Chasing Happy

by Jenni M. Rose

She'd laughed her way through the goats, his three cows and the chickens. The sheep had been a different story. One of his ewes had always been skittish but today, when Rosie had stood at the side of the pasture, something had changed. She’d made a few shooing noises and waved her hands in the air and strangely, the sheep had perked up and trotted off.

  "You ready to see the crops?" he asked. They'd been touring the barn for nearly an hour, Rosie making sure to stop and see every inch of every pen. She even asked him to show her the inside of the chicken coop.

  "Are you sure you don't mind?"

  She'd asked him that a bunch of times already, like she was an inconvenience.

  "I keep telling you I'm sure."

  "I just don't want to wear out my welcome."

  "I think you're safe there," he said. "You're always welcome here, Rosie." He held out his hand and waved for her to join him. "Come on."

  So, he gave her the tour of the crop fields. She seemed surprised they could grow anything in the winter but then he remembered she was from up north. He showed her the plants and explained the irrigation system and the building of organic soils.

  She was especially fascinated with the kohlrabi and swore she'd never seen one before. He let her pick one from the ground and they went back to the house so she could taste it. He washed and peeled, while she stood on the other side of the kitchen counter.

  He handed her a slice and she didn’t hesitate to pop it in her mouth. "It tastes kind of like broccoli. I like it."

  He got them a few glasses of water and they sat, sharing the kohlrabi.

  "Can I ask you something?"

  She lowered her glass to the counter. "Sure.”

  "Something I’ve been thinking about.”

  "Okay."

  Max spun his glass in his hands. "Why didn’t you call anyone when you had your accident? You could have called me or Wendy. We would have been happy to help.”

  "I wasn't in a position to call anyone, Max."

  "It drives me crazy thinking about you crashing your bike in the middle night, plus the image of you up to your neck in water. What did you do, just get up and limp home?"

  “Dallas gave me a ride.”

  Max’s back went stiff. “Dallas?”

  “Yeah. There was a whole thing with the police and an ambulance.” She still would barely look at him. “It was fine.”

  At least she hadn’t been alone, he told himself. There are worse people to have around in an emergency than Dallas.

  “You need to get a ride home at night. That stretch of road isn’t safe to ride your bike,” the words ground out of him as he pictured Dallas showing up to save the day.

  “It wasn’t a big deal,” she waved him off, setting his temper flaring. “Just an animal in the road. I’m sure it won’t happen again.”

  “You’re a terrible liar, did you know that?”

  He was starting to see Rosie for what she really was. A liar, to be sure, but a bad one. She lied to protect herself, from what he didn’t know, but every time she did it she looked away. Like she couldn’t stand the thought of looking in his eyes while telling the lie. It pissed him off nearly as much as he found it endearing.

  “I’m not sure which part you’re lying about, that it was an animal in the road or that it wasn’t a big deal, but I know you’re lying.” He stood and turned his back on her, rooting through the refrigerator. "You hungry?" He asked, changing the subject.

  "I wouldn’t want to impose."

  He looked over his shoulder at her cold expression. Yeah, she’d shut down a little, her arms crossed over her chest.

  "You're not a vegetarian or anything, are you?" He ignored her attitude and pulled some things from the shelf and placed them on the counter in front of her.

  "No."

  "You can go in the living room if you want. I'll fix us a couple plates."

  "You're going to wait on me?" She thawed a bit and her eyes warmed with humor. “Even though you think I’m a liar.”

  He leaned toward her, crowding her just a little, the counter still between them.

  "I'd wait on you anytime, Rosie."

  Her eyes widened a fraction and she mumbled something, barely able to look away from him, then hurried out of the room.

  He was willing to tip toe around her a bit and wait for her to spill her secrets but he wasn’t about to pretend he didn’t know what she was doing.

  She was on the couch watching How I Met Your Mother when he handed her the dish he'd made and sat down.

  "Do you watch this?" She asked.

  "There are two big days in any love story. The day you meet the girl of your dreams and the day you marry her."

  Her fork stopped midway between her plate and her mouth.

  "Ted said that," Max mentioned casually but sent her a small smile as he put his feet on the coffee table and turned his attention to the tv.

  They didn't talk for a while, just ate companionably while watching reruns. When she finished, she put her plate on top of his and extended her small boots to rest on the coffee table along with his.

  She laughed at everything Lily said on the show and he laughed when she did, enjoying seeing her lighthearted.

  There was something intensely intriguing about Rosie. It wasn't just her striking looks. Those held merits all their own but it wasn't what kept bringing him back to her. It wasn't what sent him to her camper after the fight she had with Wendy or what made his arms want to wrap around her every time he was around her. She was like a magnet.

  Even he could admit, the first time he'd seen her in the bar it had probably been like Dallas said, all that white hair was eye catching. Though after being around her a few times, especially today, seeing her fresh out of the shower with no makeup he knew it was natural and she wasn't trying to catch anyone’s attention. The second his eyes met hers in the bar he'd felt a pull to her, like somewhere, his subconscious was calling her name.

  He'd had girlfriends before, plenty of them. He'd felt a true affection for all of them but he'd never felt the lure he did with Rosie. He'd never felt so compelled to be physically near someone.

