six months later they met again.
No hug then either.
May you like
Relationship remained cautious.
That was enough.
