Chapter Text
That had been one strange night.
The others had already gone to bed and Miles had left a while ago. Rose was out on the lanai, stargazing - not that the night sky of Miami was filled with many stars. They were nowhere near as many as in St Olaf.
The full moon, which was still visible, must have tampered with their heads for them to do such things. She still couldn't believe that she had kissed a stranger. She had never done that before and it wasn't something she thought she would ever do. She knew that it was something Blanche would. The only thing that consoled her was that Shakespeare quote that Dorothy had mentioned. The quote itself showed that this crazy night was over but it was mostly the way Dorothy had said it. She was always good with words and Rose admired that ability of hers. She loved listening to Dorothy’s voice whenever she would say something wise.
As she was lost in her own thoughts, she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned and saw Dorothy walking towards her.
“Hi, Rose.”
“Hi, Dorothy. What are you doing up so late?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“I couldn't sleep. And the moon is so beautiful tonight that I thought it best to sit out here.”
“I couldn't sleep either,” she said as she sat down. “That was a quite a strange night, wasn't it?”
“It really was.”
“Rose… Once again, I'm sorry.”
“It's alright, Dorothy. We all did things we're not proud of tonight.”
“You mentioned this “we” before. What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
Dorothy knew when Rose was lying - not that it was very difficult to tell as she was the worst liar she had ever met - and she noticed the guilt that was clearly written on her face.
“Rose.”
Rose peeked a glance at her.
“Rose, you can trust me. I won't tell anyone.”
“Yeah, but if I tell you, you're going to think less of me.”
“I promise I won't.”
Rose looked as if she was trying to decide.
“Okay, I'll tell you.”
Dorothy waited a few seconds for Rose to find the courage to say it.
“I kissed Derek.”
“Derek. You mean the guy who stole Blanche's necklace?”
“Yes. I don't know how it happened. I mean, he was a complete stranger and I just- I just kissed him! That was not something I would ever do!”
“I know. But we talked about this Rose. It was the full moon’s influence. It was as if we were Shakespearean characters. It was all a dream. And now it's all over.”
“It does feel a bit hazy, doesn't it?”
“It really does. So, no hard feelings?”
“Dorothy, I told you. There are no hard feelings.” She sat up on the reclining chair and moved closer to Dorothy, so that she could place her hand on her knee. “I know that you didn't mean for this to happen. Stop worrying about it.”
“Do you mind if I…?” She asked while pointing at the chair Rose was currently occupying.
“Oh. Not at all,” she answered as she moved back on the chair, leaving space for Dorothy to sit.
Dorothy sat and turned towards her.
“Rose, Miles is a very lucky man.”
“Well, I don't know about that. I kissed a stranger.”
“And he kissed me. And that was worse, since I'm your best friend. Not a simple stranger.”
“Dorothy, both me and him kissed someone else tonight... It's clear that neither of us feels ready for marriage.”
“What are you saying?”
“I'm saying that me and Miles decided not to get married. We're just not ready to take that step.”
“I thought that you wanted to get married to him.”
“Well, I thought so, too. Turns out I don't want that.”
“Well, that's alright. You might not feel like this now, but you probably will in the future.”
“Dorothy… I don't think that I ever will. I don't see myself married to Miles. Don't get me wrong, I do love him, I just don't… I don't want to be his wife.”
Dorothy covered Rose's hand.
“That’s fine. Marriage isn't mandatory.”
“Well… yeah… I agree, but…”
“But what?”
“I don't know. Things are a bit complicated. Miles is nice and I like spending time with him. But lately, I've been feeling as if he is not…”
“Not...?”
“Not enough.”
Dorothy didn't reply.
“Maybe it's just all in my head. I don't know. And now that we both agreed that we don't want to get married, I've been wondering about the future of our relationship.”
“Honey, you don't have to get married. Your relationship can still have future without a wedding. I think that the best that you could do is see how you feel around him and maybe try to talk to him. You might be able to work this out together.”
“And if we can't work things out?”
“Then… you will have to take separate ways.”
“Maybe he is getting bored of me. He could find someone better, someone who's smarter. Someone like you. It would make sense.”
“He is very lucky to have a girlfriend like you! You are the kindest person I know and you have a heart of gold. You might not be the most... intelligent, but you are very understanding and very caring. If you break up, then it's his loss, not yours.”
“You really think so?”
Dorothy's eyes were staring into hers, her hand still on her own. Rose felt as though she was hanging onto every word that came out of Dorothy's mouth. They were somehow closer now.
“Of course I do. You're too good for him. You're…”
She didn't get to finish her sentence, because their lips met. Dorothy held her face as she kissed her. Rose couldn't help but kiss back. She found that she wanted nothing else but to kiss her. Dorothy's lips were soft. Her face, too. Everything else faded as her body and brain could only feel and think Dorothy.
Only when Dorothy broke away from her to catch her breath, did she realize the gravity of the action.
Both were only staring at each other, afraid to even breathe too loud.
“I'm sorry, Rose. I'm sorry. I don't- I don't know what came over me.” Dorothy apologized as she abruptly stood up and left, leaving a speechless Rose behind.
Rose told herself that it was just the full moon. So she went to bed, waiting for the next day to wash away this feeling that Dorothy's kiss had planted in her heart.
She waited and waited. Until she fell asleep.
When she woke up, the feeling was still there.
In fact, she felt as though it had taken roots in her heart.