Old Stone Chapter 12

Author’s Notes: 

The Chapters:
Chapter 1	Chapter 2	Chapter 3	Chapter 4
Chapter 5	Chapter 6	Chapter 7	Chapter 8
Chapter 9	Chapter 10	Chapter 11	Special Edition
Chapter 12	Chapter 13 Available 6/15/24	Chapter 14 Available 6/22/24	Chapter 15 Available 6/29/24

The Characters:	
Vera Lindor (née Cullen, Rose) (mama)	Erin Rose (19-year-old, daughter, and oldest sister)
Charlie Rose (16-year-old, daughter, and middle sister)	Kyree Rose (12-year-old, daughter, and youngest sister)
Tobin Lindor (Vera’s husband)	Andrew Lindor (18-year-old, and Tobin’s son)
Wade Rose (daddy; deceased, seen in flashbacks)	Donita Holt (Mildred Donita née Cushing, Lindor) (Andrew’s mother; Tobin’s ex)
Karissa Craig (friend of Andy and Erin)	Grady Jewell (friend of Andy and Erin)
Jaron Green (friend of Andy and Erin)	Nicolle Noland (friend of Andy and Erin)
Louis Cushing (Donita’s Uncle, Andy’s Great-Uncle)

POV of Erin Rose

Here we are in Fortress Rock, part of the Stoneshield Islands. It’s even larger than St. Claire (which I thought was big enough!). The Capitol Building is here, which is called ‘The Off-White House.” You would think it deserves a grander name, something dignified, yet palatial.

Thoughts like these bring me back to reality. When I can’t help but sigh with this move that has been pressed upon us. Donita is giddy with excitement. She has embarked on her own political designs. I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering how a former model (as of three weeks ago) gets into the political ring. Well, folks, she’s originally from Fortress Rock and even better, she comes from very old money. Not that new kind that is ostentatious. No, old money is the only kind to have. It’s passed on through generations, used and invested wisely.

Plus Donita’s Uncle Louis is a senator of some kind. I don’t really cotton to politics. I find it tedious and confusing overall. Did you know Donita’s name is really Mildred? Mildred Donita Holt. Of course, her last name has changed a few times, like when she was briefly married to Andy’s father, my step-father now, and one of Andy’s step-fathers. Oh, she didn’t marry all the men I’ve heard about, but I guess there were a lot.

I can’t believe Mama lets me stay here to go to university. I’m sure if she knew all there is to tell about Donita, she’d be afraid for me. I think she would say Donita had loose morals.

But when I watched Donita run a fundraiser for her campaign, she floated through the room like some glamorous queen, all eyes on her instantly. She was naturally alluring and exciting. I don’t mean “natural” in a literal sense. If you knew how many people came to do her hair, makeup, and nails every day, you would understand. What I mean is, yes, she puts more work into her image than I have ever seen anyone do. But once she enters the room, she looks like a natural.

Have you noticed anything different?

Yes! My grammar and vocabulary have improved and I have my sort-of step-mother to thank. Once, when Andy and I were joking around, she insisted I take some “Rain in Spain¹” lessons. She firmly believes that I will embarrass the family. Well, she didn’t outright say that, but I can read between the lines. I’m supposed to mostly stay quiet and smile until my teacher deems me ready. The old me would have been angry and appalled at such a suggestion, but I have always wanted to put my old way of life behind me to better fit into society at large. My old way of speaking sneaks out, though, at the worst times. Like when I’m surprised or angry.

The struggle is real.

Andy and I moved into the old Cushing house two weeks before Donita. We were told to select our rooms, reserving the largest one for Her Majesty. I like to say that behind her back because I really see her that way when I look at her. I don’t mean it as a derogatory term.

The house is three floors and an attic. It was fun to explore up there for furniture now in my room. Andy didn’t seem to like carrying it down, but he didn’t complain much.

I chose a room with rose wallpaper that was cracked and even peeling in small spots. But none of that bothered me. The small room was enchanting, even though I had to give it a good scrubbing. It was hard to tell when anyone had used this space before, or who they were. All I knew was that crackling wallpaper called to me.

This is a bureau from the attic that I painted white. Some of the old drawers stuck a little bit when you tried to open them, so I rubbed them with wax, and they were way smoother after that.

Moving here wasn’t as hard, I guess, as I made out. I get overwhelmed easily and then things look impossible. I’ve been wondering if this is something I learned from my mother because she often seems overwhelmed. Anyway, the move didn’t mean I had to switch schools or lose my friends (I don’t ever want to try to make friends again!). We’re actually about ten minutes closer to uni.

It was afternoon when my best friend Karissa Craig came over. She was seeing the place for the first time. We got all our makeup out to try looks on each other. Later, we’d be catching a movie.

