Chapter 2 - A Wave of Hello

"Their family is very important and yet you go and do something stupid to insult them! You made our family look like fools!"

"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean to..."

When I saw his hand raise, I knew he was going to strike me. He always did whenever he was furious at me.

"Dear, we've done this so many times. She just doesn't get it." My mother sighed out, stopping my father's hand from striking me. But I knew she was just as disappointed in me as my father was.

"Fine, I don't want to see you for the rest of the day. Get out of my sight." He harshly said and looked away from me.

It hurts to hear those words from your own father. I never met up to his expectations and he always makes sure I knew it. I wiped away a tear and held in my sadness until I was out his range. My tears would only make him angrier.

But once I reached my room, I threw myself in my chair and cried. I cried for a long time until I couldn't cry any longer.

For the past week, I have holed myself into my room, not too much of a surprise, and only going out to grab a plate of food. Even after a couple of days, I was afraid to face either of my parents. But unlike any other time, instead if playing with my toys, I've been waiting to see our new neighbor.

Each day, I sit by my window with Snow Prince and hope to get a glance at Mr. Rosebud. I haven't seen him since that night and the only people that came by were the movers.

"And the Prince came to rescue the Princess..."

"It's him..." My toy dropped to the floor, now forgotten, as I jumped onto my feet to get a better look at Mr. Rosebud.

I looked over to get a better look at him but he already vanished from my view. I heard the doorbell ring from downstairs but I knew my mother would answer it.

It seem like forever until he appeared again but he did something very surprising. He stopped and turned around, he saw me from my window and started waving at me.

I didn't know what to do and I ended backing myself out of the windows view. I felt shy and nervous but at the same time, I was pleased. '


He just waved at me...'

I wondered what he came by for and so I waited on the second floor until my father got home. I knew my mother would start ranting the moment he sat down next to her.

"-nd he comes by and invites us over for dinner! Does he not understand he is not wanted here? I already talked to our neighbors and they all told me they declined his invitation. We should do the same." My father said nothing for a long time, thinking over the situation.

"Genoise, this is an opportunity. We can go over and show him what we really feel about him moving here. Maybe he will get the message that he is not wanted here."

My mother said nothing and just 'hmphed' at my father's plan.

"We will accept his invitation and go over to his home for dinner." It was final and he stood up to leave until she asked him about me.

"What about Anglaise?"

He paused for a second before answering, "I could care less. You decide whether she can go or not."

.....

"I think this looks fine." I muttered to myself as I looked at myself in the mirror. I wanted to look nice for this dinner and I put on one of my simple but pretty dress. I was excited and nervous of going over to Mr. Rosebud's house.

"Why did you change? This is not a important event and you usually need to be reminded." It was clear my mother was shocked and suspicious when she saw me in a different and nice outfit.

"You usually get mad at me if I don't change into something nice. I just remembered this time." She said nothing and didn't seem to believe my answer but she didn't ask anymore questions.

We stood outside and waited for Mr. Rosebud. Both my mother and father looked unhappy being here but I was nervous. I didn't understand, I wanted to meet him but at the same time I was too nervous to even to face the door. 

I froze when I heard the door open. I heard him greet my parents and ushered them in. I took in a deep breath and forced myself to turn around.

I turned around quickly to say "hi" but my voice just stopped as I stared at Mr. Rosebud, finally seeing him up close.

"H-hi.."

"You must be Miss Roussette. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, come inside." He didn't look angry or annoyed at me, like everyone else usually looked at me, he looked amused.

"...And here's a plate for you." I could only smile and nod when he place the plate in front of me. I didn't trust myself to speak.

My father looked upset even though Mr. Rosebud hasn't done anything wrong. My mother glared done in front of her; I'm not sure if she dislike the table, the plate or the food but I had a hunch that it was probably all three.

The food was delicious and I was shoving it in my mouth. When I looked over at my parents, their food was barely touched and they only took small bites during the entire course of dinner. By the time we finished, both their plates were still filled with food. What a waste, especially after learning that Mr. Rosebud actually cooked it himself!

"Excuse me, I have to get your plate."
"Of c-course!" I jumped up from my seat to get out of the way.
"You didn't have to get up." He laughed as he picked up my plate and my face became a little redder.

He and my father were having a deep conversation after dinner, talking about business and other jargon I couldn't understand. But I did learn that Mr. Rosebud actually started a small business during high school and it skyrocketed around three years ago when he was in college. It wasn't until recently that he became rich enough to buy a house here in Snow Hills. My father looked mildly impressed but otherwise looked annoyed at him.

My mother contributed nothing to the conversion, not that I have said anything either, and instead just kept drinking the juice he had brought out for the rest of us. She didn't even try to hide that she was bored which Mr. Rosebud got the hint and said little to her.

"So, Miss Roussette, what do you do?" I was excited that he actually acknowledged me but before I could answer, my father interrupted me.

"What my daughter does is none of your business Mr. Rosebud."

"I uhh, apologize Mr Roussette."

I cringed, unhappy that I didn't even get a change to speak to Mr. Rosebud. I wanted to say something but the presence of my father kept me silent.

"Mr. Rosebud, I find it interesting that you decided to move here. I do hope you understand that we, I and the rest of our community, don't appreciate certain changes brought here. We want to continue living our ways here without anyone bringing any trouble..."

And there we go. As my father kept on talking, it got clearer that he did not like nor want Mr. Rosebud to continue living here. I felt my heart tighten as my father kept on talking; I didn't like the way he was speaking to him.

It was clear from Mr. Rosebud's face that he understood my father's message and his smile slowly sank downward into a frown. This night just took a turn for the worst. It was a long time until my father finished speaking and by then, I was frozen and Mr. Rosebud looked ready to throw us out.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner, Mr. Rosebud. I'm afraid we must leave now." Before my father could even finish sentence, my mother jumped out her chair and eager to leave.

"Anglaise, hurry up." My mother's snippy voice shook me from my stupor and I quickly got up. I hesitated for a second, realizing that Mr. Rosebud had not said anything.

When I looked back, Mr. Rosebud was just staring at the table and looked tired. I wanted to say something, an apology, but my mother's shrill voice forced me to leave him in that state.

I walked slowly behind them, hesitating going home after that dinner disaster. I didn't like leaving Mr. Rosebud like that and it was gnawing away at my conscience. I got a rare instance of feeling brave and I called out both my parents. But when they turned to face me, I lost most of that braveness.

"I-I think I dropped something. Can I go back to get it?" My voice was shaky, scared of what my father would say. Even a simple question like this would get me in trouble.

"You better hurry back then," My father said, not hiding his annoyance. Both he and my mother looking very irritable and about ready to snap. I quickly nodded and rushed back to Mr. Rosebud's home.

I looked sadly through the window and saw him pacing around and angrily talking to himself. I felt horrible, he was so nice to us and yet my parents were very disrespectful towards him. I didn't have much time but I wanted to do something.

KNOCK KNOCK

There was a mix of emotions when he turned around. At first he looked angry but it quickly changed into shock until he had a small smile on his face. I know it wasn't going to make up for the evening but I would just like to let him have one nice thought of this night.

A wave of hello isn't enough to make up for a disastrous night but it does make some peace as well as a shared smile between two people.