Accidental Love

by BL Miller

  "That would be fine except for one little detail." Ronnie held her forefinger and thumb slightly apart. "It seems Hercules in there decided that he didn't want to go willingly with the cops. He bit one of them." She wiggled her fingers together as if wiping away her sister's idea.

  "What about bail? We can get him out on bail, can't we?"

  "Susan, it's better to leave him in there, don't you understand? He needs help, help he won't get if he's allowed to roam the streets."

  "Ronnie, I know you two haven't always gotten along and I know he's jealous of you, but how can you be so petty that you would let your own brother spend Christmas in jail?"

  A bald man strode into the station, his briefcase in one hand and his cellular phone in the other.

  "I came as soon as I got the call." It was Richard Jenkins, the family lawyer who did little more than fix their parking tickets in exchange for his huge annual retainer. "I've been on the phone with the ADA for the last half hour."

  "Who called you?" Ronnie asked.

  "Why, your mother did, of course. Tommy couldn't remember my number."

  "You mean Tommy called her?" She turned away from them and cursed silently. Of course he would call her, who else would continue to rescue him from scrape after scrape? There was one last hope. "What about biting the cop?"

  "All taken care of." Jenkins smiled proudly. "He only tore through the guy's shirt and didn't touch his skin so we were able to bargain it down to restitution and community service to be served after the new year." He opened his briefcase and put the phone away. "If you ladies will excuse me, I'll be back in a few minutes with your brother." He nodded at Jack. "Good to see you again."

  "Likewise, Richard."

  Ronnie had enough. She fished her coat off the rack and roughly tossed it on. "Where are you going?" Susan asked.

  "I don't feel like sticking around to celebrate." She looked down to see that in her haste she had misbuttoned her coat. "I'm telling you, Susan. Letting him out like this is a big mistake." She gave up on the buttons and angrily tugged the belt around her waist. "What he needs is rehab, not a get out of jail free card."

  "Maybe what he needs is to know that his family loves him and supports him," Susan snapped back. "How do you think he felt to find out his own sister had him locked out of the family business?"

  "How did you feel when you heard the result of the audit? You enjoy watching your annual dividends go into Tommy's pocket?" Susan opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, realizing her sister was right.

  "Maybe it will work out, Ronnie. Maybe this is what he needed to get himself back on track."

  "Don't get your hopes up, Susan. I have a feeling this is only the beginning."

  Too angry to return straight home, Ronnie drove around the streets of Albany for over an hour. She returned home to a dark house. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she slipped into the room and began to get undressed in the dark. "I'm awake," Rose said as she switched on the lamp.

  "I was trying to be quiet."

  "I was waiting up for you. How did it go?"

  "Not well." She turned her back and removed her shirt. "It seems our burglar is none other than my baby brother."

  "Tommy?"

  "Nice way to treat his family, don't you think?" She pulled the T-shirt over her head and turned around to find Rose had put the bed in an upright position. Figured I needed to talk, eh? She slipped under the covers and adjusted her pillows. "I didn't bother going down to see the damage first hand. I have enough of a headache." She brought her fingers to her temples.

  "Let me," Soft fingers replaced hers and began to gently rub the tender area. "How's that?" Rose whispered.

  "Mmm…a little harder…hmm, yeah, right there…"

  There was not an ounce of relaxation anywhere in Ronnie's upper body, the young woman soon discovered. She gently nudged the executive into a sitting position and moved her hands down to the broad shoulders. Every muscle was bunched up tight, tensed as if ready for battle. Pressing gently at first, then with more effort, Rose forced the muscles to surrender to her manipulations.

  "That's right, just relax," she cooed. "Close your eyes."

  "They are closed," came the relaxed murmur. Rose smiled to herself at the unspoken compliment.

  "Think about the day after tomorrow. Think about all the lights on the tree…the presents…"

  "Rose Grayson, are you trying to hypnotize me?"

  "Of course not, silly." She moved her thumbs to the base of Ronnie's skull and began kneading the area gently. "I just want you to relax and think about how much fun Christmas is going to be."

  "Mmm."

  "That's right…" The touch became lighter as Ronnie relaxed. "Does that feel better?"

  "Much," she sighed.

  "Good." A self-satisfied smile came to the young woman's lips. "How about we get some sleep and leave all the bad stuff for morning, okay?" She nudged Ronnie back onto her own pillow.

  "Good night."

  "Good night, Rose." It was silent for a moment before Ronnie added "Thank you." The burden off her shoulders for at least one night, she quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.

  *********************

  Ronnie took a sip of coffee and looked out at the picture perfect Christmas morning. A light dusting of snow had fallen overnight, covering her back yard and the trees that surrounded it with a light blanket of white. The sun was just coming up, the whole scene reminding her of a Currier and Ives print. Tightening the sash on her terrycloth robe, she opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the deck, the thin layer of snow crunching under her blue slippers. She set her mug on the table, the heat causing a small ring of snow to melt and reveal the green painted metal beneath. Ronnie took a deep breath and smiled. It was cold enough to keep the snow from melting but the lack of wind kept it from being bitterly so.