“In this huge house with all the ginormous rooms, you picked this one?”

I smiled widely. “Yeah, I did. It’s cozy. Feels like home in a way with all the old things.”

She snorted. “Umm yeah, did you live with your grandma?”

Keeping my face as straight as possible, I solemnly said, “Well, yes, I did. Until she died.”

Karissa gasped as I continued.

“It was me who found her. Out there in the barn. In the dark.”

Karissa sucked in her breath and I paused just long enough to know I’d caught her, hook, line, and sinker.

“She’d fallen from the loft above and was still breathing.” Karissa jumped at my next shrieking sentence, “Mammaw! I screamed, kneeling next to her. Oh Mammaw!” I managed to bring a few tears up to hang in my eyes like pools, only falling when I blinked. “She grasped my hand so tightly,” I mimicked this tight grip using my own two hands to illustrate the point to Karissa. Then continued, “and before I could ask how it happened, she tried to speak.”

“She said,” and here’s where I changed my voice to the raspy sounds of someone dying, “Erin-Girl, it’s time I went. Now don’t get all het up about it.”

“With that, she closed her eyes for the last time. And I knew it was time to put out the fire and call in the dogs².”

With that, I tilted my chin down, sliding my hand over my heart as if in deep memory of my mammaw. Her mouth was gaping. After five seconds I looked up at her out of the corner of my eye to see her reaction. Then smiled.

She reached out and hit me with a pillow. We were both laughing so hard, we fell onto the bed.

“As soon as I saw your gross, old cowboy hat on the wall, I remembered how sucked in I get with your crazy stories. What does “Het Up³” mean, anyway?”

“Well, if Mammaw had really said that, she’d mean not to get all upset about her dying and all. And what do you mean, my hat is gross?”

She rolled her eyes, sitting back up. “Well, if I have to tell you…”

With that, she picked up the garment bag she’d brought, skipping into the bathroom in the hallway to change. She wanted me to see her “surprise.”

While I waited, I sat on the bed, looking at my latest sewing project. It was a dress for my youngest sister Kyree for the daddy-daughter dance at her school. Thinking of her wearing something so fancy made want to do a good job for her. I hoped it would be a wonderful night for her.

Kyree was really growing up. I was so happy that she had a daddy now that could take her to the dance. Andy’s dad had really stepped up to care for us girls. He wasn’t my daddy, who had died years ago, but he was more than a step-father.

If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have felt like I could leave the farm for university, even with my scholarship. Things were never easy there. Seemed like we had constant turmoil while we worked our fingers to the bone. All my life, but especially after daddy was gone, we all just fell into bed at night, not really resting, though, because we always worried how we’d pay for things or afford basic necessities most people took for granted. A lump filled my throat as I remembered each morning we dragged ourselves out of bed, knowing no matter how we worked our tails off, it still wouldn’t be enough.

I still couldn’t understand how mama coped all those years. But even while I was a kid, I dreamed of pulling myself out of the rut we’d been in. My life couldn’t be like this! It’s not how I wanted the rest of my life to be! Sure, I had fanciful notions that got me through afternoons full of chores. But when my exhausted body hit the bed again at night, I knew I never wanted to leave mama in a bind, dealing with it all by herself.

That’s when Karissa came back into the room. My eyes and my jaw dropped.

“You’re wearing that? To the movies?”

It was her turn to laugh. “I know I’m a little pudgy, but I think I look hot.” She snapped her fingers at me. “Hey! Hey you! My eyes are up here!”

“You’re wearing that and sounding indignant about where my eyes ended up?”

She playfully pouted, her mouth small, pink, and pretty. “At least say I look good.”

I gave her a winning smile. “I wasn’t thinking about your weight or that you looked bad or anything. You are hot! You are gorgeous!

“Yes, girl,” she laughed, dancing around a bit.

We bumped hips, and I turned back to the bureau with the makeup scattered everywhere. Karissa was the first person to talk to me about makeup, and let’s face it. She turned me into a real addict.

“Let’s do your eyes! You know, you have gorgeous eyes, right, Erin? We’ll just tweak them a little bit. I dare every man in Fortress Rock not to be attracted to you!”

I laughed and looked up at the ceiling as she applied mascara to my lashes. “Yeah, right. I still have people problems, and you know that.”

She took my shoulders as we faced each other and spoke to me like a playground monitor.

“You have grown and changed so much! You just wait. One day, you’ll be a rockstar!”

Giving her a small smile, I mumbled, “I’m not ready to date, let alone be a rockstar.”

“You mark my words, Erin Rose,” she insisted. “Your time to shine is coming!” She picked up a pair of heels and placed them in my hands. “Put these on, for starters. You need practice walking in them. That way Donita almost floats when she’s in a room is not something you learn overnight.”

