Love, Rosie (151 page)

idea.
I
can’t
keep
up
with
you
and
your
“leaving
the
country/
chang-

ing
jobs/
leaving
your
husband”-type
activities.
Sometimes
I
think

you
just
need
a
good
kick
up
the
behind
for
wasting
all
these
good

opportunities.
You’re
an
incredibly
frustrating
person
Rosie.

Rosie:

Well
I’m
an
incredibly
frustrated
woman
right
now.
And
I’m
not

“wasting”
good
opportunities;
it’s
called
“presenting
my
daughter

with
new
ones.”

Ruby:

You
can
put
whatever
name
you
like
on
it
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
a

missed
opportunity
is
a
missed
opportunity.
But
don’t
worry;
I
think

there’s
a
lesson
to
be
learned
in
all
this.

Rosie:

Well
please
tell
me
there
is
some
sort
of
reason
for
all
this.
What’s

the
lesson?

234

Ruby:

Rosie:

Ruby:

Rosie:

Ruby:

Rosie:

Ruby:

Cecelia
Ahern

That
you
needn’t
bother
trying
anymore,
because
you’re
going

nowhere.
So
really,
how
are
you?

OK.

Are
you
sure?
Oh
come
on
Rosie,
if
my
heart
can’t
take
what’s
hap-

pening
to
you
then
I
can’t
imagine
how
you
must
be
feeling.

Oh
my
heart
is
broken,
stopped
beating
two
weeks
ago.

Well
it’s
a
good
thing
you
know
a
man
who
can
heal
them.

No,
no,
no,
it’s
the
unspoken
rule.
He
heals
other
people’s
hearts,

not
mine.

Here’s
an
idea,
Rosie.
Why
don’t
you
just
tell
Alex
how
you
feel?

Why
don’t
you
just
finally
get
all
of
those
feelings
out
in
the
open,

and
clear
your
messed-up
little
head?
At
least
then,
he’ll
know
that

you’re
not
going
over
not
because
you
don’t
care
about
him,
but

that
in
fact
you
love
him,
more
than
he
knows,
but
that
you
need
to

stay
here
for
Katie.
Then
that
will
put
the
ball
in
his
court.
He
can

make
the
decision
whether
to
come
to
you
or
not.

Rosie:

Ruby:

Rosie:

But
what
about
his
job?
And
what
about
Josh?

That’s
his
decision.

Ruby
I
can’t.
How
do
I
tell
him?
Over
the
phone?
In
a
letter,
an

e-mail,
or
an
instant
message?
I
can’t
do
that.
If
we
had
moved
over

to
Boston
I
could
have
sussed
things
out
a
little,
seen
how
he
felt

about
me,
and
then
tell
him.
He
was
just
out
on
a
date
last
week
for

Christ
sake,
how
stupid
would
I
look
telling
him
I
love
him
when

he’s
seeing
someone?
It’ll
just
be
the
whole
Sally
situation
all
over

again.
It’s
too
complicated
and
right
now
the
last
thing
I’m
worried

about
is
which
man
to
fall
in
love
with
next.
Anyway
he’s
not
even