  She stood there and drank her coffee, enjoying a family of rabbits scampering across the field. Their gray coats were a sharp contrast to the crisp white snow. Perfect. I'm going to make this the best Christmas you've ever had, Rose. At least I'm going to try my damnedest. She thought of the presents under the tree. As much as she hated malls and shopping in general, Ronnie took great pleasure in personally choosing each and every gift for Rose. Finally the cold registered through her robe and she retreated inside.

  The kitchen clock showed it was just past seven. Damn, too early. Setting the empty cup in the sink, she headed into the living room. Hundreds of tiny lights twinkled and flashed over the tree, their multitudes of colors reflecting off the shiny paper covering the gifts piled on the floor. Ronnie smiled. Everything was perfect. Now it was just a matter of waiting for Rose to wake up. She looked at the grandfather clock, hoping she would not have to wait much longer. I haven't been this excited about Christmas in years. "Come on, Rose," she muttered to herself, noting the time seemed to be passing much slower than usual. She rearranged the presents and had another cup of coffee. The clock now read seven-thirty. Tabitha rubbed against her legs. "What do you want?"

  "Mrrow?"

  "Breakfast for you isn't for another half-hour."

  "Mrrow?" Tabitha walked over to the cabinet where the cat food was stored and cried again. When crying did not work, the frisky kitty rolled onto her back and turned her head at a ridiculous angle. Ronnie chuckled and shook her head.

  "Well, since it's Christmas." She knelt down and opened the cabinet. "Okay now, let's see what we got here." She pulled out a green labeled can and held it in front of the now purring feline.

  "You want turkey for Christmas?"

  "Mrrow." Tabitha batted at the can with her paw.

  "Fine, turkey it is then."

  Feeding Tabitha did not use up as much time as Ronnie would have liked. When the grandfather clock chimed the eight o'clock hour, the anticipation was killing her. "I think it is late enough, don't you, Tabitha?" She reached down and scooped the cat up in her arms. "Let's go wake Mommy so she can see all the pretty presents, hmm?"
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br />   Ronnie set Tabitha down at the foot of the bed and crawled in next to the sleeping woman.

  "Rose? Rose, time to wake up." A gentle nudge to the shoulder. "Rose? It's Christmas morning. Don't you want to get up and open presents?"

  "Hrmmphf."

  "Come on, it's time to get up. You don't want to waste the whole morning in bed, do you?"

  Sleepy green eyes slowly revealed themselves. "What time is it?"

  "Eight." The eyes snapped shut and the young woman let out a groan. She pulled the blanket up over her face only to have a stronger hand pull it back down.

  "But it's Christmas. You can't sleep in on Christmas." Ronnie hopped off the bed and pushed the portable commode over. "Come on, up and at 'em."

  Rose gave one more groan but slowly opened her eyes, deciding Ronnie was entirely too chipper in the mornings…until she realized what morning it was. "Oh God, it's Christmas!"

  "Merry Christmas," Ronnie chuckled, pulling the blanket out of the way and laying on her side, using her elbow to prop her head up. "It's a beautiful morning and it would be a crime to let you sleep through it."

  "How long have you been up?"

  "About an hour and a half."

  "I'm surprised you waited this long." Ronnie was about to defend herself when she saw the twinkle in Rose's eyes. She pounced playfully on the smaller woman, the two engaging in a brief tickle fight. "You are ruthless," Rose said when they finally broke apart.

  "Well, I guess you're awake now, aren't you? I'll just leave you to take care of business."

  "Uh, okay. I'll just be a couple of minutes."

  "Sure, just give a shout when you're ready. I'll bring your coffee into the living room. You can drink it and open presents at the same time, can’t you?"

  Rose listened carefully until she was certain Ronnie was not coming right back, then she retrieved the small present hidden in the drawer of the night stand. An unexpected fear passed through her. Suddenly, the pen and pencil set she had Karen pick up for her did not seem such a great gift after all. If Ronnie wanted one, she would have had it by now. Maybe she did not like mechanical pencils because she could not bite them. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she grumbled to herself before setting the gift down on the stand and pushing herself over to the commode.

  Fifteen minutes later she was dressed, wearing a light beige shirt Ronnie had insisted on giving her. Rose did not believe for a minute that it was too small for her benefactor, as it hung a good eight to ten inches past her own hips and the cuffs had to be folded over several times before she could see her fingertips. Still, it was given to her by Ronnie, and like the Dartmouth nightshirt, it was something Maria was hard pressed to get away from her long enough to wash.

  A final run of the brush through her hair and Rose was ready. She set the present on her lap then covered it with the quilt before calling out. A few seconds later Ronnie appeared. "Ready?"

  "I guess so." She forced a smile to her face. Oh God, please let her like my gift, she silently prayed as Ronnie helped her into the wheelchair and guided her out of the room.

  *******************

  The large pile of presents spilling out from under the tree captivated Rose's attention as Ronnie helped her into the sunken level of the living room. Even when she stayed with a family of five one Christmas, the young orphan had never seen so many presents stuffed under the tree. She recognized the large, flowing style of Ronnie's handwriting on all the gift tags. "Is your family coming over today?"