“But-“

“No! No buts. They are really cute. Just try them on.” She was moving her eyes all over as if looking for something.

Finally, she asked, “By the way, where is your phone hanging out these days? I can’t believe you’re not attached to your phone. I mean, nowadays, everyone’s phone is out all the time!”

As I buckled my shoes, I nodded toward the daybed in my room. “It’s just there.”

“Under a pillow!” Karissa took it from its hiding place and swiped, then held it up to my eye to unlock it.

“I hate when you hold that thing up to my face.”

“You mean you never unlock it?” She was incredulous.

“I never unlock it, and I never use it.”

Her eyes were still wide as could be. “This is how you stay in touch with your friends. With me! It says your voice mail is full! That means people can’t even leave messages for you.” She hit a button and glanced at my texts. “I can’t even count how many unanswered texts you have!”

I was buckling the other shoe now. “Then don’t. It’s as simple as that. I saw you in class yesterday and we made our plans for today then. Did you know that’s how people used to do that? This is my first cellphone and I hate it!”

“You mean to tell me cell phones were another thing you didn’t use in that backwards place you grew up in?”

I had both shoes buckled and was still sitting on the bed. Now I let both feet down to the floor to see how they felt. “Yes, of course, we had cell phones. Just our family didn’t have ’em.”

Karissa tossed my phone back on the daybed. “Those shoes look great on you. How do they fit?”

“Like gloves,” I lied. In all actuality, my pinkie toes were super cramped and I think they were were going numb.

Carefully, I stood up. “OMG, they’re so high.”

“You’re doing great!” she said. Her lip twitched just a little bit, so I could tell she was nervous.

I took two steps forward and almost fell. I grabbed the chest of drawers in time to regain my balance.

“I don’t think I’m doing so well.”

“No, Erin, you’re doing terrific! When you feel like it, let go and come to me.”

No sooner were those words out of her mouth than I felt my right ankle turning the wrong way…

“Oooooooooh!” was all I got out, but it went up and down the scale like a piano. A screechy piano. I was sure I was going down with a broken ankle. Karissa ran forward, trying to catch me. I hoped I wouldn’t hurt her, too!

“I’ve got it, I’m okay,” I yelled as I managed to grab the curtain on the daybed. Luckily, it held without ripping and I righted myself. Karissa might think I made a mistake in choosing the room and that we should just throw away old things. When really, there was potential to clean up old things and find a new purpose for them. They might just even save your life.

I was smiling to myself when I thought of this.

“Why are you smiling? You almost got killed.”

“I’m smiling,” I said, “because I didn’t.”

She was my first, best, and only friend. I didn’t think about this a minute longer. We may not agree on everything, but we were able to accept and appreciate our differences while also embracing our similarities.

We were finally ready to hit the theater. As we bounced down the stairs, we could hear Andy’s voice and other voices in the kitchen.

“Who’s here?” Karissa asked.

Yeah, who’s here? I grumpily thought. I hope they wouldn’t make us late for the movies.

Andy was leaning against the counter talking to…. talking to…

What I didn’t know was that I said that last “talking to…” out loud.

Karissa glanced at me as I stopped short in the dining room. “You mean that blond guy?”

I couldn’t even utter a word. I’d been thinking about him since football season.

“You mean Jaron?”

My eyes widened, and I felt panic swoop in like a tornado. “Jaron Green. It’s Jaron Green.”

“Yes,” Karissa said. “That’s Jaron Green. Wait, you know him?”

“Um, yeah, only briefly. Why is he here?”

“Well, I don’t know. Why don’t we ask him?”

“No!” I hissed, grabbing at her elbow. “He’s the guy!”

“What guy?”

“THE. GUY!”

Her eyes got huge, and she didn’t blink. “You mean the guy in the rain that got you a taxi? Why didn’t you tell me it was Jaron? He’s a nice guy and probably friends with Andy, since they’re both jocks.”

Karissa went right for the girl sitting on the counter who seemed to be with the guy next to her. They gave each other greetings, kissing cheeks.

“Erin Rose, this is Nicky Noland and Grady Jewell. They’re studying art at uni.”

“Hi, Erin,” Grady said.

Nicky gave him a direct look of warning in her eyes. Over me? Probably because I was new?

My cheeks turned red. I could feel the unwelcomed heat in them. “Hi,” I said back, averting my eyes.

“Hello, Erin,” Nicky said, each word feeling like it was coated in ice. “Were you and Karissa going somewhere?”

“Oh! Yes!” I said in a rush. “We’re going to a movie!”

“Which one?” Nicky asked.

