A short while later Maria returned to the table with two plates. Ronnie’s plate contained a small cheese omelet and toast while Rose’s was laden down with a stuffed omelet, a slice of fresh melon, and toast with grape jelly.
“Thank you, Maria. You know exactly how I like it.” The young woman beamed, earning a smile from the housekeeper.
“Yes I do. Now if you ladies will excuse me I do have to get going on the laundry.” She took an empty basket from the laundry room and went to collect the dirty clothes. The lovers returned to their breakfast before a thought went through Rose’s mind. “Ronnie, she’s gonna see the clothes tossed all over the room.” Her face began to color with embarrassment.
“I hope she checks under the bed. I think that’s where your underwear ended up,” Ronnie replied, wiggling her eyebrows lecherously.
“Ronnie!” She swatted the muscled arm. “It’s not funny.”
“I know it’s not,” the executive apologized. “Come here.” She moved her chair slightly and pulled Rose against her. “Honey, she’s going to find out sooner or later.”
“Think she’ll be okay with it?”
“Of course. I’ve known Maria since I was a little kid. She knows how much you mean to me. I’m sure she’ll be happy,” Ronnie said confidently.
But the housekeeper was anything but happy. She returned with a basket full of dirty laundry just as the women were finishing their meal. “Veronica, I need to speak with you,” she said testily before going into the laundry room. The washer lid opened then closed with a bang. The dryer suffered the same abuse. “What’s going on?” Rose asked worriedly.
“I don’t know but I’ll go find out.” Ronnie threw her napkin down and entered the laundry room, shutting the door behind her.
“What’s going on, Maria?”
“You know it would be a lot easier for me if I didn’t have to look all over the place for your clothes.” She kept her back to her employer, seemingly matching up clean socks.
“You wanted to talk to me about leaving my clothes on the floor? I’ve left them lying around before and you never got this upset.” Ronnie stepped closer. “You were upset before breakfast. My mug isn’t dirty. You gave me that ugly yellow thing on purpose. Why?”
“I’m not a fool, Veronica. I have eyes.” Wrinkled hands held sweat socks in a death grip. “How could you do this?”
“I assume this has nothing to do with clothes and stop with the Veronica crap. You’re talking about Rose and me.” She waited for a response but her housekeeper continued to forcefully fold the socks. “What’s the problem, Maria? It’s okay to be a lesbian as long as I don’t act like one?”
Maria turned and leveled an angry glare. “I have always been supportive of you and your choices. How dare you think otherwise.”
“Then what is it?” Her jaw tensed in anger. “Rose has been living here for over three months. You had to know that we were sleeping together.”
“Sleeping, Ronnie, sleeping.” Maria jerked the sheets out of the basket and stuffed them into the washer. “You certainly weren’t ‘sleeping’ with Rose last night.” Detergent was haphazardly tossed in and the lid slammed shut. “It’s wrong, just plain wrong what you’re doing to her.”
“Why is it wrong to love her? Why is today any different than yesterday? Help me understand why you’re so upset because right now I don’t understand!” Ronnie slammed her hand on the dryer, the noise reverberating through the small room. “She isn’t like Christine, Maria. This is Rose we’re talking about.”
“I know she’s not like Christine. I never said she was. Rose is a sweet, kind, gentle woman who deserves all the best that life can give.” She huffed over to the counter and began sorting the clean clothes. “She’s been hurt enough.”
“What?” Ronnie shook her head. “What are you talking about?” She put her hands on the housekeeper’s shoulders and turned the older woman to face her. Maria’s eyes were shiny and Ronnie softened her tone. “I love Rose. I would never hurt her.”
“You don’t think keeping the truth from her is going to hurt her?”
“And just what truth am I keeping from her?” she asked hesitantly.
“I know about the accident…I saw the Porsche before Hans fixed it.”
The color drained from Ronnie’s face and she leaned against the dryer, hoping her legs would keep her upright. “Oh God,” she whispered. She looked at her lifelong friend and housekeeper with panicked blue eyes. “Maria, you can’t say anything. You can’t tell her.”
“Tell her?” The older woman ran her fingers through her short salt and pepper hair and shook her head. “No Ronnie, I won’t tell her. I know my position well.” She turned back to the pile of clothes. “Besides, it’s not my place to say anything, it’s yours.” She paused for a moment. “Or are you going to just let her continue thinking you’re her knight in shining armor?”
The words stung but Ronnie could not deny them. “I…I can’t tell her. I can’t lose her. I can’t.” Her voice hitched and she had to look away. “I would give up everything to be with her but I can’t do that.”
“Better she should go on believing some drunk hit her and you came to her rescue than to admit you were responsible.” Maria paused, debating whether she really wanted to ask the next question or not. “Were you drunk?” At the lack of response, she turned, reading her answer in the tall woman’s face. “Dear God…you were.”
Long dark hair formed a curtain as Ronnie lowered her head and nodded ashamedly. “It was snowing and I…I never saw her until it was too late.” She took several breaths before speaking again. “I would give anything to change what happened that night.” She looked up, blue eyes shining. “But I can’t. Please, you can’t say anything to her.”
Maria looked away and for a minute nothing was heard but the thumping of the dryer as both women wrestled with their thoughts. After what seemed an eternity to Ronnie, the housekeeper sighed and nodded.
“I’m not going to be the one to ruin that child’s happiness, even if it is a lie. She’s had too many ugly truths already.” She turned to face Ronnie. “I won’t be the one to tell her.”
Ronnie released a deep breath “I love her, Maria. I love her more than I have ever loved anyone in my life and I can’t lose her.” She stood next to the older woman and leaned her elbows on the pile of fresh linens. “If I can…” she stared at the wall, “…I’ll spend the rest of my life making her happy. Please give me that chance.”
“The longer you keep the truth from her the worse it will be when she does find out. You owe her the truth, Ronnie.”
“I know,” she acknowledged. “But I can’t. Not yet.”
“You go see to her. I have things here I need to do.” At Ronnie’s questioning look, she said “Go on, I’ll be fine once I’m done in here. I just need a few minutes.”
“What was that all about?” Rose asked when Ronnie returned.
“She’s just having a bad day, that’s all,” she lied. “I think Tommy’s death still has her upset.”