  "No. I have to go see Susan's family later, but no one's supposed to be stopping by. Why?"

  Why put all their presents under the tree if they aren't stopping over? Her expression became even more puzzled. "Well, aren't those their presents?" Ronnie gave a short laugh and squeezed her arm.

  "No. They're yours."

  Rose's eyes grew wide as saucers and for a few seconds she forgot how to breathe. Mine? "Yyou mean…?" Giving up on speech, she merely pointed at the presents.

  "Yup, they're all for you." Ronnie's brow crinkled. "Is something wrong?"

  "N-no…I…" She looked up at the most important person in her life as a pair of tears slid down her face. Rose had to fight to keep her lip from quivering. "I never…all those…for me…" She reached out and was met halfway, enfolded in strong, comforting arms. "Oh Ronnie."

  "Shh, I've got you." Ronnie left one arm around Rose's back and used the other to stroke her hair.

  "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about how many there were. I just kept seeing things I thought you'd like and bought them."

  "B-but I only got you one…"

  "Shh." She put her fingers to Rose's lips. "It's the thought that counts, not anything else." Wiping away a tear streak with her thumb, Ronnie spoke again. "One gift from you is worth a thousand from anyone else, got that?"

  The blonde head moved with a shaky nod. "Can I give you my gift first?"

  "You know what…" Ronnie wiped away the other streak from Rose's cheek. "I'd rather wait until after you open your presents. Would that be okay?"

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yeah." She stood up and reached for the handles of the wheelchair.

  "Where are we going?" Rose asked with some surprise when she felt herself moving.

  "It's Christmas. You'd be much more comfortable on the couch and I'm tired of kneeling. Come on, we'll sit back and drink our coffees, then open presents."

  ****************

  Rose was just settling on the couch when they heard a crash from behind the tree. "What the…?" Ronnie exclaimed. She got her answer a second later when Tabitha came tearing out from under the tree and raced into the kitchen. Before either could speak, the orange and white blur returned and dove back into the mountain of presents.

  "What's wrong with her?" Rose asked, concerned. "I've never seen her move so fast before."

  "I think…" Ronnie crossed the room, knelt down, and began moving presents out of the way.

  "Yup…Tabitha, you greedy little girl." She moved back to let the younger woman see. The cat was lying on her back, batting at an ornament ball dangling above her. "Your little baby there got into her Christmas present." She reached in to retrieve the package only to have her wrist caught between Tabitha's front legs. "Don't you even think about clawing me," she warned while slowly trying to pull her hand back. Soft paws revealed their weapons, the claws pressing against her skin until she stopped moving. Tabitha looked up at her for a second, then began purring and licking Ronnie's wrist. "Miss Grayson, I do believe your cat is stoned out of her mind." She pulled out the bag of catnip. It was still wrapped in festive green paper, except for the prominent piece missing where it had been chewed into.

  "You put catnip under the tree?"

  "Yeah but it was in a plastic bag and wrapped in paper."

  Rose smirked and shook her head. "Ronnie, they can smell catnip a mile away. Tabitha. Tabitha?

  Come here, honey."

  The cat moved three steps before falling into a lump on the carpet and cleaning herself.

  "I don't think she's going anywhere, Rose." Enough of this. I want you to open presents. She reached over and picked up a shirt box wrapped in silver paper. "Since I'm over here anyway, let's start with your first present." She returned to the couch and handed it over, trying hard to control her enthusiasm and excitement.

  Small fingers ran over the fancy paper and red bow. "It's almost too pretty to open."

  "It's just wrapping paper. Open it," she urged. Come on, open it up and see what I got you. A smile akin to a child's grew on Ronnie's face.

  Rose looked around. "There's no place to throw the paper away."

  "Toss it on the floor. I'll pick it up later. Open it!" Ronnie scooted over until she was on the cushion next to the younger woman.

  "I can't toss it on the floor." Her fingertip traced the bold writing on the gift tag.

  "But…" Ronnie looked around, frowning when she did not find anything suitable in sight. "I'll be right back." She hopped off the couch and
went into the kitchen. Rose listened to the sound of cupboards opening and shutting, followed by drawers. There was a muttered curse followed by

  "There it is." A few seconds later Ronnie returned, shaking the garbage bag open. She handed it to Rose and returned to the adjoining cushion, tucking her bare feet up underneath her thighs.

  "Okay. Now open it."

  The young woman looked from the present to Ronnie. "Thank you."

  "You don't even know what it is yet." Hurry up and open it. Rose slipped her fingernail under the tag and carefully separated it from the package, setting it on the side table. Another pass and one corner flap opened. "Just tear it," Ronnie growled playfully. "Or we'll be here until next Christmas."

  Rose looked at the beautiful package, her friend's overly excited face, then at the present again. Small fingers curled beneath the open flap and with a quick tug tore a large strip of paper away. A few more rips and the box was opened to reveal a rust colored shirt. She picked it up by the shoulders and held it out to look at it. "Oh! That's very nice."