My Precious Rosebud

Just Another Day

"Good morning, my precious rosebud."

I chuckled at the familiar, deep pitched voice I've come to know. "Good morning, Kevin."

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. "How did you know it was me?"

I kissed his stubble covered cheek.  "Sweetheart, we've been living together for a year.  How could you not be recognized?"

He chuckled softly and kissed me. "You win this time Lydia." Pulling away, he gently placed something in my hand. "For you, my lady.  I hope that you like it." He slowly uncurled his fingers to reveal a pink rose.

"This is lovely! Where on Earth do you keep getting these?"

He smiled and placed his arm around my shoulders. "Well, a friend of mine has a few rosebushes, and they're overgrowing. So, he said I could take however many I needed."

I took a cup out of a kitchen cabinets, filled it with water, and placed the flower into the cup. "I'll be sure to hold onto this as long as possible." Turning back to him, I pecked Kevin on the cheek. He picked me up, spun me around, and kissed me on the lips. I leaned into the kiss, blocking out everything but him. I wished that this moment could last forever, but I knew it couldn't.

The splendor of the kiss was interrupted by the ringtone of Kevin's cell phone. He pulled away from me.  "Kevin, is it something from work?"

He picked the phone up from the coffee table.  He stared down at it with a slightly upset expression on his face. He placed the device in his pocket. "Yeah, it is.  I'm going to have to stay until late tonight. Are you alright with that?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be perfectly fine."

He smiled. "Great! So, I'll see you later tonight?" I nodded. "Okay, I'll see you tonight." He kissed me, grabbed his car keys, and went to the front door. Right before he left, he called out to me: "See you soon, my precious rosebud."

. . . .

"So, how are things with Kevin?"

I shrugged at my friend's comment. "Things are going alright with him," I told her, pushing some of my mousse brown hair out of my face.  "He's been at work an awful lot recently, though. I'm starting to wonder if something is up with him."

My friend glanced at me. "Lydia, it sounds like things aren't doing alright. Are you sure things are all peachy keen?" She pushed some of her raven black braids out of her face.

I sighed and leaned back on her living room couch. "Honestly Marylyn, I don't know anymore. He's been working a lot and paying attention to his phone a lot." I sighed and took a sip out of a glass of wine.

She sighed. "Look, I may be wrong, but it sounds like Kevin may be seeing someone else."

I leaned forward. "What do you mean?"  I refilled my glass.

She sighed. "Haven't you noticed the signs?  He's been at work for longer than usual, and he's on his phone all the time. Haven't you even considered it?"

I stared down at the glass. "Yeah, he could be potentially doing, but I'm not sure. I'll ask him tonight." Then, my cellphone's text ringtone went off. I picked it up. There was a message from  Kevin on the screen. It said:

Hey Lydia, a few people from work invited me to dinner, and I accepted. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. See you tonight!

I felt tears spring to my eyes. "What's wrong?" Marylyn asked. I handed her the phone. She glanced at it with a glower on her face. Then, the expression fell. She sighed and handed the phone back to me. "I know that this may sound suspicious, but remember, I may just be letting my imagination run wild. Don't let it get to your head."

I nodded. I should be getting home." I stood up and staggered. "You alright Lydia?" I heard Marylyn ask. "You downed quite a few glasses of that," she stated, her head gesturing to the glass that I left on the table.

"I'm fine," I told her. I took a few steps toward the front door, but I tripped over the edge of a rug. Marylyn glanced down at me. "Come on, I'm driving you home," she said.

. . . .

Later that evening, I was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in my hand. I glanced up at the news on the television to see politics drama, as usual. I set the cup of coffee down and glanced out the window. The stars were twinkling like diamonds in the endless, black sky. The cars soared up and down the streets, their headlights glowing brightly.

I glanced at the clock. It was 9:30 P.M., and Kevin still wasn't home. Picking up my phone, I almost called him, when the front door opened.

Stumbling off the couch, I ran up to Kevin and hugged him. "Welcome home, Kevin."  He hugged me back and kissed me. "It's good to see you again, Lydia," he muttered. He was holding some plastic bags in his hands. I moved some of my hair out of my face. "So, how was the dinner?"

He looked at me like I had lost my marbles for a second.  Then he said: "Oh yeah, the dinner was amazing! We went to the Italian restaurant on Laurens Street."

I leaned against the entryway wall. "Yeah, that's a really good place." My eyes shifted down to the bags.  "What do you have in there?"

He flinched and looked down at the bags. "Oh, yeah.  Well, I saw the flower box on our bedroom window, and I decided to get some flowers to grow there." He emptied out the contents of the bags. Inside was two packs of buttercup seeds, two pairs of gardening gloves, a light blue watering can, a hand shovel, a trowel, and a pair of gardening shears.

"These are going to be so lovely when they bloom." He stepped up from behind me. "Do you like them? I was going to get some roses, but I thought you would like a change of scenery."

I turned the bags of seed over in my hands. "They're fine. I mean, roses are still my favorite flower, but I also like buttercups."

He hugged me. "Well, that's good to know."  I stifled a yawn.  He chuckled. "Are you tired?  Did I keep you up?" I nodded.  He picked me up and carried me into the bedroom.

Later that evening, as we were laying in the bed we shared, I turned over and stared at Kevin. "Kevin, can I ask you something?" He grunted and turned toward me. "Sure, ask away."

I sighed, contemplating the question I was going to ask. Finally, I spat out: "You know, if something is going on, you can always talk to me, right?" He shifted in the bed. "Why do you ask that?"

I got closer to him. "I was just thinking about it." He pulled me into his arms. "Well, you can also do talk to me."

I closed my eyes and began to drift off. As my eyes shut, I felt Kevin kiss my forehead and whisper:

"See you in the morning, my precious rosebud."