the blind side of love | chaennie

Untitled Part 50

The return to New York came quicker than Roseanne had expected. Wednesday was as snippet of what life could be like: waking up together, showering together, breakfast by the pool, walks down the beach, making love at every opportunity. Roseanne wanted that life. At the very least, she wanted more days of uninterrupted Jennie time. But Thursday rolled around, and there were meetings Jennie had to go to and phone calls she had to answer and the day slipped quickly by until they were on a plane, headed east.

A lot had happened in four days, and Roseanne was still processing the events of the week.

Jennie had come out to her family, which only made Roseanne think about doing the same with her own. The thought filled her with dread. It was impossible to be brave when you already knew the outcome. It felt like a ticking time-bomb. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Boom. There went her family; lost in a blur of tears and anger and Bible quotes. She could live a lie and keep them happy, or she could tell the truth and lose their love. Was there a right answer? Or did it all boil down to choosing the option she could live with.

She would tell them. Some day. Eventually. Maybe. No, right away. She would write them a letter. She would call them on the phone. She would drop by in person. It didn't matter. She could already see her mother's face, stricken with shame and pain and disappointment.

She turned away from the airplane window and looked at Jennie. Jennie looked up from her book and something in her eyes tore through Roseanne's soul. She felt unworthy, sitting there beside Jennie. She felt ashamed of her own cowardice. Jennie grew up bearing the weight of her mother's death, her father's guilt and her grandmother's fading health, all the while facing the pressure of a career in the limelight. Now she had the fear of losing her career and everything she'd worked towards. And still she'd come out to her family, answering cruelty with poise and even laughter. "How do you do it?" she asked.

Jennie closed the book. "Do what?"

"How are you so brave?"

"Brave? Me?" Jennie started to laugh but saw that Roseanne was serious. "I'm not brave, I'm just impulsive. Like you throwing wine in Dara's face."

"Wait, you threw wine in someone's face?" Lisa had suddenly appeared within earshot. She plopped down in the seat across from Roseanne.

"Who threw wine in someone's face?" Jisoo asked, taking the seat beside Lisa.

"Rosie."

"Whose face?"

"Who's Dara?" Lisa asked.

"Roseanne threw wine in Dara's face?" Kai walked over.

"Will someone tell me who Dara is?"

"Jennie's stepmother," Jisoo answered.

"Holy goat fuck. Seriously?"

"Why was I not there to see this?" Kai asked. "You're now, officially, my hero." He bowed before Roseanne.

"Wait, tell us everything," Jisoo said. "Start at the beginning."

"What's going on down here?" Hyeri asked.

"Roseanne threw wine in Jennie's stepmother's face," Lisa said.

"Roseanne did?"

"Let her tell the story."

They all stared expectantly at Roseanne.

Startled by the sudden attention, Roseanne looked to Jennie for assistance but her girlfriend was too busy looking amused to be of much help. Roseanne cleared her throat. She didn't want to go into the full details of what Dara had said. The thought still infuriated her and made her want to travel through time and punch her in the face. But, she could give them an abridged version of the truth. "Um, well, we ran into Jennie's dad and stepmom at the restaurant..."