Love, Rosie (34 page)

heart.

At
first
we
had
so
much
to
catch
up
on
we
were
talking
a
hun-

dred
words
a
second,
barely
even
listening
to
the
ends
of
each

other’s
sentences
before
moving
on
to
the
next.
And
there
was

laughing.
Lots
of
laughing.
Then
the
laughing
stopped
and
there

was
this
silence.
This
weird
comfortable
silence.
What
the
hell

was
it?

It
was
like
the
world
stopped
turning
in
that
instant.
Like
every-

one
around
us
was
wiped
out.
Like
everything
at
home
was
for-

gotten
about.
It
was
like
those
few
minutes
on
this
world
were

created
just
for
us
and
all
we
could
do
was
look
at
each
other.
It

was
like
he
was
seeing
my
face
for
the
very
first
time.
He
looked

confused
but
kind
of
amused.
Exactly
how
I
felt.
Because
I
was

sitting
on
the
grass
with
my
best
friend
Alex,
and
that
was
my

best
friend
Alex’s
face
and
nose
and
eyes
and
lips
but
they

seemed
different.
So
who
was
this
man
that
was
sending
my

heart
into
a
frenzy?
So
I
kissed
him.
I
seized
the
moment
and
I

kissed
him.

Steph:

Rosie:

Steph:

Rosie:

Steph:

Rosie:

Wow.
And
what
did
he
say?

Nothing.

Nothing?

Nope.
Absolutely
nothing.
He
just
stared
at
me.

So
how
do
you
know
he
didn’t
feel
the
same?

Sally
came
bounding
over.
We
had
been
waiting
for
her.
She
was
all

excited.
Wanted
to
know
whether
Alex
had
told
me
the
good
news

or
not.
He
didn’t
seem
to
quite
hear
her
the
first
time.
So
she

snapped
her
fingers
in
front
of
our
faces.
Then
she
repeated
herself.

“Alex,
honey,
did
you
tell
Rosie
the
good
news?”

58

Cecelia
Ahern

He
just
blinked
so
she
wrapped
her
arms
around
him
and
she
told

me
herself.
They’re
getting
married.
So
I
came
home.

Steph:

Rosie:

Steph:

Rosie:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Alex:

Phil:

Oh
Rosie.

What
the
hell
was
that
silence?

It
sounds
like
something
I’d
like.
It
sounded
nice.

It
was.

What
kind
of
a
silence?

Just
a
weird
silence.

Yeah
but
what
do
you
mean
by
weird?

Unusual,
not
normal.

Yeah
but
was
it
good
or
bad?

Good.

And
that’s
bad?

Yes.

Because?

I’m
engaged
to
Sally.

Did
you
ever
have
“the
silence”
with
her?

We
have
silences
.
.
.

So
do
Margaret
and
I,
you
don’t
always
have
to
talk
you
know.