Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rose

Judging by the time he messaged, it's obvious Phillip reached out the moment he got home and discovered I left something for him. It won't taste as good now as it would have if he'd been there to receive it fresh first thing this morning, and a petty part of me feels a little pleased about that.

While I am glad he apologised for avoiding me, I'm still unsure where that leaves us in the long run. At least him asking me to stay for dinner seems like a good sign. What I do know is that it's time for me to take a hard look at why I had such a huge reaction to Blake's news.

Nobody likes admitting they're wrong, and it's worse having to acknowledge your unresolved baggage in the process, but it needs to be done. I'm self-aware enough to acknowledge that I don't trust easily. I've considered it before but I think it's time I actually follow through and find a therapist. Maybe talking through all the stuff in my past will help me get to a stage where I don't automatically assume the worst in people to the point all rational thought takes a backseat. The only therapy I've done has been focused around pain management but Aria talks to someone a couple of times a month and swears by it.

Decision made, I add looking for a therapist to my to-do list for the evening. First on the list is calling the number on the card Blake gave me outside Phillip's parents' house. I'm ready to find out more about this gallery show and what would be required of me. That is, if Blake hasn't decided I'm too much trouble and the slot has been taken by someone else while I've been spiralling. Phillip isn't the only person I need to apologise to.

"Blake Elmhurst, speaking." Blake's clipped voice has an impatient bite to it, possibly because he doesn't recognise my phone number.

"Hi, Blake. It's Rose from, um, yesterday afternoon," I begin sheepishly, worried he might have changed his mind about me.

"Rose, I'm glad you called," he replies warmly.

"I wanted to apologise for yesterday. You were trying to do something nice for me and I threw it in your face. I'm sorry."

"Consider it forgotten. I do feel I should apologise again as well. I should have realised Phillip asked me to wait for a good reason, instead of charging ahead before the pair of you had a chance to talk."

"I appreciate that, thank you."

"Was that all?"

"Actually… I was wondering if the spot in the gallery show is still available?"

"It is. I haven't spoken to Kimaya yet. I wanted to give you a chance to consider the opportunity first." Blake sounds a little smug, but I don't call him out on it seeing as he was right about me changing my mind.

Relief flows through me, making me realise that my old dream of displaying my work in a gallery is not as dead as I thought it was. It means a lot to me that Violet supports me and other local artists by displaying our pieces and selling them through Snug, but having my work in a real gallery would be truly amazing.

"I'm starting to see why Phillip likes you so much. Are you able to tell me exactly what she would need from me for the show? I don't know how last-minute we're talking but I have a few pieces on hand that might work if she doesn't have a strict theme in mind."

Blake proceeds to explain what Kimaya is looking for. The only ‘theme' for the show is portraits from up-and-coming artists. The plan is to showcase a mix of styles so I don't need to worry about my work not lining up with the rest of the show.

I end the call after thanking Blake then start dragging my paintings out and lining them up along my bedroom wall. When I run out of space the final two go on top of my bed. Blake told me to photograph six pieces and email them to Kimaya for approval. She has already given Blake the go-ahead to invite me to participate in the show so I know she likes my work, but it is still nerve-wracking. I still can't believe the Kimaya Chatterjee knows who I am. Her reputation for helping artists propel their careers to the next level is legendary and now she wants me to take part in one of her shows. I have to pick the perfect selection of paintings to impress her.

A knock on my bedroom door jolts me out of the staring contest I'm currently locked in against my artwork. Just as well, the paintings are winning.

"Come in," I call out. Aria appears in the doorway, eyes widening as she takes in the paintings scattered around the room.

"Does this mean you're doing the gallery show?" There is no missing the note of hope in her question though, to her credit, she's obviously trying to keep her tone neutral.

"It does." A nervous smile spreads across my face. Admitting it out loud makes the whole thing seem more real. Aria crushes me to her, a wild grin lighting up her entire being.

"This is amazing!"