“Avoiding My Wife,” Karissa said. “It’s a romance story.”

“Sounds dumb,” Nicky said with a smile.

“She doesn’t mean that,” Grady said, shooting Nicky a look.

Karissa took my hand and said, “I think you two already know each other.”

Jaron was handsomer than I remembered. He smiled, then said, “Hi, Erin. I was hoping we’d meet again.” He blushed, but grinned at Andy and said, “Is this your sister? Why didn’t you tell me she was your sister?”

“Oh, my,” I said in a whisper.

Andy was nice enough not to correct Jaron by stating I was actually his step-sister.

“I didn’t know you were talking about Erin,” Andy said with a shrug. “If you’d remembered her name, I definitely would’ve told you, bro.”

“Oooooh, boy,” Andy said. “If I messed anything up, I didn’t mean to.”

Right now is where I should have left the room. Why is it impossible to keep my mouth closed? Why couldn’t I just shut up?

It was because I was angry, of course. Darn that temper of mine!

I glared right at Mr. Jaron Green and spat out, “You didn’t remember my name? Well, I sure enough remembered yours! Ain’t you fine! Well, guess what? You’re all hat and no cattle, Jaron Green! Don’t you worry one bit about me! I won’t waste any time on you. I’m tougher than a $2 steak³!”

I never felt so shamed in all my life. Jaron hadn’t even remembered my name! It was mortifying to have that revealed in front of an entire kitchen full of people.

Then, to have reacted the way I did! Even while it was happening, I knew I should stop myself.

I ran out in humiliation, but not before I overheard Nicky laugh. “What a display!”

And she was right!

Later it sounded like everyone was gone, so I slipped downstairs to get a piece of pizza. Holding my hands over my rumbling tummy, I ran face to face into Jaron. My heart instantly dropped in my chest.

“Oh,” we both kind of said at the same time.

I cleared my throat and said as calmly as I could, “Jaron, I can only apologize for… my temper. It takes hold at the most inconvenient of times.”

He nodded a little, then slowly said, “I actually think your accent when you’re mad is kind of cute.”

“What? Really?”

He laughed and then stated, “Well, I mean, it would be better if you didn’t direct it at me.”

“Yes, yes, I can see how that would be much better.”

“Look… what happened was, I misheard your name that night. It was so rainy and dark. I didn’t hear you say Erin, but I heard Rose. All this time, I’ve been talking about Rose. I’ve been looking but couldn’t find you because I had your name wrong.”

I let out an enormous sigh. “Well, I could see how that would happen. And I feel like a huge idiot.”

He moved a few steps toward me and said, “No, never degrade yourself. Don’t call yourself an idiot or anything else that is unkind.” He paused while I thought about what he’d said. “I really like you. I know tonight is only the second night we’ve seen each other, but, look, we’re in the same room.”

“Could we really start over this easily?” I asked. My heart was pounding against my ribs as my mind went through all the reasons we should and shouldn’t date. It was only this afternoon that I’d told Karissa I wasn’t ready to date? Was that because I had no hope Jaron would cross my path again? Or did I truly feel that way?

It was worth thinking about.

My mama and I weren’t big ones for confiding in each other. I could probably count on one hand how many times I’d asked her for advice.

How I wish she was here with me now! Maybe I would use that cell phone after all.

Grab the Button!

Special thanks to Bee (Stories by Bee / Poses by Bee) for editing this story.

Thank you so much for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting! You are important!



Chapter 12 Credits:
Poses:
by Bee (Stories by Bee / Poses by Bee): Adult Walk and Talk, Convo/Emotion Poses – Set 2, Friends In The Kitchen
by k2m1too – Stagger – Poses for Runway Mayhem

Pose Accessories:
by ATS3 – Charcuterie Plate
by spladoum – 99 Bottles of Beer (bottles only, not the poses)
by 77 Accessories – Mug Cup Unisex
by iltds – Coke Bottle Accessory

World: The Stoneshields by Quailhogs

Custom Content/Mods: Please click here to see a full list of CC & Mods that I use in every chapter: Credits
If you can’t find something, please send me a WCIF (Where Can I Find?). I will try my best.

Graphics/Photos: Copyright © 2024 | KL Hawke & booomcha.com | All Rights Reserved.

Glossary/Citations:
1. Wikipedia Contributors, “The Rain in Spain,” Wikipedia, Apr. 12, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rain_in_Spain (accessed Jun. 05, 2024).‌
2. “…it was time to put out the fire and call in the dogs…” – Time to depart or say good bye.
3. “Het up,” Phrase Finder, Dec. 11, 2023. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/180750.html (accessed Jun. 05, 2024).”
4. Tougher than a $2 steak: Well she’s pretty resilient! Or not.

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