  Getting the chance to see her enjoy herself and just talk to her had been an eye opener. She was complicated, but she wasn't as prickly as he first thought. She was mysterious. She was hiding something. He could smell a secret from a mile away and Rosie was keeping something but he was patient and he got the feeling that waiting for her would pay off in the end.

  "I told you, you didn't have to go in tonight," Wendy complained in Rosie's ear.

  Max had grudgingly dropped her off so she could catch the bus and head to work, but when she got there, one of the other maids had instructed her to call Wendy immediately.

  "And I told you I was coming in," Rosie told her.

  "But you didn't have to. I gave you the night off."

  "I don't need the night off."

  "I need you in the office then."

  Rosie's head reared back. "Why?"

  "I was going to give you the night off to butter you up before I called you into my office for a meeting. Wait there, I'll be right over."

  "I have work to do."

  "No, you don't. I called in some other girls to cover for you."

  Rosie gritted her teeth. "But-"

  "You don't need anyone to cover for you. I got it," Wendy continued. "Just wait in the lobby. I'll be there in a minute."

  Annoyed, Rosie went to the supply closet and helped the other maids prep for the night. She helped them load their cars and made sure they had everything they needed. When they left and she was alone in the office, only then did she go wait for Wendy. She was surprised to find her already in the lobby.

  "Oh, sorry. I was helping them get stocked and packed up."

  "I know," Wendy shrugged with a knowing smile. "I figured you would."

  Rosie walked nervously to the lobby couch and sat opposite Wendy. "Why do you need to meet with me?"

  "Because we need to talk about what happened."<
br />
  “I can't say I'm sorry enough."

  "No, it's not that," Wendy assured her. "But with Lisa gone there are some responsibilities I wanted to put you in charge of."

  "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

  "Why not? All the other maids respect you. You've put in your time cleaning and know how it's supposed to be done. You always do a good job and push the other girls to do the job right. You keep to an amazingly tight schedule. You're efficient and well liked. Seems to me like you're the perfect person to take on a little more work here."

  "Why would you trust me with something like this? Wendy, that's crazy."

  "No, it’s not," Wendy assured her. "I have trust issues, okay. I've spent my whole adult life with crappy cheating boyfriends and now, this thing with Lisa. I won't trust you with my money. I won't make that mistake with anyone else again. But, I trust you to keep my schedule moving. I trust you to keep the service running smooth like you always do. It's small, but it's a start for me."

  "But-"

  "You kept something important from me. I haven't forgotten. You don't have to remind me. But, I get it. I don't like it and I don't agree with it but I get it. You and I are on the same wavelength now though, aren't we? We're friends. Right?"

  "Yes." Rosie had to give her that much.

  "Are you going to screw me over?"

  "No."

  "Are you going to work hard, like you always do?"

  "You know I am."

  "I do. I know you'll be great in this position."

  "What position? Wendy,"

  "I want you to be what we're going to call Head of Housekeeping. It means the other maids will report to you with day-to-day stuff and you'll report it back to me."

  Rosie rubbed her hands on her face, careful not to pull at her scabs.

  "I feel like this is too sudden."

  Wendy laughed. "I've been trying to get you to come in and talk about this for weeks."

  "That was before."

  "Before I found out my trusted office manager was stealing from me and you knew all along?"

  "I didn't know all along," Rosie argued. "I only knew for a few weeks." That vision of Lisa dressed as the Hamburglar popped into her mind.

  "I know," Wendy said. "I checked those invoices you told me about. The bottom line is, I wanted to put you in this position and we had a bump in the road. That's all."

  Rosie took a deep breath. "What would it mean for my schedule?"

  Wendy smiled like the cat that ate the canary. "You'd be doing more work in the office but I do have a few jobs you'd be able to take on to fit in. No more late nights, though. You wouldn't be on the night shift."

  "I want the night shift."

  "I know you do, but you'd still be working alone which you like but they'd just be higher end, home cleans not offices that need to be cleaned when they're closed. And you get a bump up in pay."

  Rosie didn't say anything while she sat considering her options. Who turns down what’s essentially a promotion with better hours and more money?

  "How's Max?" Wendy still had a smile on her face.

  "How should I know?" Rosie groused, feeling cornered.

  "Oh, I don't know. It's not like you spent all day with him or anything." Rosie sent her a scowl. "Feeling the feelings," Wendy sang.

  "Shut up," Rosie growled.

  10

  Two mornings later Rosie woke up, let Gizmo out and found a note taped to the door of her camper.

  Rosie,

  Stopped by but missed you.

  Come by the farm before you head to work – Florence misses you.

  Wanted to show you something.

  ~Max

  She showered and dressed, picking out her favorite purple tights, long black t-shirt and grey cardigan. Without stopping to question why, she took care to braid her hair and wrapped it in a bun then fixed her makeup. She threw on her flowered combat boots, grabbed her bag and hopped on her bike.

  The previous morning she'd woken up in her bed, thankfully, but her vision had been clouded. Like she was opening her eyes underwater.