I laugh as she jumps up and down with me still in her arms. "I have to send photos of my selection for approval. Want to help me choose six?" I gesture to the mess I've created and Aria keeps grinning, unperturbed.

"Let's do this." She gathers her copper mane into a ponytail, ready to get to work.

Aria gets me to list out pros and cons for each painting—the woman loves lists. Once we remove a couple of definite rejects she helps me swap options in and out until we arrive at a selection of six that complement each other best.

Too tired to cook, we order Chinese food before putting away the rejects then make our way to the living room to wait. Taking photographs of my final selection will have to wait until morning when there's natural light available.

The food arrives half an hour later and now Aria and I are both settled in on the sofa, a feast of mini spring rolls, sweet and sour pork, vegetable noodles, and egg fried rice spread out before us.

"Thank you for helping me. Not just with all that." I wave a hand in the direction of my bedroom. "With everything. If you hadn't trusted me with the set design project, I would still be struggling to even pick up a paintbrush. I certainly wouldn't be preparing for my first show right now." Aria reaches over to squeeze my hand.

"I'm so proud of you, Rose." Swallowing past the lump in my throat I blink away the tears gathering in my eyes.

"I'm not sure I deserve that." My shoulders slump with a sigh. "I've made a mess of things with Phillip and now I don't know if he wants to fix it." While we were choosing paintings, I filled Aria in on what happened today. She seems sure it will all work out, I only wish I shared her confidence.

"Messes can be cleaned up." Her serious gaze holds mine. "As long as you learn something from them and don't keep making the same mess over and over, people usually have it in them to be pretty forgiving. Especially when they've fucked up too."

"You're right." I nod. At least I really want her to be right.

"Of course I am." She smirks, picking up the TV remote. "Now let's find something to binge watch."

Phillip

For the second night in a row, sleep evaded me. Something tells me I won't get a proper night of rest until I really make things right with Rose. It was foolish of me to let us go another night without talking it out. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is a reminder of the hurt in her eyes when she found out about the gallery show. Sure, there was a whole load of anger too, but underneath it all was pain. Pain that I caused, no matter how unintentionally.

Shame curls in my gut when I think of how she must have felt in that moment, in front of my whole family, and then again when she came here with a peace offering only to find the house empty. I am a grown man and need to face my mistakes head-on, not run and hide like I'd expect a child Toby's age to do.

In the heat of the moment, I was unable to see past my own bruised ego, upset and angry Rose didn't trust me enough to give me a chance to explain. But the more I think about it from her perspective, the more I understand how it must have sounded to her. After all the crap her family and ex have put her through, it's not surprising she assumed the worst.

I only hope that after everything with Blake on Sunday, and my stunt yesterday, I haven't ruined my chances with her. On the bright side, she agreed to stay for dinner, surely that means something? If she is willing to hear my apology, I will grovel like my life depends on it because, in a way, it does. I want a future with Rose, to spend my life with her, and that's what's on the line here.

Unable to take the doubt-filled thoughts churning through my mind any longer, I throw back the covers and dress quickly in a pair of loose shorts and a t-shirt. Since I can't speed up time and jump straight to this afternoon, I'll try outrunning my problems instead.

It's still dark as I step out onto my driveway to work through a few warm-up stretches, but the streetlamps provide enough light to see by. My breath fogs in the air, the morning chill raising goosebumps along my arms. Knowing I'll soon work up a sweat, I ignore the cold and set off at a jog. My pace quickly turns punishing as I do my best to burn off the frustration I feel towards myself. Sweat runs into my eyes and down my back as I start to loop round towards home. The run hasn't solved anything, not that I'd imagined it would, but I do feel better for it.

After working through a quick cool-down in the driveway, I head back inside. The sky is just starting to lighten, a sign I need to get over to Mrs Jeffries' house soon if I want to make it back here in time to spend the afternoon with Rose. I'm about to head upstairs for a quick shower when my phone rings. My brow furrows with concern when I see Eric's name lighting up the screen. It's not like him to call this early.

"Hey, is everything OK?"

