Love, Rosie (147 page)

Staying
here
is
not
an
option
.

Rosie,
calm
down.
You’re
upset.

Too
right,
I’m
upset!
How
on
earth
am
I
supposed
to
try
and
get
my

life
together
when
everyone
around
me
keeps
fucking
it
up?
When
is

it
my
turn
to
live
my
life
for
me
instead
of
for
everyone
else?
I’m

sick
of
it
Ruby,
I’m
fed
up.
I
have
had
enough.
I’m
bloody
going.

Who
is
this
man?
Where
the
hell
has
he
been
for
the
past
thirteen

years?
Where
did
he
disappear
to
for
the
most
important
years
of

Katie’s
life,
or
my
life
for
that
matter?

Who
stayed
up
all
night
breast-feeding,
pacing
the
halls
and
singing

fucking
lullabies
so
the
constant
screaming
would
stop?
Who

changed
shitty
nappies,
wiped
snotty
noses
and
cleaned
sick
from

their
clothes
every
day?
Who’s
got
stretch
marks
and
scars,
saggy

tits,
and
gray
hairs
at
the
age
of
thirty-two?
Who
went
to
parent

teacher
meetings,
brought
and
collected
her
from
school,
made
din-

ner,
put
food
on
the
table,
paid
the
rent,
went
to
work,
helped
with

homework,
gave
advice,
wiped
tears,
explained
the
birds
and
the

love,
rosie

229

bees,
explained
why
Daddy
wasn’t
around
unlike
most
of
the
other

kids’
daddies?
Who
stayed
up
all
night
and
worried
when
she
was

sick,
taking
temperatures
and
buying
medicine,
making
trips
to
the

doctor
or
the
hospital
in
the
middle
of
the
night?
Who
missed
going

to
college,
took
days
off
work
and
stayed
home
at
the
weekend
to

care
for
her?
Fucking
me,
that’s
who.
Where
was
the
bastard
then?

And
he
has
the
cheek
to
stroll
back
into
our
lives
after
thirteen
years

when
all
the
hard
work
has
been
done,
with
a
little
shrug
of
the

shoulders
and
a
pathetic
little
sorry,
just
after
my
husband
cheats
on

me,
my
marriage
is
over,
I
finally
decide
to
move
to
Boston
where
I

should
have
been
anyway
had
it
not
been
for
that
sly
little
prick

ruining
my
plans,
turning
my
life
upside
down,
and
legging
it
off
to

another
country
with
his
dick
between
his
legs.

Fuck
him.

This
time
it’s
about
me.
Rosie
Dunne
and
no
one
else.

Ruby:

Rosie:

But
Rosie
you’re
wrong.
It’s
about
Katie
too.
She
needs
to
know
he

wants
to
see
her.
Don’t
punish
her
for
the
mistakes
in
your
own
life.

But
if
I
tell
her,
then
she’s
going
to
want
to
see
him.
She’ll
be
so

excited
to
meet
him
and
he’ll
probably
let
her
down
again
and
break