  She had to do something about this spirit. The constant barrage of dreams and sleepwalking on top of the ghostly visits were taking their toll. She was tired and edgy, wondering what might happen next. Though she wasn't ready to follow the spirit, afraid of where she might be led, she was ready to take control of the situation. She'd planned to head downtown, as it was her day off, and go to The Third Eye.

  The Third Eye was a store she'd walked past a few times but had never actually gone into, though one day she'd been walking by when someone who worked there actually ran out of the store and chased her down the street.

  "Hey!" The man had shouted. "Stop!"

  She'd turned her head around to look at him but didn't stop.

  "There's something following you! I can help!"

  There was always something following her, she'd thought at the time.

  Now though, was a different story. She couldn't risk drowning in her sleep just because she was too stubborn to ask for help. At least the people in that type of shop believed in the kind of stuff that happened to her. No one would call her a liar when she told them what she could see.

  And therein laid another of her problems. Max's dog was the only spirit besides that damn woman she could see. Mrs. Murphy was gone. The little boy that sometimes followed Marta was gone. The man with Dallas' was gone. There were no spirits on the bus or the street. The auras were mostly gone except in the people she knew fairly well and even then, they were transparent and hard to read. It was as though the senses she'd relied on her entire life were gone. It was not an easy transition to try to make.

  She rode to Max's without incident and parked her bike by his truck, near the garage. Peeking around she didn't see him in the yard so she went up the porch steps and knocked on the front door. After a minute, when no one answered, she made her way to the barn. She knocked and peeked her head in.

  "Max?" She called.

  She was met with the desperate sound of goats crying for her attention but no Max. Eventually, she made her way to the chicken coop. When she got there Florence, a gray and white hen with the cutest little pouf of feathers under her beak, squatted down at her feet as if to say 'you may pick me up now'. Rosie obliged and carried the bird while she checked the cow pasture for Max.

  She was making her way to the sheep when he ended up finding her.

  "Hey stranger.” He smiled a total megawatt smile that made her step falter a little.

  She smiled back. "There you are. Florence and I weren't sure where to look if we didn't find you soon."

  He shook his head and stepped closer, scratching the chicken under the beak. "I've been watching for you. I was hoping you'd come by."

  "Well, I got your note," she shrugged. "I was heading to town today anyway."

  "So, you would have stopped by?” He asked.

  She shook her head. "Probably not. But I was riding by, kind of."

  "Kind of," he agreed. "Come on.” He motioned with his hand for her to follow him.

  After a few steps, he slowed so they could walk side by side. The air was cool but not nearly as cold as it would be in up north and she was still awestruck by how beautiful it was on Max's farm. The green pastures, abutting the forest that was still so full and lush with foliage, made such a gorgeous picture. The garden patches, long neat rows of thriving plants running through the center of everything, behind the bright white of Max's house and the deep red of the barn made such an intensely beautiful scene. She looked to Max. The farmer was pretty beautiful too.

  "So, what is it you wanted to show me?” She asked.

  "First," he held his hand out and pointed to his left. "Time to put the princess back in her run."

  Rosie made a sad face at Florence and the nuzzled her head. He opened the little chicken door and she put the bird back.

  "Okay.” Rosie told him. "Where to?"

  "The sheep."

  "I was h
eaded there when I ran into you."

  He nodded. "I've been working in the field most of the morning

  "Oh."

  They got to the little barn where Max's sheep were kept and he opened the gate, motioning for her to go first. He walked her to a giant wooden crate that looked like it was constructed out of pallets.

  She sucked in a breath when she saw what was in the makeshift playpen and looked up quickly. Max was watching her with that huge smile on his face, hands in his pockets. She looked back at the fuzzy lump lying on a bed of straw.

  "It's so tiny," she whispered, not wanting to disturb it.

  "Only a few days old."

  "Where's its mother?"

  "She was the runt of a triplet birth. The mother abandoned her."

  Rosie knew the feeling well. "What will happen to her?”

  "We'll bottle feed her for a while and raise her here if she makes it."

  "You can do that?” She asked before she leaned down to rub her hand along the tiny sheep's soft wool.

  "We can.” His voice was soft. "Want to feed her?"

  "Can I?"

  "Sure. I'll get her milk all set up if you want to pick her up."

  "Oh my God,” Rosie breathed. She leaned in and gently scooped the little sheep up. It made a few squeaking noises before trying to nuzzle up her body and into her neck.

  "She's trying to eat," Max told her as he came back holding a bottle.

  There was no way Rosie was going to pass up the chance to bottle feed a baby lamb. She sat on the floor and let Max show her how to hold everything. She just sat there, smiling, unable to help herself.

  "This is amazing," she told him.

  "Yeah," he agreed. "It is."

  She looked up and found him watching her, thoughtful. His green aura had pink streaks pulsing through it like a gymnast's ribbons streaming through the air and she tilted her head to watch them.

  "What do you see, Rosie?"

  Her eyes snapped to meet his. "Nothing."

  "You were looking behind me. Above me. What did you see?"

  She looked back down at the suckling lamb.

  "I'll believe you,” he told her quietly, his voice even and sure. "Whatever you tell me, I won't laugh and I'll believe you."