"Is now a bad time? You sound… off." Trust my big brother to always know when I'm struggling, although after the way lunch ended on Sunday it's hardly a challenge to figure out why.

"I just got back from a run. I need to get going soon but we can talk for a minute. Now tell me what's up."

"Can't a guy just call his brother for a chat?"

I scoff. "Not at—" I glance at the time, "quarter past seven in the morning, no."

"Fair enough." He lets out a weary sigh. "Toby's nanny just called. There's been a family emergency, it's her dad. They don't know what's wrong yet so I'm not sure how serious it is but she'll be gone at least a few days. Obviously, I told her not to worry about us and to take as long as she needs, but now I need help with Toby."

"Tell me what you need."

"I can get him to school this morning but I have meetings all afternoon and a dinner meeting tonight that I can't reschedule. I hate to ask on short notice but could you pick him up from school and have him stay with you tonight? I can swing by early tomorrow morning for the school-run."

"Of course, and don't worry about getting him to school tomorrow. I was only going to be working from home anyway."

When Eric's ex-wife, Melanie, left just after Toby turned one, my parents and I helped out a lot while Eric adjusted to being a single parent. Now Toby is older and can be left with a nanny after school our parents have been able to take a step back, settling into the role of doting grandparents. My job is usually ‘fun uncle' but I make sure Eric knows he can always call me if he needs help.

"You're a lifesaver," Eric replies, sighing with relief.

"Just a heads-up, Rose is staying for dinner tonight. We were going to talk things out after… well, you know." The clusterfuck of an argument at our family lunch. "Obviously we'll wait until Toby's gone to bed before we discuss any of that, but I wanted you to know she'll be here."

"Thanks for telling me. I'll make sure Toby's aware so he's not surprised to see her, you know he gets shy around new people." He clears his throat uncomfortably. "I hope the two of you can work things out. You both seemed happy on Sunday before Blake decided to open his damn mouth. I still can't believe he screwed you over like that."

"No, it's not like that. I told Blake I was going to ask Rose about the art show and I didn't. He didn't mean to cause a problem. It's my own fault for not telling her about it right away."

Eric huffs. "If you say so."

"Don't say anything to Mum yet. She really likes Rose and I don't want her getting all excited about this in case it doesn't work out."

"I won't say anything to Mum, but you know I can't guarantee Toby won't mention seeing his favourite uncle's new friend again next time he sees his grandma," he replies, tone teasing in the way only an annoying older brother can manage. Smug bastard. He will start dating again eventually and I'll be sure to remind him just how helpful he was in this moment when his time comes.

"I'm his only uncle," I remind him drily.

"Doesn't mean you can't still be his favourite."

"You know, next time you need a babysitter you might find that I'm suddenly unavailable."

Eric laughs, knowing it's an empty threat. I love spending time with Toby. "Right, I'd better let you go. I need to get the little guy ready for school anyway. Good luck for tonight and let me know how it goes."

"Thanks, man. I'll keep you posted."

After ending the call with my brother, I rush through getting ready for the day and scarf down a quick breakfast. I'm ready to head back out only half an hour later but stop to text Rose before I leave.

Me:

Hey, my brother just called. I need to pick up Toby from school today so I'll be back a little later than expected this afternoon. He'll be staying with me tonight but if you don't mind waiting until I've put him to bed, I'd still really like you to stay for dinner so we can have that talk later.

Raincloud:

Hope everything's OK. Sure, that's fine as long as your brother doesn't mind me being there.

Already checked, Eric's fine with it. He and Toby are all good but their nanny's had a family emergency. Eric has a bunch of work stuff today that he can't get out of which is why I'm stepping in.

Glad they're both alright. See you later.

Running a hand through my hair, I sigh with relief that Rose is still staying for dinner. I'll do anything for my nephew and brother but I can't deny it would have been torture to go another day with this unresolved tension between Rose and me. Who knows, maybe having Toby with us later will be a good thing, nobody can stay mad with that kid around.