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"Do you like your burger?" I ask Rose, who sits across from me.
We're having lunch together at Dan's Diner. I would've picked a different place, but Rose suggested the diner since I have a discount. She says she doesn't want me to spend money on her, but that's ridiculous.
Which is why I told Big D that I wouldn't be using my discount today.
"I do," she tells me, biting into her cheeseburger eagerly. "I cannot thank you enough."
I munch on some fries. "Do you mind if I asked you a couple questions?"
Not looking up from her food, Rose nods, "Go ahead, my dear."
"Okay," I start. "Would you consider yourself a strawberry or a raspberry?"
Oddly, she doesn't find the question weird and instead answers instantly, "Raspberry. Though, I believe I was a strawberry during my younger years."
That was the best answer that question has ever received. Well, I've only asked two people, but it was way better than Mr. Pretty's foul response.
"Would it be okay if I asked about how you became houseless?" I carefully question. I don't like to use the word homeless, because some people have a home that's not a house.
"I knew ya' would be curious," she says, smiling a little. "Do you want the long story or the short?"
I take a moment to consider this. Levi is coming to pick me up soon, and though it makes me feel bad to make him wait, he's just gonna have to because I'm darn curious about Rose's life.
"Long story," I answer.
"I was twenty," she starts. "I had one of those high-paying jobs, you know? The ones that'll earn you the big bucks and give you the crazy houses beside lakes that people tour. But only if you were successful."
Around a fry, I ask, "What was the job?"
"Acting," she informs me. "I wasn't a terrible actress, I felt I was good. Had a big break, moved to Los Angeles for seven years and had more big breaks."
"You started when you were thirteen?"
Rose nods. "Well, that was when I started climbing the ranks."
I am speaking to a celebrity right now. That is so freaking cool! "Continue," I say, my voice high-pitched with how excited I am.
She smiles. "It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Being in the spotlight is very—she searched for a word, "—vulnerable. Every move of mine had somehow made its way to newspapers. My love life, especially."
Rose grows quiet.
"We don't have to continue," I say, although I really hope we do.
"At eighteen, I was married to an actor named Jason Worthe," Rose decides to go on. "He was nearly a decade other than I, but in my day, that wasn't such a big deal. I'd been a guest star on one of his shows, and my agency thought it would be good for the world to see the romantic side of me."
