The Sister’s Secrets: Rose. Katlyn Duncan

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СКАЧАТЬ thing Rose got up early that morning. Instead of rushing to change, she ignored the small coffee stain on her pants – she’d get more than that at work – and grabbed her keys from the basket next to the fridge.

      As it did most days, the photograph on the freezer door caught her eye. A couple with two young girls smiled back at her. They stood in front of the house she’d grown up in. Rose reached out and smoothed her finger over Dad’s face and then focused on the little dark-haired girl with the devious glint in her eyes. Her arm wrapped around little Rose’s shoulders, holding her close. She’d kept the picture as a reminder of simpler times when her family was a strong unit and not broken by hard times.

      To call Reen or not…that was the question. Reen hadn’t been involved in any decisions when it came to Pearl’s future. There wasn’t time for an argument, not this early in the morning.

      Telling her sister about Mom’s fall wasn’t going to help heal their rift. In fact, it was an invitation to a different conversation, one that they’d had ad nauseam.

      Instead, Rose pushed the thought out of her mind and headed for the door. Humid air caught in her throat, but there were looming gray clouds in the distance. Not wanting to take any more chances with her clothes before work, she grabbed her jacket, slinging it over her shoulder and went outside.

      The ride over to the Whinding House was mostly uneventful. The annual Mermaid Festival kicked off later that week, and preparations were underway.

      In the 1800s, there were rumors of mermaids living off the coast of The Burrow. Sailors and fishers weaved stories of the beautiful half-human, half-fish creatures who took lonely men to the deep. Sometimes the townsfolk blamed the creatures for ill weather and sinking ships. The rumors stuck around for a long time until one of the townspeople came up with the idea to honor the mermaids, instead of fearing them.

      After the first festival, the story goes that no more men fled from their homes to answer the siren call and the fishers were prosperous for years to come. The town kept the tradition alive, even though it became a fruitful time for the businesses on land instead of those that relied on the water for their livelihoods.

      Rose thanked whoever watched over her that there wasn’t traffic yet. She had a slim window of time to get to work before Missy.

      The parking lot was mostly empty, other than the vans that transported the non-memory-care residents on day trips or to appointments.

      Rose parked closest to The Cottage, the red brick building under lockdown at the back of the property. When she chose a place for Pearl to live the rest of her life, Rose hadn’t taken anything lightly.

      The beautifully renovated Victorian house at the front of the complex had been a welcome sight, but the cost of the care was much more than she could afford. While Mom’s insurance helped, extra hours working at The Siren restaurant and renting her childhood home were the only ways she could get Mom the care she needed.

      Flinging open the door to the building, Rose charged inside to the front desk.

      The receptionist, Tina, glanced up from her computer. She eyed Rose over her black-rimmed glasses. ‘I had a feeling I’d see you today.’

      Tina knew everything going on in The Cottage. If Rose hadn’t played at her house as a child, she would have sworn Tina slept under her desk.

      ‘You know me,’ Rose said.

      ‘I do,’ she said.

      Ignoring the pity in Tina’s eyes was hard. There was no reason for anyone to feel bad for her. She wasn’t the one locked in this place.

      Rose went through the motions, signing in to the guest log before walking over to the double doors behind Tina’s desk. She punched in the code on the small keypad to unlock the doors.

      Once inside, the scent of bleach and cleaning solutions stung her nose. With her weekly visits over the last few months, that scent replaced the memory of Mom’s floral perfume that she’d worn for as long as Rose knew her. Now every time Rose cleaned the apartment, she automatically thought of Pearl. The mother she’d locked away.

      Rose took a breath, steeling herself. Jessie had said Pearl was fine. She wouldn’t lie, right?

      Taking care of Mom had been Rose’s job for years, but now that she was in the safety of The Cottage, Rose had no idea how to pull back the control, even with professionals on-site.

      Inside Mom’s room, both beds were empty. Pearl hadn’t had a roommate since the late Mrs. Hudson, but it was only a matter of time. Not that Pearl would notice anyway. The flowers she’d bought a few days ago bent over the edge of the vase resting on the dresser. Rose pinched the silky, delicate petals between her fingers.

      She realigned the picture frames and small trinkets from their house as little reminders to Pearl. Memories flooded her mind, but she snapped out of it as quickly as she fell in.

      As she walked into the hallway, she followed the sound of clinking utensils from the main room. Even though Rose had been up for over two hours, it was time for the residents’ breakfast.

      As she always did when she came to visit Mom, Rose took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose. Warmth enveloped her the moment she stepped into the room.

      Two broad windows made up the back wall, offering a full view of the ocean in the distance. The sight always took her breath away. But she didn’t want others to see the effect it had on her. The walls closed in around her, and the ache in her chest stole her breath.

      She turned away, her gaze pausing on each of the residents before settling on Mom’s excessively long gray hair covering the back of her chair. Even though Mom had no idea what her name was, she held on to her habit of keeping her hair as it always had been.

      It was a trait they both shared. Mom never forced Reen or Rose to cut their hair, and because of that, it grew longer than most. Rose always enjoyed the feel of it across her shoulders and back. Somehow, it brought her closer to Pearl. While it was a nuisance most of the time, keeping it up in a bun or a long fishtail braid had become her styling choice.

      Today, Pearl sat alone. The other residents sat in twos or threes around the room. Some of them chatted with each other while most had a faraway look and muttered to themselves.

      Rose sat in the empty chair next to her mother.

      As usual, Pearl slowly turned towards her daughter without any flash of recognition in her eyes. Her skin had loosened with age and the rapid decline of her health, but Rose still saw the fresh-faced woman that Dad fell for. Her lips were full and her nose a perfect slope with a rounded end. The three Barros girls favored each other, and Rose was happy for her genetics.

      Pressure rose in Rose’s chest, but she didn’t show it.

      Instead, she inspected the white gauze wrapped around her mother’s wrist.

      Movement from across the room caught her attention. An unfamiliar person nodded at Rose. She guessed it was Jessie, the newer CNA who had called her. She pulled a pen from her blonde ponytail and wrote something down on the clipboard clutched in her hands.

      Rose turned to Mom. ‘Good morning, Pearl.’ She didn’t try to force memories on Pearl, and hadn’t for a while now. Calling her ‘Mom’ was only going to cause problems. ‘My name is Rose.’

      ‘Rose,’ СКАЧАТЬ