Hard To Believe

Chapter Thirteen

"I'm just sayin' it would've been easier," Mike chuckled.

"It's a little too late," Rosemary giggled. "And anyway, it's not like it didn't work, right?"

"Alright, alright," Mike snorted. "Whatever floats your boat."

It was rather dreary weather that day. The white clouds had transformed into different shades of grey, blocking out most of the sky as well as sunlight. The wind was cool and gentle, washing out Rosemary's senses and allowing her to at least enjoy what was left of the light.

"So, Michael," Rosemary said.

"Mike," Mike smiled.

"Ok, Mike," Rosemary corrected herself. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Whoa there," Mike teased. "I know I'm good lookin', but let's just take one step at a time."

"Oh, stop it," Rosemary laughed. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know," Mike said cheekily. "And yeah, I do. A wife, actually."

"Really?" Rosemary said gleefully. "That's fantastic!"

"It is," Mike said proudly. "Phyllis is great. You'd like her. I'll introduce you sometime. How 'bout that?"

"That'd be wonderful," Rosemary agreed brightly. "Oh, she sounds lovely!"

"She really is," Mike grinned. "And your guy seems great too."

"Oh, Russell?" Rosemary's spirited nature drifted away as fast as melting butter. She had never talked about Russell with the boys. "Yeah. I mean, I guess."

Mike cocked an eyebrow. "You guess?" he repeated. "That's all you have to say about him?"

Rosemary shrugged. "What else is there to say?"

"I don't know," Mike stuck out his lower lip. "It's just that you looked so happy with him when we first met you, that's all. I'd have thought you'd have more to say about him."

"Well, what do you want to know about him?" Rosemary peered up at him.

"Alright, what's wrong?" he questioned.

"Nothing," Rosemary said a little too quickly.

"I'm ready to bet on Peter's life that something's wrong," Mike stated.

"We've just been arguing a bit for the past few days, that's all," Rosemary said quietly. "It's nothing serious. Nothing that can't be fixed."

"You sure?" Mike asked, unconvinced.

Rosemary nodded. "Positive," she murmured.

"You know, that's what Davy said when he started thinking about you a couple weeks ago," Mike pointed out.

Rosemary's eyebrows shot up and her steady heartbeat quickened in surprise at the mention of Davy. "Davy?" she gasped. "He was... thinking about me?"

"Well, yeah," Mike shrugged. "And he feels really bad about what happened."

"Does he now?" Rosemary crossed her arms so tightly over her chest, she feared they would permanently remain that way.

"He does," Mike glanced at her. "I know what he did was wrong, but you know he didn't mean to hurt you."

"Really?" Rosemary huffed, glaring at the ground. "Kissing a girl behind my back hurts a lot more than you think."

"You know, when people feel anxious about something, they don't exactly think about what they're doing," Mike said quietly. "And Davy was nervous about lying to his old man."